Maine South had the top 1-2 finish of Saturday’s Palatine Invitational, and sophomore
Emily Leonard
pointed to a new aspect of her summer training that might have contributed.
She and junior
Megan Lemersal
, who finished second and fourth, trained with Maine South’s boys cross-country runners over the summer.
“It’s hard for us to push ourselves, and so they helped us pushed ourselves on runs,” Leonard said. “They helped me a lot.”
Leonard was the state’s top freshman in Class 3A last season.
Palatine’s
Jessica Lincoln
and
Tess Wasowicz
finished sixth and seventh, the second-best duo of the day.
New Ford on the block:
“Ridiculous” was the word boys winner
Leland Later
of New Trier used to describe the improvement of Loyola’s
Todd Ford
this season.
Ford, a senior who was 141st at the Class 3A state meet last season, finished second to Later on Saturday.
“I knew he’d be right there with me at the end,” Later said. “I was lucky to get the best of him this time, but as we move forward, I’ll race him a bunch more.”
Ford’s brother,
Mac Ford
, was Loyola’s top runner last season but has since moved on to run at Butler. The younger brother seemed poised to take his place.
“It’s fun to be up there with the top guys,” Todd Ford said. “I feel like I can compete with anyone. I have a lot of confidence in myself to do the best I possibly can.”
Testing up:
Beecher’s
Grant Nykaza
, who should be a challenger for the Class 1A cross-country title in November, tried his racing skills against a 3A crowd.
The Bobcats junior was fifth in 14 minutes, 42.3 seconds, just behind top Mid-Suburban League finisher
Erik Peterson
of Barrington.
