By Bobby Narang
Glenbard West High School senior Katelynne Hart earned another rare feat Saturday.
Hart became the first four-time West Suburban Conference Silver Division cross country individual champion at Berens Park in Elmhurst.
Considered one of the top runners in the country, Hart dominated the Conference meet in a winning time of 16 minutes, 12.44 seconds. Hinsdale Central senior McKenna Revord finished a distance second with a time of 17:15.64.
“I just wanted to go in and relax and run for my team,” Hart said. “I was super excited to see how everyone was going to do since this is very competitive. I was excited to run this meet. The best thing is seeing my teammates grow. We have a very young team and we competed.”
Hart, a three-time State cross country champion, added that she’s down to three schools for her college choice, but doesn’t have a timetable for her commitment.
On the team front, Hinsdale Central won the conference championship with 50 points. Glenbard West took second place with 58 points and York took third with 81. In the boys, York captured the Conference championship with an impressive showing of 40 points. Downers Grove North finished second with 64 points and Lyons managed third with 65.
York senior Daniel Klysch won the individual championship in a time of 14:40.83.
DuKane Conference update:
St. Charles East gained a measure of revenge at the DuKane Conference boys cross country meet Saturday. The Saints scored 32 points to win the Conference meet at Lake Park High School and edged out Wheaton Warrenville South, with 34. Last year, the Tigers managed to nudge out the St. Charles East for the championship.
St. Charles East senior Bob Liking was the Conference champion with a time of 14:38.6.
“I feel all right, (the course was) little bit muddier than I expected it to be, but that’s something you have to adapt to,” Liking said. “I felt pretty good, but a win is a win and I’m moving on to next week (in the regional meet). But it was a good race and we, in the end, managed to pull out the win.”
Senior Aidan King claimed 10th place with a time of 15:06.3, but he noted the team must improve if they want to return to the State meet in Peoria November 9. The Saints finished in fifth place at the Class 3A State meet last year.
“We attacked it a lot over the Summer,” King said. “We had more specific goal in our mind. We know we are capable of competing (at State). That’s why we’ve had success early in the season. We’re not worried about anyone else. Today was a reality check. I was not feeling it, definitely not my day. But it was a good reality check. There are going to be bumps in the road, but we’re focused on our goal.”