The morning of Sectionals was ideal for racing, with temps in the low 50’s and cloudy and calm conditions. While the 3.0 mile course at Reavis High School was in very good shape and is flat, the course is not particularly fast due to the many sharp turns. That made us even happier with our times on the day, where our top 5 averaged 18:14 for 3 miles. Reavis did a great job hosting the meet and race organization was excellent. Hosting a Sectional meet is a big undertaking; the next time that you attend a well run big cross country meet, take the time to thank the race organizers for a job well done.

The Lady Devils placed 2nd in the competitive field, falling just short of Sandburg 61-67. The Lady Eagles ran a great race and it was good to see them in action as it was the first time that we faced them this year. Scoring less than 70 point in a Sectional like this is a good sign for what is to come next week in Peoria. Also qualifying for Sate were LT (102), Stagg (113) and Benet (124). Lockport fell just short in 6th place with 128 points.

Elaine Kuckertz was the top finisher for the Lady Devils, finishing third overall in 17:46 after blazing her last mile in 5:48. Graylin Harrison ran 18:09 to finish an All-Sectional 9th and Heather Stevens ran well to finish 11th in 18:16. Niamh McCarthy continued her strong and consistent season, finishing 20th in 18:26. Roey Hines showed that she is coming back strongly in a big way and was our fifth scorer in 25th place, running 18:31. Katie Kummerer was close behind Roey in 28th (18:34) and Lauren Zumbach was next in 36th place in 18:50. Our 1-5 team split of :45 seconds (:48 for 1-6 and 1:02 for 1-7) was our best yet in a race where all of the girls were healthy and illness free; we have set slightly higher goals for next week which we are more than ready to reach.

This week we head to Peoria for the State Meet. The Girls AAA race is at 1:00pm, followed by AAA Boys at 2:00pm. The Girls race will feature a great deal of quality depth and we are excited to race. For the first time this year, we will have our top 7 runners on the line feeling sharp and snappy as we back off in our training. It will be a fun and exciting time at Detweiler Park as always. Directions to the meet are elsewhere on this site. Be there to support the Lady Devils, either in person or in spirit!

___