Huntley nabs first FVC championship
The Huntley girls cross country team rose to the top of the Fox Valley Conference for the first time Saturday.
With five runners placing between fourth and 27th place, the Red Raiders secured their first FVC title in that sport since joining the league in 2003. Huntley's 85 points edged second-place Dundee-Crown (90), Crystal Lake Central (97) and Cary-Grove (106) at the FVC meet, which was held at hilly Veteran Acres Park in Crystal Lake.
Junior Haley Loprieno's fourth-place finish in 20:25 led the Huntley pack. Her finish was an improvement on fifth-place finishes the last two years.
Asked how she felt during the race with temperatures hovering in the upper 40s, Loprieno laughed and said, "It was hot. I had Under Armour top and bottoms on, and I definitely didn't need that. It was a good race. I think I went out a little too fast but whatever. I was able to stay pretty much where I wanted to be."
Huntley sophomore Sara Scarbro finished ninth (21:11), junior Delanie Dineen was 22nd (21:51), sophomore Amy Kahl 23rd (21:53) and sophomore Emily Kahl 27th (22:02). Amy Kahl nipped her sister for the first time this season since undergoing an appendectomy the week before fall practice began.
"We've been looking for this all season after last year getting second," Huntley coach Dana Burner said of winning the title. "We knew (two-time defending champion) Woodstock was kind of out of it this year and we knew it was between us, (Crystal Lake) South and (Crystal Lake) Central, always knowing that Cary-Grove and D-C can surprise you at any time. We just waited to see if they'd be ready at the right time."
Three Dundee-Crown juniors finished just out of the top 10. Katie Gross led the way in 11th place (21:31), immediately followed by Monique Robinson (21:38) and Claira Himmel (21:40). Freshman Jade Franz finished 25th (21;58) with sophomore Allison Beck right behind (22:01).
"Our pack's been tight all season, but we did a better job of moving it up," D-C coach Tom Smith said. "On paper we were fourth or fifth coming in, so this was a great step and they ran a great race today."
Woodstock junior Kayla Beattie won the individual title for the second time in three seasons in a time of 19:27.9. Beattie and Crystal Lake South's Kristina Aubert were neck and neck at the one-mile mark before Beattie turned on the jets and won by 34 seconds.
"My coach always talks about the importance of the middle mile, the back section, and how there aren't that many fans back there so that's where you have to stay focused," Beattie said. "I wanted to put in a surge there. I wasn't expecting my surge to be so effective, but that's where I won the race."
Aubert finished second in a time of 20:01, followed by junior teammate Marianne Collard (20:11), who was sick for three days during the week.
"I felt amazing," Aubert said. "This season I started out sick then had a little hip injury, so the whole season I've been progressively getting better. I'm trying to peak and prove myself."