Athlete of the Week: Downers Grove South Runner Katie Strelau

A note from the editors at Patch:

By the voting deadline for this week's Athlete of the Week (9 p.m. Wednesday), Katie Strelau of Downers Grove South had 52 percent of the votes, making her the clear winner.

On Thursday, it was brought to our attention that the poll remained open and an overwhelming number of votes had been cast for other nominees.

Although we greatly appreciate the participation, we have chosen to honor our original deadline and the greatest number of votes cast at that time. Moving forward, the poll will be closed each Wednesday at 9 p.m.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Katie Strelau runs at a different speed.

Not only does the 16-year-old junior lead her high school cross country team on the race track, she also hits the accelerator in areas like team leadership, meet preparation and academics.

Recently, Strelau, of Downers Grove, led a pack of seven Mustangs who earned . They won the meet as a team, and Strelau won the individual conference champion title.

It's no wonder she received 52 percent of the votes in the inaugural Patch among athletes from other schools in the southwest suburbs.

"She is one of the most motivated and dedicated athletes that I’ve had the opportunity to coach," Downers Grove South Coach Doug Plunkett said.

"She is constantly looking for ways to become a better athlete and improve herself. This is sometimes tough, because she is also a very dedicated student with high aspirations academically. It is a difficult balancing act, that so far, Katie has handled well."

Strelau joined the cross country tream for the first time last fall -- as a sophomore -- and qualified for the cross country state meet. She built on that in the spring by qualifying for the state meet's 3,200-meter run in track and field.

While she still hasn't nailed down an immediate goal with Plunkett, she has a couple of weeks to hit the 17-minute, 30-second mark she's tossed around in her head. Her best time this year is 17:47 on Oct. 1.

Don't mistake any personal visions for selfishness, though.

"She is also very team-oriented and is very focused on helping our entire team qualify for the state meet," Plunkett said. "It has been a pleasure being able to coach Katie, and I look forward to a good finish to this season and having her around for another year."

Here are the other Patch Athlete of the Week nominees:

: Nick Goodell, junior, boys soccer midfielder. Goodell scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the Raiders' regular-season finale. The Raiders finished the season 11-10-1 overall and begin their postseason tonight. 

: Shane Purtle, senior golfer. Purtle finished third overall in the IHSA's Class 2A State Finals and earned all-state honors. He shot a 9-over 151 in the tournament.

: Matt Randolf, senior running back. Randolf scored five rushing touchdowns in a conference win over crosstown rival Naperville North. He also scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead the comeback.

: Emma Adcock, junior; Kim Warpecha, senior girls tennis players. Adcock and Warpecha qualifed for the state doubles competition on the strength of 6-0, 6-0 wins in Rounds 2 and 3 of the Hinsdale Central Sectional.

: Jake Bambule, junior quarterback. Finished 12-of-30 passing for 181 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Minooka. He completed 5-of-9 passes for 96 yards and two scores in the third quarter to help close a 17-point halftime deficit to 24-20.