Fremd runs to 2nd at Stampede
Most of the runners on a Saturday morning cross country meet can count on their parents’ support.
Not everyone gets to see that support quite like West Aurora junior Rachel Cavender.
Cavender finished fourth Saturday at West Aurora’s annual Stampede meet, held this year for the first time at Marmion due to construction at Waubonsee Community College.
While Cavender covered the course in 18 minutes, 29 seconds, her father Allen rode along at different stages on his bike to give his daughter encouraging words.
“I love it,” Rachel Cavender said. “He really keeps me going and keeps me focused on staying relaxed.”
Cavender and the rest of the 130 runners Saturday were chasing last year’s state champion, Ariel Michalek from Oswego East. She won the Stampede with a time of 18:01.7.
“I feel really good about it,” Cavender said of her race. “My goal was to keep Ariel in my sight and I did except the turns.”
Like a lot of teams — St. Charles East and Geneva to name a couple — West Aurora didn’t have its entire lineup running Saturday and finished ninth. Miranda Gollwiter placed 22nd for the Blackhawks.
“I would like to see my team make it to state,” said Cavender, whose fourth-place finish Saturday followed a recent eighth-place finish at the Charger Classic and a third-place run at the Downers Grove South invite. “We are all working really hard together to make that happen.”
Batavia is another team with its eye on getting out of sectionals and making it to Peoria. Coach Chad Hillman has been pushing freshman Lexi Slome to close the gap on top runner Rachel Spalding, and Slome did just that Saturday.
Slome stayed with Spalding for the first two miles and passed her in the third to finish fifth overall in 19:16. Spalding, despite not feeling well, still took eighth in 19:24.
“I felt really good about that because my goal all season has been to catch up to her (Spalding) because she’s the fastest runner on the team,” Slome said. “My coach has been telling me the whole week I need to close the gap so I was focusing on that and staying as close to her as possible.”
Slome, coming off a fourth-place finish last week at the St. Charles North Invitational, got going early.
“I started off well,” Slome said. “Our coach told us to start out really aggressive since there is so many people and I did. I got tired the second mile. I can’t wait for conference next week.”
Like Spalding, Batavia’s third runner Alicia Grant also wasn’t at 100 percent and took 39th. Jessica Roach and Anita Wolfe came in 49th and 59th as the Bulldogs took sixth as a team.
“Rachel is not feeling the greatest but is very strong. She’ll be where she needs to be,” Hillman said. “The fact Lexi stretched it out in front of her is good for our team. I don’t doubt Rachel will be right back up there if not next week then the following week. The fact we have someone so close to Rachel only helps us. Now we have to close the gap behind them.”
Several teams didn’t run their normal top seven. Maddie Westerhoff led St. Charles East in 31st, Kara Kalisz topped Rosary in 38th and Cory McLauclan was the first Geneva runner to finish in 87th.
Gabrielle Hesslau finished third in helping Downers Grove North win the Stampede with 59 points.
Fremd took second with 77 points. Junior Kelly Breen led the way taking second in 18:16 while getting her chance to race the defending state champ.
“I know she (Michalek) goes out fast because I’ve run against her at state and stuff so I tried to keep my race and also focus on her and close the gap, but I couldn’t do it,” Breen said. “I got close in the second mile but got tired.”
Breen, who added her runner-up finish Saturday to an earlier title at the Warren Invitational, also was proud of her teammates. Megan Moroney (seventh), Morgan Brauer (19th), Ayako Higuchi (24th) and Katherine Filosa (25th) all placed in the top 25, and there’s not a senior in that group.
“Our team did really good,” Breen said. “We were all close together and they were moving closer to me than they have been. I want to do all I can do to help them.”
Streamwood coach Denny Lau’s team was led by Brenda Romero in 20th. The Sabres took 13th as a team.
“Our whole team looked great through a mile and half and then we tapered off and fell apart in the last mile and a half,” Lau said.”That’s something we are working on. Our girls have been banged up and sick and we are still trying to put the pieces to the puzzle. We just have to work on that last mile and a half.”
Lau said a meet like the Stampede will only help the Sabres at the upcoming conference and regional meets at LeRoy Oakes.
“We’re trying to get these bigger races so these girls can learn getting out fast and establishing pace and then settling in,” Lau said. “Last meet we did really well but the level of competition is a lot better here. And that’s where we need to start being and start competing with them which we can.”