Top five Tigers
Smith, Speicher lead the way for strong Edwardsville cast
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| Ken AuBuchon photo - Edwardsville junior Courtney Smith is looking to lead her team to its fourth straight state final. // Ken AuBuchon photo - Edwardsville senior Liz Speicher is right behind friend, teammate and No. 1 runner Courtney Smith, pushing her to be her best. |
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In fact, that appears to be something of a habit lately for the Tigers.
Especially for top runners Courtney Smith and Liz Speicher, who finished Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in each of their final three meets last season heading into the state final."That's kind of our team," said sixth-year coach John Cunningham. "We might not win some of the meets early in the season. But we're OK with that, for the most part. They realize the season is a marathon, not a sprint. And the girls are in it for the long haul."
Smith, who has the program's course record and who finished 62nd at state last season with a time of 18 minutes, 5 seconds at Detweiler Park in Peoria, returns as the team's No. 1 runner. Liz Speicher is right behind Smith, right on her back, pushing her friend to be her best.
Speicher finished 77th at state last season (18:15), just 10 seconds off Smith's pace. Smith and Speicher finished neck-and-neck in the Centralia Invitational, Regionals and Sectionals last season. And, like their teammates, they only got stronger as the season wore on.
"They do really push each other," Cunningham said. "They were pretty much our top two runners all last season, too. They are great friends and teammates, but they want to beat each other. And that's only healthy on a team."
Lia Saunders, Kaci Smith and Kristin Hodge round out the team's top five runners. And although they are a notch below the No. 1 and No. 2 runners, Edwardsville isn't simply Courtney Smith and Speicher.
"This top five is definitely the top group, at least entering the season, that I've ever seen," Cunningham said. "A lot of the time there's only about 30 or 45 seconds separating them. It creates a good inner-team competition.
"The top five is down, but the hardest thing is going to be figuring out Nos. 6 and 7."
According to Cunningham, sophomores Ellen Atwood and Stephanie DallaRiva are the frontrunners for the final two spots. The pair ran a few races on the varsity level last season. But, with a team of 32 runners, Cunningham said he is going to use the first couple of races as the real test.
"They (Atwood and DallaRiva) got some good experience running up last year," Cunningham said. "They're going to get the first crack at it. But there are a bunch of other runners who could do the job, too. And they could get their chance."
Edwardsville begins the season Saturday in the Granite City Invitational at 9 a.m. The Tigers won the event two seasons ago, but didn't field a varsity team last year. The squad then hosts the Tiger Classic next Wednesday at the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville course at 4 p.m.
The Tigers are looking to be crowned sectional champs and advance to state for the fourth straight season.
"The road to the state tournament is paved all season," Cunningham said. "But the meets in October are the ones that get you there."
