Benet senior Elisabeth Camic loves being the connective thread binding the different personalities of her team.
“People don’t typically think of running as something social, but I always loved our team long runs or the different aspects of our day together,” Camic said. “I am a very social person.”
Camic put the closing touches on her career Saturday by finishing sixth overall in 18 minutes, 14.73 seconds as Redwings captured the Class 2A Latin Sectional at Lincoln Park in Chicago.
She was one of five runners who finished in the top 10 for Benet. The Redwings edged Latin, which entered the race ranked No. 1 in 2A by MileSplit.
As a junior last year, Camic finished 41st as Benet captured the first state title in program history.
Saturday marked her closing chapter in cross country.
“It’s definitely bittersweet,” Camic said. “I haven’t really fully processed it. Part of me is a little sad because I had such a bond with the girls on our team.
“Everybody did a great job of pushing everyone and determined to be their best.”
Camic, who lives in St. Charles, started running as a sixth grader. She felt an instant attraction to the competitive nature of the sport and the chance to express herself.
“You feel so free when you’re out there,” she said
During the uncertainties and disruptions brought out by the coronavirus pandemic, Camic has discovered running can be its own salvation.
“I was blessed to have a neighbor who ran in college I could train with,” she said. “Even when there was nothing else to do, you could go out.”
Camic has aspirations of running in college as well. She has drawn recruiting interest, and she said she hopes to make an announcement in December.
The camaraderie is something that always drove her to the sport.
“I think what pushes me is more of the idea when you are in a race, you’re not just doing it for yourself,” she said. “Everybody is giving everything they can, and that motivates me to do the best I can.”
Bright future: Freshmen were the top performers this season for Naperville Central.
Liv Phillips ran a personal-best 18:04.77 in finishing 10th Saturday at the 3A Whitney Young Sectional. Kate Tueting finished 26th in 18:46.27.
Ava Hendren also stuck with the top of the pack for the Redhawks.
“Just having this opportunity run was a good experience overall, even though the circumstances were not always in our favor this year,” Phillips said.
Phillips’s combination of athleticism, range and poise pegs her as an emerging young talent. She showed no hesitation moving in pace with the front pack.
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Her standout performance in the sectional earned her an invitation to a state meet Saturday in Chillicothe organized by timing company ShaZam.
That platform gives her another chance to show off her promise.
“I started running in middle school and I just fell in love with it,” she said. “Now that I have been doing it for a couple of years, having some natural talent and also being athletic, I think that really helps me.”
Running alone: Not all situations were equal in the modified sectional format. Due to the pandemic, the event was structured in four staggered flights.
Naperville North sophomore Logan Brennan had an especially impressive performance.
Slotted in the first heat for No. 7 runners, Brennan defeated her closest opponent by more than 200 yards in running a blistering 18:39.45.
She finished 21st overall, just behind teammate Kate Donaldson, a senior who came in with a 18:39.05.
No other runners from the first heat finished in the top 60.
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.