Girls XC win DVC and boys take second – both hope to better their record at regionals

By Editor-in-Chief Allie Pecorin

Yesterday, Oct. 18, both the boys and girls cross country teams ran their DuPage Valley Conference (DVC) meet at Madison Meadows Park in Lombard.

The girls’ team took first in the DVC, scoring 25 points and beating out seven other spots to secure their title. The boys scored 55 points, enough to earn them their second place standing.

Dan Iverson, girls cross country head coach, said he was happy with the girls’ performance, but he hopes to see improvement in upcoming meets as the girls progress toward state.

“Every experience is a stepping stone,” Iverson said. “We’ve got an opportunity next week at regionals to get a little bit better and the next week at sectionals to get a little bit better. Hopefully by state, we will be even better.”

NNHS junior Ellen DeTurris was the first to cross the finish line, taking first overall in DVC for the girls with a time of 17:17.7. Sophomore Katherine Shannon came in second overall following DeTurris closely. NNHS senior captain Maria McDaniel came in fifth overall and third for the team with a time of 17:34.3.

McDaniel believes that the teams’ success comes from their mentality and understanding of teamwork.

“[We were] selfless in every aspect of the race,” McDaniel said. “We ran for our teammates both on and off the course.”

Twenty-two points separated the girls from Naperville Central, the second place team, comfortably putting them in a position to succeed at their regional meet.

Though the boys’ team took second, head coach David Racey believes that they did not run to their full potential, and that improvements will be made in the upcoming state qualifying meets.

“We failed to run well,” Racey said. “[Next week] we will run better as a team.”

Racey said that he plans to switch around the lineup at the next meet.

“One of the positives of our team is that we’re so deep,” Racey said.

According to Racey, this will allow the boys more flexibility in helping to figure out who will contribute the lowest scores at state.

NNHS junior Kerry Gschwendtner came in first for the Huskies and sixth overall with a time of 14:56.1. NNHS senior captain Jake Pecorin followed Gschwendtner closely, finishing second for NNHS and seventh overall with a time of 15:02.2.

Both the boys and girls cross country teams will advance to the regional meet next weekend.