Hamstra takes title for Kouts

Updated: October 11, 2011 8:58PM

RENSSELAER — Kouts senior Tara Hamstra likes to start her races off fast, which she did on Tuesday at the Rensselaer Cross Country Sectional.

The field couldn’t keep pace.

Hamstra won the race in 19:53, beating the field by 20 seconds. She led all runners by nine seconds after the first mile and 21 seconds after two miles.

“I kind of start off pretty fast and I try to keep increasing that pace throughout the race,” said Hamstra, who finished fourth at last year’s sectional behind three seniors. “My first mile is always fast, I always kind of gut out the second mile and then the third mile is whatever I have left.”

Hamstra said Tuesday’s sectional meet was the first time this season she “felt good,” noting while she has had solid runs this season, “something always felt off.”

“I hadn’t found it yet,” Hamstra said, “but I found it tonight.”

Hebron won their third girls team championship in five years by a slim five-point margin over Kankakee Valley, 53-58.

Hebron’s top-five runners finished 16th or better, led by Abigail Getautas’ sixth-place finish in 20:40. Not bad for a team running three freshmen and two sophomores, losing its top-two runners from last year.

“We were underdogs and I knew we had to run our best race of the year, which we did,” said Hebron coach Michael DeFries. “We know it’s never going to be easy … but it’s always awesome.”

On the boys side, Morgan Township junior Alec Kostelnik overtook defending sectional champion Trent Nagel of Rensselaer, winning the meet by 25 seconds in 16:14.

“I felt I was capable of winning it,” said Kostelnik, who finished sixth at last year’s sectional. “I was just sitting back for the first two miles or so, and then pushed it for the last mile. It’s what I’ve been doing for most of the year and it’s been working out for me.”

Nagel finished second in 16:39.

Kankakee Valley sophomore Travis Conley ran his race with three words written on his left hand: “Strong last mile.” The Kougars had more than a strong last mile, they had a strong meet, beating Hebron, 71-73, for the team championship.

“We needed to stay focused through the school day,” said Conley, who finished fourth in 16:56. “We always needed to remember what we’re capable of doing…this means a lot for me and all of the seniors on the team.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.