Inside Cross Country

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Boys Athlete

of the Week

JEFF SABATKA

McHenry, senior

Sabatka took 11th in the 55th Annual Peoria Central High School Invitational Meet at Detweiller Park on Saturday.

He ran the course that hosts the IHSA State Cross Country meets in 15:19, leading his team to 18th place out of 39 teams.

Sabatka was the top local finisher. Cary-Grove and Huntley were the other local teams competing in the meet.

Girls Athlete

of the Week

HALEY LOPRIENO

Huntley, junior

Loprieno finished 14th at the 55th Annual Peoria Central High School Invitational Meet on Saturday at Detweiller Park, leading the Red Raiders to ninth place out of 42 teams.

Loprieno ran an 18:06. Huntley was the top local school in the race, finishing six spots ahead of Crystal Lake South.

Noteworthy

Manfrin returns: Normally a weekday meet with local schools would not provide a lot of news since they usually involve several teams doing what often amounts to training runs.

Tuesday’s meet hosted by Prairie Ridge at Veteran Acres was a little different.

Six Fox Valley Conference boys and girls teams competed, and Dundee-Crown’s Anthony Manfrin won the boys race. Manfrin dropped out of the Palatine Invitational on Sept. 26 with soreness in his right calf.

Manfrin had been bothered by that leg earlier in the season and thought he had recovered, but he planted while going around a flag and felt pain in the calf.

It appears that Manfrin, who won Tuesday’s race in 16:51, is better and will be ready for next week’s FVC Meet.

Fairleigh misses: Cary-Grove senior Phil Fairleigh missed the Peoria Central Invitational on Saturday at Detweiller Park and missed a six-team meet with FVC teams Tuesday, but Trojans coach Layne Holter expects Fairleigh to return soon.

Fairleigh was suffering from strep throat and a sinus infection recently and his doctor advised him not to compete for a week.

When healthy, Fairleigh has been the area’s top runner and was the Northwest Herald Runner of the Year the past two seasons.

This Week’s

Top Meet

Harvard Invitational

10 a.m. Saturday, at Rush Creek Conservation District

Crystal Lake South (boys only), Marengo, Hampshire, Richmond-Burton and the host Hornets are the teams competing.

This meet uses a different format with runners competing as two-member teams in a relay – runners alternate with two 1.5-mile legs each.

The relay baton may be whatever the runners want, which encourages creativity.

In fact, Harvard coach Jason Pedersen said plaques will be awarded for the most creative batons in Saturday’s boys and girls races.