Girls cross country: Barrington pieces together winning Wheeling effort
The pieces seem to be falling into place for the Barrington girls cross country team.
Senior Jocelyn Long (17:34) and freshman Molly Fitzpatrick (17:45) gave Barrington a nice 1-2 punch in securing second and fourth place as the Fillies won Wheeling Invitational with 36 points at Heritage Park on Saturday.
New Trier (80 points) finished in a distant second place with Libertyville (101) nipping Lake Zurich (102) for third, followed by Highland Park (184 points).
Under mild conditions, Barrington placed six runners in the top 16 to easily pull away with an impressive victory
"We are a work in progress," said Barrington coach Deb Revolta, whose team will be contending for a Mid-Suburban League title next Saturday at Rolling Meadows' Salk Park. "They are really working hard, they want to go after it, and they are not afraid - that's all you can ask for."
Evanston senior Enyaeva Michelin used a strong kick to hold off Long to earn the individual title, crossing the line in 17:33.
"I knew I was up against a lot of strong runners today and I wanted to stay with them and have a strong finish," said Michelin, who has assembled a breakout season that includes a title run at the First to the Finish Invite in early September on the state course in Peoria.
Michelin and Long were joined in a tight lead pack by Libertyville senior Melissa Manetsch and Fitzpatrick. Those four set the tone for the race and made early separation.
Long, who finished 32 seconds behind Michelin at the First to the Finish Invite, definitely narrowed the gap on Saturday and was nipping at the Wildkits senior's heels right up to the finish.
"It was definitely tough," said Long who verbally committed to run for Northwestern this week. "I just wanted to stay mentally strong and keep pace."
Manetsch (17:42) kept pace with the leaders before losing contact halfway through the final mile.
"We got to the hill, and it just wasn't there," said Manetsch who was coming off a big title run at Palatine Invitational two weeks ago. "My legs felt pretty depleted today."
Fitzpatrick has been making progress all season and extended the trend Saturday.
"Each race I just try to stay stick with Jocelyn and the front group," said Fitzpatrick of her impressive run.
With Long and Fitzpatrick setting tone, the Fillies' back pack was on the move, smoothly closing ground throughout the race.
Sophomore Alyssa Norris (18:58) closed hard to take seventh place followed by freshman Katherine Shein (19:17) in ninth.
"We've been emphasizing running as a pack," added Fitzpatrick. "If we can get it close, it will make us even more dangerous."
Junior Eve Hoeltgen (19:42) and junior Sophie Hoeltgen (19:46) then closed the door in 14th and 16th.
"They were passing more than getting passed," said Revolta of the Fillies' back pack. "They are doing the right things. Hopefully we just keep making those little bits of improvement."
Libertyville also seemed to be on the move. Senior Jenna Ocheltree (19:32) took 11th place with senior Nora Tucker (20:01) and senior Brilynn Dawson (20:02) adding 24th and 26th place.
"We ran well as a team today," said Libertyville coach Bill Etnyre, whose team was missing two of its top five runners. "We feel like we're getting everybody together at the same time. If we can get everyone running where they can by the end of the season, we'll be just fine."
Lake Zurich is also coming on hard. Junior Emily Burns (18:49) led the Bears by taking fifth place.
Freshman Hayley Burk (19:40) kept the line moving with a 13th-place finish. She was followed by senior Melody Multra (19:50) and senior Elisa Krause (20:02) in 20th and 25th place.
"I'm a lot more confident this season," said Burns, who credited a strong off-season of training. "As a team we have been coming together and ran really well today."
Buffalo Grove senior Alexis Opperman has also been coming on strong. The Bison senior finished 11th at the Peoria Invitational last week and she had no letdown on Saturday.
Oppermnan (19:13), who was dealing with a health issue through last season, looked strong in securing eighth place on Saturday while helping BG to a seventh-place finish.
"It definitely helps my confidence," said Opperman of her strong back-to-back showings. "Last year I had some pretty tough races, but this year I've been able to steadily improve each race"
Senior Rylee Bers (19:50) and sophomore Kaylin Hellyer (19:59) aided the Bison by securing 19th and 23rd place.
Junior Christina Pierini (19:46) gave host Wheeling a lift by taking 17th place and spurring the Wildcats to an eighth-place finish.