Lockport sophomore Kayla Shea continued her hot streak Tuesday night. It’s the cumulative effect of putting in the extra effort when the heat was really on.
“I worked hard this summer,” Shea said. “I ran higher mileages and faster paces.”
Few could keep pace in a dual meet between the top two teams in the SouthWest Suburban Blue. Sandburg turned in a breakthrough performance, but Shea dominated the race.
Shea won by a whopping 32 seconds, finishing in 18 minutes, 5 seconds, although the Eagles picked up a huge 25-30 victory at Lockport.
It kept the throttle on high during a huge month for Shea, who also won conference races in dual meets against both Lincoln-Way Central and Lincoln-Way East.
“It boosts my confidence because I realize I can run these times and I can beat other good runners,” Shea said. “I’ve really tried to push myself hard since we don’t have as many races this year.”
Shea pulled away from the rest of the field early and was never threatened.
“I didn’t hear much cheering for anyone behind me and I didn’t really feel any breathing or footsteps,” she said. “I knew I was kind of out there running by myself.
“I just wanted to keep running my best race and keep pushing hard to the finish.”
Shea had a strong season as a freshman and was a key part of Lockport’s 10th-place finish in Class 3A, but Porters coach Regan Cronholm has seen a new aggressive attitude this fall in Shea.
“She was kind of timid last year and she’s gotten a little bit more brave this year,” Cronholm said. “She isn’t afraid to just get out there and just go.
“Sandburg has some great runners, so it was really good to see her run this well against them. It’s always great to see great performances against great teams.”
The Eagles had the next three finishers, all crossing the line in a 14-second span. Senior Brielle Morris took second in 18:37, freshman Ava Giblin third in 18:42 and senior Paige Killen fourth in 18:51.
Freshman Lily Molloy and Katie Roche placed sixth and 10th, respectively, for Sandburg.
Monica Skibicki, Grace Mildice, Elizabeth Bollinger and Caroline Turner put together a 5-7-8-9 finish for Lockport, which was without a couple of its top runners in Josephine Bober and Megan Mitchell due to injuries.
“Lockport is the class of our conference every single year,” Sandburg coach Tony Pena said. “They’re the measuring stick. We talked about that leading up to this.
“This is the team we have to be able to compete with every year at the conference level and in the postseason. We’re really excited about how we ran.”
Pena told his top runners not to wear watches and focus on the competition with Lockport rather than times.
Morris thought that approach helped.
“Sometimes, when you see that number on your watch, you get hesitant about pushing harder,” she said. “But this race we just wanted to run on feel and focus on competing with Lockport.
“I think it really worked in our favor. I’m really excited about how we ran.”
Morris gave her teammates credit for picking up their pace to give her the chance to run with a strong pack.
“Other girls have really been stepping up,” she said. “In some of the earlier races, I was out there on my own at the front, but it really helps when your teammates are up there with you.
“We’ve been talking as a team about moving up in the ranks and showing people what Sandburg girls cross country can do, so this was a big race for us.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
