Ottawa girls, L-P boys run to titles at La Salle County Invitational

STREATOR – Seneca’s Natalie Misener came into Saturday’s La Salle County Cross Country Invitational with a plan.

That plan, with the help of solid weather conditions, helped the senior capture the individual championship of the 3-mile girls race in a time of 18 minutes, 38.6 seconds.

“My goal was a [personal record] and stick with [Fighting Irish] teammate Evelyn [O’Connor],” said Misener, her time 24 seconds faster than her previous best. “I knew if I could stick to her today, I’d have a good chance to get that PR, and I did, which feels amazing.

“This was perfect conditions to run. I like it a little colder, but it was cool enough that I felt really good. I like this race because it’s normally a good course to run a fast time, which can give you confidence heading into the postseason. I’m hoping that is what it does for me.”

On the flip side, for La Salle-Peru’s Adam Kasperski – the first-place finisher in the boys race in a time of 16:31.2 –having a game plan going into any race doesn’t really work for him.

“I try not to have a game plan going into a race. When I try to make plans for how I’m going to race I end up thinking too much and it doesn’t work,” Kasperski said. “I’ve learned that I have to go out and just run. There can’t be ‘I want to stay with this runner or that runner’ or ‘I want to run this time.’ I just have to run with the only thought being the next turn in front of me. Having no plan works for me.

“I woke up this morning and I just felt good today, I slept good last night, got up and just felt I was going to run a good race.”

In the team standings, Ottawa (33) won the event for the fourth consecutive year, two points better than runner-up Seneca (35). Ottawa was led by all-county medalists Georgia Kirkpatrick (3rd, 20:13), Shaylen Quinn (4th, 20:39.3), Addyson Miller (5th, 21:02) and Ailey Harstad (10th, 21:51.2).

“This is my first year running cross country. ... my main sport is soccer,” the freshman Kirkpatrick said. “I actually had the goal of finishing third because [Misener and O’Connor] are really good and really fast. My goal was to just try to be able to always see them in front of me. I wasn’t able to do that the whole race, and when I came to the final straightaway they were already done, but I was happy with how I ran other than I didn’t kick soon enough.

“I was shooting for a sub-20 [minutes], which didn’t happen, but I did PR. This was a great experience for me.”

The Pirates also received top-20 finishes from Sophia Hart (11th, 22:00.6), Sam Ruiz (22:10.2), Makenzie Blazys (14th, 22:25.8), Madison Towne (16th, 23:24.1), Haley Solan (23:27.1), Hailey Larsen (18th, 23:28.8) and Annamaria Corsolini (20th, 23:34.8).

Seneca senior Evelyn O’Connor (19:05.3), the three-time defending champion at the event, finished second, with Lily Mueller (8th, 21:41.3) and Lila Coleman (9th, 21:47) medaling. Julie Mueller placed 15th in 22:43.8.

“[Natalie and I] push each other, so if I can’t win, I want Natalie to,” O’Connor said. “Pushing each other makes us better. Natalie ran an amazing race. She was really fast from start to finish, and I couldn’t be happier for her. I was also looking to get a PR today, but sometimes things don’t go as you plan them. I had a plan for how I wanted to run the race today, and it just didn’t work out.”

Third-place L-P (77) was led by top-20 finishers Kiely Domyancich (7th, 21:34.9), Gracie Politsch (13th, 22:15.1) and Lylian Pabin (19th, 23:32.6). Streator (94) placed fourth, paced by Luca Trammel (6th, 21.12.2).

In the boys race, L-P (24) won the title for the first time since 2021 and has finished first in seven of the past 12 events.

The Cavaliers had all-county finishes from Griffin Hammers (2nd, 17:13.6), Anthony Padilla (5th, 17:26), Braylin Bond (7th, 17:37.0) and Gianni Verucchi (9th, 18:04.7), while John Ricci (19:14.4) placed 16th.

“I always just try to run the first mile at an even pace and just try to get comfortable, then pick it up. That didn’t work for me today at all,” Hammers said. “Pretty much right from the start my legs just felt like jelly and that feeling stuck with me the entire race. I’m very surprised I finished second. I really didn’t feel I ran that great of a race with how I felt.”

Ottawa (34) came in second, led by the all-county quad of Lucas Farabaugh (3rd, 17:20.7), Atlas Brown (4th, 17:23.2), Kaleb Nimke (6th, 17:33) and Grant Smithmeyer (8th, 17:49.9), with Aries Brown (13th, 18:55.4), Daniel Fisher (14th, 19:11.9) and Michael Kien (20th, 19:58.8) finishing in the top 20.

“I was running for a place more than a time today. I feel like this race is a little bit for bragging rights among the schools here,” Farabaugh said. “I felt like I was prepared, and while it wasn’t quite a PR for me – I was a couple seconds off – I felt like I ran a pretty solid race overall. I wanted to try and stay with [Hammers] the best I could. ... He and [Kasperski] have been running well all season, so it was nice to have them here to race against.”

Seneca (86) was third, led by James Zydron (10th, 18:32.3), as well as Callum Wright (11th, 18:35.9) and Jaxson Finch (12th, 18:51.3).

Streator (105) was fourth, with Chase Lane (19:24.2) in 17th and Andrew Warwick (19:58.6) in 19th.

Mendota (114) placed fifth, paced by Carlos Toribio (15th, 19:12.1) and Anthony Kelson (18th, 19:51.5).