Cross Country: Lemont’s Oldanie pushes ahead to victory
By Tim O’Brien For Sun-Times Media September 22, 2012 9:40PM
Kristen Brink, of Illiana Christian, takes second just ahead of Lemont's Claire Gagen for the girls Olympic run at the Tinley Park Invitational cross country meet, Sunday, September 22nd, 2012 in Midlothian, IL. | Gary Middendorf~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 24, 2012 6:32AM
Running in, at and around heavy winds Saturday at Midlothian Meadows, it was all about the strategy for Lemont’s Aaron Oldanie.
“The wind wasn’t too bad,” Oldanie said. “Once you got into the woods, the wind kind of died down. On these open straightaways with the open plains, I just kept my head down and kept on pushing.”
Not allowing the wind to become a factor, Oldanie won the Olympic (small school) 3-mile race at Saturday’s Tinley Park Invitational, finishing in 16:34.
Teammate Scott Matulik (16:40) finished close behind, helping lift Lemont to the team title with 38 points. Scott Franklin (8th, 17:17) joined Oldanie and Matulik in the top 10 for the Indians.
Bremen (61) and Evergreen Park (120) finished second and third.
While his time was slower than Oldanie intended, the team win at the Invite made up for it.
“I felt like I did all right,” Oldanie said. “I went a little bit slower than I wanted, but the race was pretty good. Our team pulled up great, and we had a great pack. I felt really good about what we did today.”
Joliet Catholic (134) finished fifth overall as a team.
In the Olympic girls race, Lemont (45) finished second behind Illiana Christian (34). Claire Gagen (3rd, 19:23), Victoria Salazar (5th, 19:46), Jorrie Dybcio (7th, 19:54) and Amanda Ruban (9th, 20:08) led the Indians to the second-place finish.
Lincoln-Way East finished second as a team in the Champion (large school) girls race, racking up 51 points and finishing behind first-place Marist (24). Kaley McLawhorn (7th, 19:31) and Kendall Nepote (9th, 19:54) led the Griffins.
Joliet West (150) finished third as a team.
In the Champions boys race, Joliet Central’s Salvador Lazaro ran the three-mile course in 16:06, good for fourth place overall. Other top ten finishers included Joliet West’s Hugo Hernandez (7th, 16:15), Lincoln-Way East’s Luke Johnston (8th, 16:17), and Providence’s Steve Sismelich (10th, 16:21).
Thornwood (66) won the team title, beating Shepard (89).
