The Barrington boys put on a display as a program at the Art Campbell Lake Co Invite in Waukegan
There were 735 runners from across 15 high schools in Lake County that gathered at the Waukegan Sports Park to run their first race of the season. The weather was a chilly 63 degrees for early September, which made for excellent racing conditions for the athletes.
To start things off the varsity girls race had 129 skilled runners-- including 2018 2A champion junior Brooke Stromsland of Lakes and 2018 3A all-stater sophomore Aly Negovetich of Grant. Last year, Negovetich won the race in 18:06, so expect sub-18:00 for the winning time this year. At the first mile, run in 5:46, a lead pack of Negovetich, Stromsland, Kelsey Hamilton (Zion-Benton), Bree Ponchak (Libertyville), and Rose Sheridan (Vernon Hills) has emerged. At the finish line, Negovetich sprints past with no one near her and wins in an impressive time of 17:24, a 42 second improvement over last year! Stromsland comes in second in 17:42, closely followed by freshman Sheridan in 17:52. 2A #17 Vernon Hills dominates as a team, with their top five runners all placing in the top 25 spots, totaling 50 points. 2A #21 Lakes took home second place with 93 points and 3A #24 Libertyville was behind them in 97 points.
| 1 | Vernon Hills High School | 50 | 3+6+7+10+24 (32+41) | 2:00 1-5 Split | 18:52 Avg | ||
| 2 | Lakes High School | 93 | 2+15+20+27+29 (64+82) | 2:22 1-5 Split | 19:29 Avg | ||
| 3 | Libertyville High School | 97 | 5+18+19+25+30 (39+48) | 1:41 1-5 Split | 19:36 Avg | ||
| 4 | Grant High School | 110 | 1+13+14+26+56 (57+91) | 4:00 1-5 Split | 19:33 Avg | ||
| 5 | Warren High School | 137 | 9+12+34+37+45 (46) | 1:56 1-5 Split | 20:06 Avg | ||
| 6 | Stevenson High School | 171 | 23+33+35+36+44 (47+68) | 1:14 1-5 Split | 20:23 Avg | ||
| 7 | Grayslake Central High School | 177 | 16+17+21+60+63 (75+78) | 2:08 1-5 Split | 20:26 Avg | ||
| 8 | Lake Forest High School | 214 | 11+40+50+55+58 (69+79) | 2:11 1-5 Split | 20:49 Avg | ||
| 9 | Zion Benton High School | 219 | 8+31+38+70+72 (89+90) | 2:56 1-5 Split | 20:49 Avg | ||
| 10 | Grayslake North High School | 256 | 4+59+62+65+66 (74+85) | 3:20 1-5 Split | 20:59 Avg | ||
| 11 | Mundelein High School | 277 | 22+49+53+73+80 (81+87) | 2:49 1-5 Split | 21:24 Avg | ||
| 12 | Wauconda High School | 290 | 28+42+51+83+86 (88+93) | 3:05 1-5 Split | 21:41 Avg | ||
| 13 | Deerfield High School | 305 | 52+54+61+67+71 (76+77) | 0:47 1-5 Split | 21:35 Avg | ||
| 14 | Lake Forest Academy | 408 | 43+84+92+94+95 (96) | 5:06 1-5 Split | 24:11 Avg | ||
----------
The boy's varsity race had an equally, if not more, competitive field. Among the top boy athletes are Dillon Blake of Mundelein, who was a 3A all-stater in 14:38, Nate Schmitt of Lake Forest who was second in last year's 2A state meet and won county last year, and Ben Rosa of Lake Forest whose PR is 15:13, but his 4:12 1600m in May has made him standout. A sizeable lead pack of Schmitt, Rosa, Blake, Carter Schorr, Josh Puyear, and Will Gordon of Libertyville blaze through the first mile in 4:56-- a sign of a mid-to-low 15:00 finish. At the finish line, Rosa and Blake are battling it out for first place, but Rosa wins the struggle and comes in first place with a time of 15:25 followed by Blake in 15:26. Teammate Schorr came in .2 seconds behind Blake to also earn 15:26. As a team, 3A #9 Barrington won in 75 points, their top five runners also finishing in the top 25 spots. Warren narrowly earned second place in 91 points followed by Deerfield in 93 points.
| 1 | Barrington High School | 75 | 6+9+14+21+25 (27+33) | 0:50 1-5 Split | 16:09 Avg | ||
| 2 | Warren High School | 91 | 10+13+15+22+31 (44+49) | 0:42 1-5 Split | 16:17 Avg | ||
| 3 | Deerfield High School | 93 | 8+17+18+24+26 (28+34) | 0:44 1-5 Split | 16:17 Avg | ||
| 4 | Mundelein High School | 102 | 2+3+20+38+39 (42+62) | 1:23 1-5 Split | 16:09 Avg | ||
| 5 | Stevenson High School | 128 | 4+11+30+40+43 (50+53) | 1:33 1-5 Split | 16:28 Avg | ||
| 6 | Lake Forest High School | 159 | 1+5+32+58+63 (69+75) | 2:27 1-5 Split | 16:40 Avg | ||
| 7 | Libertyville High School | 184 | 7+19+51+52+55 (56+60) | 1:44 1-5 Split | 16:52 Avg | ||
| 8 | Grayslake Central High School | 245 | 29+35+57+59+65 (74+79) | 1:16 1-5 Split | 17:22 Avg | ||
| 9 | Grant High School | 253 | 16+23+66+72+76 | 2:02 1-5 Split | 17:24 Avg | ||
| 10 | Lakes High School | 301 | 37+45+68+70+81 (91+94) | 1:36 1-5 Split | 17:41 Avg | ||
| 11 | Round Lake High School | 302 | 12+36+73+88+93 (101) | 2:58 1-5 Split | 17:47 Avg | ||
| 12 | Zion Benton High School | 326 | 46+48+64+83+85 (90+96) | 1:18 1-5 Split | 17:51 Avg | ||
| 13 | Vernon Hills High School | 334 | 41+61+71+77+84 (87+89) | 1:26 1-5 Split | 17:54 Avg | ||
| 14 | Grayslake North High School | 359 | 47+54+80+86+92 (98+100) | 1:50 1-5 Split | 18:09 Avg | ||
| 15 | Wauconda High School | 419 | 67+78+82+95+97 (99+102) | 1:32 1-5 Split | 18:41 Avg | ||
------------------
Especially considering this course was over the standard distance, not the typical 3-mile Illinois cross country layout, the times were significantly improved over last year's which shows how hard the athletes worked to improve over the summer. The county invite is usually just friendly competition, but earning an all-county finish or placing as a team is no small feat. Lake County has shown tremendous potential and it will be exciting to see the teams compete as true competition season grows nearer.