Morris, Hart, and Methner earn All-American honors

By Michael Newman

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Portland, Ore. – Their experience on the Glendoveer Golf Course was the difference for Naperville North on Saturday as the Huskies finished second in the Girls championships at the Nike Cross Nationals for the second year in a row.

It has become a habit that Naperville North has raced in this meet. This was their eighth appearance at NXN and their seventh year in a row that they have been on the starting line. The Huskies scored 187 points as Summit High School from Bend, Ore. scored 122 points to win the Girls National Championship for the first time.

RESULTS | MEET COVERAGE

Both teams put themselves in good position the first mile was only 12 points separated the two teams with North having the edge. Summit moved the last half of the race while North maintained their position moving from third to second-place.

Alex Morris continued her post-season surge as she earned All-American honors for the second year in a row as she finished seventh overall to lead Naperville North. She was the top finishing Illinois runner in the race. Morris put herself in position early in the race as she was 11^th at the mile in the chase pack 15 seconds behind eventual race winner Katelyn Tuohy of North Rockland, NY as Tuohy passed that point in a swift 5:04. Morris held her position until moving in the final 800-meters. Tuohy’s winning time of 16:37.8 for five kilometers set a new meet and course record.

“My teammates were amazing today. We are so proud of our performance,” Morris said. “We were running for each other today as well as our teammates back home. I am so lucky to be a part of such a great program like Naperville North.”

It was not the team’s best race of the year. It was not their worst either. It was good enough to finish second. Claire Hill was the second runner for the team as she finished 72^nd. Megan Driscoll finished 10 seconds behind Hill to finish 83^rd. Campbell Petersen (103^rd) and Lucy Westlake (113^th) were the team’ fourth and fifth runners. The split on that group was 31 seconds. Audrey Mendrys (129^th) and Maggie Gamboa (181^st) also ran for North.

Just like Naperville North, Yorkville did not have their best race of the season. The Lady Foxes did run better than they did in 2017 at this meet as they finished 13^th with 284 points in this loaded field.

Emily Eberhart led Yorkville by finishing 39^th overall. Kailey Fox (73^rd), Hailey Simmons (123^rd), Anna Hunter (128^th), and Olivia Borowiak (142nd) were the team’s other scorers. Helena Kleronomos (143^rd), and Sara Klemm (159^th) also ran for Yorkville.

Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West High School did not have the race that she hoped for as she finished 16^th overall. It was the third time in this meet that she has earned All-American honors. Hart was in the top six for the first two miles of the race until she ran out of steam in the final 400-meters of the race.

“I felt good in the pack. I think I lost touch with them a bit. I just kept pushing that last mile,” Hart said. “I saw some girls pass me and my goal then was just to keep trying. The last couple of hills at the end really got me.”

Lianna Surtz of Rosary High School and Katrina Schlenker of Batavia High School concluded their freshman cross-country season in spectacular fashion. Surtz missed Al-American status by three spots as she finished 24^th running 17:40.6 while Schlenker was two seconds back in 27^th. The two runners were the second and third freshmen to finish in the race.

Illinois 3A Boys State Team Champion Wheaton-Warrenville South finished their season on a high note as they finished 13^th overall in the Boys Championship race. The Tigers went out after the lead as they were fourth after the first mile of the race. Their pace dropped off after that. They finished strongly to score points with only a 33 second split on their top five.

“We wanted to make sure that we got out good,” Jacob Kluckhohn said. “We did not want to get out too far back.”

Scott Maison (74^th) and William Hauenstein (79^th) were within four seconds of each other to lead the Tigers. Sean Maison (111^th), Jacob Kluckhohn (113rd), and Ethan Seng (137^th) were the team’s third through fifth runners. Jared Peaslee (139^th) and David Zeller (193th) were the other Tiger runners in the race.

3A State Individual State Champion Josh Methner finished 15^th to earn All-American honors and to lead Hersey High School to a 19^th-place team finish. It was not the best start for Methner as he slipped and fell just after the start.

“I slipped at the start and I was behind my teammates. I was close to last in the first 200-meters,” Methner said. “I got up to the lead pack just before the mile. It was tough. I did not want to get back up to the front too quickly and waste a lot of energy. I was patience. I did good with that.”

Max Svienty led the Hersey pack as he finished (126^th). Colin Safford (134^th), Ryan Buch (149^th), and Thomas McCarthy (166^th) followed. Josh Harden (194^th) and Luis Vazquez (201^st) also ran for the Huskies.

Ethan Kern of York High School has been running with more and more confidence in this post season. It showed in this race as he finished 28^th overall. The junior moved from 47^th the first mile to 21^st place after two miles. Kern’s time was 15:29.

Loudoun Valley VA won their second straight national championship with the lowest score ever in this meet with 77 points. Great Oak CA (114 points) and Dakota Ridge (115 points) finished second and third. Liam Anderson of Redwood CA used a ferocious kick down the final stretch to win the national individual title running a new course record of 14:57.6. Cole Hocker of Indianapolis Cathedral IN ran 15:00 to finish second.