Sunday, Nov. 08, 2009

Freeburg's Kristen Busch finishes second in Class 1A race; Midgets are 5th as team

PEORIA -- For one of the few times in her still young career, the brilliance of Freeburg sophomore Kristen Busch wasn't quite good enough Saturday at the Class 1A girls state cross country meet.

Defending champion Kelly Curran, of Bloomington Central Catholic, rallied in the final 300 meters as she edged Busch to win the state title by three seconds in a memorable finish at Detweiller Park.

Busch, who defeated Curran by 20 seconds earlier in the season at the Peoria Woodruff Invitational, led for most of the race and seemed to be in control before Curran unleashed her final assault on the final hill then outkicked Busch to the finish line.

Curran finished the 3-mile race, run in ideal conditions, in a time of 17 minutes 46 seconds. Busch ended at 17:49.

"I knew she (Curran) was there and I knew she had a kick. I just didn't think it was that good of a kick," Busch said. "I felt good. I just didn't have enough left.

"I'm OK with finishing second, even though the goal was obviously to win it. I ran my hardest. If I would have done anything differently, it would have been starting my kick a little later. I just didn't think she (Curran) had that much left."

Twin sister Caitlin Busch placed fourth, three better than her seventh-place finish of a year ago, while teammates Olivia VonBokel (37th), Courtney Heidorn (47th) and Kristen Thouvenot (51st) also ran solid races for the Midgets, who placed fifth in the team standings, but only 14 points behind champion Winnebago.

In winning a second straight team title, the Indians finished with 123 points, four less than Decatur St. Theresa and six less than Elmwood. Eureka was fourth with 135, followed by the Freeburg with 141. Freeburg placed seventh in 2008.

Sparta, getting an all-state performance from Aleigh Eggemeyer, who placed 18th overall, finished 15th in the team competition. Columbia (19th) and Metro-East Lutheran (20th) also capped solid seasons at the state meet.

The Busch sisters and Eggemeyer weren't the only local runners to earn all-state recognition.

In Class 2A, Mater Dei sophomore Ellen Toennies placed 16th while Mascoutah's Aly Smith earned all-state honors by placing 22nd.

Freeburg, ranked first heading into the Class 1A state meet, ran well, but came up just short of being state champions.

"We knew coming in it would be close between six or seven teams. I didn't think it would come down to 14 points between the top five though," Freebug coach Carl Florczyk said. "We ran very well, all the girls, Kristen and Caitlin, along with everybody else. They ran their hearts out. That's all I can ask.

"And give credit to Kelly Curran. It was a great race between two excellent runners. Kelly just had a little more at the end."

Smith also proved to the state that she is an excellent runner. Making her second straight trip to state, Smith finished in 18:36.

"We thought that since she came up last year and placed 36th that if she ran well, that she had a chance to be all-state," Indians coach Pat Cook said. "Aly has worked very hard for this and today it paid off."

Toennies made her state debut one to remember with her 16th-place finish.

The latest in a long line of outstanding Mater Dei runners, Toennies showed why she is considered one of the state's top runners.

"I thought Ellen ran just a great race," Knights coach Dave Kohnen said. "Being up here for the first time and running as an individual I'm sure she was nervous, but she went out and ran a very smart race.

Waterloo senior Aubree Schreder came close to all-state status, placing 33rd.

In Class 3A, Sarah Johnson placed 52nd and Anne Nikola was 80th, both in personal-best times as O'Fallon placed 19th in the team competition.

Johnson covered the 3-mile course in 18:41 while Nikola's time was 19:03.

Individually, Belleville West senior Sammie Grove, making her third trip to state in four years, placed 104th. Edwardsville freshman Ariane Wright placed 117th.