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Geneva junior Kelly Whitley dropped back to the pack this fall and found it wasn’t so bad.
The first-time Geneva cross country captain embraced her position completely, discovering credibility among her peers that even exceeded her streak of consecutive runner-up finishes at the IHSA Class 3A state meet.
“I felt more like a leader just because that’s the role I was given and the title,” Whitley said. “Something goes with that, and I just hope I was able to set a good example for everyone.”
Whitley did, garnering Chronicle Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year honors for the third straight time after keeping hold of the Vikings’ reins in a down season by program standards. Her individual state runner-up streak and Geneva’s stretch of 3A team titles both ended at two, with Whitley taking 18th individually while the Vikings placed fifth.
Make no mistake, Whitley wasn’t too keen on that interpretation of falling back.
“I think next year is going to be a lot different year,” she said. “We all know what it is to leave without winning. None of us want to go through that again, so we’ll be determined to work harder. But I’m still proud of everyone. Everyone ran their hardest and gave it all they’ve got.”
Whitley proved proficient at complimenting her teammates in her first two seasons. Yielding to countless questions about her own individual success, she turned most around in the same way.
“It was a really fun season,” she’d begin, regardless of the query. “Our team worked so hard to win.”
Vikings coach Bob Thomson and Whitley’s teammates characterized her humility simply by saying, “That’s Kelly,” aware it was both a product of her youth as well as deference to the runners she saw as team leaders above herself, the captains.
Kelly Shogren and Myra Yelle served in that role last season before Whitley joined Shogren, a senior, this fall. It turned out to be a welcome rite of passage.
“Kelly, for all she brought as a tremendous runner with terrific ability, still needed to learn the makeup and history and expectations of the team,” Thomson said. “Now, she can be vocal when she needs to be, but she is really perfect in that modeling role. You don’t have to speak. You just show, ‘Do what I do, and you’ll be fine.’ ”
Geneva battled a handful of minor early-season injuries and even a September ACT test in its mission to run at full-strength. Looking back, Whitley recalled a young group of runners maturing into their bodies and wondered with Thomson whether new workouts might be in order next fall.
The Vikings regrouped entering the state series. Running behind Whitley, who won the West Aurora Regional on a soggy Waubonsee Community College Course in 18:54, Geneva swept the top five spots to capture the team title.
Whitley fell to third among her teammates as the Vikings took third at sectionals the following week, but the team still felt confident in its ability to win another state title. Those aspirations faded sometime after a quick first mile at Peoria’s Detweiller Park.
Whitley finished in 17:52, 45 seconds off her pace as a sophomore. She vowed to return to the low 17s as a senior while pursuing Geneva history. A fourth top-25 finish at the state meet would join her with Rebecca Mitchell as the only Vikings to achieve that honor.
A different path than years past awaits her. Whitley decided to forgo basketball this winter and still is contemplating whether to run track in the spring. Her alternative: a return to triathlon competition for Geneva-based Multisport Madness, where she shined as a fifth- through eighth-grader.
“Right now, the future is just sort of wide open. I haven’t made any drastic plans,” Whitley said. “I’m just hoping for the best and, above all, no injuries.”
All runners – captains and otherwise – guard against those.
CHRONICLE ALL-AREA GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
FIRST TEAM
Mallory Abel, St. Charles East, So.
Abel battled early-season sickness and a few minor injuries but still emerged as the Saints' leader. Improving on a solid state series showing – third at regionals, sixth at sectionals, 37th at state – gives her something to aim for next fall.
Maggie Gannon, Burlington Central, Sr.
Who needs All-State when you can be Top 10? Gannon heeded her coach's optimistic goal and took eighth in the Class 2A state meet in 18:15, building considerably on her finish and time as a junior (19th, 18:25).
Meghan Heuer, St. Charles North, Sr.
Though she left some Geneva runners and coaches wondering what might have been, this transfer made North count its lucky stars. Heuer won her regional and took third at sectionals before closing her career at state with a 21st-place run in 17:53.
Kelly Shogren, Geneva, Sr.
Seventh among Vikings during last year's victorious Class 3A state meet, Shogren was second this time around as Geneva took fifth. Her 26th-place run in 17:59 capped a strong career for one of the state's top programs.
Kelly Whitley, Geneva, Jr.
When it was clear a third successive runner-up finish at state would not materialize, Whitley stayed close with a competitive pack of newcomers and still performed solidly, crossing the Detweiller Park finish line in 18th place in 17:52.
SECOND TEAM
Erica Bauerbach, St. Charles North, Jr.
Tess Ehrhardt, Geneva, Jr.
Grace Gordon, St. Charles East, Sr.
Holly Robertson, St. Charles East, Sr.
Andie Strang, Kaneland, Jr.
HONORABLE MENTION
Ashley Castellanos, Kaneland, Fr.
Kara Kalisz, Rosary, Fr.
Dana Landem, Batavia, Sr.
Kelly McShea, St. Francis, Jr.
Sarina Oleson, Aurora Christian, So.
Katie Puccio, Burlington Central, Jr.
Markelle Turk, Burlington Central, Jr.
Lisa Roberson, Kaneland, Sr.
Alexis Sampson, Batavia, Sr.
Rachael Spalding, Batavia, Fr.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Priscilla Copple, Aurora Christian
Copple established the girls and boys programs 21 falls ago as a running club that occasionally competed in 5Ks around Chicagoland. Two decades later, the girls have strung together four successive team berths at the IHSA Class 1A state meet, and finished 13th at Peoria’s Detweiller Park earlier this month.
“We thought we’d place a little higher, but that’s OK,” Copple said. “The girls ran strong most of the season, so I was happy.”
That they competed downstate at all felt like a victory after a soggy sectional setting at Oakhurst Forest Preserve made it difficult for Copple to assure her athletes before the awards ceremony. Once the Eagles clinched the trip, Copple greeted Danielle Gorder, the team’s lone senior, with a hug.