It was just several years ago that the Mid-Suburban League (MSL) had a strong hold on as the state’s best combined cross country conference. It was then that Palatine was the anchor team that ruled boys and girls high school running. Barrington, Mt. Prospect (Prospect), and Hoffman Estates are other strong examples.
This year on the boys side Elmhurst (York), Hinsdale Central, LaGrange (Lyons Township), and Downers Grove North have dominated the scene this fall.
The girls have been just as formable with Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West), Hinsdale Central, Oak Park-River Forest, and Lyons Twp (although they missed out on state- #8 regular season ranking) rocking the house every weekend.
Girls-
Top ranked Naperville North came into the foray knowing very well that they were the favorites to repeat as state champions. However, head coach Dan Iverson has never been a coach to rest on his laurels. “No, no, no we certainly don’t want to come in here and be complacent. There are too many good teams… Glenbard West, Palatine, New Trier are great teams in their own right,” he stated very clearly. The Huskies then went out and ran a uncharacteristic 51 second scoring split. They are not a team loaded with front running talent like Glenbard West despite Elly DeTurris (Jr.) finishing 10th.
# 3 Glenbard West led by senior star Madeline Perez won their first state in impressive fashion 75-112 over Naperville North. Although Perez was dejected after finishing third, she was jubilant in finding out that her team had secured the state championship.
#4 New Trier was just as thrilled in copping the third place trophy behind individual winner Mimi Smith (Jr.). The Trevians scored a healthy 173 points.
#2 Palatine, who came into the meet as a tremendous pack running team, lost contact among themselves very early and never recovered. The Lady Pirates produced a nightmare like 1:28 1-5 scoring split. The final verdict was a fourth place effort that tallied 214 points. Sophomore Kelly O’Brien stepped out of the shadows of a support runner and ran as a seasoned veteran finishing in sixth place.
#11 Lockport will not be overlooked again as the Lady Porters finished in fifth place (237 pts.) on the strength of freshman Morgan Bollinger’s eighth place effort.
The individual race took a cue from the earlier classification as well as warm climes in not being overzealous with a rocket fast start. Perez and freshman sensation Alexa Haff of Hinsdale Central took matters out ahead of the field for the opening start. The pair was locked step for step through a 2:35 first half-mile and then 5:21-5:22 first mile. Algonquin (Jacobs) junior Lauren Van Vlierbergen and Buffalo Grove sophomore Kaitlin Ko shadowed the leaders in 5:26. Smith was a considerable distance back in 5:30. Key runners O’Brien, Mary Blankemeier (Fr., Oak Park-River Forest), and several others were under 5:40 for the first mile.
As the race entered the Bermuda Triangle it was clear that Perez and Haff were on a mission to win the race and leave the competition in the dust. Perez, in only her fourth race of the season, refused to let up against Haff leading at the halfway point 8:08.3-8:03.5. Perez lost to Haff in the WSC Silver Championship meet three weeks ago. She must have known the only way to discard the freshman would be to put tremendous heat on her the entire race.
Meanwhile, ten seconds back were Smith and Van Vlierbergen running patiently together- almost conceding any attempt in going after the two front running Perez and Haff. The aforementioned trailing pack of runners stayed the same.
Perez and Haff appeared as though they were building their duel into a 1-2 finish passing the two-mile in 11:03. Smith and Van Vlierbergen stayed locked together in 11:12.
Finally, things began to shift with 800m to go in the contest as Haff and Perez started to stall. Smith caught the pair and moved in front. Van Vlierbergen started to show some serious stress on her face and fell back.
Smith opened up a bit of daylight on Haff, Perez, and Van Vlierbergen as the race entered the final quarter-mile. Smith, who is best known for her middle-distance exploits on the track, shifted into an 800m runner and surged hard up incline toward the finish line.
Although Smith was in the clear for the win Haff didn’t give up. She faded away from a tired Perez to finish in second place running 16:44- two seconds short of a state individual title. Perez had enough to hold off Van Vlierbergen 17:03-17:06. Blankemeier concluded a great introductory season taking the fifth spot in 17:06.
Boys-
#2 Hinsdale Central showed tremendous resolve this season in their only two losses to then top ranked and conference rival York. Instead of folding their tents after the defeats followed by injuries and illnesses, they gained confidence and strength.
The Red Devils had to wait a long time for official results but once the notification was released it wasn’t a surprise among the sea of red that the 99 point output was more than good enough to claim the victory. Head Coach Jim Westphal and his staff celebrated with their team behind the scoreboard. Westphal’s tight knit troops produced three all-staters led by senior Billy Magnesen’s eighth place finish. The scoring split of 32 seconds was executed well on 7, 18, 19, 23, and 32 places.
WSC Silver foe Downers Grove North did their own version of a celebration when they learned of a runner-up finish copping 144 points. Zack Smith (Sr.) and Ryan Clevenger (Jr.) led the way in third and seventh respectively.
Pre-season #1 O’Fallon rebounded from a mid-season slump to grab a third consecutive trophy by taking third with 157 points. Senior stalwart Patrick Perrier won his first title. Lyons Township continued the WSC Silver surge with a fourth place finish and just ahead of disappointing #1 York 190-196.
The idea of going for sub-14:00 was immediately squashed by the previous class attempts of suicide paces that ended in time disasters. Instead, the individual favorite Perrier sat back among a fleet of runners who were content in running as comfortable as possible for the opening mile.
The rather pedestrian 4:45-46 first mile featured about a dozen common names. The group featured Jesse Reiser (Jr., McHenry), Smith, Clevenger, Magnesen, Angel Estrada (Sr., Highland Park), Dan Lathrop (Sr., Plainfield South), Nolan McKenna (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South), Luke Schroer (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South), Billy Thomas (Sr., Buffalo Grove), Kevin Huang (Sr., Hinsdale Central), Nathan Mroz (Sr., Elmhurst York), Zach Dale (Jr., Hoffman Estates Conant), and Nick Bushelle (Sr., Naperville Neuqua Valley).
Perrier moved slightly in front after the 2k mark with his long build. He has such a smooth gazelle like stride that it appears as though he toys with his competition. Reiser, Smith, Dale, Schroer, Magnesen, and Dale trailed by just a second or two at the halfway point as Perrier crossed in 7:09.
Perrier did not put on a serious surge to dispose his foes. He would later remark that the wind mentally prevented him from wanting to take a risk that he may pay for later. It was an opportunity for the guys behind to go for it and they did not do it.
Perrier still led at the two-mile in 9:35. Still, he had some close company with Reiser and Smith just about two seconds back. Reiser and Smith seemed timid in challenging Perrier. This would be their last opportunity before Perrier opened up on them with a half-mile to go.
The last 600m seemed like a senior farewell tour for the O’Fallon senior as he looked back on several occasions moving up the final incline and toward the finish. He grimaced nicely toward the crowd several times in the process with the race intact. Perrier cruised to the finish line from what looked like a race warm up stride to a jog in 14:21. On the other hand, Reiser and Smith sprinted like mad men to make the final tally look closer than it really was. Both respectable runners hit the chute in 14:22 and 14:23 respectively. Dale was fourth in 14:31 and Mroz clocked fifth in 14:33.
