Cross country: SCE boys, Batavia girls start postseason with a bang
St. Charles East hopes to literally make a run at a state boys cross country title while the Batavia girls hope to do the same.
Both teams took a step in the right direction while running past their local rivals among other squads during Saturday's Class 3A St. Charles North regional at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve.
"We came in with the mindset that we haven't run this course so let's get a feel for the course, not go super fast, but just kind of get a lay of land and see how we feel," Saints boys coach Chris Bosworth said. "Aidan (King) wanted to run hard so we let him go and he looked really good."
King won the boys regional, crossing the finish line in 15:15.0. The Saints took fifth in the state last season.
"We just kept it easy," King said. "We knew that we have a lot of big things coming up so there was no need to go all the way right now. We have a pretty long season so we tried to keep it easy and do what we needed to and got the win."
The Saints showcased their ability to run as a pack with Micah Wilson (15:17.8), Zack Loomis (15:17.9), Bob Liking (15:27.9) and Luke Schildmeyer (15:28.3) finishing between third and seventh place.
Batavia's girls, who are coming off back-to-back ninth-place finishes at state, hope to do even better this fall.
Katrina Schlenker is avoiding any kind of sophomore slump as she won in 17.13.1 to pace the Bulldogs.
"Today was a good race," she said. "I feel like I'm getting back into it more and more every single time I run. It was a fun race and we're excited to keep it going."
Other key contributors for the Bulldogs included Jenna Schifferer (18:05.1), Mia Gianfrancesco (18:06.7), Katie Cole (18:36.8) and Liliana Bednarek (18:41.2).
"This group has high expectations for themselves," Batavia girls coach Chad Hillman said. "I think they're anxious now to step up to the line and see what they can do next."
The girls and boys teams from Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East and St. Charles North all advanced to next Saturday's sectional, which will be back at LeRoy Oakes.