Cross country: Cary-Grove's Drage, Crystal Lake South's Becker take McHenry County honors
It was a historical day for the Cary-Grove High girls cross country program.
With sophomore Allison Drage claiming Saturday's McHenry County girls championship, she became the Trojans' first county champion.
Drage navigated the 3.2 mile course at Woodstock's Emricson Park in a clocking of 19:07.9. Woodstock's Kylie Hagmann placed second with a time of 19:13.8.
"I was really pleased with the way I ran especially since it was my first race of the season," said Drage. "I worked really hard in the offseason and my preparation worked out. I took the lead on Kylie with a mile left and really turned it up a notch. I had enough at the end to really kick fast at the end."
Cary-Grove coach Mark Anderson was happy with Drage's effort.
"Allison is a great kid who is very mature and very talented," said the C-G coach. "She has a great work ethic and she listens and is very coachable. She takes a lot of pride in her running. It was a good race for her to start the season."
The only other Trojan to crack the Top 30 was Libby Hansen, who was 30th.
Crystal Lake South landed two runners in the Top 10 with MacKenzie Aldridge fifth and Olivia Beckwith crossing the finish line 10th.
Other Gators garnering Top 30 medals were Megan Lyons (21st) and Emma Heuck (25th).
Jacobs' top runner was Jenna Skuza who placed eighth followed by Cameron Goll (19th) and Meghan Lemke (26th).
Huntley's top finisher was Mary Raclawski who was ninth. The Red Raiders added four more runners in the Top 30 which included Olivia Boncosky (13th), Emily Glass (15th), Rachael Morrison (18th) and Madison Overly (27th).
Boys race: As defending county champion, Crystal Lake South senior Jack Becker felt the pressure of repeating.
He didn't need to worry.
Becker won his second consecutive county title with a blistering 3.2 mile time of 15:36.2.
"I was a little nervous before the meet," said Becker. "I ran with good strategy and tempo and was able to fan out my nerves. It was as much a psychological race than a physical race. It was a good way to start the season."
Jacobs' Zach Albrecht placed second with a time of 15:47.5.
"Jack is a really good runner and I am happy with second," said Albrecht. "I was hoping for Top 3. I did a lot of speed work in the offseason and it paid off."
Albrecht was joined in the Top 10 by teammate Jacob Melgosa who was eighth and Mark Lemke placed 10th while Brandon Cole was 19th and Gary Richardson was 30th.
Huntley placed 3 in the Top 6 with Jadon Conroy fourth, Ian Geisler fifth and Jeremy Roe was sixth. Josh Segura, Joey Ozzauto and Chris Simek finished 11th, 12th and 13th respectively for the Red Raiders.
Cary-Grove's top runner was Derek Warren who was seventh. The other Trojans to crack the Top 30 and earn medals were Maxum Caesar (16th), Jonathan Lewis (17th) and Andrew Lewis (26th).