Girls cross country: Prospect, Fremd go 1-2 in regional
The girls cross country teams from Prospect and Fremd are getting to know each other quite well.
The Knights and Vikings hooked up for the third time in October on Saturday at the Class 3A regional on Prospect's campus.
Prospect and Fremd finished 1-2 at the Peoria Invitational on October 5, and they went 2-3 at the Mid-Suburban League meet last weekend.
It was another tough battle on a cold and windy day with the Knights holding off a hard-charging Fremd team to capture the regional title 45-48.
"We have seen them a number of times and knew they would be right there battling with us," said Prospect coach Pete Wintermute, whose team was without its top runner, sophomore Audrey Ginsberg, who finished third at the MSL meet.
"It was an opportunity for other kids to step up and shine and that is exactly what the girls did today."
Hersey captured third place with 76 points, followed by Glenbrook South (103 points) and Glenbrook North (131 points). Schaumburg secured the final team spot by edging Rolling Meadows 200-203.
All six teams will advance to the Hoffman Estates sectional next Saturday at Busse Woods, with the girls race starting at 10 a.m.
Glenbrook South senior Kate Jortberg jumped out to an early lead and ran to the individual title in 17:36.
"I always like my first mile to be pretty fast, then I can maintain that going into the final two miles," said Jortberg.
Freshman Cam Kalaway (18:27) and junior Annika Erickson (18:27) led the charge for the Knights, finishing 4-5. Freshman Hailey Erickson (18:33) kept the line moving by securing eighth place. Junior Reese Lettow (18:57) and junior Paige Runkle (19:13) completed the Knights' scoring by securing 11th and 17th place.
Fremd made a late charge in the final mile to apply a bit of pressure, but the Knights didn't flinch.
"We could tell Fremd was coming," said Annika Erickson of the Vikings' late charge. "We just made sure we kept moving. We stuck together and pushed each other through."
Fremd made it close using a surge in the final 300 meters, with senior Julia Finegan (18:29) and senior Rebecca Markham (18:30) securing sixth and seventh place.
"Coach (Joe Marcin) has been preaching that a lot of points can be made in the last 300-400 meters," said Finegan. "I trusted if I had the speed in track, I can do it now. I just feel like we are more mature this year and each person is doing their part."
Senior Julia LaDuke (18:51), freshman Amanda Markham (19:06), and senior Marisa Ban (19:07) completed the Vikings' scoring by going 10-12-13.
"The energy is contagious," said Fremd coach Joe Marcin. "We did a nice job of keeping our pack together in the middle, but we moved really well in the last 300 meters."
Hersey freshman Anna Harden showed she is the real deal. The Huskies' freshman ran to a second-place finish, crossing the line in 18:05.
"She (Jortberg) started to extend the lead, so I just kept to my pace," said Harden, who finished fifth at the MSL meet. "I held that pace and went for a good time, and tried to hold onto second place."
"She is very experienced, very talented, and very calm about it all," said Hersey coach Danielle Freeman of her star freshman runner.
The Huskies were aided by a big performance by senior Hannah Kersemeier (18:33), who took ninth place. A trio of freshmen then completed the Huskies' scoring as Mackenzie Ginder (14th, 19:08), Gabi Makowski (25th, 19:35), and Emma Van Meveren (26th, 19:36) ran with some confidence.
Junior Ashlee Jenks (19:12) took 16th place for Schaumburg.
Hoffman Estates sophomores Valerie Daniel (18th place) and Allessandra Carrasquillo (34th) both qualified individually. Other individual qualifiers included Rolling Meadows freshman Colette Lampa (31st), Conant freshman Lucy Scales (35th) and Rolling Meadows freshman Shreya Chacko (39th).