OPRF girls’ cross country duo makes Huskie history

For the first time in school history, a pair of Oak Park and River Forest High School girls’ cross country runners have gained All-State honors at the same time.

Their simultaneous status is very nearly literal: junior Nora Wollen’s 17:07.86 time was a mere 1.27 seconds ahead of sophomore Josephine Welin at the Class 3A finals on Saturday, November 9. Their 15th- and 16th-place efforts capped a post-season run in which the running mates spearheaded the Huskies to their second straight trip to the finals in Peoria.

In establishing a new personal record, Wollen came within one second of breaking the school’s all-time cross-country mark, set by Mary Blankemeier when she finished fifth in the 2013 state final. Remarkably on Saturday, all seven Huskie runners established personal records.

Despite the team’s break-out performance at Detweiller Park, it amounted to a 13th place team finish, smack-dab in the middle of the 25-team pack and reflecting the state field’s depth and prowess. The ranking fell shy of last year’s 10th-place finish, which equaled the best in the 40-plus year history of OPRF girls’ cross country.

From the field of 210 runners (which included 35 who qualified as individuals), the top 25 earn All-State laurels.

A year ago, Wollen finished 37th to lead the Huskies, while Welin was third on the team, and 61st overall, in 2018. This time around, they cut their times by 29 seconds and 53 seconds, respectively—a phenomenal drop that Wollen acknowledged they did not expect.

“I’m just really proud of everyone’s performance at state,” said Wollen. “We worked our butts off all year, and it really showed. Everyone PR’d (set a personal record) by a lot and I’m super proud of everything we’ve done all season.”

Looking to 2020, the two are aiming to drop their times below 17 minutes and to crack the Top 10 individually, while helping return OPRF to Top 10 overall.

“We have so many strong runners who work hard every day to improve,” said Welin. “I can’t wait to see what we can do with our strength.”

Echoing that sentiment, second-year OPRF Coach Ashley Raymond said, “We are content with our season but also energized for what we can achieve next year.”

The optimism is warranted: the top five Huskie runners are returning, as is sophomore Samantha Duwe, who placed fifth for the team at the 2018 state final but was sidelined this season by injury.

On Saturday, the third Huskie to hit the finish line was junior Parker Hulen (18:09, 81st place), followed by junior Maggie Rose Baron (18:49, 146th); freshman Avery Minnis (18:59, 162nd); senior Audrey Lewis (19:03, 168th); and senior Jana Casey (19:14, 182nd).

“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” Raymond said. “The Huskies showed tremendous courage, heart and teamwork.”

“I am so proud of this team. Every athlete ran the best race of their life on the target day, which is my goal every year,” added the coach. “We had Wollen and Welin working together up front, Baron and Minnis breaking 19 minutes for the first time, and Hulen, Casey and Lewis battling for points until the final step.”

To qualify for the state finals, the Huskies placed fourth a week earlier at the Lake Park Sectional. On a day where the temperature dipped into the 30s and the three-mile course made for a muddy slog, five teams advanced from that 19-team field.

In addition to OPRF, they included Sectional champion Glenbard West High School (sixth place at state), led by four-time state champion Katelynne Hart; second-place Wheaton Warrenville South (which edged OPRF for 12th place at state); third-place York High School, which came in 18th at state; and fifth-place New Trier High School, a 16th-place state finisher.

For the 50th year, Detweiller Park was the site of state championships that began as one race, expanded into two classes, and then, in 2007, grew to three classes, based on school size, for both boys and girls.

According to Illinois High School Association records, six OPRF girls’ cross country runners previously achieved All-State status: in addition to Blankemeier in 2013, they are Margaret Manion (1980), Colleen Bolin (1994), Kristen Barnes (1995), Elaine Zelby (2004), and the only two-time Huskie All-State runner, Katherine Rack (2006 and 2007). The top finish has been fifth place, achieved by Rack in 2007 and equaled by Blankemeier.

One male OPRF cross country runner competed on Saturday—senior Jack O’Sullivan. He qualified by virtue of his individual Sectional performance. His 15:40 finish at state shaved 23 seconds off that time, and O’Sullivan wound up 143th out of 213 competitors.

For the girls’ Class 3A team and individual championship results, visit https://tinyurl.com/2019GirlsXC.

Disclosure: the writer is the father of an OPRF girls’ cross country runner.