Barrington snaps Palatine long win streak
Palatine entered its Wednesday dual meet with Barrington with 75 consecutive victories, the fourth-best such streak in state history.
On a soggy afternoon, the streak came to an end - barely.
The host Broncos were able to rise to occasion, squeaking out 27-28 Mid-Suburban West win at Beese Park in Barrington.
The Broncos came from behind in the final 200 meters to squeeze out the victory. They're the first team to defeat the Pirates in a dual meet in 13 years.
Barrington coach Thomas Root, a 2004 Barrington graduate, has been shooting for the Pirates for a long time as either a runner or coach and was happy to see this group get it done with a final surge.
"Personally, I have either been running or coaching against Palatine for 13 years," said Root, in his first year directing Barrington's team. "To get it done is extremely satisfying."
Palatine didn't go down without a fight.
"Barrington races us to the wall every single time," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "If it was going to be somebody to do it, it should be them.
"My boys ran great, they ran hard but just got kicked down the final 100 meters. Credit Barrington."
Senior Graham Brown, coming off an impressive victory at the Hinsdale Central Invite last weekend, set the tone for the Pirates by taking out the first mile in 4:54. Brown went on to win in 18:13, followed by rapidly rising sophomore teammate Brian Leonard (16:25).
"It was more about team racing today," said Brown. "The goal was to get out fast."
Barrington countered with senior Konrad Eiring (17:03), junior Alex Maher (17:09) and senior Kyle Monahan (17:20), who went 3-4-5.
But the meet was won by Barrington's No. 4 and No. 5 runners as senior Andrew Gensburg (17:20) passed two Palatine runners in the final 200 meters to take sixth place. Barrington senior Ben Laning (17:30) did likewise, passing two Pirates runners to take ninth place.
"It feels nice to band together and get it done," said Eiring, who's given his team a lift after recent disappointments, including a broken left fibula last cross country season and a broken right fibula during the track season. "The push of the pack was very exciting."
"The last half-mile, we made the moves that we needed to get the victory," added Root.