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Girls cross country: Grant's Negovetich dominates sectional

It was a great day for the Grant girls cross country team and freshman standout Aly Negovetich Saturday morning at the Class 3A Hoffman Estates sectional.

Negovetich held off Round Lake junior Fatima Giron by five seconds to take home the individual title in 16:30.1 on the 3-mile Busse Woods course as Negovetich shattered her previous best time by 28 seconds to earn a trip to the historic 40th annual IHSA state meet next Saturday in Peoria.

Prospect took first place with 89 points under ideal running conditions followed by Barrington (125 points) in second, Cary-Grove (135) in third, Hersey (153) in fourth, and the Bulldogs (159) earning the fifth and final team berth downstate.

"She (Negovetich) ran pretty much the race she wanted to run today and it was just an outstanding race for her," said Grant coach Jeff Durlak, whose team will be making its third trip to state in four years. "We've been improving throughout the season and they all ran well today."

Jana Nehila placed 24th for Grant followed by teammate Danielle Osmon in 34th.

Warren was led by Raina Rice in 24th while Bree Ponchak led Libertyville in 28th.

Negovetich should easily make the all-state (top 25) team next weekend if all goes well on the Detweiller Park course.

"I never thought coming in as a freshman I could even contribute to my team let alone do this so I'm just so thrilled," said Negovetich of her fantastic 2018 season. "I would love to be top 20 at state, and I would love to medal."

After becoming the first Round Lake girl in school history to qualify for state as a sophomore, Giron had her best time ever by 42 seconds Saturday to take some serious momentum to Peoria this time around.

"That was incredible, she's never run that fast before and her previous best time was 17:17," said Round Lake coach Kevin Brady. "She was coming off an injury in the summer so we brought her along slowly and it seemed to work because she ran an amazing race today."

After missing the state meet by one place last year, Lake Zurich senior Emily Burns refused to be denied Saturday as her ninth-place finish earned her the fifth of seven individual at-large berths.

"I was really excited today, I ran the first mile really fast at 5:29," said Burns, who tied her previous best time with a 17:41. "I just did everything I could to be in the top 10 so I knew I would make it because it was really heartbreaking last year."

Lake Zurich assistant coach Jeff Morello filled in for first-year head coach Randal Dunbar for the big meet.

"I'm super excited for her (Burns). She's worked all summer, and her race was on point," said Morello. "She earned it, it's really in her realm to come out at 5:30, and she held on well with the group where she needed to be."

Stevenson senior Natalie Sorenson experienced that same heartbreak this year as Sorenson's 16th-place finish left her as the ninth at-large finisher and out of the state meet despite a really good performance.

"She (Sorenson) is an even runner so she gets out slower, and she ran out of real estate and that's how the cards played out," said Stevenson coach Maureen Connolly. "This season has been a learning experience and a growing experience for all of them."

In Class 2A at the Woodstock North sectional, Belvidere North held off ongoing rival Vernon Hills 68 to 98 for the team title while fourth-place Grayslake Central (162), and fifth-place Crystal Lake South (172) also earned berths downstate.

Lakes sophomore Brooke Stromsland took first place in 17:15 while Grayslake North teammates Kelli Tosic (sixth), and Caroline Riss (eighth) also reached state as individuals.

The Cougars were led by freshman Emma Wakefield (14th), Hannah Ray (16th), Leah Wilkowski (21st), Ryan Schofield (23rd), and Payton Makowskyj (24th).

Mackenzie Aldridge (seventh) led the Gators while freshmen Grace Kokkin (25th) and Bryn Sato led the Rams.

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