PEORIA, Ill. — Dan Iverson is as shrewd as he is well-respected.
The longtime Naperville North girls cross county coach more than realized his team had an uphill struggle to defend its state championship with Glenbard West returning two all-staters to augment the fastest runner in state history, Madeline Perez.
“If Glenbard West ran the way they should — and they did — we had to be 100 percent healthy to beat them,” Iverson said after the Hilltoppers claimed their first Class 3A state championship in program history.
“We had a good day but not a good enough day to beat (Glenbard West).”
Perez was well behind her state-record time last year at Detweiller Park to finish fourth, but Glenbard West had three other runners in the top 16 to easily defeat Naperville North 75-112.
“I’m disappointed in my individual finish, but (a team state championship) is all I was asking for this year,” Perez said. “Naperville North is such a great program.”
The Huskies were led by their two postseason mainstays, Elly DeTurris and Maria McDaniel, with Claire Hamilton, Judy Pendergast and Kate Shannon rounding out the team scores.
DeTurris, McDaniel and Hamilton each earned All-State distinction with their respective team finishes of eighth, 12th and 15th in leading the Huskies to their 10th team trophy since Iverson became head coach in the fall of 1996.
“Our mind-set was to do the best possible race we could,” said DeTurris, who anchored the Huskies for the second straight year. “My teammates, as usual, were out there for me. They helped me so much.”
“We all did our best, and that’s all you can ask for,” McDaniel said. “We were all nervous before the race because of the hype: ‘Who was going to win? Us or Glenbard West?’ ”
The two other Naperville high schools finished in consecutive team order as Neuqua Valley edged Naperville Central by two points, 276-278, for the final top-10 berth.
Claire Costelloe and Julia Pena both barely missed All-State consideration with their positions just outside the top 25.
“It’s tough (for Costelloe and Pena),” Neuqua Valley coach Tim McCoskey said. “You can always play that what-if game.”
The Wildcats reached their aim in the 25-school field.
“Our goal was to edge up to that top 15,” McCoskey said.
“It’s a great way to end four great years,” Costelloe said.
There was no hard-luck for Naperville Central junior Katie Hoffman in becoming an All-State runner. The Redhawks’ season-long standout, with sister Rachel running second for the team, was 12th overall and 10th among team members.
“My strategy was to go out fast and be in a good position,” Katie Hoffman said. “I wanted to hold that position and go for it over the last 800 (yards).”
