Dalton repeats, breaks record
It's a new girls cross country season, but the results remained the same at the 27th annual Fenton Earlybird Invitational.
Conant junior Kalli Dalton surged with a half-mile remaining to claim her second consecutive title, finishing with a course-record time of 18:14.
Lake Park had five runners finish in the top 20 to secure its second straight team title with 62 points. Downers Grove South (71) took second followed by Downers Grove North (110). Conant (125) edged Prospect (128) for fourth place.
Dalton was shadowed for a majority of the race by Lake Park's Lindsay Flannagan and Oak Park-River Forest's Katherine Rack. But the junior made her move and never was threatened in the home stretch.
"She was able to drag with the lead pack and she knows when to go," said Conant coach Amy Spizzirri of the Cougars' leader.
Dalton finished fifth at state as a freshman and followed it up with a seventh-place finish last season. On Saturday, she ran a controlled race the first two miles and relied on her experience for a strong finish.
"It was like now or never," said Dalton of her winning surge. "I didn't want it to come down to a 400 sprint and I still had a little left so I pushed it."
Flannagan (18:27) and Rack (18:29) took second and third followed by Prospect sophomore Annette White (18:49) and Downers Grove South junior Nicole Thate (18:51).
Lake Park returned six of its top seven runners from last year's team, which took fifth at the state meet. And the Lancers seemed to pick up where they left off.
Flannagan paced the Lancers and was followed by junior Trisha Ehrhardt (19:05), who took eighth place.
"It's really exciting," said Flannagan of her team's prospects. "All the girls are really close and we know if we stay together we'll do well."
Sophomore Ashley Prochazka (19:23), senior Yazmin Gutierrez (19:50), and junior Juliet Vogel (19:50) finished 13th, 19th, and 20th to round out Lake Park's top five.
"It was like last year," added Ehrhardt of the Lancers' success. "Since we did so well at state last year, this year we'll work even harder."
Downers Grove South pushed Lake Park the entire race in taking second, as junior Nicole Thate powered the Mustangs with a fifth-place finish.
"I used the downhill to pick up the momentum at the end," added Thate of her strong finish.
A quartet of sophomores took the next four positions for a young Downers Grove South squad. Grace Magliola (19:20) and Casey Harms (19:25) finished 12th and 14th. Jessica Pacholski (19:47) and Abby Lechner captured 18th and 22nd place.
"We have a dedicated group of girls that really put forth the effort in practice," added Thate of her team. "And it really shows on the course."
Junior Wendy Rasmussen (19:10) and senior Erin Walgamuth (19:12) powered Downers Grove North to a third-place finish by securing ninth and 10th place.
"The whole time we were working off of each other," said Walgamuth of the duo's performance. "This is not our peak race, so we'll build off this. But it was a good start."
Dalton wasn't Conant's only cog, as senior Michelle Rawleigh (19:02) secured seventh place. Rawleigh had played volleyball the previous three years before joining cross country this season. The senior had an immediate impact on Saturday.
"She was outstanding," added Spizzirri of Rawleigh performance. "I think with our 1-2 combo, if we can just get that pack a little bit closer we can do some good things."
White powered Prospect to a fifth-place finish. Last year as freshman she took second place at the Mid-Suburban League meet.
"I've been using my experience from last year," said White, who showed a strong kick at the finish. "I know my teammates better and I know my opponents better. It's starting to come together."
Senior Claire Hollis (19:37) and senior Lucy Taylor (20:07) took 15th and 25th place to aid the Knights.
"We got out slow and after that we were battling the rest of the way," said Prospect coach Dave Wurster of his team's performance. "But we finished strong, I think we're going to be fine."
Sophomore Sarah Reynolds (19:39) and junior Megan Gojney (20:00) finished in 16th and 23rd place to pace Hersey (172) to a sixth-place finish.
"This year I came in feeling more prepared," said Reynolds of her experience. "We're excited about the season and today was a good start."
Junior Erin McShea (20:05) took 24th place pacing St. Francis (172 points) to an eighth-place finish.
"The second mile was tough because the adrenaline was gone," said McShea. "It was fun and I think our team ran well, it was kind of a close pack."
Heather Crowe (19:53) paced host Fenton (343 points) to an 11th-place finish by securing 21st place.
"I think she will just be getting better and better as the season goes on," said Fenton coach Sara McDougal of her junior leader. "She put in a lot of miles this summer."
Senior Mayra Sanchez (19:41) took 17th place to pace Addison Trail.
"It's definitely a good start," said Sanchez. "I ran more over the summer and I think it's paying off now."
CL South Invitational: Being early in the season, Kristina Aubert is still trying to gain endurance and get in shape.
It is amazing how good Aubert should be when she is clicking on all cylinders.
The Crystal Lake South sophomore's effort was good to enough to win her second consecutive Crystal Lake South Invitational Saturday at Veterans Acres.
Aubert's 3-mile time was 19:49.7. Woodstock freshman Kayla Beattie placed second in a clocking of 20:08.4.
It was Aubert's first race of the season as Tuesday's McHenry County meet was cancelled because of the extreme heat.
"I was really ready to go and disappointed we didn't run Tuesday," said Aubert. "
"I was really excited and a little nervous today. Going under 20 minutes for a first race is a positive. I have some soreness and need to put some more miles in. Practicing at Veterans Acres really helps and is an advantage. It is a tough course to run on. I was happy with my performance."
Woodstock ran away with the team title with a score of 59 points. Dundee-Crown was a distant second with a score of 123.
Freshman Claira Himmel was the top Charger performer with an 11th place finish. Kelsey Sieler finished 12th followed by Nichole Kasala (29th), Samantha Clark (31st) and Morgan Wiechmann (40th).
"We have a new look this season with a lot of newcomers," said Dundee-Crown coach Tom Smith. "We lost a lot of quality kids so I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by how they ran. They did a great job. Our top six runners are interchangeable. Any of them could finish one through six."
South placed seventh as a team with a score of 148. Next in line for the Gators after Aubert was Stephanie Belokon in 23rd. Colleen Sullivan placed 37th, followed by Lexi Stevenson (42nd) and Chelsey Tyllia (45th).
Grant placed ninth with a score of 233. Alexis Capps led the Bulldogs with a 13th place finish. Kendra Kennedy placed 24th, Heather Ruetsche finished 39th, Paige Jacobs placed 77th and Kat Tzoumis was 89th.
Wauconda, which was 17th with a score of 453, had a 61st place finish from Samantha Michelau. Courtney Kimes finished 79th, Samantha Shumate placed 103rd and Sarah Bedell was 141st.
Hornet-Red Devil Invite: Top-ranked Hinsdale Central held off Stagg to win 53-69. The defending state champion Red Devils rode its dominant trio to victory as juniors Elaine Kuckertz, Roey Hines and Lauren Zumbach finished second, fourth and sixth, respectively. Stagg's Annette Glaz won in 17 minutes, 54 seconds.
"It was a good first test and now we've got something to build on," said Red Devils coach Mark McCabe, whose team had to overcome the loss of normal top-five runner Emily Cleary, out with a migraine headache.
Neuqua Valley finished third overall with 100 points behind the strong 1-2 punch of Sara Hartley (seventh) and Megan Taylor (ninth). Fourth-ranked Palatine finished fourth overall with 117 points. Despite a disappointing finish, Pirates coach Steve Currins is very upbeat about his developing team.
"We're going to be a very good team, we just made a few mistakes early. We were way behind. We usually get out pretty hard," said Currins, who praised junior Tory Wright's fifth-place performance. "She ran a tremendous race. That should give her a lot more confidence."
Wheaton Warrenville South finished fifth overall with 120 points. Tigers senior Alicia Zimmerman and junior Elise Anderson finished together in 10th and 11th, respectively. Naperville Central's sixth-place team performance was highlighted by sophomore Shelby Pealor's eighth-place performance.
-- Dennis Van Milligen