McHenry's Reiser edges Conant's Dale

The Schaumburg Class 3A boys cross country sectional lived up to its hype, but also offered plenty of surprises.

McHenry senior Jessie Reiser and Conant senior Zach Dale entered the race as the top two runners in state, and they didn't disappoint on a clear and cool day. The two ran neck-and-neck before Reiser used one final surge in the final 400 meters to secure the sectional title in a Busse course record 14:32, followed by Dale in 14:38.

Reiser was three seconds faster than the record set by Prospect's Lou Petricca (14:35) in 1994.

"I knew it would come down to the wire," said Reiser. "I put my head down and went for it."

Dale matched Reiser move for move up until the final stretch, before settling for second place with third fastest time in course history.

"It felt really easy until that last 400 meters," said Dale. "This year my strategy has been a little different; I've just tried to control races. Today it felt really nice to actually compete."

Lake Zurich sophomore Matt Pereira (14:39) and Buffalo Grove junior Kevin Salvano (14:51) secured third and fourth place.

While the individual race went to form, the team race had some stunning results.

Hersey avoided any let down winning its second consecutive sectional title with 92 points, followed by McHenry (109 points), Barrington (143 points), Lake Zurich (158 points), and Hoffman Estates (170 points). Those five teams advance to the Class 3A state meet on November 8 at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

"The goal was to come in and win, so we are very happy," said Hersey coach Jay Renaud, whose team also won Mid-Suburban League and Hoffman Estates regional titles. "Now we're hoping to run better next week."

Senior David Rodriguez helped Hersey recover from a slow start by taking fifth place in 15:14. Senior Kevin Ziegenhorn (15:33) added a solid 13th-place finish and was followed by senior Josh Plishke (15:41, 19th), sophomore Jacob Krupa (15:44, 23rd) and senior Grant von der Lippe (15:51, 32nd).

"We actually got out a little too slow," said Renaud of the Huskies' start. "But they worked throughout the race to get up to where they were supposed to be."

"We've been focused on peaking at the state meet," said Rodriguez. "And this race puts us in great position."

While the Huskies stayed on course, there were plenty of surprises with the remaining four qualifiers.

McHenry finished second at the Palatine regional, but the Warriors secured their first state berth behind Reiser and junior Michael Hahndorf (15:30, 12th).

Barrington had been scrapping since mid-September, including a seventh-place finish in the MSL. But the Broncos were firing on all cylinders Saturday. Senior Kyle Monahan (15:22) led the charge with a 10th place-finish. Senior Andy Gensburg (15:43) and junior Alex Maher (15:45) added to the attack securing 21st and 25th place.

"What can I say? Our team is going to the state meet," said Monahan. "Nobody expected us to qualify; everyone on this team ran the best race of their careers."

Including senior Konrad Eiring (15:55, 40th) and senior Ben Laning (16:04, 47th), who recovered from an early fall in the race to close the door for the Broncos.

"I'm extremely happy," said Barrington coach Tom Root. "They did exactly what they needed to do."

Lake Zurich, considered one of the favorites entering the meet after winning the North Suburban Conference meet and Palatine regional, slipped in as one of the five qualifiers with a fourth place-finish. Pereira set the tone for the Bears and he was aided by freshman Patrick Burns (15:42, 20th) and sophomore Kyle Griffith (15:47, 27th).

Hoffman Estates also pulled off a shocker, qualifying for the state meet for the first time since 2006. Junior Bryan Gamboa (15:39, 17th) and junior Matt Petersen (15:45, 24th) set the tone.

"Today we just wanted to get in, it was all heart," said Gamboa. "This race we just wanted to leave it all out there. We knew we could do it."

Junior Shiv Patel (15:53, 36th), freshman Shreeker Patel (15:55, 41st) and sophomore Alex Makrounis (16:09, 52nd) helped the Hawks recover from a sixth place MSL finish to secure a state berth.

"We're ecstatic right now," said Hoffman Estates coach Brenden Mariano. "Everybody ran with a little urgency after the start."

Salvano secured the second individual qualification behind Conant's Dale by taking fourth place for Buffalo Grove. But the Bison, after taking second in the MSL and first at the Libertyville regional, finished in sixth place, missing a state berth by 9 points.

The remaining individual qualifiers included Warren junior Dustin Macuibe (15:15, 6th), Palatine senior Graham Brown (15:15, 7th), Highland Park senior Ben Casey (15:17, 8th), Stevenson senior Sam Oh (15:18, 9th), and Crystal Lake South freshman Jack Becker (15:28, 11th).