Palatine’s pack holds off Yorkville for Girls team championship at Palatine Invitational

By Michael Newman

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Palatine, Ill – In some cross country races, the race is decided early with one runner making a decisive move to break the field. That was not the case as Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS) and Mimi Smith (New Trier HS, Winnetka) as they entered the final 400 meters of the Girls Varsity race at Saturday’s Palatine Invitational. The two runners were together side by side, stride by stride as they approached the final 100 meters. A final surge in the last 10 meters that Smith could not match gave O’Brien the win on her home Deer Grove East Forest Preserve course.

“I was thinking I can beat her, I can beat her,” O’Brien said as she described the end of the race. “This is the fun part. I get to sprint. It was great. I am so happy.”

The temperatures climbed into the mid-70’s by the time the gun went off. O’Brien, Smith, Skyler Bollinger (Yorkville HS), Daly Galloway (Gardner-South Wilmington HS), Kelly Walsh (Centerville OH)), and Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) were among the leaders of the fifteen runner pack as they approached the mile. The heaviness and stickiness in the air kept the pack closer together than expected.

As they approached the turn around half way through the race, O’Brien made the first of the moves that Smith, Bollinger, and Galloway responded to opening up a ten meter lead on the rest of the pack. In the last half mile is when Smith and O’Brien separated from Galloway and Bollinger. “I was just trying to stay right behind them. When they started to sprint, I said oh,” Galloway said surprised of the speed of the two runners.

O’Brien’s winning time was 17:22.3 only three tenths ahead of Smith. Galloway ran a seasonal best 17:26 to finish third. Bollinger was six seconds back in fourth. The next in line were three out of state runners. Centerville’s Kelly Walsh and Lainey Studebacker finished 5^th and 7^th with Abbie Wright (Assumption HS, Louisville KY) sandwiched in between in sixth.

“This was the best three miles that she has put together so far this year,” said New Trier coach John Burnside talking about his runner Mimi Smith’s race. “There were moments in Peoria where she showed depth. We as a team are pulling it together. But this was Mimi’s best race so far.”

Palatine defended the honor of their meet and course by winning the team championship ahead of 2A defending state champion Yorkville. Throughout the first two miles of the race, the Lady Pirates had a clear advantage on Yorkville as the Foxes 5-7 runners were behind that of Palatine’s. A strong last mile by Yorkville’s Alyssa Edwards, Piper Buyanski, and Erin Reynolds closed the gap but it was not enough.

Palatine won 72-90. Along with O’Brien’s win, Palatine had a tight pack behind her with Megan Beach (15^th), Amy Kieliszewski (17^th), Sam Lechowicz (19^th), and Kara Burton (24^th) all within 25 seconds of each other.

“We are not really sticking with specific race plans. We just want to see what people can do. We still do not know who we are as a team,” said Palatine Coach Joe Parks. “Megan Beach is just running outstanding right now. Al of our runners have been working well together. You want to win your home invite if you have a chance. You hope to have an advantage running on your home course. The kids get excited running in front of such a big crowd. It was particularly a goal to come out here and win it as a team.”

Yorkville proved they are the team to beat in 2A after a strong performance against some of the top 3A programs in the state. The Foxes ran a 66 second split off of Bollinger’s fourth place finish. Alexis Grandys (9^th), Summer Peirson (23^rd), Lauren Daffenburg (25^th), and Alyssa Edwards (34^th) made up the rest of Yorkville’s top five.

#4 New Trier finished third with 101 points followed by Centerville OH and Assumption KY. Wheaton-Warrenville South was the next team in placing sixth just four points ahead of Barrington.