Geneva crowned

Geneva took a dip in the fountain of youth Saturday in the Class 3A girls cross country state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

And the Viking ended up winning a title for the ages.

Geneva's lineup 6 freshmen and 1 sophomore showed years of experience in capturing the crown with 119 points.

"Everybody was waiting for us to back down and they never backed down," said Geneva coach Bob Thompson, whose Vikings won their first state title. "They don't have the experience of a lot of teams down here, but they gained it quickly."

Lyons (131 points) took second followed by Naperville North (176 points). Defending Class AA champion Hinsdale Central (181 points) and Neuqua Valley (190 points) rounded out the top five.

For Geneva, it started with freshman Kelly Whitley, who battled Sandburg's senior Kristin Sutherland for the lead the first two miles. Sutherland pulled away to win the individual title in 16:50, but Whitley hung on to secure second place with a time of 16:56.

"I knew she knew what she was doing," said Whitley of Sutherland, who finished second to Peoria Notre Dame's Caitlin Comfort in last year's Class AA race. "I wanted to stay with her for as long as I could."

Freshman Liza Taucher (17:44) and freshman Rachel Hammond (17:54) took 27th and 33rd places for the Vikings, and freshman Tess Ehrhardt (18:09) and sophomore Myra Yelle (18:29) finished 43rd and 67th to round out the Vikings' scoring.

"We're so young we don't know what we're doing," Taucher said. "We just go out there and run."

And run they do. Geneva completed an impressive postseason that also included titles in the Western Sun Conference meet, regional and the rugged Schaumburg sectional.

"It's a huge deal," said Whitley, whose Vikings were making their second state meet appearance after finishing fifth in 2005. "We're so excited we can't even comprehend what a big deal this is right now."

"It could be the knowing versus the not knowing," Thomson said. "But they were never rattled all year. The bottom line is they came to run."

St. Charles East junior Lizzy Hynes (16:59) took third place. Hynes was 19th as a freshman and sixth last year.

"I was much closer to the front of the race than I've usually been," said Hynes, who was runner-up in the 1,600 at the Class AA state track meet last spring. "Part of it is because I'm much stronger and part of it is the race went out a bit slower. I wanted to be smart about it and not kill myself at the beginning."

St. Charles North's Stephanie Strasser finished strong after recovering from a foot injury in the summer, taking 24th place (17:41).

"I knew this year was going to be rebuilding," said Strasser who was eighth last year. "Coming back has been really rocky, up and down all season. I've worked really hard in order to come back and get all-state."

Classes 2A and 1A

Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin (63 points) won the Class 2A title, and Limestone's Nicole Benson won the Class 2A individual crown with a time of 16:37.

Aurora Central Catholic's Valerie Cintron (18:38) took 32nd, and Kaneland's Andi Strang (18:47) was 43rd.

Winnebago brought home its 10th team title, winning Class 1A with 65 points.

Eureka's Olivia Klause winning the individual title in 17:27.

Sophomore Deanna Jimenez (18:46) took 24th to lead Aurora to seventh place with 245 points.