St. Charles East's Abel wins Stampede title
If you think St. Charles East sophomore Mallory Abel is fast now, just wait until she's 100 percent.
Abel returned from an illness to win the 26-team West Aurora Stampede at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove Saturday.
Abel, who almost didn't run while still recovering from the affects of a cold, won the race in 17:33.
"Coach said just do what I can and build up my confidence a little," Abel said. "I felt better so I was like why not try it."
After running with a front pack of seven through the first mile, Abel and Naperville Central's Amanda Fox created a little separation.
Abel then used a kick she's been working on to pull away from Fox near the start of the third mile.
"We've been working on sprint a lot so I decided to try it now," Abel said. "I wanted to get top five. That was big goal so I'm really excited right now."
The Saints finished 12th as a team, with Colleen Earl (43rd), Jacki Leibforth (80th) and Lizzie Deutsch (87th) the next three finishers.
Fox said the course was difficult to navigate with so much mud.
"The weather was a factor because there were a lot of mud piles to get stuck in," Fox said. "You couldn't avoid them. I was pretty used to it. I was able to handle it well.
"Next time I'll try to push the last mile harder. Maybe I'll keep up with her (Abel) next time."
The team competition provided quite a surprise. Sandburg upended two-time defending state champion Geneva, 95-105.
"I'm not overly worried but the girls have to refocus," Geneva coach Bob Thomson said. "This is an eye-opener for all the girls."
Geneva's top runner Kelly Whitley finished eighth.
"I know they are obviously disappointed," Thomson said. "Ultimately if they want to repeat (as state champs) they will have to do a lot better than they did today."
The Vikings will try to bounce back next Saturday at the conference meet at Kishwaukee College before their state title defense begins with regionals.
"Nobody is guaranteed state," Thomson said. "I don't care about the competition (at the Western Sun) but are we running the times. If we are honest with ourselves we're going to have to work a little harder, refocus, come back next week and do well."
Hoffman Estates finished just behind Geneva with 105 points, while Bartlett ran well to place seventh with 184.
"A lot of girls ran really well today," Bartlett coach Beth Emody said. "The course was pretty slick. We tell them to take the turns wide because they are less likely to slip."
How slick was it? In the open race, Meghan DiCianni lost a shoe and ran the final half mile in her sock.
"Her sock was so muddy it looked like she had a shoe on," Emody said.
Alyssa Schneider placed fifth. Sophomore Taylor Crawford passed runner after runner on the hills to move from the 50s to 19th.
"I felt so strong and I was passing people like crazy," Crawford said.
Another sophomore, Janessa Baker, followed Crawford, then the Hawks got a big lift from freshman Megan Seidl, the team's fourth runner in her first varsity race.
"She ran really well," Emody said. "She was really nervous and went out and ran well."
Seidl's strong race Saturday continues a trend for Bartlett, who has had new runners step up in the lineup each week.
"This year has been a little different," Emody said. "Last year we had a top seven and it stayed the same. This year almost every single time we have two girls consistently in there and then we've been switching people in and out."
Batavia coach Chad Hillman can relate. Alexis Sampson ran her normal top spot Saturday, leading Batavia in 14th, and after that Hillman continues to be impressed with how different runners have improved.
"She's (Sampson) getting closer to where she needs to be (to qualify for state)," Hillman said. "We've had a lot of kids moving around and up into the top seven."
Hillman said his No. 2 Saturday, senior Dana Landem, had "her best race in a long time." Freshman Bari Robinson, Rachael Spalding, Hailey Clabough and senior Julia Gross rounded out the top six Saturday, good for a 14th-place team finish.
"She's been top seven last couple weeks," Hillman said of Gross, who is in just her second year with the team. "Quietly she goes about her business and works hard."
Host West Aurora finished 11th despite having two runners not finish. Injury and illness have been a growing problem for coach Angela Cassetto.
"They ran OK," Cassetto said. "I think we're starting to get caught with some illnesses."
Two freshmen led the Blackhawks. Rachel Cavender took 31st in 19:10, with Nicole Bartell in 40th. Elisia Meyle was 48th and Jacquelyn Nagel 78th.
"They (Cavender and Bartell) are both getting stronger and working together and going as hard as they can," Cassetto said. "They are impressing me quite a bit."