Gators set the pace at Wauconda
It was a great day for area girls cross country runners Saturday morning at the 25-team Wauconda Invitational.
Led by individual champion Marianne Collard with a winning time of 18:27 on the 3-mile Lakewood Forest Preserve course, Crystal Lake South showed why it is a force to be reckoned with as the Gators won the title by a narrow 131-140 margin over runner-up Glenbard East.
Despite being without its full lineup due to ACT's being held Saturday, Lake Zurich still managed to nip Cary-Grove 168-169 for third place under the warm running conditions. Warren (293 points) placed 10th in one of its first big invites of the post-Heather Olson (Rice University) era followed by less than full strength squads Stevenson in 13th, Libertyville in 14th, and Grayslake North in 15th.
Kristina Aubert added a fifth-place finish to give CLS a great 1-2 punch in the meet while teammate Nina Wajrowski placed 25th to help carry the Gators to the crown.
"Marianne (Collard) and Kristina (Aubert) are kind of carrying our team right now and Wajrowski had a strong race today as our third runner," said CLS coach Nikki Lidon. "Each of these Saturday meets is definitely a confidence-builder to work toward October, when conference and regionals come around."
Lake Zurich was led by Kaitlin Leopold in 21st place with solid support from teammates Audrey Smith in 27th, and Cassie Houghton in 28th.
"We didn't run a bunch of our kids because we had an ACT today, but they ran great," said Lake Zurich coach Ian Silverman. "Kaitlin Leopold just ran a really solid race, she ran smart, and that was important."
Grayslake North had one of the top area finishers as junior Kimmy Denikas wound up placing ninth in 19:34 to lead the Knights' pack.
"I love running up hills so it was a breeze for me and I'm really happy with how I did," Denikas said. "I was between seventh and ninth the whole race, but the Crystal Lake girls just had a kick. But I know I p.r.'d today."
Warren may have lost a lot of talent and depth to graduation, but the Blue Devils still have an outstanding duo in junior Gabby Nystrom (11th), and senior Annie Brandes (24th) to help lead their squad. Nystrom was a member of Warren's 3200-meter relay team that won the state title in track last spring.
"They (Nystrom and Brandes) are upperclassmen and they are definitely leaders of the team this year," said Warren coach Cheryl Anderson. "They have been on varsity since they were freshmen, so they know what it takes to be successful."
While Stevenson only fielded five runners, the Patriots were still pretty solid behind Samantha Tarnoff in 19th and Kristin James in 29th.
"We're missing a few girls today, but that was probably one of Samantha Tarnoff's best races and she had a strong finish," said Stevenson coach Don Proft. "She (Tarnoff) is a freshman so getting that race experience is going to be helpful. She (James) is a senior, but this is her first year of cross country so she's really exceeded our expectations so far."
Lakes in another team trying to replace some key components from last season's state qualifying team, but the Eagles and coach Keith West chose to move top trio Kathryn Dean, Hannah Wittman, and Amanda Timmerman down to the frosh/soph race Saturday at Wauconda.
"We ran our top three down to today and we had three in the top 11 in that race," West said. "We're getting ready for Antioch on Monday and today was a great tune-up meet for us."
Megan Cummings was Cary-Grove's top runner in 12th place followed by teammates Sarah Englund (37th), and Jenna Kurz (38th). Miranda Gomez led Grayslake Central in 40th place while Lake Zurich's Angela Ufheil placed 44th. Cary-Grove's Paige Freund placed 46th with teammate Em Lane (49th), and CLS's Lauren Keogh rounding out the top 50. Grant standout Alexis Capps is still far from 100 percent healthy as she is coming off hip surgery.