'So far so good' for Lake Park

Expectations are on the rise for the Lake Park girls cross country team, and the Lancers seem ready to meet the challenge.

Last week Lake Park won the Fenton Invitational, and the Lancers staked a claim to the No. 4 spot in the Illinois Prep Top Times Poll.

Host Lake Park did nothing to diminish those expectations on a bright Saturday at 34th annual Lancer Invitation.

Junior Lindsay Flannagan led from start to finish in capturing the individual title, with a time of 17:54, and the Lancers had five runners finish in the top 28 to take the team title with 75 points in Roselle.

"So far so good," said Lake Park coach Harvey Braus of his team's early-season performance. "I don't think they really think too much about rankings.

"Their focus is to run the best race they can on any give day … so far it's worked out well."

Flannagan jumped out to an early lead then extended her advantage by pounding the second mile before cruising to the victory.

"My coaches told me to work the second mile and I think it worked," said Flannagan, who took second at the Fenton Invitational. "I felt relaxed and I felt in control."

Prospect's Annette White used a late surge in the final 100 meters to pass Maine South's Kristin Zillmer in claiming second place, with Schaumburg's Emily Gallup and Wheeling's Amber Stack taking fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Junior Trisha Ehrhardt and sophomore Ashley Prochazka finished 11th and 14th for Lake Park, while sophomore Elizabeth Riggio and junior Juliet Vogel completed the Lancers scoring with 22nd-and 28th-place finishes.

"People are expecting us to do better," Ehrhardt added of the talented Lancers squad. "So we want to do better, it motivates us."

The scrutiny is surely going to tighten as the season progresses, so are the Lancers ready?

"We go into every race knowing what we're expected to do," added Flannagan, "but we've worked hard enough so we can do it. We can deal with it."

Downers Grove North (148 points) battled through injuries and illness in securing 4th place.

Senior Erin Walgamuth (19:14) took 24 place to lead the Trojans whose top runner Veronica Garcia (41st place) is rebounding from an injury and top three runner Wendy Rasmussen (30th place) was battling an illness.

"We got out kind of slow," said Walgamuth of her team's performance. "We were disappointed with the placement, but as soon as everybody gets healthy we'll do a lot better."