Prep fall medley insider: Geneva XC eases newbies into fold

Geneva XC eases newbies into fold

Geneva boys and girls cross country coach Bob Thomson intends no slight to the Vikings’ crop of emerging freshmen when he typically holds them out of early-season varsity races in lieu of the freshman-sophomore competitions.

It’s simply a strategy the longtime program leader enjoys, as well as one that has seen success as newcomers eventually progress to the lead pack.

“I think they understand and their parents understand that it’s still a three-mile race and we can look at and compare times anyway,” Thomson said. “There’s no use in throwing them in with the big dogs yet.”

The Vikings descended on the traditional season kickoff, St. Charles East’s Leavey Invitational at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, on Sept. 5. The team’s freshman reinforcements include Ryan Kredell and Josh Rodgers for the boys team and Emily Belanger and Paige Belzer of the girls team.

“We’re not overly deep on either the girls or the boys,” Thomson said, “but barring injury, I think it’ll be an exciting season.”

North runners go the distance

Juniors Luke Sutherland and Lucas Zanis made considerable strides for the St. Charles North boys track and field team in the spring, excelling in the 400 meters.

A cross country race is approximately 12 times longer, but the challenged didn’t discourage either North Star from trying out.

“This is them just doing some work to stay in shape,” North coach Kevin Harrington said, “but they’re talented enough that they could certainly be there (in the lead pack) at the end of the season.”

Fully-extended Stars

The St. Charles North girls tennis team ended visiting Wheaton Academy’s four-match winning streak on Wednesday, earning a victory at every spot but No. 1 singles.

North won a trio of three-set matches, led by Julia Nickolson at No. 3 singles.

North’s No. 1 doubles pairing of Brittany Rohrsen and Morgan Rerko also went the distance for a win, as well as the No. 4 tandem of Delaney Goldsworthy and Melanie Masa.

IN THE GROOVE

KANELAND CROSS COUNTRY

What happened: The Knights’ boys and girls both enjoyed sterling days on Sept. 5, boasting separate individual champions at the Harvest Christian Fall Classic (Matt Richtman, boys) and the Oregon Open (Brianna Bower, girls). Richtman covered the course in 16:19, while Bower’s time was 1939. The Kaneland boys earned the team title, as well; team scores were not kept at Oregon.

BATAVIA GIRLS TENNIS

What the Bulldogs did: Batavia handled South Elgin, 5-2, in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover on Wednesday to earn its sixth straight win. The Bulldogs must wait to go for seven consecutive victories, as Thursday’s match against West Aurora was postponed due to inclement weather.

HITTING REWIND

Everyone into the pool. St. Charles East became the final Kane County Chronicle-area girls swimming and diving team to open its season Thursday, defeating host Waubonsie Valley, 103-83, in an Upstate Eight Conference dual. St. Charles North, Rosary and the West Chicago-Batavia co-op already have started their seasons. Sectionals will be held on Nov. 14, with the state meet in New Trier taking place at New Trier from Nov. 20 to 21.

COMING ATTRACTION

The Kaneland and Rosary girls tennis teams could become awfully familiar with one another in the next few days. Both schools are set to compete as part of today’s Waubonsie Valley Invitational before the Knights host the Royals in a nonconference dual on Monday afternoon.