Girls cross country Class 3A regionals
Rolling Meadows
Where: Salk Park Creek
When: 9:30 a.m. Saturday
Advancement: Top five teams and top five runners not members of qualifying teams will advance to the Palatine sectional on Oct. 27.
Team outlook: Barrington, Palatine, Prospect and Hersey come into regional after finishing second through fifth at the Mid-Suburban League meet, separated by 28 points. All four teams qualified for state last year and are looking for a repeat. Dundee-Crown will be a threat after finishing second in the Fox Valley Conference, but don't count out either Wheeling or host Meadows.
Individuals to watch: Wheeling's Amber Stack and Prospect's Annette White were MSL co-champions and will renew their battle on Saturday. Palatine's Colleen Standridge and Barrington's Rebecca Tracy both had strong conference races and will also be in the lead group. Rolling Meadows' Amanda Whowell will also be one to keep an eye on. Dundee-Crown's Kelsey Seiler finishsed 5th in FVC. Hersey's Megan Gojney and St. Viator's Amanda Kompanowski are also running strong.
What they're saying:
"We're really focused on taking steps in the right direction, making sure we don't take any steps backwards." -- Barrington coach Debbie Revolta
"I'm glad I'm back and running well again. I've been waiting for a long time." -- Wheeling senior Amber Stack
"Each race has been a part of a process and the conference race was part of that process getting me ready for regionals." -- Meadows junior Amanda Whowell
Lake Park
Where: Lake Park, East Campus
When: 10 a.m. Saturday
Teams: Maine West, Larkin, Elk Grove, Conant, Hoffman Estates, Maine South, Lake Park, Schaumburg, South Elgin, Streamwood.
Advancement: Top five teams and top five runners not members of qualifying teams will advance to the Schaumburg sectional on Oct. 27.
Outlook: Hoffman Estates enters the regional with a full head of steam after claiming its first MSL title since 1987. Host Lake Park finished second in the Upstate Eight Conference and defeated Hoffman by 26 points at the Lancer Invite on Sept. 8. This figures to be much closer race between the two contenders. Conant, Schaumburg, Maine West, and Maine South will battle for the final three spots.
Individuals to watch: Lake Park's Lindsay Flanagan finished second in the Upstate Eight and should be the favorite on her home course. Maine West's Lizzy Meier won the Central Suburban North crown. Kalli Dalton is always threat and finished third in the MSL. Elk Grove's Gina Erbacci ran a solid race in taking seventh in the MSL. Others to watch include Hoffman's Hannah Worman and Schaumburg's Britten Petrey.
What they're saying:
"The plan is to advance. We're real young, but we'll be ready to go." -- Schaumburg coach Jon Macnider.
"The Schaumburg sectional is like the state meet, so I have to keep focused because you never know what could be your last race." -- Conant's junior Kalli Dalton.
"I'm definitely really happy with where I am right now. I never expected to make this much progress. My coach has really helped me and I'm running so much better." -- Elk Grove's junior Gina Erbacci.
Fenwick
Leyden will be one of 11 teams participating at the Fenwick regional at Schiller Woods in Schiller Park. The girls' varsity race will begin at 1 p.m. Leyden finished fourth at the West Suburban Gold meet last Saturday. Jaime Johnson will lead the Eagles. The junior finished fourth in the WSG.