Strong finish from Palatine

PEORIA -- For Palatine, the girls cross country season may have ended a bit too early.

After a sluggish start and a hiccup with a third-place finish at the Mid-Suburban League meet, the Pirates finished strong in the Class 3A state meet on Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Colleen Standridge sprinted to an 11th-place finish leading Palatine (195 points) to sixth place in Class 3A.

"It took them a while to believe," said Palatine coach Steve Currins whose team finished in the state's top 10 for the 21st time in 22 trips trips to Peoria. "But this is a whole different team. Today, they believed in themselves."

Geneva rode its young guns in securing the Class 3A title with 119 points. The Vikings had 6 freshmen and a sophomore in securing its first state title in any sport in school history.

"They didn't have the experience of a lot of teams down here," said Geneva coach Bob Thomson, whose squad also won the Schaumburg sectional considered one of the toughest in state history. "But they gained it quickly."

Lyons (131 points) secured the second-place trophy and Naperville North (176 points) won third.

Hinsdale Central won the large-school state title last season, but the Red Devils (181 points) came up a bit short on Saturday, finishing in fourth place. They were followed by Neuqua Valley (190 points).

Sandburg's Kristin Sutherland finished second to Peoria Notre Dame's Caitlin Comfort last year, but the senior used her experience to win the Class 3A title on Saturday with a winning time of 16:50.

"There was pressure," said Sutherland, who was the prohibitive favorite entering Saturdays meet. "Comfort was supposed to win the Class 2A title and didn't, so I knew I had to go after it."

Geneva freshman sensation Kelly Whitley (16:56) hounded Sutherland for the first 2 miles before finishing second.

St. Charles East's Lizzy Hynes (16:59), Stagg's Annette Glaz (17:18), and Oak Park-River Forest's Katherine Rack (17:19) rounded out the top five.

Warren junior Heather Olson (17:24) used a strong finish to secure seventh place. Last year she finished in 17th place.

"I had a lot of good races leading up to this one," said Olson, who'd won the North Suburban Conference, regional, and Palatine sectional races the previous three weeks. "My confidence level was up more. I was just more relaxed and focused coming up to the start."

Standridge (17:31) looked focused, finishing the race with an explosion over the final 50 meters to secure 11th place.

"I've definitely psyched myself out down here before," said Standridge, a senior. "The main thing today is I tried to stay relaxed."

Palatine's team as a whole looked more relaxed the past three weeks, and contributions of three freshmen definitely made an impact.

Frosh Sara McIntosh (17:58) finished 38th to aid the Pirates and sophomore Ruth Allen (66th place) and juniors Emma Maslanka (80th place) and Tory Wright (84th place) completed the scoring.

"One thing I was really proud of was how our kids fought at the end," said Currins. "Every kid kept focused in the race. I'm really happy with their performance."

Junior Rebecca Tracy (17:44) finished 28th to help Barrington (235 points) to ninth place.

"My level of confidence has changed the most this year," added Tracy of her strong junior campaign. "It doesn't feel like I'm running all that much faster, but I'm much more confident in my abilities."

Senior Molly Glantz (49th place), senior Samantha Learch (76th place), and freshman Colleen Shandley (77th place) helped Barrington finish on a strong note.

"I'm pleased -- I thought we ran better today," said Barrington coach Debbie Revolta, whose team almost missed the state race finishing fifth at the Rolling Meadows regional. "It's been a tough year, but they finished strong."

Last year, Hersey's Megan Gojney ran the state race with a stress fracture in her right ankle and finished 49th.

This year the junior was healthy and it showed. Gojney (17:32) made all-state with a 15th-place finish.

"The first couple races it was on my mind," said Gojney of last season's injury. "But now I'm healthy and I don't even think about it. Mentally it was horrible last year, but today I felt good."

"I couldn't be more proud of her," Hersey coach Jim Miks said of his junior standout. "Being away from running, she was really hungry this year. She ran with confidence today."

Junior Georgia Wiard (18:16) and freshman Salena Clohisy (18:22) took 52nd and 59th place to lead Hersey (273 points) to 12th place overall.

Vernon Hills' Danielle Dickman (18:08) made quite an impression on her first trip to state, securing 13th place in the Class 2A race.

"I've been ready all week for this race," said Dickman, who had a subpar sectional. "I took everything from the past race and it really motivated me."

Lakes' Rachel Dean (18:09) took 14th in Class 2A and Antioch's Erin Poss (18:13) finished 18th.

Springfield Sacred Heart Griffin won the 2A title with 63 points with Limestone's Nicole Benson (16:37) winning the individual title over defending Class AA champion Caitlin Comfort of Peoria Notre Dame.

Winnebago (65 points) won its 10th title in Class 1A with Eureka's Olivia Klaus (17:27) winning the individual title.