By Carl Zielinski
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Saturday, Oct. 28, 2006, The OG, sports

STANFORD — Before today no Uni girls cross country team had ever won a sectional championship. (According to IHSA records, the boys claimed one in 1984.)

But that all changed this afternoon as the Illineks defeated state-ranked teams Eureka, Downs Tri-Valley, and Decatur St. Teresa to win the Stanford Olympia Class A sectional title.

Led by junior Michelle Mehnert's 23.7-second personal record of 18 minutes, 55.2 seconds, the team muscled through the competition despite an unfamiliar course and windy conditions. Only Eureka's Olivia Klaus (18:29) ran faster than Mehnert today. Klaus is the No. 2-ranked Class A runner in the state. Mehnert had been ranked as high as No. 14 this fall, but she has been out of the rankings for the past several weeks.

Modest as usual, Mehnert said she was “pleasantly surprised” with the race results.

The entire team came out in force, with four Illineks finishing in the top 20. Besides Mehnert, junior Shivani Khanna came in ninth (seventh among runners on scoring teams), freshman Elizabeth Russell 15th (13th), and sophomore Elaine Gu 17th (15th). Mehnert and Khanna won medals for placing in the top 10.

In fact, Mehnert and Gu were only 54 seconds apart. While the occasional wind gusts were a hurdle for the runners to overcome, it played effectively into Mehnert's running strategy.

“I concentrated on drafting and staying with packs for the first two miles because I like to race conservatively at the beginning,” she said. “But at that point the pack started getting too slow, so I broke away.”

Junior Jennifer Roloff rounded out the scoring portion of the Illinek roster by finishing 33rd (27th). Junior Samantha Nguyen placed 67th and freshman Isaure Hostetter 77th.

The girls now advance to Saturday's state finals at Detweiller Park in Peoria. This is the seventh time in nine years that coach Doug Mynatt's Illineks have qualified for state.

With 64 points, Uni handily defeated second-place Central A&M (98). The other state qualifiers were Eureka (134), Tri-Valley (148), and St. Teresa (158). All the qualifiers except surprising Central A&M were ranked in Illinois Prep Top Times' most recent Class A Top 15. Eureka was ranked sixth, Uni seventh, St. Teresa 12th, and Tri-Valley 13th.

Eighteen teams ran in the sectional. Nineteen advanced from last week's regional meets, but Cumberland (from the Cowden regional) was absent from today's roster.

Last year, the Illineks placed fourth at the Paxton-Buckley-Loda sectional. Mehnert, Russell, and Hostetter weren't members of that team.

Mehnert's time today was almost 24 seconds better than the record she set for herself last week at the St. Joseph regional (19:18.99). Gu and Roloff also ran a personal best and seasonal best, respectively. Gu (19:49) dropped seven seconds from the 19:56 she ran at the Mahomet-Seymour Invitational on Oct. 7, while Roloff (21:10) trimmed 14 seconds from the 21:24 she ran at Mahomet.

The top four Illineks each broke the 20-minute barrier, the second time that's happened this year (Mahomet was the first). The complete Uni results:

— Michelle Mehnert, 18:55.2, 2nd
— Shivani Khanna, 19:21, 9th (7th among runners on a scoring team) *
— Elizabeth Russell, 19:48, 15th (13th)
— Elaine Gu, 19:49, 17th (15th)
— Jennifer Roloff, 21:10, 33rd (27th)
— Samantha Nguyen, 22:14, 67th
— Isaure Hostetter, 22:28, 77th

*(Runners who compete as individuals are excluded by the IHSA when calculating team results. The placings of the first five runners on each team are added up to determine team scores. In the case of Uni: 2+7+13+15+27=64.)

Based on Saturday's performance, it is clear the team has the chance to do far better at state than the 20th-place finish last year's team came home with. While their final result remains to be seen, it seems these Illineks, with the addition of Mehnert and Russell as top scorers, have the ability to place very close to the 1988 and 1991 teams' third-place finishes.

While optimistic about the team's chances, Mynatt is wary of getting too confident.

“A sectional championship gives you something to work with, and it gives you some confidence,” he said. “But you can't put too much stock in it.”

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)

Oct. 7: Mahomet-Seymour Invitational, 2nd (76 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 6th overall (19:23)

Oct. 9: Amboy Invitational, 5th (196 pts)
Top Uni runner: Shivani Khanna, 17th (18:49, 2.9-mile course)

Oct. 21: St. Joseph Class A Regional Meet, 1st (24 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 1st (19:18.99)

Oct. 28: Stanford Olympia Class A Sectional Meet, 1st (64 pts)
Top Uni runner: Michelle Mehnert, 2nd (18:55.2)