Lake Forest spoils Libertyville's four-peat bid

If they say repeating a championship is one of the hardest things to do in sports, then winning four crowns in a row must be nearly impossible.

The Libertyville girls cross country team almost pulled off the “four-peat Saturday afternoon at Lakewood Forest Preserve, but the Wildcats had to settle for second place in the North Suburban Conference meet by a narrow 58-63 margin against Lake Forest on the 3-mile course.

Lake Zurich placed third in the 13-team field with 107 points, followed by Stevenson (129) in fourth, Warren (139) in fifth and Lakes (160) in sixth.

Libertyville used a team effort to take second place with an all-conference pack of Erika Danckers in eighth, Nicole Jaffke in ninth, Erin Jaffke in 11th, Maggie Fiorito in 12th, and Abigail Toohey in 23rd.

But the Wildcats were unable to hold off the Scouts with individual champion Lauren Wyatt leading the way to Lake Forest's narrow title run. Wyatt (19:16) held off Warren sophomore Meg Tully by two seconds down the stretch for first place under running conditions near 70 degrees.

“Lake Forest had a great race and we had an OK race, but it was close, said Libertyville coach Joe Roth. “They may have had three runners in front of our top four and it was just a little hard to overcome.

Lake Zurich used a similar formula as Libertyville in running to its third-place finish as the Bears got all-conference finishes from Amy Polhemus (16th), Cassie Houghton (18th), Audrey Smith (22nd), Angela Ufheil (25th) and Maddie Gelinas (26th).

“Last weekend our pack was about 20 seconds apart, but we ran one girl down to junior varsity, said Lake Zurich coach Ian Silverman. “They're running well together and they're really pushing each other.

Stevenson also used a balanced effort to place fourth as sophomore Mackenzie Levy was 19th, followed by teammates Tessa Lancaster in 20th, Jenna Weiner in 24th and Samantha Tarnoff in 29th.

“This was definitely one of our better races as a team and it was nice we ended up with four all-conference runners, said Stevenson coach Don Proft. “We ran together, and they definitely ran with a lot of heart and guts.

Tully has been impressive for the Blue Devils throughout the season and she was joined on the all-conference team by teammate Gabby Nystrom in 21st place. Victoria Knauf just missed all-conference for Warren in 31st.

“I think I had a good race and I was just trying to keep (Wyatt) in my sight, said Tully. “I honestly don't want to think about state yet and I just want to take it one step at a time.

Reaching the Class 3A state meet will not be easy coming out of the powerful Schaumburg sectional, but Tully definitely has the potential to do it.

“She (Tully) ran a smart race and she didn't let the top three get away from her, said Warren coach Cheryl Anderson. “Basically the only one from conference to beat her all year is the girl from Lake Forest and that was a close finish.

Lakes' duo of Hannah Wittman in 10th and Kathryn Dean in 15th were all-conference to lead the Eagles.

“Hannah Wittman really had a nice race today and it was nice to see her pass three or four girls in that last tough mile, said Lakes coach Keith West. “Amanda Timmerman (40th) ran well enough. We're just getting ready for the IHSA series and the conference is much improved since last year.

Vernon Hills senior Kelley Gallagher made a big jump from 10th in the NSC last year to third, and she is looking like she will earn a berth in the Class 2A state meet Nov. 6 in Peoria.

Grant freshman Lindsey Lewis was also very impressive with a fourth-place run.

“Lindsey ran a typical race for her and the only thing we have to work on for her is getting out a little faster, said Grant coach Jeff Durlach. “She (Lewis) still beat her time here from earlier in the year, so that is a positive thing.

Eighth-place Mundelein was led by Marisa Perreault in sixth place. Teammates Emily Schlebecker (17th) and Elena Palacios (30th) were also all-conference for the Mustangs.

Host Wauconda had an all-conference run by junior Megan Mikenas in 27th place, while Grant's Trisha Palmieri also earned all-conference honors in 28th. Lexie Zafiratos placed 33rd for Libertyville, followed by Vernon Hills teammates Danielle Fiarito (34th), and Ali Marks (35th).