Scouting DuPage County girls cross country
Top area teams: Benet, Downers Grove South, Hinsdale Central, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley, Lake Park, Wheaton North, Wheaton Warrenville South, York
Top area athletes: Benet: McKinzie Schulz, jr.; Hinsdale Central: Elaine Kuckertz, sr.; Lake Park: Lindsay Flanagan, sr.; Naperville Central: Shelby Pealer, jr.; Naperville North: Michelle Stratton, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Megan Taylor, jr.; Casey Thomson, sr.; Wheaton North: Kelsey Tharnstrom, jr.; York: Meghan Fr igo, jr.
Scouting report: Hinsdale Central is ranked second behind Geneva in the Illinois Coaches' poll, thanks to a returning all-stater in Kuckertz (sixth last year in Class AAA), and a runner in Lauren Zumbach who finished 29th - four places from all-state recognition. Beyond that, Red Devils coach Mark McCabe has a trio of quality runners in Zumbach, Heather Stevens and Katie Kummerer, another in Rosemary Hines who's on the mend, and a pair of juniors in Hailey Krzyston and Grace Hucek who finished 10th and 20th, respectively, at this year's Hornet-Red Devil meet, which Hinsdale Central won. "It's a good mix of veteran and younger girls," McCabe said. "We have high goals this year." Kuckertz is a year better, "and her training is at the highest level it's ever been," McCabe said.
Naperville North is ranked third in the coaches' poll, and the Huskies are led by Stratton (40th last year), and jun iors Joanna Brodecki (48th), Jamie Schertz, and Christina Rei. A balanced Huskies team won last week's Pleasant Valley, Iowa, meet with Stratton taking individual honors, Brodecki placing fifth, and Jamie Schertz, Rei, Adrienne Schertz, Marly May and Alexis McAdams finishing on each other's heels.
This year's squad at Lake Park features the state's top-ranked runner in senior Lindsay Flanagan, who turned a corner during the track season and became one of the state's elite. Flanagan set course records at Lake Park and Fenton in her first two meets this year and finished 10th downstate last season. "She picked up her training, and she's faster this year," said Lancers coach Harvey Braus. Senior Tricia Erhardt is on her way back from injury to start the year, and until then the trio of Elizabeth Riggio, Juliet Vogel and Ashley Prochazka "have all been very consistent for us," Braus said. Juniors Colleen Briscoe and Sarah Bopp, and senior Hiromi Yazawa round out a balanced Lancers crew.
This year's sleeper team might reside at Wheaton Warrenville South, which finished third at the Hinsdale meet, paced by an eighth-place finish from senior Elise Anderson and strong contributions from juniors Anne Wanner, Colleen Gibbons, Madeline Coutre and senior Emily Shire. "That's a team that people will have to watch out for," said Neuqua Valley coach Tim McCoskey.
McCoskey's squad this year features Taylor and Thomson, "and we've got some holes to fill, but we've got a great group of girls to do it with," he said. "We'll need some girls to stay healthy and for some girls to step up." Seniors Meagan Hynes, Kristen LaRue and Dana Wehman lead a core group of Wildcats aiming to do just that.
Naperville Central's Pealer placed 16th in Illinois last year and third at last week's Hinsdale meet, 31 seconds behind second-place Kuckertz. Kailey Mikulec, Jessie Harney, Brittany Fisher, and Amanda Gomez all helped the Redhawks to a fifth-place team finish.
Wheaton North junior Kelsey Tharnstrom leads a solid Falcons squad this year, while junior Meghan Frigo leads York and junior McKinzie Schulz leads Benet into competition this season. In Class AA, Wheaton Academy and St. Francis are ranked 10th and 11th by Dyestat.com. The Warriors return senior Sarah Daly, who placed 23rd in Illinois last year, along with senior Becca Long and junior Hannah Huff, while the Spartans return sophomores Kelly McShea and Allysa Robinson, and senior Maria Diamond.
- Gary Larsen