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IHSA State Finals Recap
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Photos
Results
The State Championships were held on
Saturday, November 3, 2007 at Detweiler Park in Peoria.
For the 3rd year in a row, race day conditions were
excellent. It was very cool overnight, dropping into the
mid 30’s, but race time temps were in the upper 50’s
with bright sunshine. Northwest winds picked up as the
day wore on but did not play a huge factor at 10-15 mph
at race time. The course was dry and fast, but very
hard, bumpy and brown due to a lack of rain this fall.
It was a great day for a championship cross country meet
in every way!
The Lady Devils placed 4th in the meet with 181 points
and, while unable to defend our title from one year ago,
placed in the Top 4 for the third consecutive year. That
is the best record over that period of any girls team in
the state of Illinois. Geneva finished in the top spot
with 119 points followed by LT (131) and Naperville
North (181), who edged us out by five points for the
third spot. Following the Lady Devils were Neuqua Valley
(190), Palatine (195) and Lockport (209). Our Sectional
finished 1,2,3,4 in the team standings and the West
Suburban Silver Conference placed two teams in the Top 4
and had 6 of the top 29 individual finishers. As always,
our challenging schedule prepared us well for the
competition at the State Meet.
Elaine Kuckertz placed in the Top 10 for the second year
in a row, placing 6th overall in 17:23 on the 3.0 mile
course. Elaine joins Lynne Segreti (Kern) as the only 2
time All-Stater in HC history. Only a junior, Elaine has
higher goals yet for her senior season. Lauren Zumbach
was next for the Devils, finishing 29th in 17:47. Lauren
has placed in the top 29 for three consecutive years,
characteristic of her consistent excellence in all that
she does. Heather Stevens and Katie Kummerer were next
for the Lady Devils, finishing 61st and 69th overall in
18:23 and 18:31. Heather made some big strides this year
and is excited about gaining more consistency and moving
to an even higher level next season. As a sophomore,
Katie came back strongly at both Sectionals and State
and has a very bright future ahead of her. Emily Cleary
struggled a bit as our fifth runner, finishing 93rd in
18:46. We suspect that Em may still have been feeling
some of the after effects of the illness that held her
out of the Regional Meet. As a captain, four year
Varsity runner and one of the top athletes ever to come
through our program, Emily is excited about finishing
off her senior track season in style and I know that her
best times and performances will come this spring. Roey
Hines and Grace Hucek finished it off for the Devils,
finishing 125th and 139th overall in 19:02 and 19:19.
While it may not look like it on paper alone, Roey’s
effort was our race of the day. After cross training
like a maniac for almost three weeks and having
countless treatment and massage sessions, she was
determined to give it everything she had in the State
Meet race. It never entered her mind that she would not
race. Her only concern was how she was going to make it
happen. The race started out well and she was
side-by-side with Elaine and Lauren at the mile mark,
reached in 5:37. She was feeling great and the heel was
fine. Then suddenly the pain returned and intensified as
the race went on. While most competitors would have
tossed in the towel at that point, Roey persevered to
the finish, knowing that we were “All for One”. While
this race may not have had a story book ending for Roey,
the lessons she learned and the experience she gained
will be invaluable in future races and in life. Her fire
burns hotter than ever! She turned in a truly heroic
effort, both on race day and in the weeks leading up to
the race.
While we may not have realized all of our competitive
goals at the end of the season, it was a great season
overall and we can’t be too disappointed with 4th in the
state. After all, there are only three teams in the
state that wouldn’t trade places with us J “Expect
nothing, be prepared for anything”, but realize that
unforeseen things happen and, when they do, we need to
fight harder than ever for each other, all for one. I
thanked all of our alumni for all that they have done to
bring us to the point where 4th at the State Meet is not
cause for jumping up and down and absolute euphoria.
It’s important, however, to keep things in perspective
in running and in life. While we strive to do and be our
best in all that we do, the reality is that we won’t
always reach the absolute pinnacle of success that we
strive to reach. That is why it is so crucial to do what
we love and to love what we do. Enjoy the journey,
because that is what matters. On the other hand, we will
never reach those heights of success if we don’t set
high goals and expect the very best from ourselves and
those around us. But even in those times when we don’t
reach the very top, we must appreciate how much we have
accomplished, examine what we can do better next time
and resolve to come back better than ever. I told both
our alumni and our girls (all 71 of them) that they
should be very proud because they have built this
program from the ground up. Next year our goals will be
bigger and better than ever! That begins over the
winter, continues through the track season and summer
and will end in a 2008 season that we are already
looking forward to with great anticipation. Lastly, as
their coach, I always want our girls to know how much I
appreciate all that they give to the program and, that
they are the best group of girls I could possibly hope
to coach. All For One, indeed!
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