History is made in the 30th running of the girls state championship
Tony Jones & Victor Terrazas
Class 3A Girls State Recap
11/7/2008
Detweiller Park; Peoria, IL
73 F, sunny
-Opening Round-
The meet preview opened with the line: “It is fitting that the 30th edition of the girls state championship would be so inclusive. There are at least ten teams capable of either winning the state title or earning a top three-team plaque. Look for two-time defending state champion Geneva to fight for their lives for a third straight title. In addition, Naperville North, Palatine, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Mt. Prospect (Prospect), Elmhurst (York), Wheaton-Warrenville South, Orland Park (Sandburg), and LaGrange (Lyons Twp) to fight vigorously for these coveted spots.” Seven of those teams placed in the top ten. Palatine, Sandburg, and Wheaton-Warrenville South placed earned the three team plaques.
Secondly, the individual title was predicted aloud as: “No one runner is heads above the field. At least one runner from the south, west, east, north, and even the Chicago Public League has a viable candidate to win the title.” Halfway through the race a dozen girls had an opportunity to selfishly seize the race as their own. But only one champion was crowned.
-The trophy winners-
 2009 State Cross Country Champions- Palatine Pirates
For the first time since 1996 the Pirates are the victors. First year coach Joe Parks’ squad easily won the 7th title in the storied Palatine Girls Cross Country. The victors outlasted a solid Orland Park Sandburg team 99-142. Ruth Allen, who starred as the teams’ number 2/3 runner all season, stepped up when her team needed her most. She steadily gauged herself against tough weather conditions and a field of runners who were equally up for the challenge. She used her blazing 800m speed for the final stretch to pass several key runners who were toasted to place in a team leading 13th place in 17:47. Team ace Sarah McIntosh got held it together despite not really being in the race to win copped 15th overall (17:48). Courtney Brown enjoyed a rejuvenated year grabbed the Pirates third all-state honor by placing 19th. Freshman Tess Wasowicz stormed home as the 4th scorer (18:12) and all-around super athlete Laura Schweikert close the books in 61st place overall.
| The Sandburg Carzies celebrate their teams second place trophy
|
True fans of girls cross country was aware of how dangerous Sandburg was because of their strong duo in Kim Christensen and Lexie Goldsmith. Earlier in the season at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational Christensen and Goldsmith pushed the pace for nearly half of the race before falling to 7th and 8th respectively. The result then was the team finishing in fourth and in the thick of the top teams in the state. That confidence propelled Sandburg for the rest of the year where they were never really challenged until state. Christensen and Goldsmith locked horns together and kind of risked blowing up the team’s chances of a top 5 position with all of the front running they did, but in the end it paid off. Elise Prieto led the charge of the 2-5 scorers with a 28th place effort. Amanda Zamora and Nikki Gleisner completed the crucial 46-second split among the three. The runner-up trophy matches the one the Eagles won in 1997 when Jim Frye was head coach.
Wheaton-Warrenville South is known more for football and boys track and field. Not anymore. The pre-season #12 Tigers overcame sickness and injuries that plagued them until the conference meet mid- October. For state, the goals were to simply control what they can and not worry about any particular individual or team. Coach Rob Harvey bunch all placed among the precious top 75. But of course, a team needs a top 25-30 finisher or two in order to make dreams of a team trophy happen. Well, two Lady Tigerettes completed that task. Underclassmen Lauren Mordini and McKenna Kiple stepped to the plate with 14th and 22nd places respectively. Mordini, who was one of the state’s top Freshman in ’08, got a measure of reprieve. She was 50th in the ’08 state meet. The team split of 52-seconds was a contributor as well. Claire Kelly finished as the #5 runner in 18:40.
-The individual race-
 | The Girls Class AAA race just past the one mile mark
|
The spark from the starter’s gun sounded like like it does every year, signaling the runners off to a mad dash. The opening half-mile did not feature a studette runner going out and demolishing the field like in recent years, nor did it have a renegade trying to string the field out early and then falling off to the wayside. Instead, it was most of the state’s top ranked girls together in tow from 2:30-2:38. Haley Goers (Hoffman Estates), Olivia Jones (Buffalo Grove), Lavinia Jurkiewicz (Chicago Whitney Young), Christina Gastfield (Rolling Meadows), Christensen and Goldsmith were among the cluttered scrum.
The intensity of the race began to pick up as the leaders move up alongside the far west course past the finish line and through 1200 meters. The Detweiller course then makes it way east and then north parallel to highway route 29. The first mile comes up fast and narrow because of a gradual decline. There are 10-13 girls still holding strong in approximately 5:26 and slightly more. Goldsmith and Christensen still heading things up. Jurkiewicz and Jones are there too.
As the race entered the “Bermuda Triangle”, this is where things often change in the ½ mile plus geometric strip. The overzealous fast starters come here to die with very minimal fan support or even teammate and coaching guidance. But on this still tight race occasion, there were tons of enthusiastic fans draped in team colors and costumes. Several big-name coaches were yelling at the top of their lungs in an attempt to keep key runners in the race mentally as well as physically. The first set of runners pass over the 1.50-mile checkpoint much slower than last year but it’s clear this tactical race is going to be a tight affair all the way to the end.
The race continues its push out of the back loop and returns to the main arena for one more circuit. The large pack barely separates as most of the original runners survived the triangle trip. The two-mile passes in 11:26. One of the two Sandburg girls surges from the pack and into the lead. Perhaps, it is Christensen that had enough of the comfort zone. However, she could not shake her teammate nor did Jurkiewicz or Gastfield get rattled. The intense pressure of the crowd got louder as crunch time became the focal point. Jurkiewicz was still in second place and biding her time Gastfield or Sandburg at the 2.5- mile mark. The once strong pack finally dissolved and the screams from well wishers did absolutely nothing to repair it. It was every young woman for them self at this point.
Jurkiewicz was still in second and holding firm but she had a decision to make on the far northwest extreme of the course. That’s approximately 700 meters left in the race. She took the lead for the first time and continued her momentum against the Gastfield and the field. The race entered last stretch of the homestretch and Jurkiewicz was in total control. She took one more glance back just meters shy of the finish line and perhaps to her surprise no one was there. She charged home to the finish line with hands extended in historic fashion as the first individual girls champion from the Chicago Public League in perfect matching 17:11. Gastfield held on to second over the Sandburg duo of Christensen and Goldsmith 17:17 to 17:19-17:20. All four girls ran personal bests in one of the tightest affairs in IHSA history.
-That thing called history-
 | No more looking back for
Lavinia Jurkiewicz or the CPL
|
In the first championship back in ’79, it was revealed that a young girl named Carolyn Giampapa was the first CPS finisher in the IHSA championship. Four years later Carolyn’s younger sister Michelle Giampapa went on to become the first all-state runner from not only the Public League, but from the City of Chicago (public or private) via Lane Tech. She placed 18th in the still 2.1-mile race. Michelle went on to become a star on the track. She was regarded as the city’s best ever distance runner. It would be 24 years until 2007 that someone from the CPS would become an all-state runner.
For Jurkiewicz, she stepped forward as Young’s first ever all-state runner by placing 13th in 2007, running 17:32. Teammate Devyn Thompson also placed 25th in that same race. Although she slipped to 27th last year, there would be no letdown in her goals. No limitations on herself. She rebounded quickly in the spring of ’09 and placed in both the 1600m and 3200m runs at state. That would set the tone for the fall. There wasn’t much talk about winning state in the public circles, but more of helping the team get back to Peoria and achieve bigger and better goals. What is remarkable about this championship was the resolve that Jurkiewicz showed during the race. She looked relaxed and confident according to her coach Bob Geiger. And he was right. Jurkiewicz sought out the race after the pack was established. She felt comfortable in not having a real race strategy other than getting out there and run. The opening half of the race was more of a wait and see
As the 30th anniversary of girls cross country fades into history, the first state champion from the Public League is finally crowned. There is no doubt that Lavinia Jurkiewicz is now the best ever distance runner in CPS history. |
