Schaumburg's Rutz shows some guts
Schaumburg's Nathan Rutz, who fell early in the race, perseveres en route to 18th place Saturday and an individual state berth.
The Class 3A Schaumburg boys cross country sectional at Busse Woods showcased some of the area's best talent Saturday .
At the finish line, good things happened for Naperville North (70 points) and York (85), which finished 1-2 in the team race.
York's Tom Achtien (15:03) and Steve Sulkin (15:09) led the way with their 1-2 finish.
St. Charles North (112), Waubonsie Valley (125) and Wheaton North (128) gobbled up the other state team berths.
Qualifying teams and individuals advanced to the state meet Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
The first turn proved fateful for host Schaumburg, as several Saxons fell early.
"About four of them got knocked down around that first turn," said Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider. "Including (Nathan) Rutz, who got up and ran outstanding. But that kind of killed us -- it didn't help us when that happened. But that's cross country."
Rutz (15:43) recovered to take 18th place, qualifying as an individual bloody legs and all.
"I'm doing all right," Rutz said. "I went down at the start. It happens. It would've been nice if the team had gotten down (to state). I'm just going to have to run my heart out for (my teammates)."
The Saxons' Pat Lesiewicz (15:48) took 23rd place, but failed to qualify.
"It's unfortunate because it was real spread out. I thought we had a real good shot," Macnider said. "That's the way it goes. This was a real good meet. It wasn't the fastest meet. The course isn't real fast when it's wet like this."
Despite losing a little momentum at the end, Jeff Thode of Conant qualified for state as an individual with a 13th-place run in 15:33 run, the only Cougar who qualified.
"The first mile I felt fine, I was running as fast as I did at regionals," Thode said. "Then my second mile was a little bit fast because I wanted to go with the York kid. The third mile came and my quads gave out with just about 200 yards left. I was able to hang on to qualify for state.
"Overall, it was a good race. The competition was really nice."
The Cougars (250) finished eighth as a team, as Andrew Mueller (16:08) took 45th.
Neal Klein of Streamwood had a qualifying run of 15:36.80 to get 14th place.
"It was really different than what I expected," Klein said. "My coach told me t get to the first turn really quick. That changed my race strategy up a little bit and run the first mile a little faster. Overall, I think I did good.
"For the hard competition I'm pretty happy (with the finish). This was the sectional of death, I heard. It was a great experience and a good course. I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Hoffman Estates (254) finished 10th, led by Ross Goers (15:54) in 26th. Maine West's Martin Chavez ran a 16:24.
Girls results
It wasn't uncommon to hear things like mini or little state meet at Busse Woods.
With the majority of teams there being state-worthy competitors, advancing out of the Class 3A Schaumburg girls cross country sectional was a feat in itself -- let alone winning it.
But with four top 20 finishes, Geneva (83 points) led the charge to the state meet.
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 a time of 17:41.
Lake Park regional champion 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 an 18:44. She took 16th and just missed the cut for an individual state berth.
"(Hannah) ran a good solid race," Macnider said. "She moved up the whole time."
The Hawks' Sonia Khan (19:15) also ran a strong race.
"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."
Bartlett's Sam Salinas just missed the state cut, taking 18th in 18:47.
"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."
Schaumburg's Britten Petrey was 32nd in 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 filled my lungs way too fast and I was having a hard time breathing."
The Saxons (356) finished 16th, as freshman Colette Falsey added a 19:20 effort.
"I know I could've done better and I know our team could've done better," Falsey said. "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.
Michelle Rawleigh ran a 20:11 to lead Conant.
"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."
The Cougars' Kalli Dalton, who took third in the regional, fell and was unable to finish the race.