Judy Pendergast displays her record setting performance (Colin Boyle photo)
Girls-
The attraction of 37 well deserved teams in the championship took flight amid the annual fireworks display just after 1:30 pm. It did not take long for Judy Pendergast to bolt in the lead. Pendergast was already on record pace when she hit the first kilometer in 3:06. There were some people not familiar with Illinois cross country questioning the fast times produced at the state meet. One out of state coach noted, "I just find it interesting given the fast times on the [Detweiller course]." This assertion was not new and it seems to put Illinois kids in a position to run with an extra sense of purpose in enemy territory.
Pendergast was more than a dozen seconds up on Carmel junior Sarah Leinheiser at the mile and then 2000 meters with scorching times of 5:09 and 6:29. Those checkpoint marks are the fastest documented times at LV.
Indiana State University track and field coordinator John McNichols and his staff designed the course in 1997 with a long term goal of making Terre Haute the cross country capital of America. Said McNichols at the time: "The LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course has just what a championship course should have ... a challenging setup of varying elevations, twists and turns, and a long straight-away. It also has something special for the spectator ... openness ... with unobstructed views of the entire course for the fan to follow the action from start to finish from anywhere at the venue." That challenge was what Pendergast needed in proving the naysayers wrong and building her legendary status.
As Pendergast passed the 3k in 9:52 and two-mile in 10:36, it was clear that she was going to win going away. However, the team picture was not as clear cut. Part of the issue are the team uniforms. Nike has a rule that teams may not represent their high school team with their in season unis. So as it turned out many athletes, particularly girls who like to wear colorful gear of the same brand (NIKE for instance) and that confuses things. Meet favorites Naperville North and Carmel looked healthy as their coaches and supporters were positioned well during the meet providing moral support.
Pendergast pushed her way to a record breaking performance that produced the fastest ever time on Indiana soil- 17:00.6. The Harvard University bound harrier was barely out of breath and seemed to hardly notice her supreme effort as she waited for her teammates to cross the finish line. The Huskies would ultimately end up third behind winner Centerville and second place finisher Northville. Minutes after accepting their awards a controversy emerged in that a scoring error occurred. For that story go here: NXN Controversy
After Pendergast, the Missouri big classification champion Anna West (Sr., Lafayette) finished second in 17:28 using a furious finish to nip a tiring and fading Leinheiser and Madison Troy (So., Grandville, MI). Leinheiser ran in last year's NXN championship courtesy of her team's auto advancement. This will be Troy's first trip to Portland as it will be for Alex Buck (Sr., Pendleton Heights, IN). IL 3A state runner-up sophomore Lindsey Payne of Glenbard West is on the outside looking in. If Naperville North gets in via at-large then Payne will travel to Portland.
- Anna Sophia Keller (Jr., Effingham St. Anthony IL)- multiple state champion and a 2014 NXN qualifier became ill during the morning of the meet and could not compete.