Naperville North senior Sarah Schmitt glanced over at her coach and saw two fingers.
That was a good sign for the seven runners from Naperville North’s cross country team.
Competing in the Nike Cross Nationals on Dec. 2, the Huskies put together a run for the ages.
The Huskies, competing as the North Naperville Cross Country Club, placed second among 22 teams at Glendoveer Golf Course in Portland, Ore. It was the highest finish for an Illinois girls team in the meet’s 13-year history.
Schmitt, an Indiana commit, said the Huskies were overcome by emotions when they saw coach Dan Iverson hold up two fingers to indicate how they would place.
“We knew at that point that we hit our target of top three and were getting a trophy, so we were overjoyed about that and crying, laughing and hugging each other,” Schmitt said.
North Naperville scored 94 points to finish behind Fayetteville-Manlius from New York, which captured the national title for the 11th time.
Iverson said it was a historic accomplishment for the Naperville program. On Nov. 4, Naperville North won the Class 3A state championship, the program’s fourth state title in six seasons.
“Illinois is a huge deal on the high school level, but we have never done this well on the national level,” Iverson said. “This is historic and great for our program and school.
“It was pretty awesome, just to come five points away from winning it. It was immensely satisfying to watch all seven athletes perform at such a high level.”
Sponsor Nike pays all of the runners’ expenses, meaning Iverson can’t officially coach or travel with his team. Teams are not permitted to used their school’s name.
Schmitt, a four-time Nike Cross Nationals participant, paced the Huskies with an eighth-place time of 17 minutes, 57.2 seconds for 5,000 meters to earn All-American honors.
After the Huskies placed 10th last season, Schmitt said the team was confident following a memorable showing at the state meet in Peoria.
“The biggest difference is we knew that we could do something special this year,” Schmitt said. “Not that we didn’t in past years, but the idea to finish on the podium was little more realistic this year.”
Junior Alex Morris also earned All-American honors with a 12th-place finish in 17:59.4, while senior Hannah Ricci, a Northern Illinois recruit, placed 34th in 18:31.5.
“It was a very special moment when we realized we made it past third and got the second spot,” Ricci said. “It was already a special day, just to know we had made it out there, then to finish second was special.
“It was a lot to take in, and it happened so fast. There was definitely a lot of joy in knowing all the hard work paid off.”
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
