Geneva state bound ... again
Led by sophomore Kelly Whitley, Geneva placed four runners in the top 20 to win the St. Charles East sectional at LeRoy Oakes Saturday and advance to defend its state title next week at the state meet in Peoria.
Whitley cleared the three-mile course in a time of 17:40 to win the sectional, breaking the course record that was just set last week by the Saints' Lizzy Hynes.
After winning state last year as a young team, the Vikings have had the added pressure of trying to repeat.
"Our team came out today knowing we had to prove that we were the best in the state, and I think we all mentally prepared for that," Whitley said. "We all knew it was going to be a very competitive field, so we wanted to run with the lead pack and finish strong."
Vikings coach Bob Thomson was encouraged to see Whitley run well against some of the state's top runners.
"Kelly ran awesome today," Thomson said. "Kelly said she was going to take it out and run hard, and she did. She had a great day today."
While the Vikings have faced the pressure of repeating as state champs the entire year, Thomson said the girls enjoy a good balance of fun and serious running.
"They like to have fun, but they always come to run when it matters most," Thomson said. "They're very laid back, but they're ready to work when the work needs to be done."
Sarah Heuer (fifth), Tess Ehrhardt (17th), Meghan Heuer (18th) and Liza Tauscher (24th) rounded out the Vikings' top five.
Bartlett sophomore Alyssa Schneider finished second in a time of 17:41 to lead the Hawks to their first girls cross country state appearance. Bartlett finished third as a team with 132 points, placing three runners in the top 15.
St. Charles East finished second as a team with 107 points, as Hynes placed third to earn her fourth straight trip to Peoria. Hynes completed the course in a time of 17:54, 12 seconds faster than her time last week on the same course, despite falling just past the mile mark.
"It didn't exactly work out the way I planned it," Hynes said. "I fell about a mile into the race and had to spend a lot of energy to catch back up to the leaders again. It's not over yet, so I'm glad I'll have an extra week to try to make up for it."
Saints coach Denise Hefferin said that advancing the team down to the state meet was the main goal.
"It was a total team effort today," Hefferin said. "Our focus is as a team right now, and we got the whole team down and we're in a fine position."
Mallory Abel (12th), Dayna White (28th), Grace Gordon (33rd) and Holly Robertson (40th) helped the Saints advance for the first time in two years.
Naperville North and Wheaton Warrenville South finished fourth and fifth.
Boys race: Those expecting a battle between No. 2 ranked Naperville North, No. 3 Geneva and defending state champion Neuqua Valley, currently No. 4, for the sectional title got everything they bargained for and more Saturday.
The Huskies prevailed on the strength of Kyle Gibson's victory, while also placing their first five runners in the top 17 to win with 43 points. Gibson finished the three-mile course in a time of 14:47.
Huskies coach David Racey brought his team to LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve ranked second in the state of Illinois and fifth in the nation, but admitted that rankings are no guarantee for performance.
"When you run against two great teams like Geneva and Neuqua, it's always going to be a challenge," Racey said. "We're very happy, but we need to have a good week next week and run well or Geneva and Neuqua can beat us next week. I just think running against teams of that caliber really gives us confidence and we know we always have to run our best against them."
Geneva wasn't far behind, placing its first five runners in the top 18 to finish second with 60 points.
Andrew Nelson led the Vikings, finishing third in a time of 14:55. Nelson challenged himself to run with the lead runners early and was pleasantly surprised with the result.
"Obviously, our number one goal today was to qualify, but we wanted to see if we could win the sectional title as well," Nelson said. "We gave Naperville (North) a run, but they're one through three runners were very good today. I tried to go out with the lead pack and try to hang on, so it was very reassuring to see that I could hang with those guys for most of the race."
Vikings coach Bob Thomson indicated that the Vikings have been focused on getting downstate since the sectionals last year.
"The boys are just very focused and really wanted to come in today and prove themselves," Thomson said. "I think that started dating back a year ago when they didn't quite do as well as they wanted to here. They've been on this mission all season long. They knew they were ranked No. 3 heading in here today, so they just wanted to prove they belonged up there."
Chris Higgins (11th), Greg Adelman (12th), Kevin Sparks (16th) and Kevin McDowell (18th) finished as the top five for the Vikings.
St. Charles North was fourth with 140 points, while Cary-Grove was fifth with 157.
With their top runner, Todd VanKerkhoff, just coming back after several weeks off, St. Charles North coach Steve Imig was looking for a strong pack from his top five and got just that.
"We knew coming in that it would have to be a total team effort," Imig said. "The middle of our lineup was very solid today. You really need all five runners, and today they all really stepped up and performed."
Max Clink (13th), Kyle Zankowski (19th), Steven Miller (22nd), VanKerkhoff (23rd), and Will Novorolsky (45th) finished as the North Stars top five runners.
Marmion senior Andrew Larson finished fourth in a time of 14:59.
"It's a great feeling," Larson said. "Individually, I was happy with my race. We improved as a team a hundred fold. We were so deep and had a solid pack, and everyone ran awesome today. I'm so proud of everybody."