Every point counts – ask Cary-Grove

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The tight team finish at the McHenry County Girls Track and Field Meet two weeks ago drove home a point coaches often try to impress upon their athletes – every point matters.

In the case of the county meet, every fraction of a point mattered. Cary-Grove edged Huntley to a margin of 80-793⁄4 for the county championship. If Huntley had scored one more point, sophomore Sarah Sheehan’s four-way tie for sixth place in the pole vault could have been a determining factor for first place.

The Fox Valley Conference Meet, which starts at 4 p.m. today at C-G’s Al Bohrer Field, could rival the county meet for drama regarding the team finishes. C-G, Huntley and Woodstock, which scored 741⁄4 points, all are contenders. Even two-time defending champion Crystal Lake South, which had 73 at county, could factor in the team race.

“I’m so excited. I think it will be good,” said C-G junior hurdler and jumper Kelly McCoy, who won the 100-meter high hurdles for the Trojans’ lone event championship at the county meet. “There is some stuff we figured out [from county] that we could fix. We all know we have to run our best.”

Teams know they don’t want a lot riding on the 4x400-meter relay, the meet’s final event. Huntley has two of the top 400 runners – Denita Brown and Marilyn McDougal – along with hurdler Amy Fanella to bring that one home.

The Red Raiders won that race by 7 seconds at county.

“I have to take Huntley as the favorite,” C-G coach Mark Anderson said. “Our depth is great, but Huntley has some big guns with Fanella and [thrower] Cortney Wilkerson. Woodstock has some big guns too.

“All we can focus on is Cary-Grove.”

C-G will be led by McCoy and sophomore Carly Loeffel, who was second in four events at county, but whose anchor leg in the 4x400 helped give C-G the necessary four points to vault over Huntley into first.

“We talk about depth and every points counts all the time,” McCoy said. “The thought that we could win [as a team] makes for more pressure, but it helps push me more, definitely.”

BNC, SCC meets: The Big Northern Girls Track and Field Meet is at 3:30 p.m. today at Burlington Central, starting with the pole vault. The field events start at 4, with the running preliminaries at 4:30 p.m. and running finals at 5:30 p.m.

Richmond-Burton and Marengo are the top local teams in the meet. R-B will be led by sprinter Sarah Finley, distance runner Lindsey Wilkins and thrower Hollis DuBois.

“I’d like to be top five, hopefully,” R-B coach Keith Forth said. “It depends on what our top people do.”

Marengo’s top competitors will be sprinter Lauren Hunt and hurdler-jumper Allison Rogutich.

Burlington and Byron are considered the favorites.

Marian Central is the lone area team in the Suburban Catholic Conference Meet today at Aurora Central Catholic. Field events start at 3 p.m., with running prelims at 3:45 and running finals at 4:30.

Marian thrower Amy Miskowicz should be one of the top scorers for the Hurricanes.

Cooper to Lake Forest: Crystal Lake Central outside hitter Cori Cooper recently finalized her plans to attend NCAA Division III Lake Forest College and continue her volleyball career.

Cooper (5-foot-10) said she ultimately decided on the school she liked best from the start of the recruitment process.

“I wanted to keep my options open and be sure to make the right decision,” Cooper said. “The coach [Jennifer Saylor] thought I’d get a lot of playing time right away.”

Cooper was a reserve on Central’s 2007 Class 3A state champion team, then came back as part of a new starting lineup on a Tigers team that finished 33-5. Cooper was an Northwest Herald All-Area honorable mention selection. She also is friends with McHenry senior boys basketball player Chris Madson, who will attend Lake Forest and play basketball.

“It was a total rebuilding job, and it was fun,” Cooper said.

• Joe Stevenson covers high school sports for the Northwest Herald. He can be reached at 815-526-4513. He also can be reached by fax at 815-459-5640 or by e-mail at jstevenson@nwherald.com.