Girls cross country: Lakes' Stromsland claims Class 2A championship
It was a fantastic day for Class 2A Lake County girls cross country runners Saturday morning when they lined up for the 40th Annual IHSA state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
The 3-mile race went down to the wire between two girls, but in the end it was Lakes sophomore Brooke Stromsland who would pull away from Rosary freshman Lianna Surtz in an epic finish as Stromsland shattered her career best time by 30 seconds to post a winning time of 16:32.71 and beat Surtz by less than three seconds.
The battle for the team title wasn't as close or exciting, but Vernon Hills (148 points) put together a great team performance to take second place behind Belvidere North (113 points) as the Blue Thunder placed two runners in the top seven.
Prairie Ridge edged Normal University 219-221 for the third-place trophy followed by Grayslake Central (311) in eighth, and Crystal Lake South (356) in 15th.
The Cougars have had an incredible stretch of top-three trophies as they have now captured four thirds and a second in the past six years.
Freshman Emma Wakefield led Vernon Hills in 26th place as she just missed the all-state (top 25) team by one place. Senior Hannah Ray was the Cougars' No. 2 runner in 36th place followed by teammates Payton Makowsyj (42nd), Leah Wilkowski (43rd), Ryan Schofield (47th), and Carly Sear (77th).
"Emma missed all-state by one place, but she had a great race and it speaks well to our pack running that we didn't have anyone make all-state and we were still able to finish second in the state," said Vernon Hills coach Suzanne Curry. "We knew Belvidere North would be tough to beat, and the girls were very happy."
Stromsland shook off some pre-race jitters to establish herself as a contender for the individual crown as she pulled away from the rest of the field with Surtz. The third-place finisher was clocked at 17:04, which was 32 seconds slower than Sromsland's winning time.
"My main goal was just to break 17 minutes. The one thing I don't like to do is look at the rankings," said Stromsland, who placed fourth as a freshman. "It's crazy. I obviously didn't expect it (first place) at all. I was super nervous and it was exciting. It's nice to know mentally that I can do it."
Lakes coach Keith West couldn't be happier that Stromsland was able to win it all.
"Everything just worked out perfectly today. Of course she was incredibly nervous, and she was able to get out comfortably and run her race," West said. "She did not take first place until 600 meters to go, she put on a surge and it was very exciting because that girl (Surtz) didn't want to lose as well."
St. Viator's Katie Castelli placed ninth while Grayslake North's Kelli Tosic (14th), CLS's Mackenzie Aldridge (19th), and Grayslake North's Caroline Riss (22nd) all made the all-state team. St. Viator's Payton McDonnell placed 45th followed by CLS' Emma Murphy (56th).
"Kelli had a great race, she was in the position we wanted her to be in, and she achieved her goals so next year we're hoping she can crack the Top 10," said Grayslake North coach Anthony DeStephano. "We knew they both had the potential to be Top 25, and Caroline had a (personal record) today by about 13 or 14 seconds."
Grayslake Central was led by Bryn Sato (84th), Anissah Groark (87th), and Caroline Kokkin (89th).
In Class 3A, Naperville North nipped Yorkville 80-87 for the championship while Grant placed 15th behind freshman sensation Aly Negovetich's fourth-place finish (16:33.08).
"She (Negovetich) ran outstanding, she went out with the second group behind Katelynne Hart (champion from Glenbard West)," said Grant coach Jeff Durlak. "The whole state in 3A was really good, and 15th in the state in a year like this is something to be proud of."
Negovetich is now the highest finishing Grant girl in school history, as is Round Lake junior Fatima Giron, who had an excellent 11th-place run Saturday.
"We're very happy. Our whole goal was to get her (Giron) back to state, and make all-state so we're ecstatic," said Round Lake coach Kevin Brady. "Eleventh place is really good and looking forward she will have confidence that she can run even faster if she pushes herself."
Lake Zurich's Emily Burns placed 45th.