Nationals next step for Geneva cross country

The 2008 season has been memorable, exciting, and now extended for the Geneva's girls cross country team.

After winning their second straight state title on Nov. 8, the girls traveled to Terre Haute, Ind., the following week and placed first in the Midwest region to earn a spot at the national meet Saturday in Portland, Ore.

IHSA rules won't allow Geneva coach Bob Thomson to coach or spend time in any manner with his team, but that hasn't stopped him from cheering them on from afar.

"The IHSA doesn't allow its coaches to coach or participate in these events, so I haven't been able to attend practices or go with them to the meets, but they all know I'm supporting them and hoping they run well," Thomson said. "Jack Brady, who's Megan Brady's father has been overseeing practices and will head to Portland with them."

Running as the Geneva Running Club, the girls won the Midwest regional with 61 points to earn a trip to the Nike Cross Nationals, and placed four girls in the top 21.

Senior Sarah Heuer, who ran as the team's second runner for most of the fall season, finished ninth overall in a time of 18:50. Kelly Whitley was right behind at 18:54 to finish 11th, Meghan Heuer was 17th, and Liza Tauscher was 21st.

"She's (Heuer) just gotten better each week," Thomson said. "Kelly's doing a remarkable job as well, so she really just believes in her ability more every week."

Geneva heads into the Nike Cross National meet in Portland ranked No. 5 overall, but Thomson said rankings are interesting stats, but what really matters is how they run on race day.

"They've run against ranked teams all year, so this won't be any different," Thomson said. "They had to prove they could beat them, so that's a good measurement. You know, they read about a lot of these teams, but it's another thing to toe the line against them in a race."

"I think this will be a different kind of experience for them and a different kind of challenge. Their goal was to be the best in the state of Illinois, and now they're the best in the region. It's a huge opportunity for them. Hopefully, regardless of how they do, I hope they have fun with it and enjoy the experience."

The 5K course will be set up as what's referred to as "European" style cross country, which means the girls will face obstacles other than the opposing runners. In addition to running in temperatures that will likely be in the mid-40s, the girls will also have to leap over bails of hay and water holes.

However, the girls likely won't be bothered by inclement weather, given the fact that they nearly established a new team best score at the state meet on a day in which temperatures were in the 20s.

"They seem to not be bothered by the weather," Thomson said. "This will be a little bit of an adjustment for them because of the way the race will be run, but they have a lot of confidence in their abilities and should be able to adjust well."