Vikings muster sweep

Geneva, West, Waubonsie, Batavia all send both squads to sectionals

SUGAR GROVE -- Geneva runners Kevin McDowell and Kevin Sparks spend a lot of time running shoulder to shoulder -- they are good friends and training partners.

So it was no surprise they were doing so Saturday with about a half-mile to go at the Class 3A West Aurora Regional. The duo, with a large gap over third-place David Groeber of Waubonsie Valley, left the woods of the muddy 3-mile course at Waubonsee Community College clear of the field and the race in their hands.

A spirited battle ensued as both took turns with the lead, but Sparks got a little bit of a gap as the two headed to the finish line. McDowell wasn't finished, however, and in the final 50 meters he dug deep for one final sprint.

At the line, it was a photo finish, with McDowell nipping his teammate by one-tenth of a second to win the race in 15 minutes, 52 seconds. Groeber was third in 16:17, while Justin Rodriguez gave Geneva three runners in the top 10 by finishing sixth in 16:29.

"At the end (Sparks) made his move and I thought that was it, I thought I was second and that was OK," McDowell said. "Then we made the turn and I said, 'I don't want to be second. I'm going for first.'"

Sparks appeared to have stretched his lead out to several meters at one point but just couldn't hold on. He never looked back, instead focusing on his sprint and the fast approaching finish line.

"I wasn't sure where he was, if he had pulled away or was right there, then about 10 steps from the line he came up next to me," Sparks said. "I just think it was fitting to finish that way because it was like that the whole race."

Neither knew who had won until the results were announced later, and they didn't care, either. What mattered most is their performances helped the Vikings to the regional title with 44 points.

West Aurora finished second with 70 points to advance to next week's St. Charles East Sectional, as did West Chicago (87), Batavia (94) and Waubonsie Valley (106). East Aurora was seventh with 164 points while Metea Valley was eighth at 195.

Sophomore Stephan Loran led West Aurora with a fourth-place finish in 16:23 and Matt Muth was fifth in 16:26.

"It was a little sloppy out there, but you just had to fight hard through it," Loran said. "We had a great team today. It's great to move forward as a team."

Mike Redmond led Batavia with a seventh-place finish (16:31).

Teammates helping teammates was a theme for the day, as Andy Parra and Gerardo Paleo worked together to send two individuals to the sectional for East Aurora.

Parra, a senior, finished ninth in 16:46 while Paleo came next, just one second later.

"I pushed him through the second mile, and then he runs the last mile well (to help me)," Paleo said. "We've been doing this all season long, working together."

Metea Valley advanced two runners to next week. Sophomore Matt Stewart placed 15th in 16:56 with Joe Stewart 24th in 17:13.

Geneva showed it was ready for a shot at a third straight state crown when it swept the top five spots.

Bartlett was second with 78 points, with West Aurora (81), Waubonsie (108) and Batavia (109) rounding out the five advancing teams. Metea was seventh (170) and East Aurora eighth (253).

There was little drama up front as Kelly Whitley threw in some midrace surges to pull away from Tess Ehrhardt to win the race by 14 seconds in 18:54. Kelly Shogren was third in 19:11, Rachel Hammond fourth (19:19) and Megan Brady fifth (19:21).

"It was fun. It was really muddy and I think it's more fun because you get to splash around in the mud," said Whitley, whose legs were caked with various parts of the course she collected along the way. "Running in these kinds of conditions, I think our team is better at that than most."

Elisia Meyle led the West Aurora contingent with an eighth-place finish in 19:38. Ashley Brunner led the way for Waubonsie, placing 11th in 19:46 and Alexis Sampson was 12th for Batavia in 19:48.

Metea Valley also had two runners advance, with freshman Kathleen Adolf placing ninth in 19:40 and freshman Rachel Dorencz 36th in 21:18.

"It was a hard race, but the support of my team made it easier to get through," Adolf said. "I didn't expect this at all; it's exciting and fun." WEST AURORA REGIONALS