Sarah Schmitt (#459/Naperville North) and Maddie Dalton of Carmel Distance Project (Carmel HS) forged a tie in leading their teams
LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course; Terre Haute IN
The crisp weather which topped out at 55F and sunny was to the delight of the massive amount of fans from five participating states. Patrons of Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois enjoyed non stop cross country action from 10:30 am through 3:00 pm when the final championship race was recorded.
The girls championship race went off at 2p and when it was all said and done at 2:30 there was a strong feeling in the air. When the official results were posted the form charts fell into order accordingly.
US #5 Carmel IN got the job done as predicted but they needed a strong surge over the last two kilometers to win over Illinois 3A state champion Naperville North 108-120. Carmel had to this without the complete services of one time #1 girl senior Sarah Leinheiser dropping out with a reaccuring foot injury. So that means depth and timely pack running plays a big part in finishing off successful races. Junior Maddie Dalton picked up the slack once again and led the Greyhounds who run as the Carmel Project after the high school school season. Dalton placed 11th overal (17:53) but 6th in the team category. Three other teammates crossed within the top 20 to help seal the deal.
Naperville North aka "North Naperville" did not need any at-large consideration this time around. As it has been customary in virtually every race this season, the Huskies were led by a strong performance from junior Sarah Schmitt in 5th team scoring but 11th overall in a tie with Dalton. It was the 1:01 scoring split that was crucial is staying afloat and holding off third place Minooka, who will have to wait for the at-large committee selection in order to go to Portland.
The battle for individual supremacy was an interesting one to say the least. Anne Horsyth (Jr., Ann Arbor MI) and India Johnson (Sr., Hillard OH) got out quickly but it was Horsyth who headed the herd in 3:09 for the first kilometer. The race continued to grow and got faster through the first mile in 5:20. Horsyth and others rolled pass the second mile in 10:52. Horsyth was leading at this point and at 4k but barely. Glenbard West freshman sensation Katelynne Hart who once trailed the leader by as much as seven seconds cut it down to two seconds. As the race entered the final stretch which is about 500m. It was all Hart the track star. She would motor home in the second fastest time in course history with a smoking 17:05.
The strategic boys race pack working together in the early stages
The projection and then outcome was about the same for the boys as it was for the girls. Neuqua Valley come in with a plan of executing their race. The opening pace was fast as in 2:46 for the kilometer but no Wildcat would cross within seven seconds of the leaders. The pink and white striped jerseys that "Naperville South" wore was easy to spot in the sea of oddly looking tops. Neuqua was reportedly trailing the leaders by over 100 points with 3k. However, no worries as the group was generally together and observing one another's moves and counter moves. A few nods sprinkled in assured that everything was fine. It was in the final kilometer that the Wildcats strucked like a blitzkrieg in the dead of the night. The final tally was 12,14,15,21,26= 88 points. It was more than enough to beat a tough Downers Grove North squad who compiled a strong 136 point effort. Even if Neuqua Valley added the sixth and seventh man finishes to their team scoring they would have still qualified to Portland. That's called depth and talent. Jackson Jett (Sr.), Zach Kinne (So.), Jake McEneaney (Sr.) ignited the powder keg. The 17 second scoring split and 1-7 was an amazing 28 seconds! Junior varsity runner Ryan Kennedy (Jr.) finished third in the open race with a time of 15:58. He would have been a viable contributor for every team in the field. Downers North XC Club was just as dominating in their own right. The Trojans behind the tough running of Alec Danner Danner (Sr.) roped off a 23 second scoring splits. Illinois took the top four spots including at-large consideration Mahomet Seymour who finished third at 168 points. They did not have their #2 runner in the mix. Gary Pommier was operating with the flu. The Bulldogs only had 8 runners to depend on and it was prudent for Pommier to compete to assure the team's top three placement. Illinois showed tremendous strength by taking 7 of the top 10 teams.
The race for first came on the strength of a fast pace that touched off in 2:46. No one got too far out at the first mile in 4:37. indiana state runner up Gabe Findel (Jr., Hamilton Southeastern) led in the early going. Dylan Jacobs (Jr., Sandburg) took over at 4k and exchanged leads before Danny Kilrea (Sr., Lyons) took charge with less than a half mile to go. Kilrea pulled away from Jacobs and then Jack Aho (Sr., Grayslake Central) to win in the second fastest course time with a mark of 14:51. Once again Illinois excelled with 6 of the top 10 finishes.