By Carl Zielinski
Gargoyle staff reporter
Posted Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2006, The OG, sports

CLINTON — Despite their success at the Tuscola Invitational on Saturday, the Uni girls dropped two spots to No. 5 in the most recent Illinois Prep Top Times ranking of the state's top 15 Class A teams. However, the Illineks overcame cold, windy conditions and an enormous hill in Clinton Tuesday as junior Michelle Mehnert led them to their fifth victory in seven meets.

Mehnert finished second at the Clinton Quad Meet with a time of 20 minutes, 47 seconds, followed closely by the pack of freshman Elizabeth Russell (third, 20:50), junior Shivani Khanna (fourth, 21:09) and sophomore Elaine Gu (fifth, 21:18).

Juniors Jennifer Roloff (eighth, 22:04) and Samantha Nguyen (11th, 23:24) and freshman Isaure Hostetter (14th, 24:21) rounded off the varsity squad, who finished with a total of 22 points.

Monticello (35) placed second, followed by Clinton (91) and Unity (98).

While no personal bests were recorded for the varsity squad, coach Doug Mynatt feels the meet served a different purpose.

“The girls went in with the task of bringing the pack closer together,” said Mynatt. “The goal was to keep the top seven together as long as possible.”

The girls will run again Saturday at the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartan Classic, against several top-ranked teams, as they look to regain their third-place state ranking.

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)