St. Francis teams up for SCC title
It's next to impossible to beat a pack that is both tight and talented, which St. Francis proved to the rest of the Suburban Christian Conference Saturday morning at the conference meet at Marmion.
The Spartans placed five runners in the top 10: Kelly McShea second, Meghan McShea fifth, Kate Roback eighth, Jenna DeVaerio ninth and Bridget Reczek 10th to hold off Montini for the conference championship.
St. Francis totaled 29 points to beat Montini's 40 in what turned out to be a two-team race. Rosary and Aurora Christian both scored 105 and Aurora Central was fifth with 138.
“It was really exciting, Kelly McShea said. “We had high expectations so we were all working hard all week.
Only Guerin's Eryn Fallon came in ahead of Kelly McShea, running an 18:02.9 to McShea's 18:10. The two were well ahead of the rest of the pack with a 36-second gap before the third runner came in.
“It was a good race, I ran well, Kelly McShea said.
Ericka Laviste led Montini's 3-4 individual finish in 18:56 just ahead of Brittany Fisher in 19:05. Theresa Connelly gave Montini half of the top six runners with her time of 19:19 for sixth.
“We wanted to do really well in this meet, Laviste said. “We struggled but we managed to bring it together at the end. We are hoping to stay strong for regionals, sectionals and state hopefully.
Aurora Central sophomore Jenna Koerner ran a 19:27 for seventh place that left her with mixed emotions.
“I kind of wanted to go top five, Koerner said. “The back loop, I just felt a surge of competitiveness in everybody. The back loop always gets me. I can never pick it up any faster.
Bailey Shemenski was the next Charger finisher in 26th.
“We weren't all at the same level but we are going to have our day I think, Koerner said.
Rosary placed all five of its runners in the top 30 to place third: Kelly Keiffer 16th, Kara Kalisz 17th, Christine Slade 24th, Emma Witte 25th and Melissa Lifka 28th. It took sixth-place finisher Abby Hammer coming in 35th to win the tie-break with Aurora Christian for third place.
Those Eagles were led by Sarina Oleson running a 19:55 to place 11th. Oleson missed a race with an illness two weeks ago and wasn't at 100 percent while taking 34th at Amboy on Monday so she's glad to be getting closer to full strength.
“I felt a lot better, Oleson said. “It (sickness) is finally going away, just in time for the big races.
Oleson, fifth in conference last year, has a goal of top 10 in state written on her ceiling in her room to motivate her.
“I did it just to remember it is a goal I have, Oleson said.
Teammate Anna Pape ran a 20:15 to take 14th, and Teagan Terando gave the Eagles three in the top 20 with her 20:20 for 18th.
Jacqueline Smith led Wheaton Academy in 12th with a 19:58 time.