Jenna Lutzow could not be denied for her first title. She streaks to the finish line with her outstanding middle distance speed (Steve Bugarin photo)
Coach Ken Husser of Belvidere North knew his team was not at full strength when they met Dunlap in early September at the First To The Finish Invitational. The Blue Thunder would lose by 10 points. But he did not say anything about the loss. The true battle between #1 vs. #2 had to wait until November 5.
So the true battle of #1 vs. #2 had been building since that first big weekend and surely both parties were anxious in meeting up again. Preseason #1 Belvidere North had slipped to the second spot despite not having Jenna Lutzow (Sr.) for the competition.
At exactly 11am, the Blue Thunder came out swinging with Lutzow and her strong supporting cast which featured four freshman. They all strung together through the first mile under 5:40 and into back loop. Dunlap on the other hand had issues getting started with most of its power brokers getting clogged in the middle of the fray at the start. The Eagles top runner junior Franny Verville began to move after the first mile. Lutzow's rival Delaney Appino (Sr., Rockford Boylan) and her teammate Grace McLaughlin (Jr., Rockford Boylan) were in good shape from the start. In fact, it was Appino who set the first mile tone in 5:24. Lutzow and McLaughlin separated themselves from the swarm and headed to the "Bermuda Triangle" 1,2,3. Appino's lead would begin to shrink though she was 8:19 at the halfway point. Appino and Lutzow were virtually locked together with a mile to go in 11:08. Lutzow would become a mile and then half miler now. McLaughlin had fallen out of the race for supremacy. Lutzow finally salted away Appino with 600 to go.
| top 10 GIRLS THREE MILE RUN | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||
| 1 | Jenna Lutzow | 12 | Belvidere North High School | 16:35.00 | 1 | |
| 2 | Delaney Appino | 12 | Boylan High School | 16:45.00 | -- | |
| 3 | Grace Mclaughlin | 11 | Boylan High School | 17:10.00 | -- | |
| 4 | Madison Diercks | 9 | Belvidere North High School | 17:19.00 | 2 | |
| 5 | Annemarie Michael | 12 | Urbana University High School | 17:21.00 | -- | |
| 6 | Jenna Schwartz | 10 | Waterloo High School | 17:22.00 | 3 | |
| 7 | Gillian Fiene | 9 | Illiana Christian High School | 17:28.00 | -- | |
| 8 | Megan Safranski | 12 | Burlington Central High School | 17:28.00 | -- | |
| 9 | Kayla Schiera | 11 | Sandwich High School | 17:29.00 | -- | |
| 10 | Janine Orvis | 12 | Crystal Lake Central High School | 17:29.00 | 4 | |
But it was the team battle that was telling. Lutzow's immediate backup was two freshman in the top 15 on the strength of Madison Diercks and Gianna Sagona. She would eventually place 13th and her teammates assisted with an outstanding 31 second split. Dunlap closed very well in the final mile, however, it was impossible to make up for what Belvidere North did with three runners in the top five scoring wise. The Blue Thunder had finally won a state championship matching the boys program who had a nice run a few years ago. A ton of the credit would have to go to Lutzow for setting the table, but even she would admit her teammates stepped majorly... Vernon Hills once again showed consistency in their program with another trophy. They put four girls in the top 20 scoring wise which is pretty solid. How about Crystal Lake Central who always seem to be on the verge of greatness, but not quite there. The Tigers had the best composite 1-4 by a ton but that all important #5 scorer reared its ugly head. The 79 points at that spot doomed any chance of a trophy. As a consolation prize, senior Janine Orvis placed 10th.
| top 5 TEAM SCORES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | TEAM | POINTS | SCORERS | TIMES | ||
| 1 | Belvidere North High School | 61 | 1+2+5+26+27 (28+60) | 1:35 1-5 Split | 17:32 Avg | ||
| 2 | Dunlap High School | 79 | 7+13+15+19+25 (61+70) | 0:31 1-5 Split | 17:52 Avg | ||
| 3 | Vernon Hills High School | 95 | 8+17+18+22+30 (40+111) | 0:43 1-5 Split | 17:57 Avg | ||
| 4 | Crystal Lake Central High School | 124 | 4+11+14+16+79 (92+130) | 1:43 1-5 Split | 18:01 Avg | ||
| 5 | Grayslake Central High School | 271 | 42+51+54+59+65 (87+110) | 0:24 1-5 Split | 18:51 Avg | ||
2A girls state meet odyssey tells the story plus interviews