Burlington Central's Gannon wins ACC regional

The conditions did not allow Maggie Gannon to display her true skills, but the Burlington Central senior had more than enough to defend her cross country regional title on Saturday in Aurora.

For the second consecutive year Gannon denied Hampshire senior Holly Plichta at the Class 2A Aurora Central Catholic girls regional, taming the 3-mile course at Oakhurst Forest Preserve in 18 minutes, 20.9 seconds to defend her individual crown.

With teammate Markelle Turk finishing fifth, Central gave reigning state runner-up Crystal Lake Central all it could handle, only to fall short 72-76 for the team championship.

Kaneland (82), with four runners in the top 17, was well ahead of fourth-place Prairie Ridge, and host Aurora Central snared the fifth and final team slot to the Belvidere sectional next week.

"Cross country is a lot different than track," said Gannon, the defending outdoor runner-up in the mile. "I am speed-oriented in track. It's a confidence thing. The plan for me today was to get out with the pack. It wasn't about time (but place)."

"(Gannon) is a speed girl," said Central coach Vince Neil. "We want to make sure we are tailoring her talents (for the state series)."

Hampshire, despite two runners in the top four, missed out of the festivities with its sixth-place verdict, 5 points behind Aurora Central.

Rosary was seventh, followed by Wheaton Academy and IMSA.

Katie Puccio, Alex Tarr and Alexa Tovsen were all in the top 30 to round out the Rockets' scoring as Puccio finished in 16th position.

"As a team we ran very well," said Puccio, a junior. "We knew (the course) was going to be sloppy."

Plichta was five-plus seconds behind Gannon, and the senior, ninth in state last fall, had able company in classmate Cassie Kruse, who was fourth, three-hundredths faster than the Rockets' Turk.

"My whole season has been an average season," Plichta said. "I don't know why. I was so happy with my race today. I just tried to stay up with Maggie."

"I just wanted to do as best as I could, stay with the leaders," said Kruse. "It was a very difficult course but it was fun."

Kaneland was within striking distance of the team championship; Andie Strang led the Knights' consistent effort with her time of 19:16, which was good for 11th overall.

"I was so happy with our team," said Strang. "I was hoping for a little bit better (individual finish)."

Ashley Castellanos' closing kick allowed the freshman to climb within two spots of her junior teammate; Lisa Roberson and Abby Dobis did likewise in placing 15th and 17th.

Kris Bowen concluded the Knights' sectional berth with her 26th-place verdict.

Aurora Central denied Hampshire on the basis of its depth.

The Chargers had five runners place between Nos. 19 and 29 to slip past the Whip-Purs and their two top guns.

Anna Sestak, a sophomore, paced the Chargers' cause with a team-best 19:42.8, and classmate Bailey Shemenski and freshman Jenna Koerner finished in back-to-back fashion to further the Chargers' ambitions.

"I've always been a track runner," Sestak said of her foray into the sport. "(The conditions) made it more interesting. It was a challenge."

Rosary had two at-large qualifiers in freshman Kara Kalisz and junior Kelly Kieffer.

Wheaton Academy freshman Jacqueline Smith was the lone representative for the Warriors; the ninth-grader made the sectional cut with her seventh-place result.

"I had to run strongest through the puddles," Smith said. "I wanted to make sure I kept the same pace the whole time."