Adams gets at 'em at Grant Invite
The 11th annual James "J.T." Invitational proved to be quite a test for area girls cross country teams Saturday morning at Camp Henry Horner in Fox Lake.
Marengo freshman Katie Adams rolled to first place in 18:29 on the 3-mile course, while the duo of Lorie Reid (second) and Bailey Lippeth (third) carried Zion-Benton to the championship of the 11-team meet by a 57-75 margin over runner-up Richmond-Burton.
Grayslake North was without the services of junior standout Kimmy Denikas, who has a pulled hamstring, but the Knights still managed to edge crosstown rival Grayslake Central 104-106 for third place in the powerful meet.
Host Grant took home sixth place with 154 points without its full varsity lineup intact, while Round Lake (193 points) placed seventh despite not fielding its full squad due to homecoming weekend. Wauconda (203) placed ninth while Lakes (271) was 11th after holding out its varsity runners in preparation for a big North Suburban Conference double-dual meet Tuesday.
Grayslake North relied on the pack of Jill Petracek (18th), Sabrina Karas (19th), Kristen Salomon (24th), Emily Lyon (31st) and Kaitlin Kearney (32nd) to nip the Rams for third place. Emmaly Schwartz placed 34th for the Knights on the heavily wooded course, which was still sloppy from steady rain Friday night.
"The doctor is saying he's looking to get (Denikas) back next Saturday (at Antioch Invite) and that will be our only chance to prepare for regionals since it's on the same course (Fox River Park)," said Grayslake North coach Brandon Boyd. "They actually looked really good and they're starting to come in as a pack instead of individuals, so I'm very pleased with their performance today."
Grayslake Central freshman Miranda Gomez really shined by leading the Rams in 10th place. Erika Garcia (15th), freshman Elsie Rehberg (20th) and Samantha Wong (21st) helped carry Grayslake Central to fourth place.
"Miranda Gomez is mature beyond her years, she is a smart racer, and she really paces well," said Grayslake Central coach Jim Centella, who is in his first season as head coach. "The girls worked very well as a team with good pack running and they finished very strong. Our top four is strong, but we're still looking for a girl to step up as our fifth runner." Grant had a solid first runner in the meet as senior Audrey Carrothers led the Bulldogs' charge in 13th place. Junior Kelli Grischeau was Grant's second runner in 35th place to outdistance junior teammate Vianca Bermeo in 38th.
"We ran our fresh-soph down and they took first place in that meet, but Audrey has looked good all year and this was her best time, by far," said Grant coach Jeff Durlak. "We're definitely going to run our fresh-soph up on varsity for the first time next week (at Antioch Invite) and that should make us more competitive in these invites."
Wauconda had a strong individual performance from senior Renee Struwing in 14th place, while Round Lake senior teammates Danya Aceves and Ashley Carey placed 29th and 30th, respectively.
"We're missing a couple of girls because this is our homecoming week," said Round Lake coach Kevin Brady. "We got Aceves back from injury and I thought she looked better. But she is a little behind in training so we have to catch her up a bit so she can make sectionals again."