Girls cross country: Grant gains momentum with Taylor Invitational triumph
After placing 11th in the Class 3A state meet last fall, the Grant girls cross country team has high hopes for the remainder of the 2016 season.
The Bulldogs took another giant step in the right direction Saturday morning as they captured the championship of the 18th Annual James "J.T." Taylor Invitational they hosted on the 3-mile Camp Henry Horner course.
Sophomore Danielle Osmon rose to the occasion on Grant's home course with a winning time of 18:53.26 as she outdistanced her next closest competitor by over 12 seconds.
Grayslake North had a solid fifth-place showing with 129 points to topple Carmel Catholic's injury-plagued squad with a sixth-place score of 156 points. Grayslake Central wound up placing eighth without its normal varsity lineup intact.
Along with Osmon's outstanding first-place finish, Grant excelled at the front of the large field with sophomore teammate Eva Cardy placing second and senior teammate Rachael Temple placing fifth.
The Bulldogs did lose their top runner from last year in all-stater Madison Romig to graduation, but they still have six of their top seven runners back in hopes of making another appearance at the state meet in early November.
"The team is doing good, Eva and Rachael are definitely doing well, and we all want to get to state again because it was such a great experience," said Osmon, who pulled away from the rest of the pack at about the half-way point of the race. "My time was about average today, but it's a difficult course here so that was about what I expected."
Grant's pack also got some strong support Saturday with sophomore Jana Nehila placing 16th, junior Roxanne Temple placing 25th, and senior Lauren Troemel placing 29th.
"They ran well and Danielle (Osmon) has really stepped it up a little more this year," said Grant coach Jeff Durlak, whose team will host a huge double-dual meet Tuesday against fifth-ranked Lakes. "Eva (Cardy) ran a great race too, only 12 seconds behind Danielle, and Rachael (Temple) got a little closer to those two today. It's still early, but we made some great progress today."
Lakes chose to sit out its top group of runners Saturday as the Eagles prepare for the showdown against Grant next Tuesday as well as the critical Peoria meet next weekend.
"They needed a break for a little bit longer of a training cycle for working out," said Lakes coach Keith West, who was led by elite freshman Olivia Schmitt last weekend at the Warren Invite. "I like the competition here so it was a tough decision not to race them. But we'll be here Tuesday for a very tough triangular meet and some very fast times will be run here."
Grayslake North's push for fifth place was led by freshman Kelli Tosic in 19th, senior Cindy Alcala in 27th, and freshman Gabriella Conceicao in 31st.
"The top three came in running fast and they've been working hard ever since," said Grayslake North coach Brandon Boyd. "Gabby (Conceicao) has been moving up throughout the season and Kelli (Tosic) has the determination that it takes to run with the leaders. She gives everything she has left for the last mile."
Without key sophomore Zella Stockhausen in its lineup for most of the season it has been a real struggle for Carmel Catholic.
The Corsairs got a 16th-place finish from a less-than full strength Aileen Hull Saturday followed by junior teammate Molly Machala in 26th place. Stockhausen is expected to return from a lower back injury to run at Peoria next weekend.
"Hull is making her way back, and Molly Machala had a solid race today," said Carmel coach Jim Halford, who is in his 30th season. "(Lauren) Laughlin has been our No. 1 runner, but she was sick today along with Machala so it was kind of the perfect storm."
Wauconda only had four runners competing, but the Bulldogs got another strong performance from freshman Morgan Thompson in 11th place. Sophomores Lily Sanchez (23rd), Abigail McHugh (24th), and Dakota Thompson (34th) were also solid for Wauconda's young team. Grayslake Central's Vanessa Olmos placed 33rd.
"She (Morgan Thompson) has been working really hard, she's been doing really well, and she's been very competitive against good competition," said Wauconda coach Jeff Helberg. "All four that ran today are sophomores or freshmen and if they reach their potential they can go really far in the state series."