Evanston Runners Qualify For Sectional

Not many opposing distance runners would consider racing head-to-head against New Trier star Ben Crane fun.

But that’s exactly the way Sam Froum described his experience Saturday at the Class 3A Glenbrook South Regional meet.

Up against an elite runner who placed 3rd at the Illinois High School Association state finals in cross country as a junior --- and state runnerup in the 3200-meters in track last spring --- Froum scored a 5th place finish and led Evanston to a team qualifying berth in next Saturday’s Schaumburg Sectional.

The Wildkit girls also advanced with a 5th place finish in the team standings with 121 points. The top six teams, plus the top five individuals who aren’t members of those qualifying teams, will advance to the sectional set for Busse Woods next Saturday.

Froum wasn’t exactly competing against his conference rival for the first time. Undaunted by the challenge, the ETHS senior was just encouraged by the fact that he was able to keep in close contact with Crane because the New Trier runner didn’t turn in an all-out effort and established a slower pace than he typically does.

Crane won the 3-mile test in 15 minutes, 7.83 seconds and Froum, who ran in the top 3 until fading slightly in the final mile, was clocked in 15:34.72 behind Crane, Evan Parker of Niles North (15:20.19), Dylan Dominguez of Highland Park (15:29.96), and another New Trier runner, Walter Garrett (15:30.85).

His effort sparked the Wildkits to 3rd place in the team standings with 109 points. New Trier outscored Prospect 39-48 to claim the team title. Evanston also counted Emir Arber Bombaci, 23rd in 16:05.61; Emmitt Wilson, 24th in 16:06.40; Patrick Tu, 25th in 16:07.21; and Andrew Rich, 36th in 16:27.69.

“I know he didn’t go all out. I just thought I’ll stick with him as long as I can, and it was really fun for me to be able to stay with him like that,” said Froum, who qualified for State as a junior. “That was the most fun I’ve had in quite awhile.

“I knew that Crane would kick on the last mile. I didn’t have anything left to respond and I got passed by a couple of guys. I died a little bit, and it wasn’t a great last mile. I didn’t have it in me to push any more at that points.

“I was nervous at the start and it was nice to be able to turn that into something that was fun. Now I’ll have a good mindset for the next two weeks (sectional and State), because today shows me that no matter how I feel at the start, I can turn it around. Last year however I felt when I woke up in the morning (of a race) dictated how my races would go. Now I can calm myself down and I’m much more in control.”

“Sam is super fit --- I’ve never seen him this physically fit, he’s a lot faster this year and his mental approach has changed, too,” praised Evanston head coach Donald Michelin Jr. “Now he’s targeting the other racers he’s up against and trying to beat them, not just trying to lower his time. I think the sky’s the limit for him.

“They all competed well today and I felt we could be third (in the team standings) if we ran halfway decent. Sometimes when the pace slows down like it did today at the top end, it can throw you off. But our 2-3-4 runners did their job even though Sam is the only one who’s been here before. They might not be happy with their times right now, but when they saw we were third that made them feel a lot better.

“I really like where we are as a team right now. I believe with the way that we’re tapering we’ll continue to race well and peak as a team.”

On the girls side, ETHS head coach Beth Arey wasn’t as concerned about peaking as she was about just who she had healthy enough to line up for the start Saturday. She wasn’t sure that she wouldn’t have to resort to plugging in some reserves until just before race time.

Why? Because several runners have come down with “walking pneumonia” to the point where it should actually be called “running pneumonia” for those connected with the program.

Still another was sidelined with a case of COVID-19.

Senior Stella Davis scored a runnerup finish in 18:17.58 and was backed up by junior Rory Malia (11th in 18:42.63), senior Sammy Schuneman (26th in 19:48.79), senior Sophia Hinton (37th in 20:17.00) and senior Fiona Vosper (52nd in 20:50.24). Another senior, Irys Liang, ran 53rd in 20:50.47.

Schuneman, in fact, competed with a suspected fractured rib suffered by the coughing that accompanies a case of pneumonia.

“I think it was more unsettling for our alternates than it was for me,” said Arey. “Both Sammy and Shaili (Peters) missed two or three days this week and they both said they wouldn’t know if they could go until they warmed up.”

Davis yielded the individual regional crown to New Trier’s Josie Cahill, clocked in a winning time of 17:57.35 but shrugged off the loss. Her focus is on long range goals at the sectional and State meets to follow.

“I just tried to run a controlled race today,” declared the Evanston senior. “Coach said I should just do what I needed to do to get out (qualify for the sectional). I’m not happy Josie took me down, but I want to save my hardest effort for State. The first two miles were fine today --- I felt good --- but I definitely know I can run faster.”

Malia said the race went “slower than I expected” but feels she is primed for a big finish after injuries slowed her down at the end of the season last fall.

“Now I feel like our team is in a super good place,” she said, “and it’s great for me to have Stella pushing me every day in practice. I’ve had pneumonia the last two weeks --- I didn’t know I had it, it’s just going around I guess --- but I didn’t miss any time. And it seems like I’m progressing in the right direction.”

“There was no reason for Stella to win a regional race. I just needed everybody else to run well,” Arey added. “I didn’t want her to tax herself today. We just needed to beat the teams we needed to beat to qualify.

“Rory has been racing really well this year. She’s going out easier in races and enjoying passing other individuals, instead of going out hard because she’s anxious and just trying to hang on. It’s more fun for her when she’s picking people off and NOT feeling like she’s just hanging on.”

Evanston totaled 121 points and was never in danger of missing out on a top six finish as Glenbrook South was next best at 168. The top four places went to Prospect (50), Glenbrook North (57), New Trier (74) and Loyola Academy (114).