Cross country: Kaneland boys, Lake Zurich girls win at CLS invite

The cross country course at Veteran Acres is not for the faint of heart with dirt trails through damp wooded areas and monster hills.

The Kaneland boys team and the Lake Zurich girls team turned the tables on the fabled park and came away as team champions Saturday at the Crystal Lake South Invitational.

Senior Will Kelly of Glenbrook South won the boys race in a time of 16:12, while Kaneland placed six runners in the top 20 to win the team crown. Kelly made his move around the mile mark and said the hills on the course were actually something that benefited him.

"I was about one and a half miles in and I started testing the guy who tried to gap the pack, but he wasn't going with me," Kelly said. "So then I thought I gotta go now. I thought I had a pretty good lead and tried to increase the lead around the two-mile mark by going down a hill. I try to use the hills to my advantage. My team and I worked on hills a lot this summer, so I know I can go up them hard and down them hard and stay in control."

Kaneland's Austin Adams finished second in a time of 16:20, and teammate Daniel Occhipinti was fourth in 16:39. Adams wanted to get a feel for the first race, since it's still early in the season and Occhipinti credited his workouts the past few weeks as prepping them for the hilly course.

"I was very excited with how our team did today," Adams said. "It's early, so we still have a lot of work to do this year, but it's definitely a great start for us. Being the first race of the year, I wasn't sure how much I was going to have, so I didn't want to go crazy. I just tried to stay with the leaders and then about two miles in I realized I still had a lot left, so I started putting some distance from the other runners."

"I felt pretty good out there," Occhipinti said. "We did a lot of hill workouts these past couple of weeks to prepare for this, so obviously that prepares us pretty well for this type of course. I just tried to stay as close to the top pack as I could. I tried to push as hard as I could up the hill and then let my legs rest on the way down the hill. We have such a great team this year. We have a lot of great seniors that are doing a great job leading this year."

Kaneland finished with 43 overall points, while runner up Glenbrook South finished second with 67. Rolling Meadows (121), Fremd (133) and host Crystal Lake South (161) rounded out the top five.

Girls race: Glenbrook South had another top finisher, as senior Kate Jortberg won in a time of 19:11.

"I didn't really know what kind of race this was going to be because it's my first time running here," Jortberg said. "My goal coming in was to win, so I knew I had to make a move at some point. I felt really good through the first mile and honestly, I really had no idea what my time was or where I was going because it was my first time running here. I knew I was running out of energy on the last hill, but I knew I was going to have to try really hard to hold her (Marian Central's Siobhan Stoll) off at the end. This was my last first race, so I wasn't going to allow myself to not finish strong."

Lake Zurich won the team award with 52 points, and Belvidere North finished second with 62. Host Crystal Lake South finished third with 62, West Chicago was fourth with 81, and Glenbrook South was fifth with 88.

Crystal Lake South's Mackensie Aldridge finished third in a time of 19:57. Aldridge was noticeably in pain around the mile mark, but fought through the cramping to finish strong.

"I was looking to hit my time goal and try my best for my teammates," Aldridge said. "I was really happy with my time and being able to run through it (cramping). When you start to feel pain, you just remember that you're running for your team and not yourself."

Cary-Grove junior Morgan Dieschbourg was fifth in a time of 20:12. Dieschbourg said she wanted to stay with the top pack and identified a familiar face to use to help pace her.

"It was a lot of fun," Dieschbourg said. "I just wanted to finish in the top five and stay close to Aldridge (Mackensie). I just tried to stay with the top pack in the first mile and then make my move in the second mile."

Lake Zurich freshman Brooke Johnston led the Bears, finishing sixth in a time of 20:13. Although the course was draining on her, she fought through it for her teammates.

"It's a really challenging course, but I ran for my team and we just all ran for each other," Johnston said. "I know we all have each other's back no matter what happens and we are all there for each other. I knew I had to push through it for my team. I have been running since seventh grade and I had no idea it would become such a big passion for me. I'm going to just keep trying to push it harder and do the best I can for my team."

Senior Caroline Pacer finished eighth for fourth place West Chicago in a time of 20:43. Pacer admitted she gets a little nervous before races, but that encouraging her teammates helps her get ready for the race.

"The thing for me is I really like to encourage everybody," Pacer said. "It really helps them, but it also really helps me. I look for as many positive things as I can. I like to try to get out front at the start and then hold on as long as I could. I really tried to open my stride going down the hills to save my energy for going up the hills. We did a lot of hill workouts leading up to this, so that really helped."