Boys cross country: Big three lead Lake Zurich at Wheeling
The Lake Zurich boys cross country team has some pretty lofty expectations this year.
And with the postseason quickly approaching, the Bears seemed to be in fine form on Saturday at the Wheeling Invitational.
Lake Zurich placed four runners in the top seven, including a clean sweep of the top three spots, in cruising to the team title with 43 points on a sunny but cool fall morning at Heritage Park in Wheeling.
Senior Matt Pereira (15:09.6), senior Brian Griffith (15:09.7) and senior Kyle Griffith (15:18) set a dominant tone for LZ in going 1-2-3.
And now the Bears, who finished fifth in Class 3A last season, are setting their sights on an extended postseason run.
"For sure," said Pereira of the high postseason expectations. "You always have you're goals, but now it's senior year and nothing is left. We are more focused than we've ever been."
Highland Park (82 points) took second followed by Fremd (101 points), Libertyville (119 points), and Barrington (144 points).
Pereira and the Griffith brothers are returning all state runners and they made their presence felt early by forming a tight pack on the 3-mile course. Junior Patrick Burns (15:37.9) wasn't far off the lead pace in securing seventh place.
"The guys up front looked really smooth and comfortable," said Lake Zurich coach J.B. Hanson. "We still have some improvements to make - especially the in the back end."
But with Lake Zurich dealing three aces, the Bears are in a good position to play some nice hands in the bid for a state trophy.
"These guys have been training years for this," said Hanson of his senior-dominated team that has won seven of the last eight North Suburban Conference titles, "so of course we are excited."
Pereira started the season a bit conservatively but was back on top on Saturday, nipping his teammate for the individual title.
"As the season has progressed I have gotten back into form," said Pereira, who finished fifth in Class 3A last season.
"It got down to the last 400 and we both kind of just pushed it," said Brian Griffith, who has had a number of impressive runs this season, including a big victory at the Richard Spring Invitational in mid-September. "It was fun."
Senior Danny Peterson (15:47.9) took eighth in leading a Fremd attack that placed four runners in the top 25.
Senior Luke Vogelgesang (16:16), sophomore Charlie O'Brien (16:20.2) and junior Ed Worthem (16:24.5) aided the Vikings by taking 17th, 21st, and 23rd place.
"We saw some good things from those three in the middle of the race," said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez of the Vikings attack. "That gives us some confidence in terms of our pack."
Libertyville also showed some promise with junior Alex Tam (15:24.5) pushing the pace in securing fourth place. Senior Stephen Richardson (15:50.3) and senior Joe Gasick (16:11.2) fed off Tam's performance in securing a ninth and 15th place finish for the Wildcats.
"Obviously Alex (Tam) is special," said Libertyville coach Stuart Mendelsohn, who has been seeing Tam close the gap on the Lake Zurich front-runners. "I think he ran with no fear and he went out with them - and he now believes he can run with them."
Barrington junior Nick Laning (15:30) grabbed fifth place and likewise propelled his team to a fifth-place finish.
"I just felt really good today," said Laning, who has been running with a lot of confidence this season. "I wanted to stay with the LZ guys as long as I could and then just hang on."
Sophomore Greg Van Hollen (16:29) supported the Broncos' effort with a 25th-place finish.
Wheeling senior Matt Hoffman (15:56.9) came back strong after a so-so race the previous weekend at the Palatine Invitational.
The Wildcats senior made some nice moves during the race and finished strong.
"It was a good bounce-back from Palatine," said Wheeling coach Tom Polak of his senior's performance. "He knew he didn't have a good race there and he wanted to redeem himself."
St. Viator senior Samual Brey (16:07.2) gave the Lions a lift with a 14th-place finish.