The future looks bright for Naperville North, Glenbard West
PEORIA - Naperville North won the IHSA's girls Class 3A cross country title on Saturday and in 2012 and was runner-up in 2013. Glenbard West won in 2013 and was third on Saturday and in 2012.
This domination of podium positions by the two schools could go on a while. Both the Huskies and Hilltoppers have plenty of talented runners returning in 2015.
Led by Judy Pendergast, who finished seventh and will be a senior in 2015, Naperville North should have four of Saturday's top 49 runners in the team competition back.
Numerically, Glenbard West will do the Huskies one better, with five of the top 38 returning, including winner Lindsay Graham and fourth-place Lindsey Payne. Graham will be a senior, Payne a sophomore.
The quality of the two teams is remarkably even, and so were Saturday's times for the Huskies. Their pack time - the difference between their first and fifth runners - was just 26 seconds, the closest among the top 12 teams. Glenbard West's was 1:24 thanks to Graham's finishing time of 16:23.
Naperville North coach Dan Iverson said the closeness of the Huskies pack wasn't contrived.
"It's something that has to happen naturally," Iverson said. "Otherwise it doesn't work so well. If somebody's slowing down for somebody ... it's got to be natural. The pack evolves in practice. They're used to running around each other, and when one of them's having a bad day, the other ones are able to pull through a little bit.
"We've had four different No. 1 runners this year. There have been times when I've coached that that's been a negative issue. But not this one. This team had four different No. 1 runners the last four weeks. And I have no complaint at all about that."
Iverson is as accomplished as any coach. The Huskies have won five titles and 13 top-three finishes in his 19 years at the helm, so he wasn't about to anoint this team as his best.
"We know it's always tough, but we start every year thinking we should win a state championship," Iverson said. "Sometimes that works out better than others. Today, this one's my favorite. Frankly, there are years we didn't win that are every bit as high as ones we did win, because you achieved so much."
Huskies sophomore Claire Hamilton did what she always did. She chased Pendergast, as did her teammates.
"I see it as keeping the target on my team, rather than picking individual people on other teams to work with," Hamilton said. "We've always been told to stay relaxed, not try and sprint out. We know we can work together."
Freshman Sarah Schmitt finished 23rd for Naperville North, while freshman Natalie Dunnett, sixth on the team, was 49th.
"They've blossomed into amazing runners," Hamilton said. "They've pushed us."
The 2015 Class 3A race won't necessarily be a two-team contest. Look out for Hinsdale Central, which finished fourth, though 43 points behind Glenbard West. The Red Devils return their top four runners beginning with Alexa Haff, who will be a sophomore. She finished third in the team scoring on Saturday.
The spread:
Pack time isn't everything if your first man isn't blindingly fast. Runner-up Sandburg's pack time of 11 seconds in the boys Class 3A final was uncommonly tight, but leader Tom Brennan finished 22nd in the team race. By then, winner Hinsdale Central had seen Blake Evertsen, Josh Feldman and Chris Brenk cross the finish line.
A veteran look:
Glenbard West's fifth-place finish in boys Class 3A was accomplished with a senior-dominated team. Of the seven runners, only Eric Neumann (28th), Simon Peterson (77th) and Kalen Yeager (116th) return in 2015.