Boys cross country: Prospect leads the MSL pack at Waukegan

Prospect's boys cross country team is producing its best results at the right time, and the Knights were definitely at their cooperative best on Saturday at the Class 3A Waukegan sectional.

Senior Brian Griffith (14:51.47) and senior Matt Pereira (15:00.72) went 1-2 in powering Lake Zurich to the sectional title with 79 points at the challenging Waukegan Sports Park course.

And Prospect (115 points) used a dominant pack, placing six runners in the top 34 positions to nip Mid-Suburban League champion Hersey (116 points) for second place.

Palatine (142 points) missed qualifying for the state meet the past two years, but the Pirates were back in business on Saturday, advancing to the state meet with a fourth-place finish.

Highland Park (178 points) took fifth and was the final team to advance to the Class 3A state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria next Saturday. The Class 3A boys race will begin at 2 p.m.

"Excellent execution today," said Prospect coach Mike Stokes of his team that qualified for back-to-back state meets for the first time since the 2008 and 2009 seasons. "They were outstanding."

The course definitely offered a challenge for the runners, but Lake Zurich senior Brian Griffith seemed to have no problems navigating the winding back field and muddy conditions in running to the title followed by Pereira.

Palatine senior Brian Leonard, the defending MSL individual champion, also rose to the challenge and was not far off the pace of the two LZ leaders.

Leonard (15:01.69) crossed the line with a third-place finish, followed by Hoffman Estates senior Jack Worman (15:05.57) and Crystal Lake South junior Jack Becker (15:11.22).

"I'm absolutely excited," said Leonard, who bounced back after dealing with a cold and finishing in seventh place at the Grant regional. "I know I can stay with some of those top guys and it's just really exciting to be able to race with them."

Prospect also has to be excited after its pack rose to the occasion. Senior Jack O'Donnell (15:26.59) led the way in 15th place for the Knights, followed by junior Jack Terry (15:31.64) in 18th.

"OD (Jack O'Donnell) was dynamite today as a leader and runner," said Stokes of his senior leader. "He was still moving the last half mile and following the plan."

Senior James Riordan (15:48.38), senior Sean Sanaghan (15:50.56), junior Nate Cozine (15:50.68), and junior Jack Hempleman (15:53.19) then closed the deal by going 29-30-31-34.

"We came prepared," said O'Donnell. "We were ready for the mud and we powered through. We are elevating our performance each week and feel like we are only going to come out stronger next week."

Hersey may not have been at it peak performance, but the Huskies got the job done after a slow start by placing five runners in the top 44 positions.

Freshman Josh Methner (15:17.45) continued a strong debut season by securing eighth place, followed by senior leader Jacob Krupa (15:19.50) in 12th place.

"As a team I thought we ran really well," said Krupa. "We worked together throughout the race."

Junior Nate Mayo (15:47.07) had big race in taking 28th place, followed by senior Sam Svienty (35th, 15:53.32) and junior Jack Fredian (44th, 15:59.66).

"The goal was to qualify and we did that," said Hersey coach Jay Renaud. "We were back at the mile, but the guys kept their composure and moved forward."

Palatine was also excited to get back into the state mix. Following Leonard were senior Ben Kontney (15:45.69) and freshman Richard Jacobo (15:47.20) with a pair of key performances in 27th and 29th.

"It feels incredible," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "I'm proud of the seniors and the way they have persevered. I still think we have more in the tank."

Individually, Worman led the way with his fourth-place finish. The Hoffman Estates senior has been coming on strong and had no letdown after winning the Hoffman regional title.

"A lot of people went out really fast and I just kept calm and moved up," said Worman of his composed race. "Next week I just want to go out hard and give it my all."

Barrington's Nick Laning (15:17.27) also seems to be peaking at the right time after securing a seventh-place finish. The Broncos junior qualified individually and now has his sights set on the state meet.

"I feel really good," Laning said. "It was an awesome race. This race is a really good launching point and gives me a lot of confidence for the state meet."

Crystal Lake South junior Jack Becker has rebounded pretty nicely after failing to finish at the Fox Valley Conference meet.

The Gator junior hung back early then made his moves in the winding back part to secure an impressive fifth-place finish in advancing to the Class 3A meet.

"At conference I worked myself past my limits," said Becker, who bounced back with a third place finish at the Grant regional. "When it happened I worried that my season might be over but having a strong race at regional gave me confidence coming into today."

Dundee-Crown junior Anthony Hurgoi (15:18.59) finished in ninth place and will advance as an individual to the state meet for the Chargers.