Conant's Dale, Hersey repeat as MSL champs

All eyes were fixed on Conant senior Zach Dale on Saturday at the Mid-Suburban League boys cross country meet, and the Cougar senior didn't disappoint.

Dale, who has a run conservative race schedule this season, showed no rust in running away with the victory in 14:58, earning himself a second consecutive MSL title at Busse Woods.

"Maybe it wasn't flashy," said Conant coach John Powers of Dale's victory. "But this was a matter of taking care of business, and he passed the eye test big-time."

Hersey also took care of business. The Huskies placed four runners in the top 12 in securing their second consecutive MSL title with 57 points, holding off a strong challenge from Buffalo Grove (63 points).

"It means a lot," said coach Jay Renaud of his Huskies' back-to-back titles. "It was even harder this year and it's a testament to how hard all the guys worked."

Prospect took third with 114 points, followed by Palatine (122 points) and an emerging Wheeling squad (139 points).

Dale entered the season with high expectations after finishing fourth in Class 3A last season. The Cougars senior has kept a low profile for the first two months, earning victories at the Peoria Notre Dame Invite and Sterling Invite.

But on a cool and damp Saturday, Dale showed he is ready for the final stages of his prep cross country journey. The senior paced a pack of five runners through the opening mile before making separation half way through the second mile. He put his stamp on the final mile, winning with a 14 second cushion over Buffalo Grove junior Kevin Salvano (15:12).

"I didn't feel the greatest, but I knew I had to go out there and do that," said Dale of setting a quick pace. "Everyone was looking toward me."

A key part of the race was the back loop in the second mile, where Dale made a surge and used a downhill slopeto take command.

"I started pushing and used it to get the gap," he said. "Fitness-wise, I'm right where I want to be. Race-wise, I'm not quite where I want to be - but I'll use these next few weeks to do that."

Hersey has also run a bit under the radar this season, but the Huskies sure looked confident on Saturday. Senior David Rodriguez (15:23) and senior Josh Plischke (15:30) set the tone by taking third and sixth place, followed by senior Kevin Ziegenhorn (15:40, 10th) and sophomore Jacob Krupa (15:43, 12th).

"It was tough, and I was nervous early," said Plischke of the Huskies' challenge from a determined BG squad. "They were right there with us early, but we stuck with it and used our kick in the final 800."

Hersey also welcomed back Grant von der Lippe, who was running only his second race of the season. The senior delivered a 26th-place finish to help the Huskies secure the title.

"It means a lot to win the conference again and it shows how solid we are," said Krupa, whose emergence has give the Huskies a big lift. "We wanted to get out strong and keep working throughout the whole race."

Hersey needed every point with a strong Buffalo Grove team on its heels. Salvano paced the MSL East champs with his second-place finish

Salvano made a move with 800 meters remaining to secure second place.

"We haven't really ran a great race as a team this year - today we almost ran a perfect race," said Salvano. "We are definitely putting it together at the right time."

Senior Jake Wenzel (15:35) came through with a seventh-place finish followed by junior Tom Cleary (15:43), senior Montana Nimerfroh (15:55), and junior Jack Lenard (16:04).

"We knew it was going to be close and we're disappointed," said Buffalo Grove coach Zack Crandall. "But this was our best team race of the season, and we battled for it."

Prospect used a solid pack in earning third place with senior Michael Anderson (15:47), junior Matt Cozine (15:51), junior Alec Heyde (15:52), and junior Karson Lecomte (15:55) taking 15th, 17th, 18th, and 20th place.

"We all worked together throughout the entire race," said Anderson. "It's a great pack, and if we keep moving up we're going to be dangerous."

Palatine senior Graham Brown (15:29) and sophomore Brian Leonard (15:36) gave Palatine a huge lift with a fourth and eighth place finishes, helping the Pirates to fourth place.

Brown hung with the lead pack in the opening mile, then grinded out the final 2 miles.

"Brian and I definitely gave the team a nice 1-2 punch," said Brown. "We have momentum and we're seeing it in practices. It's a work in practice."

Wheeling has done a fine job in climbing up the league ladder, and the Wildcats continued their rise on Saturday. Junior Justin Loquercio (15:29) paced the Wildcats with a fifth-place finish, followed by senior Edwin Hernandez (15:51) and senior Drew Schwarzt (16:06).

"Confidence-wise this finish helps us moving forward," said Loquercio. "We wanted to get out as a team and felt we moved up well throughout the race."

Hoffman Estates junior Bryan Gamboa (15:45) and junior Matt Petersen (16:02) took 14th and 21st place in pushing the MSL West division champion Hawks to a sixth-place finish.

Senior Kyle Monahan (15:36) continued a strong season, taking ninth place and combining with a 13th-place finish from junior Alex Maher (15:44) in leading Barrington to seventh place.

Senior Shujaat Sultan (16:03) took 23rd place and combined with Dale in helping Conant finish eighth.

Fremd sophomore Danny Peterson (16:03) took 22nd place in pacing Fremd's ninth-place finish.