Cross country: Morris, Naperville North keep it simple
Alex Morris approaches a girls cross country meet with simplicity in mind.
"The target is to beat as many people as possible and to get as few team points as possible," Morris said.
The senior leader of two-time defending state champion Naperville North, Morris was bettered only by Batavia wunderkind Katrina Schlenker at the Waubonsie Valley sectional Saturday morning in Aurora.
Schlenker and Morris were the lone athletes to break the 17-minute barrier, crossing the finish line 11 seconds apart, but Naperville North was once again the central storyline.
The Huskies have qualified for the largest-class state meet every year since 1991.
Campbell Petersen, the defending Class 2A runner-up transfer from Dunlap, freshman Lucy Westlake, Claire Hill, who recently committed to Missouri, and Maggie Gamboa were fifth, eighth, 10th and 12th, respectively, for Naperville North.
Audrey Mendrys and Megan Driscoll would have been at-large qualifiers for Naperville North in placing slots Nos. 13 and 14; the Huskies, ranked third in the nation, did not even need their scores.
"Everyone is working so hard," Morris said. "I know I will be running for every one of my teammates (in Peoria)."
"It's been fun with the girls winning (major championships) as a team," Hill said. "I think it is very important that state is another step forward for us. We all did take a step forward."
Benet (142 points), Rockton Hononegah (150) and Oswego (171) also advanced to the state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday.
Benet had the only other local state qualifiers as counting runners Emily Spellman, Joy Jackson, Meaghan Andrews, Elisabeth Camic and Mae Tully will all make a return engagement next weekend at Detweiller.
"This is the deepest sectional we have ever been to in terms of the depth of the talent," Benet coach Scott Brooks said. "Naperville Central was 10th, and they're probably a top-25 team in the state."
In the boys competition, Thomas Shilgalis' road back to state redemption received another major boost.
Bound for Michigan, Shilgalis' poor showing in Peoria last fall was admittedly the product of nagging physical issues.
But the Naperville Central senior won his second consecutive postseason honor by outracing Huntley junior Ian Geisler in the closing yards to win by three one-hundredths in 14:49.1.
"We were right together for the last mile or so," Shilgalis said. "I just tried to stick with him and outkick him at the end."
Shilgalis' mission this fall was forged in the late summer.
"I thought I was rated too low in the preseason ratings," Shilgalis said.
But Naperville Central will have a lone state entrant; Huntley snared the fifth team slot ahead of the Redhawks.
St Charles East had four runners in the top 12 to top reigning state runner-up Neuqua Valley 59-82 for its first sectional championship since 1987.
Oswego East (104) and Naperville North (128) earned the third and fourth team slots to Detweiller.
Neuqua Valley seniors Michael Madiol and Chris Keeley were third and fourth in directing the Wildcats' 17th straight state appearance.
Jake Allen (sixth) and Nick Trattner (seventh) also finished in back-to-back fashion to lead the Naperville North vanguard.
"Me and Jake were kind of scared we were just going to be (state-qualifying) individuals," Trattner said. "The trip is a hundred times better as a team."