Huntley's Smith takes 9th in Class 3A
PEORIA - Huntley senior Keegan Smith has been the anchor for Red Raiders all season, and he continued to pace his team in the Class 3A state cross country race at Detweiller Park Saturday.
Smith jumped out with the leaders for the first two miles before settling in for a ninth place finish in 14:36.
"There are few people I felt I could have got at the finish," said Smith, who finished 16th in Class 3A as a sophomore and showed he belonged with the elite runners on Saturday. "I kind of went out and hung with the leader for awhile, but then my legs went out."
"I think he had his own expectations on what was going to happen," said Huntley coach Matt Kaplan of his junior star. "But there is a ton of talented kids in the state and he is one of them and he's coming back."
Huntley, which qualified for its first state meet, finished in 19th place. Seth Conroy (15:15) and Mike Grocholski (15:16) aided the Red Raiders' attack taking 68th and 69th place respectively.
McHenry senior Jesse Reiser pulled away in the final 800 meters to secure the state title in 14:10 followed by Conant senior Zach Dale (14:20), Lake Zurich sophomore Matt Pereira (14:21), and Downers Grove North Ryan Clevenger (14:23).
Hinsdale Central won its second consecutive Class 3A title with 104 points followed by Sandburg (138 points) and Lyons Township (180 points).
Crystal Lake South freshman Jack Becker (15:08) finished in 56th place.
Class 2A: Burlington Central senior Clay Musial finished in 26th place last year, one spot away from earning a coveted Class 2A state medal.
This year Musial left no doubt by claiming his position early then holding on for his first Class 2A state medal with a 21st place finish in 15:01.
"That was one thing that I didn't want to do again," said Musial of missing out on a medal. "I thought about that the whole time I was preparing and I did what I had to do to get that medal."
Class 1A: Harvest Christian Academy finished 24th in its first state appearance in 2013. This year the Lions took a step up.
Senior Jake Adams (16:03) finished in 60th place powering Harvard Christian to a 19th place Class 1A finish with 471 points.
"I took my first mile out a bit faster than normal and it worked out," said Adams, who was running cross country for the first time this year. "We're very happy as a team. We're young and we'll only get better."