Bartlett's Schneider runs away with Elgin Classic
Bartlett junior Alyssa Schneider wanted to get some practice running alone.
She got plenty of it during Tuesday's Elgin Classic cross country meet at Lords Park. The junior used an early lead to blow past the 6-team girls field and take her second-straight Classic title. But it wasn't just the win that had Schneider pumped, it was the fact that she beat second-place Amanda Patterson by 58 seconds in the victory.
Schneider finished in 18:20.8, shaving 25 seconds off her time in last year's Elgin Classic. Patterson (19:18.8) took second for Streamwood.
"It feels good when I run a race alone and push myself when there was no one around me," Schneider said.
Bartlett sophomore Taylor Crawford finished third (19:20.3) to help the Hawks win their second-straight Elgin Classic crown with 33 team points. Sophomore Janessa Baker (6th, 20:06.6) and senior Lauren Prescott (10th, 20:32.7) both notched top 10 finishes for the Hawks.
Although Patterson and teammate Maria Luna (9th, 20:17.6) each placed in the top 10 individual runners, Streamwood (68) was edged out for second by Dundee-Crown (64). South Elgin (91), the Elgin/Larkin co-op (103) and East Aurora (184) rounded out the girls field.
The Dundee-Crown boys opted to look back at 2007's second-place finish, instead of last year's championship while planning their strategy for the race.
The Chargers had 7 runners place in the top 13, although just the top 5 scores count. In 2007, D-C and East Aurora tied for team points, but a tiebreaker of the 6th runner dropped the Chargers to second.
This year there was no question as junior Joe Keable (3rd, 16:11.8), senior Jon Magnant (4th, 16:22.5) and senior Mike Wiechmann (5th, 16:27.3) occupied the 3-5 spots for the Chargers, who finished with 29 team points.
"It's that whole pack mentality," Chargers' coach Tom Smith said. "I had no idea what order it was going to be. They trust each other and on any given day, the order will flip."
Glenbard North's Garrett Gingras won the individual title with a 15:59.1, but did not break the race open until the final hill in the last mile. Gingras edged out East Aurora's Andy Parra (16:08.0) during on the hill.
"Going up the hill was tough," he said. "I had (Parra) pretty close until the hill. After the hill, there was more separation. I thought he might pass me."
Glenbard North (83) finished second, while Bartlett (74) took second behind Austin Crawford's 10th place finish in 16:48.8. East Aurora (101) and Elgin (122) rounded out the top 5 of the 10-team field.