A freshman in her first conference meet and a junior in her last one with Lincoln-Way Central helped the Knights stay on top in the SouthWest Suburban Red.
Kelly Robbins, the freshman, raced to the individual title in 18 minutes, 44 seconds Saturday at Turtlehead Lake to lead Central to another team championship.
“It was a really great experience,” Robbins said. “I was really happy that our team could be so packed together. I just wanted to stay with Jenna (Diers) the whole time. We wanted to make sure everyone was in a pack so we could place well.”
Diers, the junior, was runner-up in 18:51, with teammate Gretchen Zirgaitis close behind in third (18:52).
It was a conference meet with extra meaning for Diers.
“I’m really trying to cherish every part of it,” she said. “I’m from Manhattan. Next year, I’ll be moving over to (Lincoln-Way) West. I’m trying to spend the most time I can with the girls.”
Madison Smith (eighth) and Dana Boucher (11th) also scored for Central, which finished with a team score of 1-2-3-8-11—25. Lincoln-Way North (41) finished second and Lincoln-Way West was third (56).
“We’ve definitely been building up a lot and getting stronger as the season goes on,” Robbins said. “We can’t wait to really push through the postseason races.”
“Winning conference is a great confidence-builder heading into postseason,” Central coach Brian VanBeveren said. “The best part about our team is they work together. If one girl has a bad race, two more are there to have a good race and pick her up.”
In its final conference race ever, Lincoln-Way North had four runners in the top seven to claim the boys title from defending champ Lincoln-Way Central. North’s 2-4-6-7-11—30 easily beat Lincoln-Way West (60), Bradley (89) and Central (92).
“The last couple years, we’ve been kicked around pretty handily by Central,” North coach Jeff Purdom said. “For us to come out and win, we’re pretty pleased with the way they ran.”
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North scorers were Noah Healy (2nd, 15:32), Demetri Panici (4th, 15:45), Kyle Bechtold (6th, 15:50), John Chomiak (7th, 15:52) and Mark Harris (11th, 16:06).
“We ran really technically here,” Healy said. “We started off well, kind of broke out in the middle.
“We’ve had a big rivalry with Central the past two years, my freshman and sophomore year. To come out and win it, it feels pretty great.”
Lincoln-Way West junior Evan Mitchell claimed the individual title in 15:24.
Lincoln-Way North is closing at the end of the school year, and the redrawing of school boundaries in what had been a four-school district will result in some students changing schools.
Conference highlights: Sandburg had the first seven finishers to win another SouthWest Suburban Blue championship.
Max Lehnhardt clocked 15:42 to take first, followed by Sean Torpy (15:44), Dan Laskero (15:46), Chris Torpy (15:54), Martin Skucas (16:09), Brandon Lukas (16:15) and David Gleisner (16:16).
In the girls event, Lockport had five runners in the top seven to score 22 and win the eight-team race over Lincoln-Way East (73) and Sandburg (84).
Lockport was led by Karlee Stortz (2nd, 19:17), Aubrey Friedrich (3rd, 19:19), Morgan Bollinger (4th, 19:24), Alicia Ary (6th, 19:48) and Kate Wojciniewicz (7th, 19:54).
Road to state: Class 3A regional meets this coming Saturday hosted by Sandburg and Andrew will feature most of the top runners in the Southland.
A loaded Sandburg squad will begin its chase for the state title in a nine-team field at Midlothian Meadows. Shepard junior Caleb Washington, who won his second straight South Suburban Red title Saturday, is the defending regional champ.
The addition of Illiana Christian to 3A will make it hard for Lincoln-Way North to reclaim the Andrew Regional at Turtlehead Lake. Illiana is led by Colin DeYoung and Nick Wondaal, both 2A All-Staters in 2014.
Lincoln-Way West’s Mitchell will seek a second consecutive regional title at the 2A Crete-Monee Regional.
Tim Tierney is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.