Standridge leads Palatine to Peoria
There was no slowing down host Palatine in its Class 3A girls cross country sectional at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve on a crisp Saturday morning.
Senior Colleen Standridge paced Palatine by taking fourth place, while a trio of freshmen energized the attack as the Pirates edged Hersey 94-96 for the sectional title.
"Three freshman in our top five … man," said Palatine coach Steve Currins of his youngsters who contributed to the school's 13th sectional title. "That's all we've ever talked about is improving, improving, improving. What it all boils down to is we wanted to qualify for the state meet -- and now we're in."
Hersey, Woodstock (138), Barrington (146), and Libertyville (153) rounded out the top five and also qualified for Saturday's Class 3A state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
"The right momentum at the right time," said Hersey coach Jim Miks, whose team qualified for its 13th state meet. "When I saw them hammering after the first mile and I said 'we have momentum like the Boston Red Sox.' "
Warren junior Heather Olson took control of the race in second mile and cruised to the individual title with a winning time of 17:07, as Crystal Lake South's Kristina Aubert (17:14) took second.
Woodstock freshman Kayla Beattie (17:18), Standridge (17:20) and Prospect's Annette White (17:25) rounded out the top five.
Wheeling's Amber Stack (sixth place), Huntley's Haley Loprieno (ninth place), Rockford Guilford's Hannah Williams, and Dundee-Crown's Kelsey Seiler (16th place) joined Olson, Aubert, and White as individual qualifiers.
After a slow start to the season, Palatine has suddenly found a burst of momentum -- and Standridge has been a big reason. The senior started conservatively but then used a strong finish Saturday.
"We've been hearing all year if we worked hard what our potential could be," said Standridge of the Pirates, who will be making their 22nd appearance at the state meet. "It's so awesome to see it finally paying off, you couldn't ask for anything better."
Freshmen Sarah McIntosh (17:46) and Becca Sund (18:07) finished 13th and 24th for the Pirates, while junior Emma Maslanka (18:13) and freshman Courtney Brown (18:20) took 30th and 36th place. And the freshmen came of age on Saturday.
"It's been fun," said McIntosh, who supplied a big push with her finish. "We're starting to feel like we belong."
Sund stepped in front of two runners at the finish line to pick up the decisive 2 points that swung the victory to the Pirates.
"It was for the team," added Sund of her finishing kick. "Mr. Currins was telling me to get people, but it just wasn't me, it was the whole team."
Now the Palatine team is riding a wave of momentum to the state meet. But Hersey seems to have caught that same wave, as it was breathing down the Pirates neck from start to finish.
Junior Megan Gojney (17:33) paced Hersey with a seventh-place finish, as freshman Salena Clohisy (17:40) and junior Georgia Wiard (17:47) were nipping at her shadow and took 10th and 14th for the Huskies.
"We did great, the top three ran amazing," said Gojney of the Huskies attack. "We just wanted to make it out, it's starting to come together."
Sophomore Sarah Reynolds (18:14) and sophomore Audrina Smelser (18:29) finished 31st and 47th to complete Hersey's scoring.
"We're tired of not being in any rankings and we just want to prove them wrong," Wiard said. "We're peaking at the right time."
Barrington rebounded a from a sub-par regional race as junior Rebecca Tracy (17:48) and senior Molly Glantz (18:05) finished 15th and 23rd to propel the Fillies to their 10th appearance at the state meet.
"They needed to step up and prove to themselves that they could run with these quality teams," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolta. "And they did. They were ready to run today."
The Fillies used a strong finish to qualify with Colleen Shandley (18:25), Samantha Learch (18:26), and Annie Choi (18:28) taking 40th, 41st and 45th place.
"We ran with the closeness that we needed to run with today," said Tracy, who was nauseated the entire race and needed help to the team's camp after it was over.
"We definitely picked up the pieces and ran better than last week," added Glantz
Prospect (157) finished in seventh place, 4 points from advancing, but White secured an individual spot.
"I tried to go with the lead pack, but I wasn't able to keep up," said White, who was coming off titles at the conference and regional meets but fell behind during the second mile Saturday.
Wheeling's Stack will make her fourth trip to the state meet.
"It was good enough," said Stack who won the AA state title as a freshman in 2004. "I was strong enough to make it through and I felt pretty good."