Definitely a face to watch for in years to come: Westmont sophomore Chris Bailey, whose great kick landed him a 10th-place finish in Class A and the Chicago area`s best individual finish.
”For a kid who had knee problems last season and didn`t make it out of the regional, to make the top 10 the first time down here is great,” said Westmont coach Steve Wolf.
”He beat everyone in our area but here we didn`t know what to expect. He had a terrible box (No. 2) and was way back at the start, but he stayed out of trouble, and after the triangle he picked up 15 places.
”His kick was beautiful.”
– Led by Brian Allen`s fifth-place finish, St. Joseph-Ogden repeated as the Class A boys state champion by eight points over runner-up Georgetown.
Luther North turned in the Chicago area`s best showing, claiming seventh behind Robert Lynch`s 28th-place individual finish.
Senior Christian Natusch of Rushville, a foreign-exchange student from Germany, won the individual title in 14 minutes 53 seconds in his first and last IHSA competition.
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– Flurries were forecast, but real, bona fide flakes fell, affecting visibility and the runners` footing throughout the first three races before the clouds finally parted in time for the boys` Class AA race.
”At the start today, I couldn`t see anything,” said Palatine`s Julie Justmann, third in the girls` AA race. ”I was running blind.
”In a way, though, it kind of helped. It was basically just the snow and me, so I couldn`t worry about my teammates as much. I was just hoping my teammates could see me up ahead of them.”
”Even after the snow finally stopped,” said boys Class AA champion Pat Joyce of Stevenson, ”the ground was really treacherous.
”You had to slow down at every single tree.”
– After Joyce and Libertyville`s Chris Brown, Saturday`s Class AA boys line of fame included Peoria Notre Dame junior Adam White in third, Willowbrook`s Tom Boyd in fourth, East Peoria sophomore Tim Broe in fifth, Moline`s Jamie Verstraete in sixth and Lincoln-Way`s George Patrylak in seventh.
– Erica Smit and Kathy Greenfield keyed Timothy Christian`s seventh-place finish with third- and fourth-place runs in the Class A girls race.
All seven runners return for veteran coach Don Greenfield, who watched his team miss a trophy last year by one point.
”It would`ve been nice to erase that memory with a trophy, but we`ll be back,” said the coach. ”Erica did a great job of breaking the pack, and they kept the team framework while still finishing well.”
”We wanted to run a passing race because that helps us psychologically,” said Kathy Greenfield.
– The joy of Becky Coleman`s state championship run for Libertyville spilled over to encompass her parents, Terry and Laura Coleman of Vernon Hills.
It`s a good thing for Terry, too, who hadn`t slept since Thursday after arriving at O`Hare from Reno at 5 a.m. Saturday.
”This is better than any coffee. I don`t need any sleep now,” said Terry, who was in Reno for a pet sales show. ”We`ve been waiting a long time for this. Becky`s worked real hard.”
– Freshman Sue Gibson of Trenton Wesclin captured the Class A girls title, covering the 2.1-mile course in 12:17.
”I was looking to get in the top 10, but I didn`t expect to get first, especially after my first mile,” Gibson said.
Gibson is the first freshman to win the Class A race.
Herscher repeated as the Class A girls team champion, scoring 98 points to runner-up Seneca`s 118. Seneca had defeated Herscher as the Herscher regional. Herscher also finished second at the Normal University sectional.
”I don`t know why we do it that way,” said Herscher coach Scott Stephens. ”I guess it`s called peaking. But I`d rather get this trophy than any of the others anytime.”
Karla Godwin helped Herscher with a sixth-place finish. Seven Herscher runners ran personal bests.
– All four team champions were repeat winners: In Class A, Herscher and St. Joseph-Ogden won their second in a row. York`s boys and Palatine`s girls made it four in a row.
– Indicative of the support York attracts to Peoria, the 10-member cheerleading squad was poised to support the Dukes` 17th state title.
Assigned to ”cheer all day” by coach Jan Jumper, not all of the squad was thrilled.
”I`m cold,” said Erin Keenan. ”But it`s worth it if we win.”
It was worth it.
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