LAKE VILLA – Had there been a state cross country meet this season, the Dixon girls would have been jumping for joy Saturday afternoon at the Class 2A Lakes Sectional.
The Duchesses showed they could hang with the top teams in this part of the state with a fourth-place finish in a 15-team field. Dixon wound up with 91 points, behind just Crystal Lake South (71), Vernon Hills (85) and Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge (90). It was a season-ending event, due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“I think we did good as a team,” Emily Conderman said. “We were looking to get first or second. That was the goal coach [Simon] Thorpe wanted us to get. We still would have made it to state.”
Thorpe noted his team performed within the expectations he had set.
“Coming into the meet, we were on the premise of being highly optimistic about what we could do,” Thorpe said. “I told the girls on Sunday we could finish anywhere from first to fifth, so to finish fourth was within those parameters. What surprises me is the team scores in this highly qualified field, only being 20 points out of first place and one point out of third place.
“That’s a surprise after the fact. I thought we’d finish a little bit behind points-wise. To get fourth place, that’s a good win for the girls.”
Leading the way for the Duchesses was Jade Miller, who was clocked at 18:44.06, good for 10th place. She held off Crystal Lake South’s Addie Frisch (18:46.36) for a top-10 finish.
“My plan going in was to stay with the chase pack and get top 10,” Miller said. “I did get 10th, so it went to plan. I was kind of behind the chase pack, not quite where I wanted to be, but I still placed top 10, so it was good.”
Miller’s running partner for many meets this season has been Emma Smith, but Smith was unable to keep pace this time. She posted a time of 19:06.44, good for 15th place.
“Today was not the best race for me, but it was an amazing race for all of my team, so that’s awesome,” Smith said.
Conderman (19th, 19:25.76), Taylor Hills (21st, 19:27.14) and Paige Stees (26th, 19:36.24) had the other counting scores for the Duchesses. Keeley Mick (46th, 20:10.81) and Layni Lappin (72nd, 21:16.82) rounded out the lineup.
Sterling was 15th as a team with 417 points.
“Today was not one of the best, but I know that we made it here and I’m proud of that,” Kylie Nicklaus said. “I’m just going to be happy with that.”
Nicklaus was the top Golden Warrior with a time of 20:42.95, good for 63rd place.
“It was a little bit of everything,” Nicklaus said. “At the end of the season, you kind of feel worn down. Even if you’re hyped for the race, you get out there – the course kind of felt uneven to me. The wind took your breath away. It was hard to breathe sometimes. Today just wasn’t our day.”
Sarah Navarro was the next Sterling finisher with a time of 21:56.7, good for 90th place.
“I think I ran pretty good,” Navarro said. “The first mile was out really fast. The wind was really tough, but it was nice being able to push through it. There are always girls around to help you along.”
Rhylee Wade (98th, 22:19.54), Megan Gingrich (102nd, 22:28.4) and Lizbeth Valdivia (111th, 24:57.56) rounded out the Sterling lineup.
Brooke Stromsland, last season’s Class 2A runner-up at state and a Belmont University commit, won the race with a time of 17:22.63.
On the boys side, Dixon’s Caydn Grafton and Sterling’s Javon Bruce were the lone area competitors.
Grafton had high expectations after winning last week’s Kaneland Regional with a personal-best time of 15:38.5. This time, he struggled to a 16:44.11 and 30th place.
“I felt really, really strong mentally going into the race,” Grafton said. “It was one of the strongest mental races I’ve ever had. Out there, physically, I just died during the race. It wasn’t like at a random point I felt that. I took the kick up to the lead pack at one point and I was in fourth, trying to push out there. I just fell off and lost it.”
Bruce was not too far behind Grafton with a time of 16:52.52, good for 36th place.
“The first mile was probably the fastest I’ve went all season,” Bruce said. “The second mile I pushed hard, but I’d say I have to work harder the third mile. That’s where I felt a closing gap in my lungs, and I just wasn’t breathing very well.”
The individual champ was Woodstock Marian’s Peter Walsdorf in 15:15.93. Walsdorf, a senior, finished 11th at last year’s state meet.