The windy and muddy conditions at Detweiller Park in Peoria on Saturday mirrored Grayslake Central junior Bella Domier’s difficult road back to the Class 2A state meet.
After leading the Rams to their first state title last year, Domier never found her footing in the offseason, suffering through an illness that limited her training and her ability to perform at a high level.
“This year has definitely been really hard,” she said. “I was never able to run at 100%. Sometimes I thought the frustration was going to overwhelm me. But to be the best, you must learn to handle the worst.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot from all the hardships that have come along this season. I’ve learned how to adapt and how to find positives when things didn’t feel like it and how to become a better leader.”
Domier wasn’t at her best on Saturday. But she gave the Rams what they needed to edge Northern Lake County Conference rival Lakes and repeat as the state champion.
Domier finished the 3-mile course in 19 minutes, 5.89 seconds to place 31st overall — and fourth on the team — as Grayslake Central totaled 106 points. Lakes was second with 125.
“She had probably her best race of the season, really helped make our front four really strong,” Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella said. “She was our top runner the last two years. She had a rough go of it this season. She needed more time to be back to where she was. She was frustrated at times.”
But Domier wasn’t frustrated Saturday.
“Winning the title definitely made all the hardships worth it,” she said.
While Domier made her way back, a pair of freshmen were among the standouts for Grayslake Central throughout the season. Saturday was no different as the Rams displayed their collective strength with a combination of experienced and young runners.
Freshman Ava Henne posted a team-best time of 18:13.05 to finish seventh overall. Junior Sara Armstrong was 16th in 18:30.17, freshman Jordan Sutter was 25th in 18:55.40 and senior Katie Armstrong was 66th in 19:36.01.
Henne said the entire team welcomed her and Sutter this season.
“The team is full of outgoing individuals who accepted me and the other freshmen that joined the team,” Henne said. “They wanted all of the newcomers to push themselves and become better runners. By the end of the season, we all grew as a team and got to know each other more.”
Sara Armstrong, who moved up four spots from her finish last year, said the Rams lacked prerace jitters this time around.
“Last year every person was more nervous than the next, especially the night before,” she said. “We knew we had a chance to win, but it was going to be a battle. This year, on Friday night, it was more relaxed. Everyone wanted to hold that trophy.”
Lakes also set a new standard with its highest finish. The Eagles, who were fifth last season, were led by junior Paige-Elicia Caruth’s eight-place time of 18:13.93.
Lakes coach Travis Shepherd said his team was pushed by Grayslake Central to reach new heights all season.
“It’s a friendly rivalry, and all the coaches are even friends,” he said. “We knew we matched up well with them. Both of us thought we could win. We were happy with our day. They got us (Saturday), but you can’t complain when your team has a good day.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
