IPTT WEEK 6 RANKINGS

Peoria High School Cross Country Invitational

September 30, 2006

The Girls Race

The day started out with a nice soft breeze on a very cool day. The race time temperature was a cool 64 degrees. The race, however, proved to pick up the heat a bit. Caitlyn Comfort of Notre Dame was picked as the favorite and proved to be it in the end.  She raced up front and kept the rest of the field in her rearview. She easily finished with a time of 17:05. Laurie Dalrymple of York (17:45), Jess Husted of Metamora (17:53), Annette White of Prospect (17:57), and Christie Caron of York (18:06) rounded out the top five finishers.

The team race was also bit of a letdown in terms of providing much excitement as the York High School girls raced to 2, 5, 14, 19, and 31 places to finish 34 points ahead of the second place finisher, Edwardsville High School. East Peoria and Mt. Vernon High School looked like they might make it a race, but in the end, they had the same problem as many teams in the state that of lacking a strong fifth runner.  

The Boys Race

As the temperatures rose, the anticipation of watching the top 7 of the York Dukes race on the state course for the first time also began to rise. The boys did not waste this opportunity as they raced to a 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 finishes. Tom Achtien (14:41), Mike Fry (14:49), and Nick Kuczwara of York ran in the front pack with the rest of the Dukes and then eventually got some distance between themselves and the other runners. York easily won the race and beat the second place team, Cary-Grove, by 160. All in all, the perfect weather provided a beautiful day and provided the runners with a chance to get some good times and some experience on state course.

Boys Class A Top Individuals

Week 6 Rankings

1.     Matt Feldhake – Effingham St. Anthony (Jr.) He easily won the ECC conference meet with a time of 15:28 and continues to look like the individual to beat come state meet time.

2. Trace Carlson – Oregon (Jr.) He ran at the Freeport Invitational and won with a time of 15:38. He just continues to improve each week. 
3. Parker Thompson – Tremont (So.) He ran at a seeded race at the Delavan Dare Classic and no individual results were available at this time.
4. Josh Mosier – Riverdale (Sr.)
5. Aaron Winter – Rockford Lutheran (Sr.)
6. Logan Block – Knoxville (Jr.) 
7. Dustin Emerick – Elmwood/Brimfield (Jr.) He did not run this weekend. 
8. Roger Pinon – Chicago Quigley Prep (Sr.)
9. Sean Carmody – Winnebago (Sr.) He finished third at the Freeport Invitational with a time of 15:55 to lead his team to victory over Belvidere.
10. Ryan Griffin – Rockford Christian (Jr.) He placed 4^th behind some good runners at the Freeport Invitational.   
11. Garrett Nykaza – Beecher (Sr.) Did not run this weekend due to sitting out with some minor injuries. He will be running again soon and looking to lead his team to a trophy down at state.
12. Fadi Bakhos – Westmont (Sr.) He finished 6^th at the Lisle “Mane Event” Invitational with a time of 16:45.
13. Nick Baldo – Westmont (Jr.)  He finished 9^th at the Lisle “Mane Event” Invitational with a  time of 16:50.
14. Kyle Shimer – Robinson He finished second at the Robinson Invitational on Thursday and looked to in great form. He could be one to watch come the end of the year.
15. Colin Mickow – Princeton (Jr.) He ran this weekend at the Peoria High Invitational and finished 54^th with a time of 15:57. There better be some improvement between now and state, or he won’t even make the top 50.
16. Zach Bowling – Heyworth (Sr.) He participated in the Catlin Thunder Run and no results were available at this time.
17. Brian Tyne – Polo (Sr.) He did not run this weekend.
18. Brad Wrage – Farmington (Sr.) He won the Farmington Invitational with a time of 16:44. 
19. Kevin Caldwell – Beecher (Jr.) He also was held out of running in the meet this weekend at Lisle.
20. Zach Switzer – Heyworth (Sr.) He also participated in the Catlin Thunder Run and no results were available at this time.

Class A Boys Week 6 Poll

1. Winnebago – They won the Freeport Invitational with the boys finishing in 6 of the top 11 places to win over Oregon. If they can continue to run like past teams, they will win state again.
2. Elmwood-Brimfield – They worked out their top 6 runners before the Farmington Invitational and then gave them the day off. They ended up finishing 3^rd behind Farmington and Monmouth-Roseville.
3. Westmont – They finished 5^th at the Lisle “Mane Event” Invitational. If they can continue to improve they could definitely trophy at state. 
4. Beecher – They didn’t run their top three runners at the Lisle “Mane Event” Invitational and ended up placing 16^th as a team.  When they decide to run all of their runners, they will definitely vie for a trophy down at state.
5. Knoxville
6. Paxton Buckley Loda
7. Erie-Prophetstown – They won their conference meet on Tuesday and were idle this weekend. 
8. Oregon – They placed 2^nd at the Freeport Invitational behind a strong Winnebago squad. 
9. Farmington – They won their own invitational this weekend. 
10. Henry-Midland
11. Bureau Valley – They finished second in their conference meet to Erie-Prophetstown by 6 points. They were idle this weekend.
12. Robinson – They won their invitational on Thursday over a decent Cumberland team. They will be an interesting team to watch come regional/sectional time.
13. Tremont – They ran at the Delavan Dare Classic this weekend and came 2^nd behind Dunlap. 
14. Olympia – They finished a close third to Tremont at the Delavan Dare Classic this weekend.
15. Cumberland – They continue to improve each week. They won their conference meet on Saturday with great pack running.

-Class AA Girls Weekly Recap-

*Week #5- week of 9/25/06

#1 Hinsdale Central- (9/28) top ranked Red Devils crushed then #23 Lyons and Glenbard West 18-39 and 17-44 in triangular meet

#2 Roselle (Lake Park) - LP remained unbeaten on Illinois soil after a convincing 38-point victory (38-69) over South Carolina’s top ranked team Greer, SC at Niles West Invitational.  The Lancers placed all seven runners in top 20: 1,5,6,7,12,14,17;

#3 Barrington- (9/28) The Fillies used a mid-week dual against then #8 Palatine Fremd 19-40 and Conant 20-43 to fine-tune its pack.  Barrington’s Stephanie Learch’s second place effort instrumental in the win but the remaining pack went 4,6,7,and 10

#4 Elmhurst (York)- the lady Dukes returned to real time action and they did not miss a beat in its victory at Peoria Invitational.  The Dukettes put two runners in the top five (2,5) and spread out the remaining scorers within the next 30 places.  Laurie Dalrymple cemented herself as the team’s #1 runner by taking runner-up honors to Caitlin Comfort

#5 Lisle (Benet Academy)- B.A. bounced back from their first defeat of the season in a big way with a victory at Antioch Invitational scoring 33 points in narrowly defeating Prairie Ridge.  Abby Higgins led the charge with first place honors

#6 Wheaton North- placed second in its Falcon Classic.  The Falcons tallied with great early scoring in the flight race affair going 1,2,1,3,18,10,6- this was a very solid effort after several weeks of down time for the varsity;

#7 Naperville North- The Huskies had been idle for the last two weeks

#8 Palatine Fremd- (9/28)- defeated Conant 20-40 but lost to #3 Barrington 40-19 in triangular meet.  The Vikings put 3 in top 10; the Vikings placed 4^th at Wheaton North Classic 50pts.  Chelsea Bolton produced a 3^rd place effort in the championship flight.  The Vikings 4-7 runners looked strong, leading hope for the upcoming post-season

#9 Edwardsville- “we’re getting’ there” was the cry from John Cunningham in regards to his lady Tigerettes runner-up finish at Peoria Invite to then #4 York.  His team has only ran three varsity competitions thus far on the campaign but looked like they were in mid-season form.  The key was 1-7 pack running as all seven runners finished in the top 40 overall!;

#10 Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)- placed 7^th at WN Classic.  The Griffins effort was not as solid as predicted as their top two finishers in the heavyweight flights bombed.  Maggie Sutor and Sarah Scanlin both placed 22^nd in their races

#11 Palatine- (9/28)- won triangular meet vs. Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates 19-41 and 15-50.  The Pirates scored the first two spots with Colleen Standridge and Michelle Brunk then took four of the next six points

#12 Orland Park (Sandburg)- IDLE during the past week.

#13 East Peoria- (9/28)- defeated Dunlap and Washington in triangular 16-41 & 16-43.  The Raiders took first four spots in the easy victory; The Raiders finished a strong 3^rd at Peoria Invite, a mere seven points behind #9 Edwardsville.  EP endured a sub-par effort from ace Emily Gustafson

#14 Palos Hills (Stagg)- didn’t have a good meet- placed 18^th at WN Classic-even with top runners Krista and Kara Moylan and Annette Glaz finishing with disappointing results: 10,11,16;

#15 Chicago (Mother McAuley)- placed 3^rd in WN Classic with 41pts.  The Mighty Macs once again stands tall against superior competition.  MM has no real front-runner but has a tremendous group of individuals fighting for the same cause

#16 Lockport- continues to expose their weaknesses after 6^th place effort in WN Classic.  The Porters won the last two flights but struggled mightily elsewhere.  This is troubling for a team looking for a state trophy.

#17 Tinley Park (Andrew)- (9/28)- defeated Lincoln-Way Central with 43 pts; placed 3^rd at Loyola Lakefront Invite behind two of Ohio’s top teams.  Kailyn Kuzmuk was 6^th overall

#18 Mahomet-Seymour- entered WN Classic on late noticed and placed 14^th.  Top runner Jackie Waldman was 15^th

#19 Cary-Grove- placed 5^th at Peoria Invite despite not having great results.  It appears CG lacks a top tier runner and getting by with just solid pack runners will prevent them from top ten status at the end of the year;

#20 Oak Park-River Forest-  was 5^th at Loyola Lakefront Invite (3^rd Illinois team).  Sisters Katherine and Alison Rack placed in the top 10 for the Huskies (2^nd and 5^th).

#21 Downers Grove South- ran their best race of the year placing 5^th at WN Classic beating a number of ranked teams.  Coach Doug Plunkett believes his young squad is coming around and will be a team to watch out for in the next several weeks.

#22 LaGrange (Lyons Township)- (9/28)- split triangular meet with Hinsdale Central (lost) and Glenbard West (win) finished 8^th at WN Classic.  Katherin Rehn placed 3^rd in the 2^nd flight

#23 Batavia- placed 9^th at WN Classic with favorable results: 12,12,6,6,9,8,and 19.  It shows that the strength is in the middle of the pack for Batavia

#24 Winnetka (New Trier)- the lady Trevians spread its vast squad throughout Chicagoland.  The three squads had mix results.  Perhaps the best effort was at WN Classic with a 16^th place effort.  Kate Ottolini finished 13^th in the championship flight;

#25 St. Charles East- was 15^th in standings at WN Classic.  Despite a runner up finish from star runner Lizzy Hynes, the Saints continue their tail spin as no other runner finished in the top ten;

Class AA Girls Poll

*Week #6- 10/2/06

1)     Hinsdale Central

2)     Roselle (Lake Park)

3)     Barrington

4)     Elmhurst (York)

5)     Naperville North

6)     Wheaton North

7)     Lisle (Benet Academy)

8)     Edwardsville

9)     Palatine

10)  Palatine Fremd

11)  Orland Park (Sandburg)

12)  Chicago (Mother McAuley)

13)  East Peoria

14)  Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

15)  Tinley Park (Andrew)

16)  Lockport

17)  Downers Grove South

18)  Mahomet-Seymour

19)  Batavia

20)  LaGrange (Lyons Township)

21)  Palos Hills (Stagg)

22)  Cary-Grove

23)  Oak Park-River Forest

24)  Winnetka (New Trier)

25)  Wilmette (Loyola Academy)

Girls AA Super 25- Individuals

*week #6- October 2, 2006

1)     Caitin Comfort (Jr.) Peoria (Notre Dame)- perhaps being #1 in Class AA is not enough, but after posting a sizzling 17:05 mark at Detweiller in the last of the Peoria series invite, there should be no doubt of her status as #1 overall girl in Illinois.  Comfort destroyed the competition from the start and won by 40 seconds over a solid field.

2)     Amber Stack (Jr.) Wheeling- still undefeated but by the slimmest of margins.  Stack was being stocked by Oak Park’s Katherine Rack virtually the entire race before pulling away the last quarter mile.  Stack indicated it felt good after having some time away from racing, “I haven’t raced in several weeks, but I felt ok today.”

3)     Kristin Sutherland (Jr.) Orland Park (Sandburg)- IDLE during the past week.

4)     Nicole Benson (Jr.) Bartonville (Limestone)- took top honors in Jacksonville’s championship flight race.

5)     Janna Mitsos (So.) Lockport- produced the fastest time of the day at the Wheaton North Classic championship flight race.

6)     Elizabeth “Lizzy” Hynes (So.) St. Charles East- placed second to Mitsos at WN Classic; achieved the second fastest effort of the day.

7)     Kalli Dalton (So.) Hoffman Estates (Conant)- (9/28) won dual meet vs. Bolton during the past weekday.

8)     Heather Olson (So. Gurnee (Warren)- posted top overall time at Niles West Invitational in 17:38-3m.

9)     Chelsea Bolton (Sr.) Palatine Fremd- she appears to be back on track with another solid effort two weeks in a row- this time the senior harrier placed third in the loaded championship flight at Wheaton North.

10)  Abby Higgins (Sr.) Lisle (Benet Academy)- back to winning ways again after 10 second victory in the Antioch Invitational.

11)  Stephanie Strasser (Fr.) St. Charles North- won own St. Charles North Invite by almost one minute.

12)  Lauren Haberkorn (Jr.) Chicago (Marist)- IDLE during the paste weekend.

13)  Laurie Dalyrimple (Sr.) Elmhurst (York)- placed second in Peoria Invite, producing a personal best (17:45).

14)  Liz Phillips (Jr.) Lockport- [re-entry]- has suffered through an injury riddled season but found enough strength to win Flight 2 at Wheaton North.  Phillips overcame a huge deficit courtesy of Haley Staples before reeling her in half-way through the race.

15)  Stephanie Peisker (So.) Crystal Lake Central- finished a very respectable 4^th in championship flight of WN Classic, proving she can race well without teammate Staples.

16)  Emily Gustafson (So.) East Peoria- placed 9^th at Peoria High Invite.  Gustafson stated that she fatigued for whatever unexplained reason.  It could have been from an extremely hard week of racing and racing.

17)  Katherine Rack (Fr.) Oak Park-River Forest- [debut]- ran extremely well in her last three races against superior competition; she had Stack on her heels the majority of the race.

18)  Kristina Aubert (Fr.) Crystal Lake South- suffered through first bad race of the season with 18^th place effort at Peoria H.S.

19)  Haley Staples (So.) Crystal Lake Central- got overly anxious without teammate Peisker by building a huge lead in the second flight at Wheaton North before crashing to second place in Flight two.  Staples still had the sixth fastest time overall.

20)  Samantha Learch (Jr.) Barrington- finished second in tri-meet that included Bolton and Dalton.

21)  Annette White (Fr.) Mt. Prospect (Prospect)- placed 4^th at Peoria Invite with personal best 17:57.

22)  Lauren Zumbach (So.) Hinsdale Central- IDLE during the weekend.

23)  Kim Boisvert (Jr.) [debut]- Belvidere- won her third consecutive solid invite- this time at Freeport in 18:29.

24)  Stephanie Hughes (Sr.) [debut]- Chicago Lane Tech- placed 4^th overall (3^rd Illinois girl) at tough Loyola Lakefront Invite in 18:55-5k.  Hughes comes off of tough stretch of top finishes.

25)  Kailyn Kuzmuk (So.) Tinley Park (Andrew)- placed 5^th at Lakefront a tick behind Hughes- continues to be consistent week after week.

Class A Girls

1. Katelyn Bastert  (Carthage) 
2. Ryan Eichelberger (Reed Custer)
3. Stephanie Brown   (Tri-Valley)
4. Olivia Klaus (Eureka)
5. Alisa Baron (Bureau Valley)
6. Alex Palm (Winnebago)
7. Kelsee Viano (Carlinville)
8. Ann Schulte (Aurora Christian)
9. Erin Kelley (Tri-Valley)
10. Mary Buzzard (Rockford Luthern)
11. Kerby Waddell   (Monticello)
12. Tara Pinkston (Robinson)
13. Rachael Gortowski (Winnebago) 
14. Michelle Mehnert (Uni High)
15. Kourtney Ellingboe (West Hancock)
16. Claire Brown (PORTA)
17. Leanne Murphy (Rochester)
18. Ashley Thomasma (PORTA)
19. Aftan Noon (Argenta Oreana)
20. Sara Peters (Oregon)

Top 15 Teams:

1. Rockford Lutheran
2. Elmwood Brimfield – They took their top 6 runners and did a workout before the Farmington Invitational.  They ended up getting second at the meet without any of the top 6 running.
3. Eureka – They ran at the seeded Delavan Dare Classic and ended up winning the meet.
4. Urbana U-High
5. Winnebago
6. Rochester
7. PORTA
8. Robinson
9. Decatur St. Teresa – They tied for first but ended up 2^nd at the Lisle Mane Event Invitational due to their sixth runner. A solid team to watch and could do well at state.
10. Downs Tri Valley
11. Monmouth – They won the Farmington Invitational.
12. Oregon
13. Bureau Valley – They were idle this weekend.
14. Central A&M
15. Beecher – They finished 3^rd at the Lisle Mane Event Invitational.