Boys cross country: Palatine finds its way past Fremd, wins West title
Palatine fell behind early to crosstown rival Fremd and then watched senior Brian Leonard, who was leading the race, miss a flag deep in the first mile and make a hasty retreat.
Despite the setbacks, the Pirates did not panic.
Leonard and Palatine made a nice recovery, surging in the final mile in capturing a 23-33 victory over Fremd and also adding a 15-50 victory over host Conant at Mid-Suburban West boys cross country triangular at Busse Woods.
The pair of victories propelled Palatine to the MSL West title with a perfect 5-0 dual meet record.
"The kids ran with incredible poise," said Palatine coach Chris Quick whose team had won 12 consecutive division titles before a two-year hiatus. "Fremd really jumped on the race early and then Leonard missed the flag. But the kids stayed together."
Fremd senior Danny Peterson took advantage of Leonard's miscue by cruising to the victory in 15:34, followed by Leonard (15:50), who made a nice comeback to take second place.
After that it was all Palatine with senior Ben Kontney (16:03), freshman Richard Jacobo (16:04) and senior Nate Izewski (16:09) going 3-4-5 to hold off a hard-charging Vikings pack.
Junior Evan Eckels (16:24) secured ninth place in capping the Pirates' victory.
"It was time to start a new streak," said Leonard of the Pirates' West title run. "Fremd always gives us a good challenge, but we were absolutely prepared to give it everything we had."
The battle between Peterson and Leonard was supposed to offer a preview of the upcoming MSL meet between two of the top runners in the conference, but that matchup will have to wait.
Leonard made a valiant effort to close the gap in the second mile, but Peterson extended his advantage in the final mile before crossing the line with a 16-second cushion.
"I know that Brian (Leonard) is an incredible runner and was capable of closing the gap," added Peterson, "So I knew I had to open it up."
Fremd, which suffered its first dual meet loss of the season, was missing No. 2 runner junior Matt Wallace. But junior Ed Worthem (sixth place), sophomore Charlie O'Brien (seventh) and senior Jack Buban (eighth) helped power the Vikings to a lead that lasted into the third mile.
"They got out after it right at the beginning," said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez. "We had a good pack but it fell apart the last 600 meters of the race."
Junior Chris Floyd (16:57) and freshman James Preucil (16:59) took 15th and 16th to lead a young Conant attack.