Plenty of parity in North Suburban

No offense to all of you Grant Bulldog fans out there, but whenever the Grant girls track team steps out onto the grass and cinder, that team gets all the attention. Now, for once, it's time to talk about some of those other Lake County track teams.

So who else can make a claim for the county's best beyond the red and black? Actually, there's plenty of legitimate teams.

This year, the North Suburban Conference is crawling with talent. Unlike other sports, there's even some parity between the Lake and Prairie Divisions. In the Lake Division, it's Libertyville, Lake Zurich and Warren. In the Prairie, it's always Grant.

NSC Lake preview: If there's any team that can make an immediate impact in the area girls track scene, it's Libertyville. Overall, there are seven returnees that own school records in their particular disciplines.

While some young schools like Lakes and Grayslake North might only have a few years to gauge against, Libertyville's records have been set upon decades of track superiority. The Wildcats' strength lies in its relay teams.

Mo Jones, Christina Janczak and Sam Zoellick are all returning from a record-breaking 4x200 team. Also, the 4x800 team of Lisa Branding, Alyssa Corrigan, Hannah Reilly and Anne Strychalski will be back in full to try and reset their own records.

"Libertyville's always stacked," Grant coach Jim Cramer said. "They have so many great athletes, so it's always just a matter of who's going to step up for them at any given time."

Libertyville's not the only Lake Division team that's "stacked." Warren will be staking a claim for the conference title. With three returning state finalists in Heather Olson (1,600-meter run), Sarahbeth Jones (800), and JonTaye Bonds (100), this could be a big year for the Blue Devils.

Numbers are also in Warren's corner. At this point in the season, the Blue Devils have 110 athletes for 2008. While that number will surely drop before the end of the season, it still makes for an impressive roster of runners, jumpers, and throwers.

"I would name Warren as a black horse (in the conference)," Mundelein coach John Osmanski said. "They always surprise us with their strengths as a team. Just when you think the key people have graduated, there are more little Blue Devils already filling their shoes."

When it comes to the best teams in the area, it would be foolish to leave out Lake Zurich. Lance Pacernick's team is coming off of a spotless 13-0-1 dual meet record and his team seems to be ready for more.

Last year, Lake Zurich lost a lot of its core to graduation, but with a roster of underclassmen that dwarfs some NSC Prairie teams, this year could be another good one for Pacernick.

LZ's big weapon is junior sprinter Olivia Allen. Last year, she won the sectional championship and served as the team's only state representative. According to a lot of other coaches in the area, she won't be the only one this year.

"Lake Zurich is coming off of a great year last season," Warren coach Ryan Dunn said. "They're always one of the top contenders in the conference and while I can't really say for sure at this point, I don't think that's going to change."

Grant's still got it: Sure the team was stacked with now-departed seniors last year, sure Grant's numbers are down, and sure, the hook to this story said we wouldn't be discussing the Bulldogs. But no Lake County girls track roundup is complete without talking about Grant.

"They're just great year, after year, after year," Wauconda coach Al Willhoit said. "They always have that great core group of throwers that carries them over the top."

That "core group" Coach Willhoit speaks of is made up of two-time state medalist Bailey Wagner and state finalist Tori Ziegler. Wagner's resume reads like a college recruiter's dream: state champion in shot put for two years straight, second in discus as a junior and third as a sophomore.

Ziegler's no slouch either. She finished sixth in the shot put and 11th in the discus throw last year. But it's not just this dynamic duo that's the big story in Fox Lake.

Grant's 4x800 team of Alexis Capps, Kendra Kennedy, Erin Horvath and Rachel Behm is returning intact and is ready for action.

"Grant is one of the strongest teams in the area," Lakes coach Tamara Ribbens said. "No matter what the event is, they always seem to have about 10 girls who can do the event and do the event well."