Fenwick High School freshman Juliana Gamboa culminated her impressive debut at the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference Red Division cross-country meet on Oct. 14 at Loyola Academy, finishing fourth individually with a time of 18:44.08.
“She’s had an amazing breakout season,” said Fenwick coach Latoya Zubowicz-Hill of the frosh runner, who won the Sterling Invitational the previous week. “Most importantly, she’s an amazing young lady. She has bought into the program and work ethic, and it shows.”
Senior Anna Scholtens also had a top 10 showing, coming in ninth at 19:42.94. She earned All-GCAC Red honors along with Gamboa.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with Anna,” Zubowicz-Hill said. “She has been a true leader and welcoming. Every accolade she’s getting, she deserves. She’s put in the work.”
The Friars, who finished sixth in the team standings with 126 points, got contributions from freshman Lily Kotynek (35th, 21:35.8), junior Kyra Miller (38th, 22:26.62), sophomore Romy Bergetz (40th, 22:36.47), junior Emma Brennan (45th, 24:04.41), and junior Francesca Reale (46th, 25:41.89).
“No one ran their best times considering the [wet, windy] weather,” Zubowicz-Hill said. “But we ran to the best of our ability and I’m super-proud of them.”
The Friars compete in the IHSA Class 2A Chicago Latin regional on Oct. 21.
Trinity
Trinity High School placed fourth in the GCAC White Division meet, on Oct. 14 at Loyola, with 100 points.
Sophomore Molly McGreal finished third for the Blazers, with a time of 19:10.33.
“Going into the postseason, we were a little conservative with Molly, monitoring her growth,” said Trinity coach Johann Gonzalez. “Top 10 overall (7th including the Red Division), that’s good for her, and we move on.”
Junior Jade Morelli (17th, 22:23.94), sophomore Alessandra Pineda (21st, 23:06.21), senior Andrea Garcia (33rd, 26:29.08), and sophomore Ginger Perry (34th, 26:35.07) rounded out the lineup.
“Alessandra ran her personal best, which is pretty incredible in the [wet, windy] conditions,” Gonzalez said.
Trinity hosts a Class 2A regional, Oct. 21, at Miller Meadows in Maywood. Gonzalez said it’s the first time the Blazers have hosted the event.
“Our goal is to qualify as a team [for sectional],” he added. “Individually, I’m sure Molly will tell you that she wants to finish All-Regional again.” (McGreal got that honor last year.)
Fenwick boys
Fenwick finished fourth in the Chicago Catholic League meet, Oct. 14 at Loyola, with 108 points.
Senior Nathaniel McKillop was the Friars’ top runner, placing sixth in 16:14.99.
Juniors Finnbar Munley (17th, 16:43.42) and Benicio Carideo (22nd, 17:03.10) also placed in the top 25 individually. Senior Dean O’Bryan (17:21.10), sophomore Aidan Powers (39th, 17:44.81), junior Christopher Zielinski (43rd, 17:57.79), and sophomore James Kiesewetter (46th, 18:02.45) rounded out the lineup.
Fenwick competes in the Class 3A OPRF regional, Oct. 21, at Schiller Woods.