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Hornet-Red Devil Invitational Recap

Published by
Eric Hofmann   Sep 6th 2014, 7:33pm
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Brown and Haff win, Hinsdale Central boys and Glenbard West girls take team title at Daytona 500 of Illinois HS Cross Country

By Eric Hofmann

 

September 6, 2014

Katherine Legge Memorial Park, Hinsdale, IL

 

The season is now in full swing after today’s Hornet-Red Devil Invitational in Hinsdale.  Traditionally the first big meet of the year in Illinois, Mike Newman compared to NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in his meet preview.  The famous course was altered slightly for this year’s edition, but still featured it’s signature creek crossing, run through two times during the race – a highlight for spectators that draws varied responses from athletes.

The varsity races at 10:00 a.m. (boys) and 10:30 a.m. (girls) were the third and fourth races of the day.  The creek was not the only wet spot on the course, and by that time, with several hundred athletes already having run multiple laps of the course in spikes, Katherine Legge Park had its fair share of mud.  Nevertheless, fast times were to come.

The boys competition featured a large and deep field; hence, a large pack remained together in front through the first half of the race.  Notably, Hinsdale Central and Neuqua Valley had significant packs of runners in top positions.  As the race progressed, Graham Brown, Connor Horn, Ben Casey, and the Hinsdale Central trio of Blake Evertsen, Chris Brenk, and Matt McBrien established themselves as the leaders with a two mile split time of 10:12.  Coming through the creek the final time, Horn attempted to take over, but Brown came on strong and pushed through to come across the line in 14:55, six seconds ahead of Casey, with his final mile approximately 4:43.  Hinsdale Central’s scoring five all claimed top fifteen positions to win the team championship over Neuqua Valley.  Naperville North came into this week ranked fourth in class 3A, but only finished sixth today as a team and does not appear to be in the same class as Hinsdale Central and Neuqua at this point.

Graham Brown, a senior now, said he was used to big fields and good competition.  He liked the new course layout.  He admitted he was “not too confident” coming out of the second creek crossing and Horn scared him in the last mile, but sitting behind the leaders early allowed him to save energy for his move at the finish.

The girls were off next.  The host Red Devils came off the line fast and had a sizable pack up front in the first half mile.  Lindsey Graham (Glenbard West) held the lead early over Alexa Haff (Hinsdale Central) passing the one mile mark with a split time of 5:40.  Halfway into the race, those two had opened up a gap between themselves and the rest of the field.  Glenbard West’s second through fourth runners ran together, looking to make an impact in the team scoring.  By two miles, Haff, the defending champion, had taken over the lead, splitting 11:22.  Graham remained close, though, still well ahead of the third place competitor.  Mimi Smith of New Trier, the 2013 3A State Champion, was around fifth place at this point, but was never a factor in the individual race today, finishing eighth.  In an exciting finish, Haff held on to win in 16:52, running a slight negative split.  Glenbard West had three top five finishers and all five scoring runners in the top fifteen to beat out Hinsdale Central 36-68 for the team title.  IN a post-race interview, Haff complemented the course changes, saying she liked it “a lot better” than the layout she ran in last year’s win.  She is excited the season is underway, specifically mentioning promising incoming freshman she believes will strengthen the Red Devils’ depth.

This early season clash of titans proved entertaining for the fans and serves as a springboard for a tremendous season to follow.  Many of today’s top individuals and teams are sure to meet later in the fall with bigger trophies at stake.

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1 comment(s)
LATINCC
I always appreciate your articles but unless I missed something, one of the bigger stories at the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational was the Latin School of Chicago's girls freshman/sophomore 3rd place team finish. Of 210 runners in that race, Latin girls placed 5 in the top 33 (4,9,14,22,33). Most of the schools at this meet are 10x the size of Latin. Coach Dan Daly has done a remarkable job with this team and it would have been nice to have seen a paragraph written about this particular race and these young ladies. Thanks.
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