Cats deliver parting gift for Carlson
Libertyville was favored to win the North Suburban Conference girls cross country meet Saturday at Adler Park, but the Wildcats had some extra incentive to actually get it done.
Saturday marked the final NSC meet for Libertyville coach Harry Carlson, and the Wildcats sent him out in style by rolling past Lake Forest 44-79 for their third straight NSC championship.
Warren senior Heather Olson set a fast pace with a 5:36 first-mile before she took home first place in 17:59 on the hilly 3-mile course.
The Blue Devils slipped past Lakes 106-111 for third place. Lake Zurich placed fifth with 137 points followed by Stevenson (146) in sixth, Grant (173) in seventh, Antioch (190) in eighth, and host Vernon Hills (247) 10th in the 13-team meet.
Libertyville used a great team effort to earn the title behind teammates Anne Strychalski, Megan Janezic, Hannah Reilly, and Erin Jaffke capturing places 5-8. Alyssa Corrigan (18th), Sarah Farish (22nd), and freshman Erika Dackers (27th) all earned all-conference status by finishing in the top 30.
"I was happy the kids ran according to plan and they went out and took care of business," said Carlson, who has spent 24 of his 29 years at Libertyville as the girls head coach. "It was a very good team effort and that is what you need to be successful in this sport."
After Olson, Warren had all-conference runs by Gabby Nystrom in 15th, Sarabeth Jones in 26th, and Annie Brandes in 29th.
"I'm just pleased with the way the girls ran and I believe every single one of them ran a p.r.," said Warren coach Cheryl Anderson. "We had certain mile splits that we wanted to see, and this was her (Olson's) chance to push herself in preparation for state."
Lakes has quietly emerged as a powerful Class 2A team headed into next weekend's regionals as senior Ariel Butzine and freshman Katherine Schenck placed 10th and 11th respectively for the Eagles.
Freshman Kathryn Dean added a 17th-place finish for Lakes while freshman teammate Hannah Wittman just missed all-conference honors in 31st.
"We had a girl (Erin McGill) injured today who was still running and I'm real happy with what the girls did," said Lakes coach Keith West. "I think we could have beaten Warren today, but I'm perfectly happy with what happened today with three in the top 17."
Lake Zurich had three all-conference runners led by Amy Polhemus in 19th, Kaitlin Leopold in 21st, and Olivia Holicky in 25th.
"They looked awesome, and it was absolutely their best race all season," said Lake Zurich coach Ian Silverman. "All of our training has been end of the season focused and we're as ready as we could be right now."
Antioch junior Erin Poss (18:17) easily locked up runner-up honors Saturday while Grant junior Alexis Capps (18:40) outdistanced Vernon Hills senior Danielle Dickman (18:47) for third place.
Stevenson was led by Chrissy Pacewicz in ninth while Kendra Kennedy was Grant's second runner in 20th. Jen Naegele added a 23rd for Antioch while Stevenson freshman Emily Cunningham (30th) earned the final all-conference spot.