Geneva gives fans plenty to cheer about
Cross country runners can always count on support from parents, family and friends who wake up early Saturday mornings to cheer them through a race.
The Geneva girls team got an extra boost Saturday at St. Charles North's Last Chance Invitational at Leroy Oakes.
The Vikings partnered with the Geneva boys soccer team. A week ago the girls all showed up for the soccer team's victory over St. Charles North.
Saturday morning the soccer players returned the favor, and the Vikings put on a good show by winning the invitational with 35 points over the host North Stars' 50.
Tess Ehrhardt continued her outstanding senior season by winning another invitational, covering the course in 18:08 to follow her title at Kaneland's Eddington Invitational, a third-place finish at Peoria and a second-place finish at the Leavey Invitational.
"I like to hear (the fans cheering)," Ehrhardt said. "I definitely felt good. It felt good running but what felt really good was having Rachel right behind me."
That would be teammate Rachel Hammond whose 18:13 time was good for second.
"I think our team worked really well together today," Hammond said.
Megan Brady (fourth), Liza Tauscher (eighth) and Cory McLauchlan (20th) completed Geneva's top five. That unit will get a considerable lift in two weeks when Kelly Whitley makes her season debut at the Upstate Eight Conference meet in Elgin.
"This definitely feels like a home course to us," said Brady of a Leroy Oakes course the Vikings will return to for regionals and sectionals. "It's our senior year, we really want to run well. We'll finally have our whole team together."
As she has all season, Sydney Stuenkel paced the North Stars in third (18:21). Stuenkel is back on the team after missing her sophomore season.
"She's been fantastic," North Stars coach Shari Hayes said.
Ania Gawlik ran an 18:29 to take sixth with "a major PR" according to Hayes. Jessica Scheets was 11th, freshman Ashley England 14th, sophomore Megan Young 16th and freshman Kaylee Wessel 19th.
"They ran well," Hayes said. "The back pack is getting faster."
Streamwood coach Ryan Korn had plenty of reasons to smile about the Sabres' day.
It started with junior Amanda Patterson in seventh (18:37). Maria Luna ran an 18:45 to give the Sabres two runners in the top 10.
"This year has been up and down (for Patterson)," Korn said, adding Saturday was the best he's seen Patterson last year's No. 1 run all year. That goes for entire team.
"Our whole top five ran really well today," Korn said. "This is the best race we've run together all season. We had a really good practice this week. We started something with our training to focus on the end of the year. It's good to see their times to start switch over."
The Sabres' usual No. 1 runner this year Jordana LeSavage returned from a hip flexor that sidelined her last week. She finished in 15th in 19:11.
"We're trying to get her healthy by the end of the year," Korn said. "A lot of the girls love this course."
Another coach as happy as Korn was Batavia's Chad Hillman. Rachael Spalding showed once again that she can keep up with the best in the area with an 18:24 for fifth.
Not many if any runners have improved from the start of the season as much as Spalding. On this same course to start the year at the Leavey Invite Spalding finished 24th.
"From the last time we were here she's kind of changed levels and put herself in the mix with a lot of the top area kids," said Hillman, crediting Spalding's consistent training and confidence as the two main factors in her improvement.
"She doesn't miss running. She is very strong because of that consistency. Her confidence has gotten a lot greater and it shows every time she's out here. She works out hard. There's nothing she does easy. Summer has really paid off for her.
She's a very smart kid and confidence is big."
Bari Robinson followed Spalding in 13th in 19:01.
"We are improving greatly every week and it is fun to see," Hillman said. "We are relatively healthy now and a lot of kids are running PRs by a lot."
Burlington Central didn't field a full team. Markelle Turk ran an 18:42 to place eighth. Fabriola Ortiz
led Elgin-Larkin co-op's team in 11th.