Springfield, IL (September 16, 2002)— By request of her coaches and her doctor Darian Dolenc along with number 3 runner Olivia Gay sat out of the race on Tuesday at Lincoln Park both with an achilles tendon injury. This left the door wide open for Melissa Gay to shine and shine she did. Melissa, plagued with assumed athletic induced asthma this season, took the focus off her breathing at the Franklin/Chatham Triangular and ran the race she was capable of running. Posting 14:23 and setting a school course record Melissa took a 7th place individual finish overall. This was a personal best time for Melissa so far this season.
 
Kaitlyn White proved once again that running towards the top of the pack is a spot she is more comfortable with. White posted 15:20 on the 2 mile course at Lincoln Park and was in second position on her team and 21st overall. Close behind White were Kiley Enno (15:30), Anne Cumming (15:41) and 6th grader, Katie Dresser (15:45). All girls were running in their respective positions and filing in as a group, exactly what their coaches Kelly White and Terri Enno like to see. Dresser proved she was capable of stepping up to help out her team by posting her best time of the season.
 
Runners six and seven for the BSS/SAS Girls Cross Country team at Lincoln Park were Julie McDermott (17:34) and Abby Vespa (17:37) stride for stride at the finish. Both girls are sixth graders and ran a personal best.

"It's tough to win a meet when your top runners are down," said Coach Jacki Ralph, "but, it happens and it is great to have depth in the field where other runners can step up and have an opportunity to shine."
 
More members of this very young team that performed well at Lincoln Park were: Emily Meyer (20:20), Lilly Criscione (20:24), Abby Roberts (21:33), Lindsay Dunbar (21:33), Katherine Drake (21:50) and Bianca Hernandez-Renfrow (23:10). Final Team Points fell as follows:  Chatahm 25, Franklin 37 and BSS/SAS 105.

 
Springfield, IL (September 16, 2002)— Top seven changes up again for the BSS/SAS Boys Cross Country Runners. This time they make room for Colin McCormick (13:23). McCormick, a strong state hopeful from last season, returned this year plagued with injuries but, at Lincoln Park on Tuesday, he proved those injuries are no longer holding him at bay. McCormick ran a close second to lead runner Michael Enno who maintains his number one position for BSS/SAS. Enno posted 12:39 for a personal best and a school course record at the Franklin/Chatham Triangular Meet on Tuesday.
 
And look who slid into the number three spot. Could it be Trey Dhabalt? Indeed it was Dhabalt along with Chris Frank and Gus Bloink running in three, four and five positions for BSS/SAS one of the several tight bunches on the team this meet. Dhabalt posted 13:33, while Frank and Bloink were both listed at 13:35 with Frank just barely edging Bloink out at the line. "We like our kids to come in in groups," said Coach Jacki Ralph, " and we definitely had several tight groups on Tuesday. These kids do a great job of pulling their teammates along."
 
Andy Ralph (14:01), Mike Witsman (14:02), and Nick Garcia (14:04) were side by side, stride for stride just 50 yards from the finish line. Only one Chatham runner squeezed in between Ralph at Witsman at the line where Ralph took the sixth position and Witsman took the seven spot. Nick Garcia finished in 8th for the team.
 
But, the bunching did not stop there. Val Contri (14:26), Greg Larson (14:26), Ben Ahrens (14:38), Devin Mapes (14:40), Ryan Timoney (14:42), Ryan Ciotti (14:47) and Peter McDermott (14:58) had a speed caravan of their own going on. These athletes allowed only two Chatham runners to sneak in between their seven man pack.
 
Also running at Lincoln Park on Tuesday were Tim Capestrain (15:36), Zach Jones (15:49), Joey White (16:13), Zach Boenke (16:17) and Danny Lord (17:04). Capestrain, Jones, Boenke and Lord all improved their times by more than a minute over their Petersburg times from last week. Joey White, usually a top ten runner, was violently ill several yards out from the finish but still finished the race with shear determination.
 
Final Team points at Lincoln Park fell as follows: Chatham 19, Franklin 65, BSS/SAS 140. Both Chatham and Franklin are AA schools while BSS/SAS is in the single A division.