| Top dog?
It’s Palatine
By Michael Eaken
Daily Herald
Correspondent
Posted Sunday, October 29, 2006
The Palatine girls cross country
team found itself in an unfamiliar position this year —
that of underdog.
The Pirates have been a work in
progress all season as coach Steve Currins has nurtured
a young but talented squad.
But Palatine put it all together
on a sloppy course and windy day at Saturday’s
Schaumburg sectional as the Pirates had three runners
finish in the top 18 to win their third consecutive
sectional title with 94 points at Busse Woods Forest
Preserve.
“We wanted to do some things a
little better than we did before,” said Currins, whose
team won its 12th sectional title. “We set a game plan
and we executed it pretty well.”
Barrington (99 points) took
second, followed by Fremd (142 points), Hersey (143),
and Prospect (164).
All five teams qualified for next
Saturday’s Class AA state meet at Detweiller Park in
Peoria.
Fremd’s Chelsea Bolton continued
her strong senior season by sliding to first place in
18:38.
“It was definitely slippery and
muddy,” said Bolton of the course conditions. “But
that’s what cross country is about.”
Bolton paced herself off the lead
pack for the first 2 miles before taking the lead with
just over a half mile remaining to win her first
sectional title. Now the senior will be seeking her
third all-state honor and will be in the running to win
the state title.
“We’ll see,” said Bolton of her
chance to secure the state title. “That’s one of the
dreams of all cross country runners.”
Individual qualifiers include
Wheeling’s Amber Stack (18:48), who took second, and
Conant’s Kalli Dalton (18:54), who placed fifth.
Other qualifiers included Warren’s
Heather Olson (sixth place), Lake Forest Julia Allen
(seventh), Maine South’s Kristin Zillmer (eighth),
Streamwood’s Nancy Nieto (10th) and Stevenson’s Kim
Tarnoff (14th).
Palatine, which seemed to be
running from behind all season, was right on time
Saturday.
Junior Colleen Standridge (19:27)
led the Pirates surge by taking 11th place. She was
followed by senior Michelle Brunk (19:38) and sophomore
Emma Maslanka (19:47), who placed 13th and 18th.
“We’ve been waiting for this all
season,” said Standridge, who surged during the second
mile. “The hard work is paying off and we’re starting to
believe in ourselves.”
Sophomore Tory Wright (20:06) and
junior Diana Cruz (20:26) had impressive outings,
finishing 28th and 37th to complete the Pirates’
scoring.
“It’s a big boost going into the
state meet,” said Brunk. “We wanted to focus on the end
of the season and do well at the right time.”
Sophomore Rebecca Tracy (18:52)
led the first 2 miles before finishing third to lead
Barrington.
“It felt like everything was
perfect today,” said Tracy, who finished eighth at the
Mid-Suburban League meet. “The second mile at the
conference seemed like it took forever; today it flew
by.”
Senior Danielle Locascio (19:45)
took 17th, followed by junior Samantha Learch (19:56,
22nd) and junior Molly Glantz (20:00, 23rd).
“It would have been nice to win,”
said Locascio, whose team won the MSL title. “Now we
need to put it together next week.”
The Fillies are hoping to narrow
the gap between their fourth and fifth runners at next
week’s state meet.
“The front four are running well,”
added Barrington coach Debbie Revolta. “We just need
someone to step up for us.”
Fremd will also be looking to
narrow the gap between Bolton and its other four
runners.
After Bolton’s winning finish, the
next closest Vikings were senior Alison Neubauer
(20:16), who finished 33rd, and sophomore Margaret Weber
(20:22) who finished 35th place.
“The pack broke up today,” said
Fremd coach Mark Anderson, whose team fell behind at the
start of the race and could never recover. “We need to
fix that in the next seven days and get out better.”
Sophomore Georgia Wiard (19:15)
took ninth place propelling Hersey to its first state
appearance since 2003.
“It’s awesome,” said Wiard of the
Huskies return to state. “We’re just a team and we’re
all out there for the team. It’s not about the
individuals.”
Sophomore Megan Gojney (19:31) and
freshman Sarah Reynolds (20:02) aided a young Huskies
team in taking 12th and 25th place.
“They care about their teammates
and it showed today,” said Hersey coach Jim Miks whose
top five runners are sophomores and freshman. “The kids
aren’t afraid. They attack and pick each other up.”
Freshman Annette White (18:52)
took fourth place, followed by junior Emma Partridge
(20:23) and freshman Emily Salzman (20:36), who finished
36th and 47th to propel Prospect to its first state
appearance since 2001.
“Finally,” said Partridge of her
team’s return to state. “We’ve had bad luck the past two
years but we really worked hard today.”
“It’s the best team chemistry
we’ve had,” added Prospect coach Dave Wurster. “The way
they work and stay together, they deserve it.”
Stack, the 2004 state champ,
finished in 18:48 and will be making her third
appearance at state.
Stack missed two weeks, including
the conference race, before returning to run at last
weekend’s regional, but the junior seemed to be shaking
off rust after briefly leading Saturday’s race.
“I think it threw me off more last
week,” said Stack who took fourth at last year’s state
meet. “I felt pretty good today, but Chelsea (Bolton)
had the kick at the end.”
Conant’s Kalli Dalton (18:54) took
fifth place and will be making her second consecutive
appearance at the state meet. Dalton took an early lead
Saturday before falling back.
“I’m looking to bounce back next
week,” said Dalton who finished fifth at last year’s
state meet. “I’ll give it everything I have.”
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