By Katherine Malinski and Emma Stancey
The NNHS girls’ cross country team finished first at the state competition in Peoria this Saturday. The team, finishing with a total score of 133, exceeded the score of their nearest competition by 20 points.
The Huskies had three all-state finishers (top-25 finishes) – an outstanding accomplishment for the team according to sophomore all-state junior Maria McDaniel who finished 21st overall at the state competition.
“Finishing all-state was my target for the whole year,” McDaniel said. “To have even one girl finish all-state would be a huge success, but having three is just amazing.”
Among the all-state finishers was sophomore Elly DeTurris, 14th overall in the state meet and the first to cross for NNHS with a time of 16 minutes 57 seconds for three miles. This was DeTurris’ second year competing after recovering from a leg injury that kept her out for the majority of the season her freshman year, although she still competed in the state meet as a freshman.
DeTurris attributes the win to her teammates and coaches.
“The coaching staff is amazing,” DeTurris said. “They always push us to work to our limits, while the support of the team keeps us going. Everybody who comes to cross country really wants to work hard, but we have so much fun that I always look forward to being with the team.”
Behind DeTurris, junior Maria McDaniel crossed the finish line as 21st in the state at 17 minutes and 4 seconds for three miles. Five seconds behind, the third all-state runner, freshman Judy Pendergast, finished 23rd in the state.
“The hardest part was keeping the nerves out,” McDaniel said. “Iverson knew we had a shot at winning, but it was no shoe-in. Everyone knew we had to keep our focus.”
Head coach Dan Iverson agreed.
“We had the ability to win it all if we ran the way we’d been running all season,” said Iverson.
For McDaniel, the race was quite an experience.
“Towards the end of the race, someone from the crowd shouted at me that I was 24th,” McDaniel said. “I reminded myself of my goal to run all-state, which is top 25. But then I saw two people pass me, and I knew I needed to kick it up a notch.”
McDaniel says she ran a personal best that day, and credits her accomplishment to the entire team.
“This year, we’ve got the most committed and supportive team I’ve ever seen, and that’s amazing because it ended in a state trophy,” McDaniel said.
Iverson also commended the entire team on the victory.
“The team gets along the way a family ought to,” Iverson said. “They are running not just for themselves but for everyone around them, and that kind of motivation really keeps the group going.”
In addition to the positive work ethic, Iverson noted the depth of the team.
“Our state team isn’t the only one with talented runners,” Iverson said. “Our frosh/soph and junior varsity teams were both undefeated this year, so we rely on all the levels to be the team that we are.”
Photos by Allie Pecorin
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