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Kalsbeek, Central earn trip to
sectional
October 25, 2007
By Bill Stone | SPORTS WRITER
Hinsdale Central senior Robin Kalsbeek is known for
responding after cross country races that disappoint
him.
If there wasn't already enough motivating him for
Saturday's Class 3A Proviso West Regional, Kalsbeek also
wasn't happy about taking 27th at the conference meet
Oct. 13.
"I had a bad race and that's what coach (Jim Westphal)
says, I bounce back pretty well from my bad races,"
Kalsbeek said.
On Saturday, Kalsbeek was 17th as part of a fourth-place
finish that advanced the Red Devils to sectionals for
the first time since 2001 by virtue of a top-five
finish. The Red Devils compete at the Schaumburg
Sectional at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at Busse
Woods.
"The six years -- that was a big motivation for all of
us. We talked about that in our huddle before the race
started and made sure everyone knew," Kalsbeek said. "I
think this might be my best race. I felt great. I stuck
with the guys I was supposed to, beat (Hinsdale South's
Matt DeSalvo) at the end."
Seniors Thomas Fielder (6th, 16 minutes, 6.1 seconds for
3.1 miles), Pete Richard (13th, 16:36.6) and Kalsbeek
(16:47.6) were the Red Devils' first three finishers,
followed by junior Doug Moore (26th, 17:18.3), who was
battling a hip injury, sophomores Arash Darbandi (30th,
17:24.3) and Alan Verona (32nd, 17:33.9) and junior
Andrew Silk (47th, 18:14.2). Darbandi and Verona
overcame the nerves of their varsity debuts after
competing on the sophomore level at the conference meet.
The Red Devils (90 points) finished behind three
state-ranked teams -- defending state champion York
(38), Hinsdale South (57) and Lyons Township (59).
"As a group, we didn't run well (at conference). It was
a nice opportunity for the kids to perform and to reach
that goal of moving on to the sectional. I was certainly
happy for the kids doing that," Westphal said.
"(Kalsbeek) shared with me and the coaches that he felt
he didn't run well at conference and wanted to redeem
himself and always does. If he doesn't run well, he kind
of always can reach down and run well the following
race. You could tell he was right on the heels of Pete
for a good portion of the race, and he just looked like
he was determined."
Kalsbeek was an alternate for last year's regional
lineup, but he wasn't even able to attend the meet after
contracting bronchitis right after the conference meet.
Saturday's sectional berth has shown how far Kalsbeek
and the program has come along since this senior class
began as freshmen under then-new coaches Westphal and
Jim Kupres.
"The whole team -- you can just tell once (Westphal and
Kupres) showed up -- in three years, it's just grown so
much," Kalsbeek said. "We have a total of 70 kids
compared to when Thomas, Pete and I (were freshmen).
We're the only seniors who've stayed on since freshman
year. Our program's grown so much and it's really
awesome. I'm excited that we made it."
Fielder appears determined to qualify for state after
taking fifth at the conference meet. The top seven
individuals not among the five advancing teams Saturday
qualify for the state meet Nov. 3. The sectional,
however, has 11 of the state's 16 top-rated teams.
"I had a lot of good confidence. I'm way more confident
than I was last year going into it," Fielder said. "(Regionals
was) just the same as conference, keep the momentum up.
I didn't go into this meet really nervous. I ran my
hardest, just like at conference. I'm going to do the
same thing for sectionals."
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