Around Town: Marlowe Middle School boys cross country team places 14th at state

The boys cross country team at Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills qualified for the Class 3A Illinois Elementary School Association state meet for the first time in school history.

At state Saturday at Maxwell Park in Normal, Marlowe’s Ian Geisler finished 18th in 10:48 to lead his team to a 14th-place finish. Marlowe first-year coach Jason Monson said the motivation to get to state already was there for the team when he took over after it just missing out on state last year.

“It definitely motivated them. From Day 1 it was goal No. 1,” Monson said. “It was a close miss. Anytime you miss that closely, it’s an easy motivator.”

Monson said his team was not satisfied with simply getting to state.

“We set a goal of finishing in the top 15,” Monson said. “There was no letdown. They were very focused.”

Also at Huntley School District 158, Heineman Middle School in Algonquin sent its boys cross country team to state, where it finished 10th. Jadon Conroy took 13th in 10:43 to lead Heineman.

Monson was the coach at Heineman and Heineman coach Katy McCrystal was the coach at Marlowe. With Monson teaching at Marlowe and McCrystal at Heineman, the two decided to switch teams.

“We kind of decided it was in both of our best interests to flip flop,” McCrystal said. “It was a hard decision to make because we knew what we were leaving. Knowing what I was walking into was a positive.”

McCrystal said she was pleased with how Heineman ran given the tough competition at state.

“We were kind of anticipating it was going to be really tough,” McCrystal said. “The top 10 was just insane. For Jadon to medal at 13 was awesome.”

What most impressed McCrystal about her new team was their ability to take running seriously but still have good time.

“The boys team was just a fun group of boys to coach,” McCrystal said. “Even though they were goofy at times, when it came to race time, you could see the shift in their attitude.”

Also in Class 3A, the McHenry Middle School and Woodstock Creekside girls teams placed 22nd and 23rd at state, respectively.

In Class 1A, the Fox River Grove Middle School qualified both its boys and girls team for state. Allison Drage placed fifth in 12:10 to lead the girls team to a fourth-place finish. Alex Sepeczi also placed fifth (11:05) for the boys, which took eighth.

Sepeczi was in a garbage truck-vs.-bicycle accident two years ago and broke his femur. He ran last year but did not qualify for state.

“This year, [Sepeczi] dedicated himself to get down state,” Fox River Grove co-head coach Dave Baker said. “Alex ran probably one of the most courageous races I’ve ever seen.”

That Fox River Grove qualified either of its teams for state was pretty amazing. The boys had one of their best runners unable to finish at sectionals because of a breathing problem. Sam Gagliano on the girls team had a stress fracture and was in a walking boot a couple of weeks before sectionals.

“We were real, real surprised that the boys qualified for state,” Baker said. “Just about everyone ran a personal best.”

This was Drage’s first year running cross country but she took sixth in state last year in the 1,600 meters in track and was on the second-place 4x100 relay team.

Baker said its a family atmosphere on the team with contributions from parents and other coaches including Cheryl Geary the co-head coach and assistants Ken Felix, Joe Bajorek, a sophomore at Cary-Grove and Magalie Baker, a senior at C-G.

“I’m blessed because I’ve got talented kids, great parents that are involved and I’ve been able to surround myself with coaches that care about the kids as much as I do,” Dave Baker said.

For complete cross country state meet results, see Fine Print, page B6.

• Rob Smith is a sports writer for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at rsmith@shawmedia.com.