Lake County runners grind it out at Schaumburg sectional
The Class 3A Schaumburg sectional turned out to be a real grind for Lake County area girls cross country teams and individuals Saturday morning at Busse Woods - with race-time temperatures hovering around 42 degrees.
And it was the Mid-Suburban League squads that really dominated the competition on the muddy 3-mile course.
Palatine rolled to the championship of the 20-team meet by a 57-91 margin over runner-up Prospect.
The host Saxons earned the third of five berths to the state meet next Saturday in Peoria with 105 points, while Hersey nipped Hoffman Estates 150-151 for fourth place in the powerful meet.
Libertyville had a decent showing with a ninth-place score of 221 points, and the Wildcats were very pleased to see senior Megan Janezic earn the seventh and final at-large individual berth downstate with a 22nd-place finish.
"I think they had a good day, but it was really tough competition and it just wasn't our day," said first-year Libertyville coach Joe Roth. "I think they got out fine, but in the last half of the race they fell back a little."
Stevenson's "youth movement" proved to be a successful one as freshman Mackenzie Levy earned the fifth individual at-large berth to Detweiller Park by taking 15th place. Levy was one of three Stevenson freshmen who had qualified for the sectional, along with teammates Jenna Weiner (77th) and Samantha Tarnoff (102nd).
"They ran strong races, and they had a good strong finish to try to hold onto their spots," said Stevenson coach Don Proft. "Mackenzie is a very consistent smooth runner, the highs and lows are minimized, and it's probably better that they don't know how much pressure is in this meet because it's such a tough meet."
Levy has put together an outstanding freshman campaign as she finished second in the North Suburban Conference meet to elite Class 2A senior Erin Poss of Antioch two weeks ago.
"It was definitely exciting that I made it (to state), it was a tough race, I just pushed through and I'm happy with the results," said Levy. "The course was definitely not fast, there was a lot of mud and it definitely slowed everybody down."
Junior Erin Jaffke was Libertyville's No. 2 runner in 27th place, while freshman Marissa Perreault led 14th-place Mundelein by placing 33rd.
Libertyville senior Sarah Farish closed out her career with a 52nd-place run, while freshman teammate Nicole Jaffke was not too far behind in 58th. Junior Gabby Nystrom was Warren's top runner in 63rd place.
Led by junior Audrey Smith in 68th place, Lake Zurich finished 16th in the team standings with 442 points. Senior Hilary Halford led Carmel in 71st place, while Libertyville teammates Katie McAuliffe and Michelle McCracken placed 74th and 76th, respectively.
"We looked alright, but it's a tough race and it's not a course we're super familiar with," said Lake Zurich coach Ian Silverman. "The course was not in good condition for a fast race. Everybody had to slow down, but they raced as a team."