Geneva, St. Charles East set their sights high

After serving as the center of the state cross country world the past few years, Geneva's reign as two-time defending Class 3A state champions came to an end last fall.

Which begs the question, when does a fifth-place finish in state feel more like 50th? When you have the expectations the Geneva program has for itself.

Or as Vikings coach Bob Thomson puts it when talking about the upcoming season, "The girls will try to turn things around after how they feel they left things unresolved last year."

Geneva has plenty of runners back who were part of the 2007 and 2008 state champions.

It starts with senior Kelly Whitley, the state runner-up in '07 and '08 who placed 18th last year. She enters the season after a medal-winning summer competing against the world's best in triathlons.

Four more seniors return who placed in the top 107 at state last year: Tess Ehrhardt (49th), Rachel Hammond (69th), Liza Tauscher (90th) and Megan Brady (107th). All were all-conference for Geneva's third straight conference championship team.

Three more juniors are in the mix: Cory McLauchlan (186th at state) plus state alternates Ashley Dudman and Kristy Shogren.

Thomson also is excited about 18 new runners out for the team.

"We have the largest girls team in my 10 years at Geneva," Thomson said. "We have 18 new girls so we'll see who makes an impact."

Here's a look at what to expect from the rest of the area's cross country teams.

Aurora Central: The Chargers welcome back last season's No. 1 runner junior Anna Sestak, a returning sectional qualifier who also qualified for state in track.

Sestak will be followed closely by the trio of sophomores Jenna Koerner and Corinn Groom and junior Bailley Shemenski. The goal is state but that won't come easy with many of the top teams all feeding into the Belvidere sectional.

Last year the Chargers took second in conference, fifth in regionals and 12th at the Class 2A Belvidere sectional,

Other returnees include junior Amanda Contreras and seniors Nicole Bohr and Allison Alosio. Coach Troy Kerber also has a pair of juniors Paulina Morales and Adilene Rubio, a pair of sophomores Kari Hinterlong and Sara Ramirez, and freshman Erin Maurer looking to run their way into the top seven.

"(We) are looking to take the next step and have set aspirations to advance to the 2A state meet," Kerber said. "They have the talent and potential, however it will not be easy."

Batavia: The Bulldogs look to be one of the younger teams in their area.

One of the top returners for Chad Hillman's squad is junior Hailey Clabough. There's also a pair of sophomores, Rachael Spalding and Bari Robinson.

Hillman said freshman Jessica Roach is one to watch.

According to Hillman, Batavia expects to be one of the top teams in the new Upstate Eight Conference. They want to advance to the sectional meet and improve on last year's performance.

"We have a very young team and it is also our biggest team ever, with a lot of room for growth and improvement," Hillman said.

Kaneland: This time of year when coaches prepare their teams for the coming season, some talk of conference titles, others state qualifiers, others set time goals.

It's even more basic for Kaneland's Doug Ecker.

Stay healthy.

It might sound simple enough but it's a problem that has kept Kaneland from reaching all those other goals you hear about.

"Keep them all healthy a full season - (it's) something we have not been able to do the last two seasons," Ecker said. "If we can accomplish that we should be a very competitive team."

The Knights want to make a good first impression in the Northern Illinois Big 12, which Ecker said will be a very strong 2A conference. Yorkville, Geneseo and Dixon have all placed in the top five at state the last two years. Kaneland will host a 12-team conference meet Oct. 16.

Last year the Knights took fourth in the Western Sun Conference, third at the ACC 2A regional, and sixth in the Belvidere 2A sectional. Five of the top seven runners from that team return.

Senior Andie Strang is Kaneland's No. 1 returning runner after qualifying as an individual for state and making Western Sun all-conference three times.

Sophomores Maggie Brundige, Abby Dodis and Ashley Castellanos, and senior Kris Bowen, also are back from the top seven.

Ecker has a couple promising newcomers. Strang's sister Sydney is a freshman for Kaneland who was one of the area's top eighth-grade runners last year.

Junior Jenn Howland ran five meets for Kaneland as a freshman, setting the school record for 3 miles in cross country (18:06). An injury in gym class ended her season and she did not run last year but will join the team in September after competing in a world triathlon championship.

Rosary: Both of the Royals' sectional qualifiers from last year - senior Kelly Keiffer and sophomore Kara Kalis - are back to provide both talent and leadership for a team hoping to climb up the Suburban Christian Conference ladder.

Rosary finished fourth in conference last year and coach Vic Mead wants to see his team in the top three.

In addition to Keiffer and Kalis, the Chargers have seniors Hannah Schafer and Emma Witte plus juniors Melissa Liftka and Hannah Wulbert returning. Mead is waiting to see who emerges from the team's other 26 runners to challenge for a top seven spot.

St. Charles East: Led by junior Mallory Abel, the Saints are poised to give Geneva a battle at the top of the first Upstate Eight River division. The Saints have won the last two Upstate Eight titles while Geneva has been dominating the Western Sun.

Abel placed 37th last year at state. And she's not the only one coach Denise Hefferin is excited about this fall.

Sophomore Jessica Evans, sophomore Sarah Hill, senior Colleen Earl, sophomore Kaitlin Guerin, sophomore Lizzie Deutsch, junior Kristin Sheehan and senior Gina Bartindale give the Saints plenty of talent in addition to Abel.

"We're looking forward to another season of Saints traditions and even with our moderately young team are looking to make an impact on the new conference as well as at the state level," said Hefferin.

Other goals for the Saints include a regional title, top three at sectionals and to qualify for state.

St. Charles North: The North Stars' 2010 team hopes to look a lot like their 2006 edition.

That is the only year St. Charles North has qualified for state. The North Stars want to add a second, turning to a nucleus that didn't miss by much with a seventh-place sectional finish last year.

Senior Erica Bauerbach leads the way after a junior season that saw her take sixth at conference, second in regionals, 14th at sectionals and 57th in state.

Other returnees include junior Jessica Scheets (30th at sectional), sophomore Audrey White 74th at sectional) and junior Kali Vence.

Newcomers like freshmen Ashley England and Kaylee Wessel, junior Sydney Stuenkel, junior Ania Gawlik and sophomore Elle Murata will try to make an immediate impact.

"We are looking to improve throughout the 2010 season," North Stars coach Shari Hayes said.

West Aurora: It didn't take long for Rachel Cavender and her Blackhawk teammates to pick up on where they left off in 2009.

Cavender ran to the individual title last week at Marmion, leading her team to the championship of the Aurora City meet.

West Aurora, fourth in the DuPage Valley Conference and 10th at sectionals last year, also welcomes back the 2009 Aurora City champ, Elisia Meyle.

Other top returners include sophomore Nicole Bartell while newcomers Jazmine Zepeda, a sophomore, and juniors Megan McKinley and Nataly Rios give coach Angela Cassetto even more reason for optimism.

"We hope to more up in the DVC and sectionals," Cassetto said.

- Compiled by John Lemon