Neuqua Valley third at West Stampede
by mike Knapp For Sun-Times Media October 8, 2011 7:16PM
Neuqua Valley's Alekh Meka finishes the West Aurora Stampede Cross Country Meet at Marmion High School in Aurora on Saturday. | Terence Guider-Shaw~For Sun-Times Media
Article Extras
Updated: October 18, 2011 2:24PM
It’s October, so it’s time for the cross country season to start getting serious.
With the conference meets a week away and the state series starting Oct. 22, the Blackhawk Stampede was the final regulars-season tuneup, and the host West Aurora boys made the most of it, placing three runners in the top-10 and capturing second place as a team with 75 points. DuPage Valley conference foe Wheaton Warrenville South won the meet with 46 points and Neuqua Valley (94 points) placed third.
Marmion (152) finished sixth, Yorkville (157) seventh, Oswego East (250) was eighth, Batavia (303) placed 11th, Waubonsie Valley (386) was 15th and Geneva finished with 494 points and in 17th place.
“They did a great job, I was really pleased,” said West coach Matt Sinnott. “They got out there to compete. I think we are right where we want to be, we are progressing the way we want.”
While Willowbrook’s Pat Niyork jumped out to an early lead and coasted to the race win on the 3.1-mile course at Marmion in 15:35, the pack stayed tight with several schools well-represented. West Aurora, Marmion and Yorkville all had runners fighting for positions near the front, but when it was all sorted out, West senior Omar Gomez finished second in 15:49, with Luke Schorer from Wheaton South finishing third, followed by teammate Nolan McKenna and Alekh Meka of Neuqua Valley rounding out the top five.
The girls’ race followed almost the same script, as Oswego East senior Ariel Michalek broke from the pack early and cruised to the win in 18:01. She also feels she is on track to have the opportunity to defend her title as the Class 3A individual champion in Peoria in four weeks.
Kelly Breen of Fremd was the runner-up in 18:16, while Gabrielle Hesslau of Downers Grove North was third in 18:29, Rachel Cavender from West Aurora was fourth in 18:43 and Lexi Slome of Batavia was fifth in 19:16. Teammate Rachel Spalding also earned a top-10 finish, coming home ninth in 19:24.
Comments Click here to view or make a comment