Burlington Central nabs Class 2A sectional title

BELVIDERE -- When it came to expanding the IHSA class system Burlington Central's administration was at the forefront.

Taking first place in Saturday's IHSA Class 2A Belvidere girls cross country sectional is exactly the reason why. The Rockets, who had been at the Class AA Lake Park sectional the past two years, had a pair of freshmen give them a fresh start.

Central (135) edged out host Belvidere (137) to advance to next Saturday's IHSA state meet in Peoria as a team for the first time since 1995, when the Rockets were in the lower of the old two-class system.

"Our principal and our AD were part of the movement to get different classes," Central coach Tom Miller said. "I looked forward to this with the two freshman girls coming in. (Under the old system) we were not going to get anyplace close team-wise."

Central freshman Markelle Turk (18:08) finished third overall and classmate Katie Puccio (18:35.3) placed 16th. Belvidere's Kim Boisvert (18:01.8) was the individual champion and Lakes' Rachel Dean (18:02.2) finished second.

"I kind of stayed back, so (Boisvert) could block my wind," Turk said. "We were nervous and we didn't expect to get first."

Crystal Lake Central (142) finished third, with Rock Island Alleman (154) and Sycamore (163) rounding out the top 5. But all eyes were on Central. Maggie Gannon (30th, 18:59.3) and Lili Castillo (53rd, 19:36.6) both scored for the Rockets to give them their highest team finish since placing sixth in Miller's first year (2001) and the Rockets' last in Class A.

"We completed what we came here to do," Puccio said. "We expected to get first or second."

Although the Rockets loved the new class divide, other area runners didn't feel the same way. St. Edward senior Ashley Lucas, who had advanced to state as both a sophomore and freshman, finished 25th overall with an 18:49.5. Kaneland's Andi Strang was the last individual qualifier, finishing 11th with an 18:32.0.

"Maybe us and (Aurora Central Catholic) could have been shipped to the Chicago sectional," said Lucas, who did not compete in last year's sectional because of an illness. "This is one of the toughest sectionals in the state."

Aurora Central Catholic also fell victim to the higher competition. After qualifying as a team the past two seasons, the Chargers finished sixth as a team Saturday with a 203. Sycamore was fifth with a 163.

Valerie Cintron did garner individual qualification for ACC, finishing 10th in 18:31.7. Cintron finished fifth in last year's sectional and this marks her first trip to state as an individual. The senior admitted that the increased level of competition had an affect on her.

"It kind of psyched me out," Cintron said. "It was intimidating. I was expecting to go for sixth place. I ran as hard as I could have."

At Palatine: There were few surprises at the Class 3A Palatine girls cross country sectional Saturday morning.

Warren junior Heather Olson continued to shine on the 3-mile Deer Grove East Forest Preserve course with a winning time of 17:07.

Olson held off runner-up Kristina Aubert of Crystal Lake South by seven seconds.

In the team competition, the host Pirates edged Hersey 94-96 for the championship of the 20-team sectional meet.

Woodstock took third place with 138 points, followed by Barrington with 146 points.

That left one team berth for the 28th annual state meet Saturday at Peoria's Detweiller Park -- and Libertyville nipped Dundee-Crown 153-156.

Prospect was a close seventh with 157 points, and officials reviewed video following the race to decide the final team results.

Olson had to battle a slew of individuals to take home first place, but she came through like a champion under ideal running conditions.

"I hung back the first mile and just tried to work my way up the pack," Olson said. "I'm hoping for top 10 at state, and I need to stay relaxed before the race because I love the course down there."

After placing 17th as a sophomore, Olson will be a runner to watch in Peoria.

"This is just that next step forward to state, she did not panic, and she stuck to the game plan to hold back for the first mile," said Warren coach Cheryl Anderson. "She has basically seen everybody that is going to be in Class 3A except for the Sandburg girl (Kristin Sutherland), who is phenomenal."

Libertyville's first trip to the state meet as a team since 1994 was in jeopardy after top runner Hannah Reilly strained her hamstring early in the race.

Reilly finished 90th, but the Wildcats had enough depth to take fifth behind the performances of Anne Strychalski (18th), Erin Jaffke (21st), Alyssa Corrigan (27th), and Megan Janezic (32nd).

"I think we did real well considering Hannah ran with a sore hamstring for the whole race," said Wildcats coach Harry Carlson. "Had she been up there, I think we would have been sitting pretty close for the title, but very few athletes could run like she ran with that injury and she is just a gutsy kid."

Olson and Aubert had plenty of company at the front of the pack, but Olson pulled away from Aubert in the final half mile.

"This is the fourth time she (Aubert) has run against Heather this year, and I thought Kristina had a shot at top five today if she ran well," said Crystal Lake South coach Niki Lydon. "Normally Kristina likes to go out a little slower, but after the mile they picked up the pace and I think she did awesome today."

Huntley freshman Haley Loprieno went into the meet with a great chance to reach the state meet. She lived up to her potential and then some with a ninth-place time of 17:38 to earn the fifth at-large berth.

"I thought it was amazing and she had to mentally get herself to realize what she was capable of doing," said Huntley coach Dana Burner. "The key today was just having her stay with the girls in the top 10. Next week she will try to stay with the same girls she needs to stay up with."

Although Dundee-Crown fell short of qualifying as a team, but junior Kelsey Seiler earned the final individual berth with a 16th-place finish.

"It was Kelsey's first year of cross country as a junior and she ran awesome today," said D-C coach Tom Smith. "She (Seiler) ran track for us last year, but she has picked up training for cross country faster than just about any runner I have ever seen."

-- John Bumbales

At Schaumburg: It wasn't uncommon to hear things like mini or little state meet Saturday at Busse Woods.

With the majority of teams there being state-worthy competitors, getting out of the Schaumburg Class 3A girls cross country sectional was a feat in itself -- let alone winning it.

But with four top 20 finishes, it was obvious that Geneva (83 points) would be leading the sectional's team charge to the state meet next weekend in Peoria at Detweiller Park.

Lyons (118) took second followed by Hinsdale Central (132), Naperville North (141) and Lake Park (153).

Lizzy Hynes of St. Charles East was the individual medalist by more than 10 seconds with her 17:41.

But with the level of competition on hand, the season ended at Busse Woods for cook county and fox valley runners.

Lake Park regional champs Hoffman Estates finished ninth as a team with 243 points.

"We didn't run our team race -- we didn't run together," said Hoffman Estates coach Kirk Macnider. "We just let it go and that's it. We ran a great season -- conference champs and regional champs. I knew we'd have to run very tight together today and our split is way over a minute."

Hannah Worman led the Hawks with her 18:44. She took 16th and just missed the cut.

"(Hannah) ran a good solid race," Macnider said. "She moved up the whole time."

Sonia Khan (19:15) also ran strong for the Hawks.

"We had a great season," Macnider said. "It's not like we didn't go after it. We tried. I'm proud of them. We had our best season since 1987. We'll move forward and get ready for track."

Sam Salinas from Bartlett just missed the state cut with her 18:47 in 18th place.

"It was tough but I hung in there," Salinas said. "I tried my hardest. I don't regret anything. I felt good. I'm happy with it."

In 32nd place, Britten Petrey of Schaumburg ran to a 19:02.

"It was kind of hard (racing today)," said Petrey, one of several freshmen on Varsity. "The weather was not what I expected it to be. It filed my lungs way to fast and I was having a hard time breathing."

As a team, the Saxons (356) finished 16th with another freshman Colette Falsey added a 19:20 effort.

"I know I could've done better and I know our team could've done better. It felt different."

Elk Grove's Gina Erbacci took 24th in 18:55.30. Lizzie Meier (19:15) of Maine West was 50th.

Streamwood's Mercedes Mancha went 19:40.

Conant's finished meet with 583.

"We had a pretty difficult day," said Conant coach Amy Spizzirri. "It's like running at the state meet here at this sectional. It was very difficult. I feel like it was just as hard or harder than the state meet."

Making matters worse for the Cougars was Kalli Dalton, a state hopeful that finished third at regionals, fell and was unable to finish the race.

"Our qualifier went down," Spizzirri said. "She fell in the middle of the race. (She'll be) all right."

Michelle Rawleigh ran a 20:11 to lead the Cougars.

-- Bill Swick

At Aurora Christian: Hampshire's Holly Plichta ran an 18:57.2, good for 10th place and the final state qualifying spot out of the Class 1A Aurora Christian sectional. The Whip-Purs finished 10th as a team with 276 points.