McIntosh, Palatine in full control
Palatine seems to be peaking at the perfect time.
The Pirates finished second to Prospect by 3 points two weeks ago at the Mid-Suburban League meets.
But the Pirates were in full control Saturday at the Schaumburg Class 3A sectional at a sloppy Busse Woods.
Junior Sarah McIntosh took control of the race early in the second mile to take first in 18:17, propelling Palatine (57 points) to its 14th sectional title.
Under-the-weather Prospect sniffled it way to second place with 91 points, followed by host Schaumburg (105 points), Hersey (150 points) and Hoffman Estates (151 points). All five teams advance to next Saturday's Class 3A state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
Buffalo Grove sophomore Olivia Jones (sixth place), Barrington freshman Rebecca Batliner (seventh) and Rolling Meadows junior Christina Gastfield (10th) qualified individually to the state meet.
Palatine placed five runners in the top 30, heading to the state meet with plenty of momentum.
"Last time we were here we didn't really race like we had raced all year," said Palatine coach Joe Parks of his team's performance at the MSL meet. "We kind of went back to what we've been doing and it showed."
McIntosh led the charge, making separation after the first mile. She didn't let up the final two miles, taking first with a seven-second cushion over Schaumburg's Britten Petrey (18:24).
"They all have a really good kick," said McIntosh of the loaded the field. "That is not my strength, so I wanted to give myself a cushion."
Hersey's Ashley Martin took third in 18:30, nipping Palatine junior Courtney Brown (18:30) at the finish.
Pirates senior Ruth Allen (18:41) finished eighth, with freshman Tess Wasowicz (19:04) and sophomore Laura Schweikert (19:28) adding 16th and 30th.
"We came back with a totally different attitude today," Allen said. "We ran with enthusiasm and we were a lot more confident."
"We felt pressure all year," Parks said, "At this point, they are getting used to it."
Prospect was less than 100 percent health-wise, but the Knights still placed five runners in the top 24.
Senior Annette White was dealing with sore shins, freshman Brooke Wolfe had a flu bug and junior Savannah Snead dropped out of the race because of the flu.
Freshman Lauren Poplawski (18:56) paced Prospect in 12th place. Senior Kasey Krum (19:08), White (19:10) and senior Emily Salzman (19:11) took 18, 20th and 21st place and Wolfe (19:16) was 24th.
"We're limping and sniffling into state so to speak," said Prospect coach Dave Wurster. "Obviously we're one of the best teams in state when we're healthy. Our goal is to get back to that. We're not too far away."
Schaumburg was right in the thick of things thanks to its trio of juniors.
Petrey (18:24), Colette Falsey (18:32) and Karen Lesiewicz (18:42) finished second, fifth and ninth for the Saxons.
Petrey ran a solid first two miles and finished with a flurry in the final mile.
"We're really confident in what we can do and we're excited to get down state," Petrey said. "Last year we were just excited to make it to state. This year we're ready to do some work down there."
Hersey's Ashley Martin had not run a race all year because of health reasons, but the senior picked a perfect day to come back. Martin hung with the lead pack the entire race.
Huskies senior Sarah Reynolds (18:53) was 11th and junior Salena Clohisy (19:08) took 17th.
"From conference to regionals to sectionals it has been building up," said Hersey coach Jim Miks. "Earlier in the season you wouldn't have believed this team would get out of sectionals, but Sarah Reynolds, our captain, kept this team together."
Hoffman Estates has had its share of adversity this year. The Hawks lost senior Hannah Worman for the season because of a stress fracture, and senior Melissa Schmidt (38th place), who is also dealing with a stress fracture, ran her first race since early October.
But sophomores Haley Goers (18:57), Haley Worman (19:21) and Takshaka Patel (19:29) came up huge - finishing 14th, 26th, and 31st as the Hawks advanced.
"The second half of the race we were on the move," said Hawks coach Kirk Macnider. "We were pretty far back for the first mile, but we were able find ourselves and re-establish our position."
At Belvidere: Freshman Hannah Winter took fourth on the 3-mile course (19:21) to lead St. Viator to third place and a team berth in next weekend's Class 2A state meet. Keegan Griebel (20:23), Ronnie Mack (20:38), Carolyn Hutyra (21:02) and Sarah Levenson (22:00) led the Lions to 166 points. Woodstock (127) and Crystal Lake Central (134) took the top two spots.