Big day for SCN boys, Saints girls
Not having won a meet since the season opener, Neuqua Valley senior Danny Pawola couldn't have picked a better time to rise to the occasion as he pulled away from the pack early to conclude this year's Upstate Eight Conference cross country meet 21 seconds ahead of anybody at 15:04 for the conference title.
Hosted by Bartlett, the meet was held at Sunrise Park (3.0 miles) which features ponds, parks, hills and valleys, none of which could slow Pawola down.
The victory helped Neuqua Valley to its fifth Upstate Eight Conference title, third consecutive. With 29 points, the Wildcats were several steps ahead of the pack despite running without their regular No. 2 guy in Aaron Beattie.
St. Charles North finished second with 45 points followed by Lake Park (78 points) and Waubonsie Valley (89).
Todd Vankerkhoff of St. Charles North split the Neuqua trio for second place honors, and his 15:25 conclusion undoubtedly helped the North Stars to a second place team finish.
"I found my footing in the middle and realized in the end what was up for grabs," said Vankerkhoff. "My goal was to finish top five.
"This was probably the best run I have ever had in terms of competing," he added.
Vankerkhoff was backed by Max Clink (15:36) and Steven Miller (15:40) who place 6th and 7th respectively for North.
"St. Charles North is a great team," said Neuqua coach Paul Vandersteen. "They're ranked sixth in the state.
"We needed to run a smart race and we did. I love the course here, and was pleased to see our guys just about where we want to be at this time," Vandersteen added.
Girls race: With 165 points, St. Charles East finished 5th overall with Tim Johnson (16:48) as the lead in 29th. Bartlett followed with 171 points behind Alex Infusino (16:33), Thomas Niewiara (16:36) and Josafat Gonzalez (16:43).
Streamwood (225 points), South Elgin (312) and Larkin (360) brought up the back end. Girls race: It was just another day at the office for this year's Upstate Eight Conference champion Lindsay Flanagan of Lake Park who finessed her way through the twists and turns of the 3 mile course at Sunrise Park to cross the finish line at 17:11 for a new meet record.
While the Lancers (119 points) took a fourth place seat to Upstate Eight Conference team champion, St. Charles East which finished with 42 points, Lake Park coach Harvey Braus couldn't have been happier for both Flanagan and his squad.
Lizzy Hynes led the team champions with a 17:52 for second place, and in her senior campaign, it was important to return the UEC title to St. Charles East having been a ember of the team which won it three years ago.
"I was happy to pass the Bartlett runner in the end to help my team," Hynes said. "I was trying to keep up with her in the last 800 and I started to close the gap. I was fortunate to pass her with 400 to go."
Saints coach Denise Hefferin admits that the conference title has been a big goal all season.
"Winning the Upstate Eight has been a goal of ours for a few years now," said Hefferin. "We talked about a line of Saints. You don't win it with one and you don't win it with two. You win it with seven.
"The girls absolutely met and exceeded all of our goals for today."
Finishing fourth Mallory Abel (18:05) helped the Saints claim the team title.
Jessica Scheets collected an 18:57 for 11th place to lead St. Charles North which finished with 148 points for fifth place overall, while Jordan Tuin took 13th at 19:08 to lead South Elgin (190 points).