Naperville North Cruise at First to the Finish Invitational

Close races mark a day where Detweiller Park evaded rain

By Michael Newman

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PEORIA, Ill. – It was not supposed to be this way Saturday at Detweiller Park, stated all of the weather forecasts. It was supposed to rain. It was supposed to be muddy. It was supposed to be like an apocalypse for anyone racing in this little hamlet just to the north of Peoria. RESULTS

Instead, the opposite happened at the First to the Finish Invitational. Rain kept south of the park. The temperatures stayed in the low 60s. One coach stated that it was the perfect day to run a cross country meet.  

With two days of rain prior to the meet, the course was not in the best of conditions. By the time the 3A races went off in the afternoon, more than 4,400 runners that competed at Detweiller had run on it, matted down the course, and made it a fast track.

The 3A girls race was supposed to be the showcase race of the day, featuring the top three teams in the state.

It failed to disappoint.

The spotlight shined on the individual race, where two runners stepped out of the shadows. This was the first high school race for Batavia’s Katrina Schlenker. No one knew what to exactly what to expect from her. She said as much herself after the race. She had run 4:59 on the track for 1,600 meters, but what could she do for three miles?

The answer came quickly. Yorkville’s Helena Kleronomos was pushing the lead going through the first mile in 5:30. Schlenker led the pack that included Alex Morris of Naperville North, Emily Eberhart and Kailey Fox of Yorkville, Brielle Rochester of Libertyville and Molly Fitzpatrick of Barrington.

The strategy changed in the triangle as Schlenker joined Kleronomos in the front as the pack started to break up. By two miles, Schlenker and Fitzpatrick went through in a swift 11:05 with Kleronomos and Morris running together five seconds back. Another five seconds back was Eberhart joined by Downers Grove South’s Brenna Cohoon. 

One more lap around the course and nothing had changed. Schlenker was weaving through lapped runners coming up to the finish. Fitzpatrick was trying to stay in contact. 

Schlenker made one final move in the last 20 meters to counteract the charge that Fitzpatrick was making. The Barrington sophomore just ran out of room.

Schlenker crossed the line in 16:42. For a senior to go under 17 minutes at Detweiller is an accomplishment. For a freshman to do it, wow.

Fitzpatrick was next (16:44) only two seconds behind.  

“I was just going as I felt. This was my first race and in a big event like this, I was nervous,” Schlenker said. “I did not want to get out too hard. This was three miles and I am not used to that. I knew there was mud on the course and I had to position myself on the first. I just tried to position myself with the people around me.”

Kleronomos was 20 seconds back with Morris another three seconds behind.

“She fought through the race I thought,” Naperville North coach Dan Iverson said of Morris. “She struggled at the end of the first and second mile but found her footing in the end.”

Cohoon was next in fifth just next to Morris (17:07), followed by Fox at 17:12.

This was the first race for Naperville North for the season. If the team had any “rust,” it did not show. The top-ranked team in the state placed six runners in the top 21 to take home the team title with only 58 points and a 39-second split on the top five off Morris.

“This was a good as we have ever looked at this meet,” Iverson added. “This field was awesome. Yorkville and Downers Grove South are very good teams. I thought we really ran well.”

Downers Grove South and Yorkville were only separated by one point, but it was Downers Grove South that took second with 92 points. Yorkville was third at 93 points. Minooka (182 points) and Batavia (204 points) rounded out the top five.

Maine South’s Tommy Brady disclosed after the Boys 3A race that he woke up in the morning sick. All he could do was go give it his best.

He defined how the race played out. Brady, who is the top returning runner from last year’s state meet, had said that he needed to push himself more in the front. Now he was doing that as the mile went through in a quick 4:40 with Downers Grove North’s Jack Roberts right by his side and Glenbard West teammates Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody just three strides back.

Brady was still pushing the pace as they came out of the triangle approaching two miles, with Moody dropping off the pace. The three runners (Cavan, Roberts, Brady) passed two miles in 9:31 with Brady still dictating the pace. 

Brady made a move with 800 meters left. 

“As we came around the turn, I was feeling light headed, dizzy,” Brady said. I do not know if I could finish.

Yet, he was still in the lead.

In the final 300 meters, Brady started to fall of the pace as Roberts and Cavan took over the lead and the two of them went into an all-out sprint toward the finish. Cavan’s one final move in the last 30 meters was the difference. The Glenbard senior won his second major race in as many weeks crossing the line in 14:24. Roberts was two seconds back in 14:26.

“I knew I had to stay with it (when Brady made his move),” Cavan said. “I pride myself with my kick and I used that. Some of these guys can push it. I knew if I can stay with them, I could get them in the end.”

Brady struggled to finish, collapsing with 10 meters left. He got back up immediately. Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City was passing Brady as he was getting up and gave the Maine South runner a pat on the back of encouragement. Brady finished seventh overall. Considering the physical condition he was in, it was a win even though he did not feel like it. 

The team race was one of the biggest surprises. Fishers of Indiana came away earning the win with 147 points. Ethan Meyer led their team finishing 13th overall. Fishers had a top-five split of 31 seconds. The surprise to some was the second-place finish from Lyons Township, ranked 16th in the preseason rankings. The Lions used a 38-second split on their top five led by Jack Ehlert (11th place) to score 165 points. Glenbard West, with Cavan and Moody finishing in the top 10, scored 171 points to finish third. Oswego East (201 points) and New Trier (268 points) rounded out the top five.

Meet Highlights

The 1A girls race had a close finish as defending 1A state champion Emma Argo of Eureka ran 17:54 for the win holding off Staunton’s Lydia Roller by one second (17:55). Eureka got top-10 finishes from Argo and Alexi Fogo (sixth) to win the 1A team title with 129 points ahead of Winnebago (167 points) and Rock Falls (181 points).

Brooke Stromsland of Lakes Community pulled away in the final 600 meters to run 17:21 for the win. Her margin of victory ahead of Latin School freshman Ava Parekh was a convincing 16 seconds.  Belvidere North got top-five finishes from Madison Diercks (third) and Gianna Sagona (fifth) to pace the Blue Thunder to a team (132 points) ahead of Vernon Hills (132 points). The Cougars will be a team to watch as they had all seven of their runners in ahead of Belvidere North’s fourth runner Caitlin Corso. Vernon Hills, led by Hannah Ray (15th place), had only a 37-second split on its top seven.

Christopher Collet of Seneca pulled away from a three-runner pack in the final 500 meters to win the 1A boys race (15:17), three seconds ahead of Logan Pietrzak of Fountain Central IN. Stanford Olympia used a 40-second split on their top five led by Jon Neville’s 16th place finish to win the 1A team title with 163 points. El Paso-Gridley (176 points) and Urbana University (190 points) finished second and third.

In turned into a kicker’s dual in the 2A boys race as Antioch’s Charlie Smith passed Riley Wells in the final five meters to win (15:19.8) ahead of Wells’ 15:21.5. The top four runners in the race finished within five seconds. Dixon, led by fifth-place finisher Collin Grady, and with their top four runners in the top 25 places, won the team title with 105 points ahead of Kaneland (148 points) and Burlington Central (267 points).