By Carl Zielinski
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006, The OG, sports

PEORIA — Running a season-best time of 19 minutes, 34 seconds, junior Michelle Mehnert led Uni High to a third-place finish out of 20 scoring teams at the Peoria Woodruff Class A Invitational on Saturday.

Mehnert, who finished eighth, was followed on the three-mile course by junior Shivani Khanna and freshman Elizabeth Russell in 15th and 16th places respectively. Khanna and Russell broke the 20-minute barrier for the first time this season, Khanna clocking in at 19:54 and Russell right behind at 19:55.

Sophomore Elaine Gu placed 43rd (21:02), followed by junior Samantha Nguyen (55th, 21:43), junior Jennifer Roloff (82nd, 22:41), and freshman Isaure Hostetter (129th, 26:21).

In the open race, senior Nicole Helregel finished with a 25:39, and sophomores Caroline Brown and Joy Shapley turned in times of 25:54 and 26:05.

The Illineks' 122 points put them behind Rockford Lutheran (87 points) and Elmwood/Brimfield (117 points). Uni finished just ahead of fourth-place Winnebago, the defending Class A state champions, whom many expected to challenge for the title this meet.

“The whole team managed to pack up really well,” said Nguyen, “and we fed really well off of the crowd. It's a big race, and it really just makes you want to run fast.”

Indeed, Uni's performance at the Woodruff Invitational, which took place at Detweiller Park, could soon land the girls in the Illinois Prep Top Times' ranking of the best Class A teams in the state. Last week IPTT ranked Elmwood/Brimfield first, Winnebago second, and Rockford Lutheran sixth.

Uni's strong showing against those Class A powerhouses came only four days after the team won the Twin City Championship, defeating Class AA schools Urbana, Champaign Central, and Centennial. In that race, the high-scoring trio of Mehnert, Khanna, and Russell placed first, second, and third respectively.

Tuesday's quad meet will give the host Illineks another chance to prove themselves, this time against neighboring teams Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Bismarck-Henning, Watseka, Judah Christian and Arthur/Lovington.

2006 VARSITY RESULTS
(Meets at the U of I 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)