PORTA puts three in first seven to win Girls team title; Galloway and Chada win individual races

By Michael Newman

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Sublette, Ill – There were high expectations for the Boys team race Monday Morning at the Amboy Invitational held at Shady Oaks Country Club. The top five 1A teams were entered. On this day however, it was not the time to put all the cards on the table. #2 Elmwood-Brimfield split up their squad running some of their top seven in the Frosh / Soph race. #4 Winnebago was in the same boat running with only four runners in the varsity race while keeping their younger runners in the lower level race. #3 Rockford Christian was the mystery. They were entered in the meet as their team name appeared in the meet program. An Amboy official stated that they were entered but they simply were not there. When checking their team website, this meet simply did not appear on it.

#1 Monticello was making their first appearance in this meet. Even though they were unfamiliar with the course or the competition that they were running against, the Sages showed that they would be the team to beat in 1A Boys. Monticello placed five runners in the first thirty to win the team meet with 63 points. The key on this day for the Sages was the 31 second split that they had on their five runners that placed in the top thirty.

Matt Norvell, the top runner for the team, was in the top five individually for the first two miles of the race, faded down the stretch but still finished ninth. Zach Mesplay and Justin Furfich were nine seconds back finishing thirteenth and fourteenth. Will Montgomery (21^st) and James Kilby (30^th) were the other scoring runners for Monticello.

“Not everyone runs great all at the same time, but I feel that we gave a solid effort.  It was our first time on that course and in this meet, so it was a little different dealing with the standard issues of course layout, surge points and so forth. I wanted to give the kids an opportunity to compete against schools we don't often see, from other Regionals and Sectionals and see how we measured up,” said Monticello coach David Remmert. “The critical part of the season is coming up, and from top to bottom we'll have to continue to improve over the next few weeks.  I'm happy with our performance today.”

#10 Sterling Newman Catholic, paced by the eighth place finish by Bryson Reyes, finished a surprising second with 85 points. Their presence was strong up front as they placed their first 4 runners in the first 25. #5 Johnsburg placed third with 97 points led by top ten finishes by Noah Miller (6^th) and Matt Stelmasek (10^th). #2 Elmwood-Brimfield displayed a tight pack running their first four together within 13 seconds of each other. They placed fourth with 106 points.

Rain started falling four minutes into the Boys Varsity race. It did not seem to bother front runners Brayden Hamblen and Seth Williams (Rock Falls HS) as they went through the first mile in 4:58. In the second mile, Tanner Chada (Aurora Christian HS) decided to force the lead issue. “They (Hamblen and Williams) were trying to push it which I was very happy with,” Chada said. “Once I heard that mile split, I thought it was too slow and started to push it. I think I went 4:51 in that which I was happy with.”

Chada went by the second mile in 9:53 opening up a five second lead on the Rock Falls duo. The lead grew in the final hills of the course as he crossed the line in 14:43 close to 19 seconds ahead of Hamblen. Al Baldonado (Hall HS, Spring Valley) had a great finishing passing four runners in the final 200 meters to place third. Nathan Smith (Winnebago HS) and Williams finished fourth and fifth within a second of each other.

The Girls Varsity race before the Boys race showed that #4 Petersburg PORTA will be racing for a trophy in four weeks at Detweiller Park. The Bluejays usually have the front presence with Maria and Adrienne Brauer leading the way. The improvement this season of junior Anna Tambroski is one of the reasons why PORTA is on the brink of greater things. The junior had injury issues the first two years running. Now that she is healthy along with the Brauer sisters, the team has been tough to beat. The three placed in the top seven individually to give their team the team championship with 70 points.

“Anna ran amazing today. She ran so well,” teammate Maria Brauer said. Expectations are high for this team and they know it. “We’ve been watching the leaderboard a lot,“ Maria added.

Tambroski finished seventh behind the 2-3 finish by Maria and Adrienne. Katherine Pickerill (33^rd) and Keely Miller (35^th) rounded out the Bluejays’ top five.

Early on in the individual race, Karina Liz (Aurora Central Catholic HS) forced the pace as she broke open the front pack after the first 1k of the race. Liz led Daly Galloway (Gardner-South Wilmington HS) and Maria Brauer through the first mile near 5:40. The first mile is deceptive on this course with the one huge hill that the runners have to climb in the first half of the race. The action for the race starts in the second mile as the runners cross the bridge into the fast flatlands part of the course.

Galloway was the first to go opening up a fifteen meter lead on Brauer and Liz. “I knew Daly would run way faster than I would if I wasn’t there,” Maria Brauer said. “I knew I had to stay close to her to keep an eye on her.”

Galloway continued to force the pace going through the second mile. Brauer was six seconds back as the two pulled away from the rest of the pack. The margin was only eight seconds when both runners crossed the finish line. Galloway’s time of 16:52 is the fourth fastest time ever for the Girls race since it moved to the 2.9 mile distance in 2002. Maria Brauer crossed the line in 17:00. The time is the fifth fastest ever for the meet and was 26 faster than she ran last year despite the damp conditions on the Shady Oaks course.

“I felt good on the course today. I have been sick the last couple of days so I was happy that I was able to run that fast,” Galloway said. “I kind of made my move after the mile. I felt good and thought I could do it.”

Adrienne Brauer ran a smart tactical race to place third. At the mile, she was in near 20^th place. She just moved from there. “I was just running the same pace the entire way,” Adrienne said. “Runners were just slowing down and I stared passing them.”

Kirstie Ramsey (Wethersfield HS, Annawan) placed fourth eight seconds behind Brauer. Liz was another seven seconds back in fifth place. Ramsey’s top five finish led #8 Wethersfield to a second place team finish with 110 points. 2A #13 Aurora Central Catholic finished third with 159 points. #14 Seneca (4^th, 184 points) and #11 Monticello (5^th, 195 points) rounded out the top five in the team race.