By Michael Newman
Ilprepharrier.wordpress.com

Naperville, Ill — The rain that had infested the Chicagoland area seemed to stop when the first race stepped to the line during the Twilight Invitational late Wednesday afternoon.  Some coaches in this 5-team field decided to hold some of their runners out of this midweek meet because of the rainy conditions or just to rest them.

This would not be a problem for Naperville North’s girls coach Dan Iverson. “Even if I told them that we were going to hold some runners out, they would all still step to line,” Iverson stated. “This team is deep and competitive. They love to run.”

The Lady Huskies were coming off of a very successful race last Saturday they won the Roy Griak Invitational in Minneapolis. North topped more than 40 teams without scoring one of their top runners Elly DeTurris. According to Iverson, DeTurris was in 10^th, but collapsed in the last 100 meters and was unable to finish.

The sophomore would be back and ready to run on this Wednesday night and would not be deterred.

Neither would her teammates. The #1-ranked 3A team in Illinois placed five in the first six places to easily win the Naperville Twilight Invitational with 19 points.  Crosstown rival 3A#19 Naperville Central was second.

“We wanted to launch ourselves into the championship season on a good note. Last week, we split our team up and ran in two different meets and we did good in both,” said Iverson. “It was nice to see 12 in that race. We have been deep all year and we just want to make sure we put the right runners on the line when it is time.”

The Twilight Invitational, in its second year, is the brainchild of Neuqua Valley boys coach Paul Vandersteen. The meet is run under the lights on the Neuqua Valley campus under the sponsorship of Nike. It also allows 12 runners to run in the varsity race. Perfect for Iverson.

“It was very helpful to see them race together. They ran really well,” added Iverson. “We wanted to race well tonight, but we are also training through. We’ve had a tough last two days. It is kind of a mixed bag today, but I am very pleased on what they have done.”

The girl’s individual race was a battle of wills. Metea Valley’s Kendall Cast took the race out at the gun and had opened up a 30-meter lead at the mile. She passed in 5:42, five seconds ahead of Naperville North’s pack, which was led by Maria McDaniel and Judy Pendergast. DeTurris was a few seconds back. She took the advice of her coach and started out a little slower than Saturday.

By the two-mile point, the lead by Cast had shrunk to under two seconds from McDaniel. In the next half mile, McDaniel tried to pass Cast at least four times, but the Metea runner would not relinquish the lead. The fifth time was a charm as McDaniel started to move away from Cast. Her winning time on the 5k course was 17:53, five seconds ahead of Cast.

“I think that Judy (Pendergast) and I went out a little too fast. We got into a rhythm and were able to run a smart race,” McDaniel said.

Watch the full interview with Maria McDaniel here

The boys race came down to a dual meet between IL 3A#3 Neuqua Valley & IL 3A#9 Naperville North.  In fact, it was all Orange and Blue in the first 12, with Naperville North garnishing four of the first five spots while Neuqua was sitting waiting for the right moment. North was running without two of their top runners, who were held out of the meet due to illness.

By the two-mile, Naperville North’s Jimmy Qiao (pronounced Chow) and Alekh Meka of Neuqua Valley had moved 20 meters in front of the pack that was more and more being dominated by Neuqua Valley runners. With 1000 meters to go, Meka broke away from the pack and was on his way to a win in 15:44. His teammates moved up to take the first five places and scored a perfect 15. On Saturday, Neuqua had finished second to #4 Lyons Township without their top two runners, Meka and Nick Bushelle. On this day, they were firing on all pistons, which had Coach Vandersteen satisfied.

“It was kind of a dual meet out there, wasn’t it? You have two teams that have the same styles, running as a pack and let the race come to them. We were just lucky to come out on top today,” Vandersteen said after the race. “We hope to get seven strong guys closer together instead of five (split at this meet was 17 seconds on five) and we will see what happens down the finish.”

It was a difference of day and night for race winner Meka. At the Saturday race at hilly Dellwood Park, the senior’s Achilles injury flared up and he was forced to drop out at the halfway point. On this day, he ran smooth without any visual effect of the injury.

“I just wanted to make the move at a certain point today,” Meka said. “I have been having a few Achilles problems. When it started to hurt last Saturday, I did not want to risk anything.”

Watch the full interview with Alekh Meka here