Wheaton Warrenville South places 3rd
PEORIA - All season long Wheaton Warrenville South has been wondering just how good it was.
The Tigers answered a few questions by taking first in the DuPage Valley Conference, regionals, then sectionals.
But the final test came on Saturday at the IHSA Class 3A state meet, and WW South passed with flying colors.
WW South was led by a pair of front runners then the back pack bunched it up to secure third place for the Tigers with 160 points at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
Ruth Allen (17:47), Sarah McIntosh (17:48), and Courtney Brown (17:52) took 13th, 15th and 19th place to lead Palatine to its seventh state title with 99 points.
Naperville North (174 points) took fourth place followed by two-time defending state champions Geneva (176).
Whitney Young senior Lavinia Jurkiewicz won the Class 3A individual title entering the chute in 17:11 followed by Rolling Meadows junior Christina Gastfield (17:17).
Sophomore Lauren Mordini (17:48) and freshman McKenna Kiple (17:54) paced WW South by taking 14th and 22nd place, respectively.
"We've been working toward this all season," Mordini added of the Tigers' charge. "We kind of had a rough start at the beginning, it's great to see things finally pay off."
Senior Colleen Gibbons (18:24) added 50th place followed by senior Kathleen Valadez (18:39) and sophomore Clare Kelly (18:40) who bunched together to secure 71st and 73rd place.
"It came down to the kids believing in what they wanted and not letting anything throw them off," said Wheaton South coach Rob Harvey of his team's performance. "They finally trusted that they have to put themselves out there in the first mile and that it is going to be OK. We've worked on that all year, and they trusted the race strategy."
Freshman Emily Smith (17:51) locked up 16th place, powering Naperville North to fourth place. Sophomore Britney Weizeorick (18:22) added 45th place for the Huskies.
"It was a team effort today," said Naperville North coach Dan Iverson of his team's performance. "We knew it would be tight but we put the pieces together throughout the year."
Senior Megan Fry (18:12) took 32nd place leading York (236 points) to seventh place.
Junior Samantha Fry (17:41) had an impressive run in securing 11th place to lead Downers Grove North (241 points) to eighth place.
Freshman Jill Hardies (17:51) notched 17th place leading Hinsdale Central (275 points) to 11th place.
Naperville Central sophomore Amanda Fox (17:27) came on strong at the end in locking up seventh place.
"I definitely wanted my last mile to be my hardest," Fox said of her final flourish. "I didn't get out as fast as I wanted but I tried to keep the same place and catch up."
In Class 2A, Springfield secured the Class 2A title with 124 points followed by Yorkville (130 points) and East Peoria (162 points).
Woodstock junior Kayla Beattie secured the individual title crossing the finish line in 17:14.
Junior Kelly McShea (18:20) finished 12th leading St. Francis to eighth place with 212 points.
Junior Bridget Reczek (19:09) and freshman Kate Roback (19:22) aided St. Francis' drive by taking 34th and 48th.