September 2, 2001
BY TINA AKOURIS STAFF REPORTER
Geneva seniors Dan Huling and Andrew McQuillan communicated with each other for most of the boys varsity race at the St. Charles East Cross-Country Invitational on Saturday at LeRoy Oaks Forest Preserve in St. Charles, hoping to stay near the front of the pack and place high for the Vikings in the team standings.
The strategy paid off as Huling won in 15:03.9 and McQuillan finished third in 15:07.4. St. Charles East senior David Wheeler was second in 15:06. The No. 9 Vikings were second in the team standings with 79 points behind first-place Glenbard South, which scored 65. Host St. Charles East was third with 143 points.
Huling was surprised with his win, considering he was going up against the state's top returner in Downers Grove North senior Ed Borjon and St. Charles East's top runner, Wheeler. Borjon finished ninth in 15:30.4.
Huling led for most of the three-mile race and said once he reached the 2.2-mile mark, an area runners refer to as "The Reality Check," he knew he could overtake Wheeler and build a bigger lead.
"[McQuillan] and I were saying to each other, 'Stay strong,' things like that because we're always near each other," Huling said. "I knew Wheeler would be up [in the lead pack], and a lot of my teammates were telling me about 'The Reality Check,' and I just dug deep down that last 400 [meters]. I knew I had passed Wheeler at a good pace, but I wasn't sure if he could counter that."
Glenbard South was the surprise of the field, taking the team title without its top runner, senior Micah VanDenend, who missed all of last season with a stress fracture in his left leg. The Raiders' highest finisher was senior Kevin Kuhlman, who was fourth in 15:11.2, followed by sophomore Eric MacTaggart, who was sixth in 15:12.1.
"Without Micah, I didn't expect to win. He told me we could win without him, but we're such a young team. They're almost all sophomores," said coach Andy Preuss, who had three sophomores among his top five runners Saturday.
In the girls race, Wheaton North junior Samantha Polock led the entire way, finishing in 16:12, 19 seconds faster than Moline's Jill Steffens (16:31). Crossing the line seconds later was Steffen's teammate, Jessica Griffin.
But the 2-3 finishes by the senior and junior, respectively, was not enough to capture the team competition.
That distinction belonged to second-ranked York, followed by Moline and St. Charles East. Coach Larry Bassett's Dukes displayed its depth as five runners placed in the top 12.
York's Allison Billhardt, who placed fourth, knew the competition would be fierce.
"I stayed with the lead pack and I kept an open mind [coming into the race]," Billhardt said. "But I knew Sammy and Wheaton North would be strong.''
''I knew I had to concentrate on my race,'' Polock said. "I didn't want to worry about them behind me because that can slow you down.''
Contributing: David Polmer