Southwest Prairie Conference Kicks Off Conference Weekend


The girls' individual race is much more open, as a few competitors have made claims to win the race. 

Isabelle Christiansen of Oswego has had a roller coaster of a season to this point. After she fell short of her goals she had for herself as a junior, Christiansen attacked the oval in the spring, resulting in some stellar marks. She posted a 10:57.33 in the 3200m and achieved a 4:58.01 in the 1600m. She started her cross country season early as she competed at Detweiller At Dark in late August, where she ran a 17:26.20 for 6th place. She followed that performance by winning the Downers Grove South Opener with a 17:50.00. The college recruitment process has prevented Christiansen from competing in every race for her team, and thus her individual results have taken a hit. She took 9th place at the Richard Spring Invite with a 17:28.70 which is not what she had been hoping to do. She will be looking to prove her fitness Friday, as she could have what it takes to win the whole meet, even on an "off" day.

 She will also try to help her team pull off an upset win over Minooka. The Panthers primarily rely on front runner, Christiansen, for the low score benefit. The Panthers gained a huge asset in Rebecca Corbett, who should step into the #1 position for the Panthers next fall. Corbett stepped up in Christiansen's absence at the Joliet Steelman Invite with a big win. Oswego can compete with Minooka, but the only way they can beat them is if their #4 and #5 girls can get closer to Ella Hale.

It took Juliana Stogsdill of Plainfield North a long time to break the 18-minute barrier this season. She finally managed the feat at the Minooka Flight Invite when she ran a 17:48. It is possible that Stogsdill, a recent Ball State commit, has been overworked this season, seeing as she has already competed in eight meets this fall. That workload is a lot to handle for any runner, and she may experience some dead legs this week as a result. She appeared fatigued at the Naperville Twilight Invite when she took 16th place with a 18:08.50. Could the surplus of meets cost Stogsdill the individual win this Friday? She is a tough racer and will certainly put out her best effort to ensure that it does not. 

Vivian Van Eck of Minooka enters the weekend with plenty of confidence after she had one of the best races of her career at Naperville Twilight. The senior placed 9th overall with a 17:49.60. This year has finally been the year of Van Eck. For her first three years of high school, she has run in the shadow of Tutt, Mackenzie Callahan, and Emily Shelton, waiting for her year to come and lead the Indians. Last year, she took 4th place at conference running an 18:28. She will be on the lookout for that individual conference title.

She is also looking to help her team win a team title. Minooka is coming off a great performance at the Naperville Twilight Invite, where they took fourth place as a team behind the three best teams in the state. Van Eck was followed by Julia Dames, and their 3-5 split was a mere 17 seconds. The Indians' team is very young, as their 3-5 runners are all freshmen. It can often be difficult to judge how freshman will stack up against tougher competition in the postseason races. The race this Friday will be a necessary test for this young team before the state series. 

Watch for the likes of Madison Zarembski (Oswego East), Corbett (Oswego), Hale (Oswego), and Dames (Minooka) to all battle to be in a top five spot behind the three favorites.