By Carl Zielinski
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Saturday, Sept. 23, 2006, The OG, sports

ST. JOSEPH — The fifth-ranked Uni girls went into the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic against fellow state-ranked teams Bureau Valley (11th), Tri-Valley (sixth), and Eureka (third).

They came out in second place, following a sixth-place finish by junior Michelle Mehnert, who ran 11 minutes, 50.3 seconds on the 1.97-mile course. Twenty-one scoring teams and 164 runners competed in the race. (For complete results, click here.)

According to the St. Joseph-Ogden record books, Mehnert's time was the fastest ever by a Uni female (freshman through junior) at the Spartan Classic, now in its 35th year. In 1992 Laurel Herendeen, then a Uni junior, recorded a time of 11:51 for third place. (It's not clear from the online records whether a Uni senior has run faster than 11:50 at the meet.)

Uni's placing was a major improvement over last year, when the Illineks finished sixth with 187 points, 109 points behind meet champion Decatur St. Teresa. The other teams ahead of Uni in 2005 were Eureka (second), Bureau Valley (third), and St. Joseph-Ogden (fourth).

This year the Illineks defeated all those teams except Eureka, which won the meet with 100 points. Uni finished with 105, an 82-point leap over last year.

Despite that, Uni runners were disappointed by their second-place finish, a sign of just how good this team has become. As senior Nicole Helregel said, “Those five points are a motivator to get first place next year.”

As the race was varsity only, Uni's top seven were the only ones who ran. All of the varsity squad placed in the top 100, and as such all brought home trophies.

The order after Mehnert was:

— Elizabeth Russell, freshman, 12:14.6, 14th
— Shivani Khanna, junior, 12:17.55, 15th
— Elaine Gu, sophomore, 12:41.28, 26th
— Jennifer Roloff, junior, 13:24.75, 55th
— Samantha Nguyen, junior, 13:34.59, 62nd
— Isaure Hostetter, freshman, 13:58.72, 80th

Uni's top four runners today each placed higher than Uni's top finisher did last year. Khanna led Uni in 2005 with a 27th-place finish and a time of 12:36.

Mehnert beat that time today by 46 seconds, Russell by 22 seconds, and Khanna herself by 19 seconds. Gu, in fourth place, was just five seconds behind Khanna's 2005 time and nine seconds ahead of her own mark from last year. (Click here for the complete results of the 2005 Spartan Classic.)

The teams after Uni in the top five were Decatur St. Teresa (125), Tri-Valley (175), and Bureau Valley (186).

Uni will run again Oct. 7 at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational.

2006 VARSITY RESULTS
(Meets at the U of I Illini Meadows in bold; courses are three miles unless otherwise indicated)

Aug. 29: Kickapoo Kickoff Classic, 1st (27 pts)
Top Uni runner: Elizabeth Russell, 1st overall (20:34)

Sept. 2: Chrisman Cowchip Classic, 2nd (18 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 2nd in No. 2 flight (19:57)

Sept. 5: Twin City Championship, 1st (32 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 1st overall (20:29)

Sept. 9: Peoria Woodruff Invitational, 3rd (122 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 8th overall (19:34)

Sept. 12: Home Meet, 1st (16 pts)
Top Uni runner: Shivani Khanna, 1st overall (20:46)

Sept. 16: Tuscola Invitational, 1st (56 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 4th overall (19:20)

Sept. 19: Clinton Quad Meet: 1st (22 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 2nd overall (20:47)

Sept. 23: St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic, 2nd (105 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 6th overall (11:50, 1.97-mile course)