Thode's big finish dazzles state meet crowd

Coaches, runners and spectators were all buzzing about Conant senior Jeff Thode's amazing run at the Class 3A boys cross country state meet in Peoria on Saturday.

Thode had missed almost a month of training from a collapsed lung suffered in early October, so many were left to wonder how much he would have left down the home stretch.

But with 1,200 meters remaining Thode knew it was time to make his move.

"I was feeling a little good so I decided to step up the pace," said Thode, who worked his game plan to perfection. "I wanted to get a little quicker each step, then fight for it the last 800."

But coming down the final 200 meters York's Steve Sulkin was gaining quickly. Thode admitted to being tired during the stretch but Conant coach John Powers never doubted the senior's closing touch.

"He's a strong kid and we work on finishes two times a week," added Powers. "We have six seniors and they all know how to finish - you just hope it's enough."

And on Saturday, it was.

Prospect girls finish with a flurry: Prospect's girls cross country program always had the talent; it was just a matter of putting it together.

The Knights battled a flu bug early in the season, which set them back, but after finishing second at the Peoria Invite in early October, they seemed to be back at full strength.

Then Prospect took another step back at the Mid-Suburban League meet as it finished sixth.

The Knights started making their move by winning the Rolling Meadows regional and continued that momentum by taking third at the Schaumburg sectional.

Prospect capped its comeback by taking fifth at the 3A state meet on Saturday for its best finish since it was fifth in 1995.

Junior Annette White led the charge by taking 13th place and earning her first all-state honors.

But it was No. 2 runner Emily Salzman and No. 3 runner Savannah Snead who stepped it up big.

Salzman was a part of Prospect's 3,200 relay, which took second at the Class AA state meet in track last season. The junior had an up and down cross country season but exploded at the state meet, finishing 25 seconds faster than she did at the Peoria Invite on the same course.

"Salzman ran out of her mind," said Prospect coach Dave Wurster of the junior, who finished in 39th place. "She ran like she's capable of running."

Snead (18:11) finished in 60th place but ran 10 seconds faster than she did at the Peoria Invite.

Kasey Krum (91st place) and freshman Laura Maibeucher (96th) rounded out the Knights' scoring.

"We just had to run our race and do the best we can," added Wurster. "Focus on what we can do and don't worry about other people and the weather."

And the Knights did just that in their march to glory.

Good things to come: The Mid-Suburban League had 14 runners finish in the top 50. With the exception of Barrington's Rebecca Tracy (32nd) and Elk Grove's Gina Erbacci (34th) both seniors all the runners will be back next year.

Palatine's Sarah McIntosh (fourth place), Rolling Meadow's Christina Gastfield (eighth place), Schaumburg's Collette Falsey (ninth place) and Britten Petrey (26th place), Hersey's Salena Clohisy (47th place) led a spectacular sophomore class.

Hoffman Estates' Melissa Schmidt (18th place) and Hannah Worman (20th place) joined Prospect's White (13th place) and Salzman (39th place), with Hersey's Ashley Martin (28th place) to lead a strong junior class.

Schmidt and Martin were running their first season of cross country and figure to only get better.

Finally Buffalo Grove's Olivia Jones (44th) was the highest-finishing freshman from the MSL. Needless to say the MSL seems to be in good shape.

Final mile: State champion Geneva (51 points) finished with the second-lowest point total in state history. Wheeling's 1984 state champion team led by Dana Miroballi still holds the record for lowest score with 50 points. - The boys Class 3A team race was just as exciting as Thode's run to the individual title. State champion Naperville North (84 points), York (85 points), and Geneva (95 points) were just separated by 10 points, How close was it? if Geneva's No. 5 runner had run 5 seconds faster, the Vikings would have taken home the state title in both the boys and girls race. ... Lake Park's Lindsay Flanagan capped a remarkable season by winning the state title. The senior did not get the state record but her consistency from the start of the season to the finish was great accomplishment.