McCue wins individual title; East Aurora surprises for Boys Team Title; It's Goldman and Metea in the Girls Race

By Eric Hofmann

August 30, 2014

Waubonsie Valley High School, Aurora, IL

Early morning thunderstorms in Aurora threatened to disrupt, but the skies cleared well before the 9:00 a.m. first race of the day at the season opening Aurora City Meet and the competition went on smoothly as scheduled.  By the time of the varsity races, the boys running first at 10:00 a.m., temperatures in the mid-70s combined with high humidity and partial sunshine made for somewhat tough running conditions, but by no means brutal for August in Illinois.  Both the boys and girls fields for the three mile races consisted of eight high school teams, public and private, from the City of Aurora.  The course consisted of two loops on the Campus of Waubonsie Valley High School, mostly around sports fields, with one significant hill on each lap.

The 99-runner boys field stretched out from the start.  Connor McCue (West Aurora) took the lead early and ran alone as he reached the one mile mark.  At this point, sizeable packs from East Aurora, Waubonsie Valley, and Marmion could be seen occupying many of the tope places.  East Aurora was strongest, with their first five runners ahead of the other teams’.  East Aurora’s top runner, Felipe Nino, ran with Tanner Chada of Aurora Christian in the second and third positions, trailing McCue by about ten seconds.  As the race reached two miles, not much had changed in terms of positioning.  McCue maintained his lead over Chada and Nino, and East Aurora’s pack still looked strongest.  The Marmion runners, in particular, appeared to run together, trying to pull each other along.  Their first athlete, Brady Bobbitt, was in fourth place behind the three who had controlled the race from the beginning.  His tactics early on, though, hitting two miles in just under 11:00, allowed him to unleash a strong finish, flying by both Chada and Nino in the final mile and nearly catching McCue, who held on for the victory in 15:57.

McCue intends to make a name for himself in cross country this season.  With a USATF youth national age group 1500m championship to his credit, McCue put in a solid summer of high mileage to help translate his track success to the three mile distance.  Brady Bobbitt was pleased with today’s result.  He ran the first two miles with teammate Andrew Burroughs, coming through in just under 11:00.  Bobbitt closed in just over five minutes for the final mile, while Burroughs maintained an even pace to finish in 16:30.  Bobbitt encouraged his teammate to join him in a post-race interview, eager to share the spotlight. 

When the team results were tallied, East Aurora found themselves as the day’s champions, having placed their five scoring runners in the top nine, only thirty-one seconds separating them, with an average time of 16:31.  Head coach Shane Gillespie, in his tenth year at East Aurora, spoke in a serious tone following the race.  He said the team is satisfied with today’s result, but this is not what they are working for and have bigger goals for performances in October and November.  East Aurora did not come into the meet as a favorite and defeated top-25 ranked Marmion and a strong Waubonsie Valley pack.  Gillespie was not surprised.  He emphasized the work his athletes put in together, saying “they are in it for the team.  It’s a group,” and they “desire to do something bigger.” Gillespie knows his team will face stiff competition at the state-qualifying sectional meet, and the primary goals for the season surround those.

The girls were up next.  Strong team performances were expected from Waubonsie Valley, Aurora Central Catholic and Rosary.  Metea Valley proved they could hold their own with the rest and had several athletes in the top pack by halfway into the race.  Madison Ronzone of Rosary held a lead of about ten seconds over Metea Valley’s Leana Goldman.  Those two were clearly the class of the field, with the gap to third place being about fifty seconds by mile two. Having essentially locked in a top two finish and having little to risk, Goldman made a move in the third mile, moving past Ronzone, and claiming the win by a margin of nine seconds – 18:58 to 19:07.  Cassy Tsagaris followed 1:15 later in third.  Interestingly, Stephanie Nino made it a double fourth place day for the Ninos of East Aurora, adding to Felipe’s fourth in the boys competition.

Goldman, a sophomore, demonstrated patience during the race.  While many high school runners, even experienced ones, tend to push the pace early, she waited until the right time to surge to the front, and it paid off.  By no means did she take it easy in the beginning, having a substantial lead on almost the entire field, but Goldman did allow Ronzone to lead most of the race with a gap between them and was not pressured to move up sooner.  “I just knew to keep her in my sight and if it worked out, I would be able to pass her.”  Goldman could be seen after the race supporting teammates as they finished.  She feels they have a chance to qualify for the state meet in November and hopes to run 18:00 for 3 miles herself.

The City Meet was an opportunity for the harriers of Aurora to evaluate themselves after a summer of training.  Several teams and individuals will now try to build on their efforts today to make breakthroughs at the state level throughout the season.  Others who did not meet expectations on this day have time to work to achieve the same.  As the unofficial start of fall, opening weekend of the cross country season is always a welcomed event.