A little closer than usual, but Benet wins

It might have been a tighter meet than in years past, but Benet's girls track team once again found a way to win its Midweek Invitational on Wednesday afternoon in Lisle.

Handicapped by a couple missing team members and pressured all meet by Rosary, the Redwings looked as though they might surrender the championship plaque which has stayed in Lisle for years. Yet Benet dug deep when it had to, posting a 162 and eventually topping second-place Rosary by 10 points.

The battle for third place came down to just 2 points, with Providence earning 75 points and Fenwick following with 73. St. Francis placed fifth with 35 points, followed by Trinity, Queen of Peace and Wheaton Academy.

With Benet having dominated this meet for so long, coach Scott Brooks expected his team to defend its home track. However, a couple late scratches combined with a determined Rosary squad left Brooks feeling a bit more fortunate to win.

"We had some kids not running that normally would, and there were some things that we didn't perform super in that I thought we would do better in, so I guess it was a little surprising," Brooks said. "Rosary ran very, very well. I was really impressed with how they ran.

"They can compete against anybody in the state."

Benet's McKinzie Schulz provided Brooks with a pleasant surprise, running the 300-meter hurdles in a blistering 45.4 seconds just minutes after setting a meet record in the 800-meter run.

"McKinzie Schulz's 300-hurdle time - was an exceptional race," Brooks said. "Forty-five-(point)-four (seconds) is phenomenally good fresh, and to have that run on a 10- or 15-minute rest is just an outstanding race."

Schulz admitted afterward that the races on the track weren't the only ones wearing down her emotions this week, as she tries to capture a race for student council as well.

"I felt a little emotionally drained, but I think I gave it my all and actually my body felt pretty good," Schulz said. "We're having a school election this week, and me and my friend are going for president and vice president."

St. Francis received a strong performance in the 1,600-meter run, as Kelly McShea earned second place with a time of 5:19.8.

"A lot of young kids had to step in and fill some spots, and they did a nice job," Spartans coach Scott Nelson said. "The sprinters surprised us a little bit; they did a little better than we thought they would do."