Boys cross country: Prospect puts it back together, wins regionals

Prospect's boys cross country team was a bit out of synch last week at the Mid-Suburban League meet.

But everything was nicely back in place for the Knights on Saturday in the Class 3A Hoffman Estates regional.

Prospect placed five runners in the top 11 and six in the top 16 in cruising to its first regional title since 2011 with 37 points on a sunny autumn day at Busse Woods.

"We kept within ourselves today and did what we usually do," said Prospect coach Mike Stokes. "We ran smooth and relaxed and put it back together for next week."

Fremd took second with 66 points, followed by Mid-Suburban League champion Hersey (72 points), Hoffman Estates (104 points), Wheeling (150 points), and Rolling Meadows (152 points).

All six teams will advance to the Waukegan sectional next Saturday, to be held at Waukegan Sports Park with the boys race beginning at 11 a.m.

Hoffman Estates senior Jack Worman took control of the race early and crossed the line in 15:00 in securing the individual title.

Fremd senior Danny Peterson (15:06) took second followed by Hoffman Estates senior Alex Makrounis (15:10) and Hersey senior Jacob Krupa (15:15).

"That last mile really hurt," said Worman of his big victory. "I got out strong, feeling more confident, and it will take another good effort like this to get to state."

It was a sea of blue after the top four runners with Prospect senior Sean Sanaghan (15:17), junior Jack Terry (15:18), senior Jack O'Donnell (15:21), senior James Riordan (15:29) stringing together a 5-6-7-8 finish for the Knights.

"Everyone ran good," said Sanaghan who rebounded nicely after finishing 26th at the MSL meet. "Last week wasn't our week, but today we made it our week. If we keep running as good as today, we should be in good shape for the sectionals."

Junior Jack Hempleman (15:34) kept things rolling for the Knights by capturing 11th place, followed by senior Nick Serio (15:56) in 16th.

"We really wanted to bounce back after conference," said Terry of the Knights' second-place MSL finish. "We just wanted to get the job done today and advance to sectionals."

Fremd also had a nice bounce-back after finishing fourth in the MSL.

Peterson set the tone with his second place finish, followed by tight Vikings pack.

Junior Ed Worthem (12th, 15:44), sophomore Charlie O'Brien (15th, 15:55), senior Luke Vogelgesang (17th, 15:57), and senior Jack Buban (20th, 16:02) powered the Vikings' resurgence.

"The key was going out with the lead from the start," said Peterson, who was back in fine form after finishing 11th in the MSL. "It is the first time in awhile that our team has run up to expectations and going into sectionals we can be confident."

Hersey had a bit of a different look from its MSL title run. The Huskies inserted five runners into the lineup who did not run at the conference meet but still delivered a third-place effort.

Krupa led the charge followed by senior Sam Svienty (10th, 15:34), freshman Max Svienty (13th, 15:50), sophomore Ryan Buch (21st, 16:03) and senior Andrew Hyndman (24th, 16:09).

"We wanted to stay fresh for sectionals and state," said Krupa of the Huskies' new look. "We are definitely excited about our potential and we are ready to drop the hammer next week."

Worman and Makrounis provided Hoffman with a big jolt with senior Ryan Greenwalt (22nd, 16:03) adding to the effort.

"I thought we attacked the first mile pretty good," said Makrounis of the early push from he and Worman. "We have been steadily improving and I think we are starting to peak."

Senior Matt Hoffman (15:29) lifted Wheeling with a ninth-place finish. Sophomore Tyler Polak (16:09) was 25th in helping the Wildcats to fifth place.

Sophomore Eddie Lennon (15:51) keyed Rolling Meadows to a sixth-place finish with his 14th-place effort. Senior John Gerardi (26th, 16:14) also provided the Mustangs with a lift.

Individual qualifiers include Conant junior Chris Floyd (18th, 15:59), Glenbrook North sophomore Dana Sullivan (19th, 15:59), Schaumburg junior Karston Zielinski (23rd, 16:08), Glenbrook North junior Mike Lee (27th place) and Schaumburg junior Mike Baranowski (30th place).

Grant regional: At Camp Henry Horner, Lake Zurich cruised to the Class 3A championship, as the Bears' 31 points comfortably outdistanced runner-up Palatine (75).

Race-champ Brian Griffith (15:38) and Matt Pereira (15:41) claimed the top-two finishes for Lake Zurich. Kyle Griffith (15:50) was fifth and Patrick Burns (16:10) took ninth for the Bears, who advanced to the Waukegan sectional.

Palatine's Brian Leonard was seventh overall in 15:51, and the Pirates also counted the performances of Ben Kontney (12th), Nate Izewski (13th), Art Oshinson (19th) and Evan Eckels (24th).

Also advancing as a team was fifth-place Barrington, behind the efforts of Nick Laning (sixth, 15:51), Greg VanHollen (16th), Jack Deweerdt (29th), Robert Tilly (39th) and James Lyon (40th).

Buffalo Grove senior Arturo Bautista placed 25th was among the individual sectional qualifiers.

Lake Park regional: Leyden missed a team sectional qualifying spot by one place but still advanced two individuals, junior Brian Santos and sophomore Patrick Sarad, as individuals. Elk Grove freshman Michael Johnson grabbed the final individual qualifying spot.

York (44 points) edged Glenbard West (49) for the top spot.

St. Viator regional: The host Lions won the first boys cross country regional title in program history, finishing with 48 points in a dominant performance against their Class 2A competition.

Senior Sam Brey led the effort with a runner-finish in 16:17, and junior teammate Kevin Goss was close behind in third place. Also contributing to St. Viator's score were Patric Natindim, Richard Rinka and Brady Collis.