Hoffman Estates claims key MSL West win
Here come the Hawks.
A year after securing the program's first Mid-Suburban West title, Hoffman Estates' boys cross country team has cemented itself as the team to beat in the division this season.
Hoffman Estates has had quite a six-day run, defeating Fremd 20-35 last Wednesday before capturing the Lake Park Invitational title on Saturday. The Hawks continued to impress on Monday, defeating Palatine 22-34 for a key MSL West victory on Macnider course at Hoover Elementary in Schaumburg.
Senior Shiv Patel (16:52) and senior Bryan Gamboa (16:53) gave Hoffman a powerful 1-2 punch.
"It has been a bit of an eye-opener," said Hoffman Estates coach Brenden Mariano of his team's recent triumphs. "They have shown they have some ability. But we're not going to leave any stone unturned. We're going to keep working and continue to improve."
Palatine pushed the pace for the first mile, but a patient Hoffman Estates team kept moving, and the Hawks took control in the second mile.
"Lake Park Invite gave us a lot of confidence in what we could do," said Patel. "We're just taking it one meet at a time. Palatine gave us a good race."
Senior Matt Petersen (17:08) was fourth for the Hawks and was followed by junior Jack Worman (17:10), who passed two Pirates at the finish in taking sixth place. Junior Alex Makrounis (17:35) completed the Hawks' scoring in ninth place.
"We knew coming into this race Palatine was going to give us a battle," said Gamboa. "We stayed calm and felt our pack moving up. It puts us in good position for the West."
Palatine had won 12 consecutive MSL West titles before Hoffman snapped its streak last season.
Though the Pirates are young team still missing No. 1 runner Brian Leonard with a leg injury, they showed plenty of spunk on Monday.
Senior Zack Michael (17:04) led the way with a third-place finish, followed by junior Ben Kontney (17:08) in fifth.
Senior Dan Trejo (17:11) and junior Nate Izewski (17:17) kept thing rolling by taking seventh and eighth.
"Hoffman Estates is a really good team," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "We just need to keep focusing on doing better for us. I felt we improved and we have other pieces that can help us."