Maggie Scholle defends her CPL title with ease (Mark Capapas image)
Girls-
Last year at this time there was controversy.... Lane Tech won the title right? How about Whitney Young? No it was Northside Prep. Unfortunately, it was the kids that were cheated out of a rightful crowning of a team championship. Although Northside Prep was correctly awarded the team title after a scoring glitch was the culprit, it was weeks later. On this day head coach Jon Gordon wanted to make sure his girls did not leave any doubt as to who was the better team.
It would be a tell of two races once the gun shot off. Maggie Scholle of Lane was everyone's individual favorite and she never disappointed. The diminutive distance machine took to the lead like a pace runner well ahead of the field. But except for one thing: Scholle is her own pace setter. The junior star hit the first mile in 5:41 to Sara McCoy's (So., Northside Prep) 5:46. While Scholle looked under control and smooth, McCoy appeared to be laboring from a pace unaccustomed to her. Ella Behrens (Fr., Whitney Young) was on an island at 5:54 and the chase pack containing a slew of Northside Prep, Lane, and Payton runners just over 6:00.
Scholle continued to assail her competition with her torrid pace during the second mile, although she admitted to "relaxing" a bit. The meet record was still very much in danger and Scholle had to sense it because she glanced at her watch. Looking at one's watch is an unwritten no-no, it didn't matter because there wasn't a clock nor was any of the onlookers shouting out audible times. The actual time was 11:30 compared to McCoy's 11:53. Behrens was still holding on to third at 12:09 but fading and in danger of the chasers closing behind her. Northside appeared to have the team battle in hand at this point. The Mustangs were spread out evenly entering the final mile while Lane was scattered.
Scholle increased her lead on McCoy and glided home in victory formation with the meet record in tow with a time of 17:39, which is just one second off of her personal best achieved against superior competition. If the pendulum holds steady for Scholle, she may be in line for Lavinia Jurkewicz's all-time CPS record of 17:11. The former Whitney Young superstar won state with that time back in 2009.
-Top 10 finishers-
| Place | Athlete | Team | Result | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scholle, Maggie | 11 | Lane Tech High School | 17:39.20 | 1 | |
| 2 | Mccoy, Sara | 10 | Northside High School | 18:15.60 | 2 | |
| 3 | Fiona, Casey | 11 | Northside High School | 18:34.40 | 3 | |
| 4 | Behrens, Ella | 9 | Whitney Young High School | 18:46.60 | 4 | |
| 5 | Crotteau, Molly | 11 | Payton High School | 18:51.90 | 5 | |
| 6 | Hui, Alyssa | 12 | Lincoln Park High School | 18:57.70 | 6 | |
| 7 | Sackett, Violett | 12 | Northside High School | 19:04.00 | 7 | |
| 8 | Robledo, Yarely | 11 | Mather High School | 19:06.90 | 8 | |
| 9 | Burdin, Stephanie | 9 | Northside High School | 19:09.70 | 9 | |
| 10 | Nelson, Hannah | 11 | Jones College Prep | 19:13.00 | 10 | |
As for the tell of the tape, it was a no doubt victory for Northside College Prep who won in dominating fashion. The Mustangs placed four girls in the top 10 and it was all smiles.
| Top 5 Team Scores | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place | Team | Points | Scorers | Times | ||
| 1 | Northside High School | 39 | 2+3+7+9+18 (23+32) | 1:20 1-5 Split | 18:55 Avg | ||
| 2 | Lane Tech High School | 65 | 1+12+13+19+20 (25+87) | 2:09 1-5 Split | 19:10 Avg | ||
| 3 | Payton High School | 102 | 5+14+17+22+44 (50+54) | 2:13 1-5 Split | 19:46 Avg | ||
| 4 | Whitney Young High School | 104 | 4+21+24+27+28 (35+40) | 1:17 1-5 Split | 19:44 Avg | ||
| 5 | Jones College Prep | 122 | 10+16+26+34+36 (38) | 1:02 1-5 Split | 19:49 Avg | ||