Last year's girl's varsity meet of champions was tremendous and action-packed
Date: Saturday, September 24, 2022
Location: Deer Grove East Forest Preserve; Palatine, IL
Schedule: Course walk: 8:30a; F/S 9:25a; Varsity 10:20a; JV 11:20a
MileSplit IL rankings page: HERE
Social media: Twitter ---> @milesplitil #PALMOC22
Opening line: the battle between York and Prospect could be World War 3 or a heavy-weight battle part 3. It's your call but the Deer Grove East playground will be dangerous for anyone in their wake!
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In last year's edition, it was the Lady Dukes who slaughtered the field with 48 points. York put all five scorers among the top 15 by using a 16-second split. Their sixth runner was just 18 seconds back in junior Maggie Margaret Owens. Speaking of Owens, she is still on the shelf and hasn't competed yet. Bria Bennis (Sr), Brooke Berger (Sr), Michaela Quinn (Jr), and Katherine Klimek (Jr) are all back and will be ready to be front-running performers.
The absence of Owens could be a factor in whether or not the Dukes win or place second. Prospect is a very strong team now that they have the option of inserting frosh phenoms Veronica Znajda and Meg Peterson in the varsity lineup. It's not known if the Knights will roll out the youngsters again. If they do they could be victorious again like they were at the Richard Spring Invitational last weekend. If they don't they could still win but will need a stronger race from Lily Ginsberg (Jr). The scoring split will also need to be consistent.
This is a deep invite with plenty of storylines between York and Prospect. Downers Grove North have held their own against the giants each time out. Last weekend in Peoria, they took third using a 1:05 split. Let's see if the Trojans can get the split lower. Freshman Lily Eddington led the way for her team.
WSC Silver rivals Lyons and Oak Park River Forest will be on the scene. The Lady Lions will receive a boost from senior Catherine Sommerfeld who will make her season debut. OPRF is strong as well and will defend its ranking with junior Katie Stabb upfront.
2A will have a strong representation of top-ranked Grayslake Central and Lakes battling. Though they will have to scrap with the powerhouse 3A teams, let's keep an eye on the impending on them and how they set up their post-season run.
Individually, this could be an amazing race. York has three top runners as mentioned earlier and Prospect has theirs including Hailey Erickson (Sr.). Erickson has run well and knows the layout well. Anna Harden (Sr., Hersey) took runner-up honors last weekend at the Richard Spring Invite is a runner from the MSL and this course is a major runway. She knows to navigate the turf.
Brooke Johnston (Sr., Lake Zurich) was supposed to challenge for a top spot in Peoria last weekend but she was ill. She appears to be healthy and if so, the competition better watch out. Johnston is a tough frontrunner and will be among those who decide the fate of the race.
Another frontrunner is Audra Soderlind (Sr., Oswego) and she likes to lead or push the pace. it will happen again. Of course, there is someone who will pop out of nowhere. We will be there to capture it.
We didn't forget about Scout Storms (So., Barrington). She is back! It was a treat to see her back after winning the 3A FTTF several weekends ago. She has had several more weeks of training to prep for this one. It will be a great one indeed.