Palatine wraps up memorable season at national meet
The Palatine girls cross country team's successful run finally came to a finish on Saturday at the Nike Cross National meet in Portland, Oregon.
Palatine finished 19th in the 22-team field with 407 points, as Fayetteville-Manlius, N.Y., claimed its fourth straight national title with 74 points.
It was a great run for the Palatine team that claimed the Class 3A state championship Nov. 7 in Peoria and took second at the Nike Cross Midwest regional Nov. 15 in Terra Haute, Ind.
Junior Sarah McIntosh (19:08) led the Palatine charge on the muddy 5K course on a chilly Saturday, finishing 85th.
Senior Ruth Allen (19:22) and junior Courtney Brown (19:23) took 100th and 102nd place for the Palatine squad.
"There was so much excitement," added Allen of the field, which included the best of the best in the nation. "The entire atmosphere was awesome and it was a lot more competitive."
"We all tried to give it our best and we were excited to finish 19th in the entire nation."
Freshman Tess Wasowicz (156th place), sophomore Emily Schulte (182nd place), sophomore Laura Schweikert (184th place), and sophomore Ellen Smith (189th place) rounded out the Palatine squad.
Allen admitted that it took some time for the Palatine girls to believe in themselves this season, but it all came together at the end.
"Biggest thing we learned is how powerful it is to believe in yourself and believe in your teammates," added Allen, " And that's we did."
In the end Palatine made believers out of everybody.
• Loyola, which took second in the Class 3A boys cross country state meet, ran as the Wilmette Cross Country club and finished an impressive fourth with 208 points.
Boerne, Texas took first in the boys field with 195 points.
Senior Nico Composto (15:59.5), senior Jon Seeberg (16:02.1), senior Mark Donahue (16:05), and senior Patrick Smith finished 57th, 63rd, 66th, and 68th to lead the Wilmette squad.
Neuqua Valley, the Class 3A state champions, ran as the Naperville Cross Country club and finished 12th with 292 points.
Aaron Beattie (15:45), who finished fourth in Class 3A, took 29th place for the Naperville club.
York, which finished third in Class 3A state race, ran as the Elmhurst Cross Country club, finishing right behind Naperville club in 13th place with 295 points.
Senior Andrew Smith (15:46.9) and junior Jack Driggs (15:51.6) finished 32nd and 47th for Elmhurst. Smith and Driggs had gone 2-3 in the Class 3A race.