Pirates' McIntosh powers up
Palatine's Sarah McIntosh doesn't strike an imposing image. The soft-spoken sophomore is, in fact, a bit timid.
But don't be fooled, because once the gun goes off McIntosh is as tough as nails.
McIntosh hammered the competition on Saturday at the Palatine Invite, leading the host Pirates to an impressive victory with 63 points in a strong field that featured four of the top 15 girls cross country teams in the state.
McIntosh clocked in 17:00.6, the third-fastest time in the history of the 3.0-mile Deer Grove East course, 22 seconds faster than Buffalo Grove freshman sensation Olivia Jones (17:22.4), who took second.
The only two runners to have faster times are former Palatine standout Amy Laskowske (16:52), who holds the course record, and Barrington grad Christina Fidducia (16:58), who holds the meet record.
Pretty impressive company.
"That was an amazing performance," said Palatine coach Steve Currins of McIntosh, who has also won the Hinsdale Central Invite and finished second to Lake Park's Lindsay Flannagan at the Peoria Notre Dame Invite.
McIntosh, who took fifth in the frosh/soph meet last year, made her separation at the 2-mile mark and was never challenged down the home stretch.
"I was freaking out before the race," said McIntosh, "But once the gun goes off it's just a race."
Palatine had the rest of the field freaking out as it placed five runners in the top 28 to easily outdistance second place Hinsdale Central (95 points).
Another sophomore, Courtney Brown (17:27.5), took fifth place for Palatine. The veteran runners took over the next two spots with junior Ruth Allen (17:56.6) and senior Tory Wright (17:58.4) taking 13th and 14th place for the Pirates.
Sophomore Becca Sund (18:14.6) completed a successful run for the Pirates by finishing in 28th.
"We just feel more comfortable this year," said Brown, who gave a nod to her team's veterans. "But I don' t think we'd running nearly as good if Tory (Wright) and Ruth (Allen) didn't show such great leadership."
Third-ranked Palatine struggled in the final mile while finishing second at No. 2 Hinsdale Central on the opening weekend. But the Pirates attacked the third mile Saturday in securing the victory.
"They knew they were battling a good Hinsdale team," said Currins, "They were kind of watching them at the end, I think the kids got a little tougher."
Now it's going to be tough to keep Palatine out of the conversation when it comes time to pick contenders at the Class 3A state meet this November.
Hinsdale Central will also be in that conversation. Senior Elaine Kuckertz (17:33.2) paced the Red Devils on Saturday by finishing in eighth place.
"I feel like I've improved a lot and I'm working hard," said Kuckertz who finished sixth in Class 3A last season, leading the Red Devils to a fourth-place state finish. "I think this team has great potential, we have great depth, so I think we'll end up doing good things."
Senior Heather Stevens (17:59.7) and junior Katie Kummerer (18:04.2) took 16th and 17th place for a Hinsdale Central team that was coming off a tough dual meet victory over York on Thursday.
"I kind of knew we were running into a buzz saw," said Hinsdale Central coach Mark McCabe of Palatine. "We looked a little tired today, but that's OK - you can't be 'on' every week. We'll see each other at state."
Another team they may be seeing is a surprising Buffalo Grove squad. The Bison have never qualified for the state meet, but after placing four runners in the top 19, that soon may change.
Jones continued her breakout freshman season by edging Lyons' Katherine Rehn (17:22.8) at the finish line to lead BG.
"I went in with the mentality to try and stick with the top group and that's what I did," said Jones, who finished sixth at Libertyville last weekend. "At the end I was happy I had enough to pass the final girl."
Junior Cari Geyer (17:45.8) and sophomore Sara Peluse (17:54.6) took 10th and 13th for the Bison, with senior Erin McGrath (18:05.2) taking 19th place.
"This one I was surprised," said BG coach Sarah Cleveland of her team's finish. "We talked about qualifying for state at the beginning of the season, we have the talent but we really need to work for it. Every meet they've been seeing that."
Lyons took fourth place with 116 points, and senior Rebecca Tracy (17:25.9) finished in fourth place to lead Barrington to fifth place with 163 points.
"The game plan was to find the group in the front and let them pull you," said Tracy, who surged after the 200-meter mark. "I kicked a little later but I knew I had to finish."
Rebecca's freshman sister Ella Tracy (18:04.6) finished in 18th place to aid the Fillies.
Junior Annette White (17:31.2) took seventh place to lead Prospect (244 points) to eighth in the team race.
"I started out in back and worked my way up in the second mile," said White, who finished strong. "I could have pushed myself a little harder, but I'll work on that in the next race."
Stevenson senior Kim Tarnoff (18:06) took 20th place, Maine West senior Elizabeth Meier (18:09.7) secured 22nd place, and Vernon Hills senior Danielle Dickman (18:11.2) finished in 24th place.