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Girls cross country: Lakes takes NLCC triumph

Lakes used a second-place individual finish from freshman Brooke Stromsland and solid pack running behind her to win the Northern Lake County Conference girls cross country meet on Saturday at Fox River Park.

Stromsland finished in 18:17.2, about 10 seconds behind champion Fatima Giron, a sophomore from Round Lake.

Grant junior Eva Cardy was third in 18:32.5, followed by two runners from Grayslake North - sophomore Kelli Tosic (18:55.6) and Caroline Riss (19:21.7).

Contributing key efforts for Lakes were Simone Lippmann in ninth, Megan Knuettel in 10th, Alex Bryant in 14th and Morgan Gillespie in 15th.

Grayslake Central finished with 86 points and got its top finish from junior Maura Fitzgerald, in seventh place at 19:34.3.

Mid-Suburban League: Schaumburg senior Maddie Marasco was on the move on Saturday at the Mid-Suburban League girls cross country meet at a soggy Salk Park in Rolling Meadows.

Marasco navigated a wet and soft course, holding off a strong challenge by Barrington's senior Jocelyn Long and freshman Molly Fitzpatrick and pulling away in the final mile to secure the MSL title by splashing across the finish line in 17:09.

Marasco became the first Saxons runner to win an MSL title since Katie Donlon earned the title in 1999.

"It's amazing," said Marasco. "I knew there was some talented competition and I feel so humbled and honored to have this title."

Long (17:18) and Fitzpatrick (17:20) finished in second and third to lead Barrington to the team title with 38 points. It's the Fillies' first MSL title in 11 years.

Barrington jumped out to an early and finished impressively, getting seven runners in the top 20 positions.

Prospect took second with 72 points, followed by Palatine (88), Hersey (116), Fremd (154) and Hoffman Estates (161).

"It's been a long time," said Barrington coach Deb Revolta, whose team last earned an MSL title in 2006. "They came together and ran a great team race today. It gives us confidence heading into the postseason."

Marasco used a surge at the mid-way point to make separation and then grinded out the final mile-plus.

"I couldn't be more impressed," said Schaumburg coach Kristen Zillmer of Marasco's performance in challenging conditions. "Going into her senior year, this is something she wanted. It's hard to earn a conference title, and she earned it today."

Long and Fitzpatrick pressured Marasco early, but the Saxons senior found an extra gear midway through the race.

"We tried not to let her (Marasco) get too far away," added Long of the Marasco's decisive mid-race move. "She definitely pulled me along and helped pull Molly along."

"I just wanted to pack up with them early," Marasco said. "I tried to make surges along the way, and the last 400 meters I was trying to give it my all and find an extra gear. I'm not done yet - I still have more work to do."

With Long and Fitzpatrick setting the tone, the rest of the Fillies followed. Sophomore Alyssa Norris (18:19) used a nice burst at the end to secure sixth place. Next for Barrington were junior Sophie Hoeltgen (18:30) and junior Eve Hoeltgen (18:42) in 11th and 16th. Freshman Katherine Shein (18:42) and freshman Anne Berquist (18:46) also earned all-conference honors in 17th and 20th place.

"It's really exciting to take it home," said Fitzpatrick. "We definitely went in confident and knew we had a shot, so we just kind of relaxed and did our thing."

Barrington just missed capturing an MSL title in 2015, finishing 2 points behind Prospect that season. But the Fillies would not be denied on a dreary morning.

"It's really exciting," said Eve Hoeltgen. "The whole season we've been talking about packing it up, and every race we have gotten closer and closer."

Prospect has also been on the move.

Junior Marissa Valentini (18:18) gave the Knights a nice lift by taking fifth. She was followed by freshman Reese Lettow (18:23) and senior Mikayla Olsen (18:23) in eighth and ninth places.

"I know we've been trying to stay together and work together as a team," said Valentini. "We knew every place counted, so we kept pushing throughout the race."

Senior Kaitlyn Rouse (18:52) added a key 24th-place finish for the Knights.

"We ran well," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute of his team's performance. "These girls have a unique bond and have found ways to get it done."

Anne Marie Jordan (17:58) also got it done in running to an impressive fourth-place finish. The Palatine freshman broke away from the chase pack to pace a fourth-place team finish.

"Jordan ran a really good race today," said Palatine coach Joe Parks. "As a team we didn't get out to a great start, but we definitely worked throughout the race."

Junior Kate Lechowicz (18:20) had a seventh-place finish for the Pirates, followed by senior Lauryn Simons in 15th place.

Hersey sophomore Kaite Fredian (18:29) gave the Huskies a nice lift by taking 10th place to pace her team's fourth-place finish. Junior Teagan Beckley (18:43) added 18th place, followed by sophomore Erin Barton (18:51) and sophomore Aubrey Hasley (18:55) in 21st and 25th place.

Fremd sophomores Marisa Ban (18:32) and Rebecca Markham (18:36) took 12th and 14th place in helping power Fremd to fifth place.

"It was a tough race but we just wanted to get out there and give it our all," said Ban. "We think we can get the pack a bit stronger and we think we'll get there."

Buffalo Grove senior Alexis Opperman (18:34) also did a nice job, taking 13th place and pacing the Bison's eighth-place finish. Sophomore Kaylin Hellyer (18:50) added a 22nd-place finish for BG.

Schaumburg senior Rachel Vaccaro (18:45) helped the Saxons' seventh-place finish by securing 19th place.

Hoffman Estates junior Nikki Rong (18:51) secured 23rd place, lifting the Hawks to a sixth-place finish.

The meet was stopped due to weather during the boys' frosh/soph race, with the girls' JV open and boys' JV open also being postponed.

Those three races will be contest on Monday at Salk Park in Rolling Meadows, starting with the boys' frosh/soph race at 4:45 p.m.

- Michael Eaken

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