A WINNING PAIR
Shea, Skibicki stick together as Lockport rolls to SouthWest Suburban Blue title
Lockport sophomore Kayla Shea was confident shewould be near the front, butshethoughtaboost from a teammate might be the key to pushing her over the top.
So, beforeSaturday’s race, she gave a pep talk to fellow sophomore Monica Skibicki.
“Our team likes to pack run,” Shea said. “I told Monica, ‘Let’s stick together today. I knowyou’re capable of it. We’re going to do this together.’
“Your teammates are the ones who practice with you every day and know how hard you work. When they’re there with youpushing you in these races, it’s great motivation.”
Shea and Skibicki proved tobe a greatduo, finishing as the top two runners in the combined SouthWest Suburban ConferenceMeet between the Blue and Red divisions at Lockport.
Sheawon the Blue championship in 17 minutes, 31 seconds, with Skibicki right behind in 17:37.4.
The pair helped the Porters win their third straight Blue title with 29 points. Sandburg was second with 48, followed by Lincoln-Way East with 58, Homewood- Flossmoor with 114 and Bolingbrook with 119.
H-F’s Caroline Schoen finished third in 17:43.2.
Lincoln-Way Central senior Merrigan Allen took fourth overall and was the Red champion in 17:50.2. She led the Knights to their second straight Red title with 32 points, 10 ahead of runner- up Lincoln-Way West.
Andrew was third with 87, followed by Stagg with 96 and Bradley-Bourbonnais with 116.
“It feels really nice to win this,” Sheasaid.“Therewere somany really great runners to compete against.
“I was so proud of how Monica did, too. It’s sofun to be there when your teammates break their goals.”
Itwas the sixth win of the season for Shea, who improved on a third-place finish in the SWSC Blue Preseason Meet. She set a personal record by 13 seconds.
Skibicki, meanwhile, was ninth in the preseason race and finished second in just one dual this season. She shattered her personal record by over 33 seconds.
“It was honestly amazing,” she said. “Kayla’s always a lot faster than me normally. I was just so determined to keep her in my sight and just make sure I stayed up with her.”
Josephine Bober finished sixth in the Blue for the Porters in 18:19.8, while Megan Mitchell was ninth in 18:26.4 and Elizabeth Bollingerwas 11th in 18:32.9.
Allen, meanwhile, won her sixth race of the season, but this one surprised her a bit after she finished fourth in the preseason meet.
Lincoln-Way West’s Gianna Arizzi had won all seven of her races this seasonandbeat Allenbyover 16 seconds in the Oct. 6 dual.
This time, Allen topped her crosstown rival by more than 17 seconds. Arizzi was the runner-up in 18:07.8.
“I was honestly not expecting to be first in the Red,” Allen said. “I was a little nervous because I knew everyonewas going to be so fast, but I’m really happy with howI raced.”
Stagg’s Karolina Rozanski took third in 18:12.2.
Also for Lincoln-Way Central, Claire Carter finished fourth in 18:30, Catherine Ihrke was fifth in 18:35.2 andNancy Flais took 10th in 19:14.3.
Allen executedher strategy to perfection.
“I like to start out slow and work my way up,” she said. “I haven’t been able to do that much this year with less runners in races.
“They were telling me I was near the back early in this race, but I didn’t panic. WhenI start passing people, it encourages me to keep going faster.”