York Girls and Loyola Academy Boys shine at sectionals
Tony Jones- Dyestat IL/ESPN RISE
Niles West 3A Sectional Recap
10/31/09
Niles West H.S.; Skokie, IL
3.0 miles; wet, slick course with winding and tight turns
44*F; overcast with swirling winds
What a cross country season it has been with such funky weather. It seems like every weekend beginning mid-September that temperatures have been sub-par on race day. So, it shouldn’t have been surprising for the runners to gather before a course filled with excessive rain and mud. It is after all cross country.
-Girls-
 Dyestat IL #4 Elmhust York made quick work of a solid field that featured three other ranked teams. The Lady Dukes got out of the gates quickly to establish position and to possibly eschew the horrendous course conditions. York’s Meghan Frigo led her team’s charge battling Whitney Young ace Lavinia Jurkiewicz for much of the race before settling for 3rd place. The remaining Dukester scoring supporting cast featured kid sister sophomore Michelle Frigo, Stephanie Huster, Megan Fry, and Lizzy Field. The quartet all finished among the top 15 overall (5,8,10,12). The two non- scoring runners weren’t left out of the action as Shari Lund and Natalie Mordini added 13th and 14th place finishes. The team 1-5 split of 44 seconds was better than the superb :46 they obtained at the Lake Park Regional a week ago. The ending resulted in one of most lopsided finishes on the girls’ side: 38-89 over Whitney Young.
Whitney Young advanced to state for the third consecutive year scoring 89 pts. Jurkiewicz placed second overall in 17:45. The key for the Dolphins was the splendid pack running by its 2-5 runners. Devyn Thompson (11th), Rachel Joravsky (18th), Roriann Nalls (25th), and Maisie Vachuska (35th) finished with a split of 34 seconds. Joravsky lost her right spike shoe a half-mile into the race but was still able to run her best race of the season.
New Trier is one of the youngest teams in the state with four freshman, two juniors, and sophomore in their starting lineup. Youth and inexperience did not stop the Trevians from placing third and scoring 106 pts. Freshman Courtney Ackerman nipped Young’s Jurkiewicz in the closing stages of the race for the win. Fellow freshmen Allison Crimmons, twin sister Jessica Ackerman, and Kacie Swierk placed 22nd, 26th, and 27th overall. Anna Berglund added a 30th place effort three seconds later to close out team scoring.
Host Niles West came into the fray as the 8th ranked team in the field but none of that mattered as the Lady Wolves ate alive 16 other teams foes and advanced to state with a 4th place finish (171pts). Megumi Hoshi ran her best race of the season placing 6th overall. But the story was her team as each scoring member had career best efforts.
Loyola Academy earned the 5th and final ticket to Peoria holding back 6th place finisher Lake Park 183-194. The Ramblers were led by the 1-2 scoring punch of Natalie Kaminski and Rachel Price. The duo placed 9th and 15th respectively.
-Race analysis-
There was absolutely no time wasted with Jurkiewicz, Frigo, Elizabeth Reyes of Oak Park-River Forest, Kristen Zillmer of Maine South, and several others moving ahead of the starting field. It was just after the opening quarter-mile that Frigo and Jurkiewicz opened up a four-second lead on their nearest competitor.
The first mile of the course was pretty solvent despite being cascaded by heavy rains earlier in the week. So, Frigo and Jurkiewicz (with head band) were the first to test it as they passed through the initial checkpoint in 5:48. Zillmer, Reyes, and several others were ten seconds back. York’s top five pushed under 6:05. As the race continued to move into the swampy and treacherous portion of the course for the next 400 meters, it was still Frigo and Jurkiewicz running together and in total command. But at the 9:00 mark Frigo began to slightly drop behind Jurkiewicz. Meanwhile, Courtney Ackerman started to make her move and surge away from the front pack that she was apparently in. Still, as the second mile began to close in, it was Jurkiewicz out front and through in 11:53. Frigo still barely holding on to second was about five seconds back. Ackerman was third and Reyes fourth. Just after the 14:00 mark, Jurkiewicz had company in the name of Ackerman. Instead of tucking behind Jurkiewicz, she moved ahead. With less than a quarter-mile to go in the race, a ton of fans expecting dramatic finish did some dashing of their own, bolted into the stadium to gain prime viewing spots. As the two harriers entered the stadium it was too close to call. Ackerman had a step on Jurkiewicz as they canvassed the football field. Ackerman was able to hold on for the eyelash victory: 17:45.38-17:45.98.
Afterwards, Ackerman appeared stunned that she pulled out the victory, immediately peered toward the finish line before answering any reporter’s questions. It was perhaps she was looking for her finishing teammates. “It felt good,” she said referring to the outcome of the race while still looking attentively toward the finishing area. When asked about her plan to win or the competition she added: “I didn’t know much about [Jurkiewicz] except that she was good.”
For Jurkiewicz it was a race stolen from her in the last stages. After a few moments of reflection she accepted the defeat with class, “I didn’t know who she was but she ran well enough to win.” As for next week’s state championship: “I may have to redevelop a race strategy for state.”
-Boys-
It was exactly four weeks ago when Loyola scored an epic victory in the history of their cross country program. They defeated the vaulted York Dukes at the Palatine Invitational by the slimmest of margins 47-56. Although it was a great match up with both lineups stacked somehow the luster was taken away by the mass of pundits. They speculated that York only lost because Adam Cecil was not in their starting cast. Ok….
Fast forward to October 31, the battle part 2 was a chance for the Dukes to get revenge.
The opening seconds of the race was a sea of green/white mixed with maroon. They packed together and let Fenwick senior Martin Grady and Oak Park-River Forest sophomore Malachy Schrobilgen take off way out in front.
For Loyola, they had the numbers up leading with the senior quartet of Nico Composto, Jack Seeburg, Mark Donohue, and Patrick Smith. York countered with Andrew Smith, Jack Driggs, and Matthew Schacht.
Grady and Schrobilgen led through a fast mile in 4:45. Composto, Smith, and Driggs checked eight seconds later in 4:51. Two more Loyola Ramblers back in 4:53.
Composto continued to lead the chase pack with the same cast from earlier on his back as the race passed the halfway point. But it was clear that Loyola was putting a whipping on York with four runners among the top 10. York only had two. In fact, the Dukesters were battling against Oak Park-River Forest to stay in contention for second.
As the race passed through two miles, Grady was still in total control running 9:56. Schrobilgen was already caught and passed. Composto and Smith began to surge after Grady, whose once huge lead shrank to a few seconds. With less than a than a quarter-mile to go it was a new race. Grady began to labor badly with the awful looking facial expressions to boot fought every step to get to the finish line first. Entering the stadium grounds, there was less than 200m to go, and it was clear that Composto and possibly Smith was going to catch Grady. Grady hit the football turf first then Composto. The finish line is on the 20-yard line- the other 20-yard line. In other words, it’s 80 yards from the goal line to the finish. Grady’s goose was cooked as Composto caught him before midfield. Smith passed Grady as well. But it was Composto completing the amazing finish first, and spoils go to the winner in 14:57.56. Smith copped second in 14:58.34, and Grady tapped out third in 14:58.42.
The Ramblers streamed home fast with four other scorers along the top 15. Seeburg was 5th in 15:10 while Jack Seeburg cruised home three seconds later in 15:13. Patrick Smith continues to run well as the team's fourth runner, copped 8th place, and unknown Tom Beddome officially closed the book on any chance in York mounting a miracle, placed 15th place. Next weekend's state championship should give Loyola the upperhand after such a dominating performance.
York was no doubt licking their wounds after the race totals were handed out. The Dukes did not have a stellar showing after Driggs’ 4th place effort. Schacht fell way off to 20th. Teammates Kushpal Sangha and Ron Hedman ended the slaughter with 25th and 26th finishes. The 77 pts were the most the team from Elmhurst has scored in many years at a sectional.
Oak Park-River Forest coach Abel Reyes was very nervous shortly after the race because he was unsure of his team’s outcome. However, once the official score was in the Huskies were awarded 3rd place with 95 pts. They actually qualified very easily. Schrobilgen finished 7th followed Jack Stapleton in 11th, Peter Hogenson in 18th. Sam Fourman and Clayton Kirk dropped 24th and 35th place finishes.
Maine South earned a second straight trip to Peoria placing 4th with 108 pts to outlast conference foe New Trier who scored 118 pts. The Hawks relied heavily on an upperclassmen line of David Eckhart, Mike Moore, Sean Senf, Nick Keenan, and Dylan Wallace as the team’s scorers. They all placed in the top 30.
New Trier copped the final state berth ahead of 6th place Fenwick. Tommy King and Noah Grayboys finished 9th and 10th place to lead their team. |
