Boys cross country: Prospect unveils dominant effort at Libertyville

For the better part of the early season, the Prospect boys cross country team has been under wraps.

But on a warm Saturday at the Libertyville Invitational, the Knights opened it up.

Prospect placed five runners in the top 12 in running to the title with 41 points on the challenging Adler Park course in Libertyville.

Highland Park took second with 67 points, followed by host Libertyville (106 points), Jones College Prep (115 points), and New Trier (122 points).

Libertyville senior Alex Tam was in command from start to finish in securing the individual title, crossing the line in 16:00, easily outdistancing Lake Forest sophomore Nate Schmitt (16:26), who took second.

"I wanted to play it smart and not go out too fast," said Tam, who finished 40th in Class 3A last season and has jumped out to a nice start this season. "I'm really excited, I'm a lot stronger than last year and I'm prepared to try my best."

Prospect senior Jack Terry (16:28) pushed the Knights' attack by taking third place. Terry and the Knights were eager to get things going after lying low the first few weekends of the season.

And after holding back the first half of the race the Knights unleashed a vicious come-from-behind attack that sealed the victory.

"At that point I was ready to go," said Terry. "We have been putting in so much work, we knew we could come out and prove ourselves."

Andrew Reimann (16:34) slipped at the start of the race and then lost hissun glasses. But the Knights junior would not be denied in taking sixth place, and he was followed by senior Nate Cozine (16:47) in ninth.

"We went out fast without draining ourselves mentally," said Reimann of the Knights' conservative approach early. "Then we were able to dig in and focus at the end."

Sophomore Erik Snell (16:48) and senior Jack Hempleman (16:54) then closed the door by taking 11th and 12th place. Senior Casey Daleiden (16:59) added a 16th place finish for the Knights.

"We have some back claws," said Prospect coach Mike Stokes, whose team is ranked No. 10 in the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll. "They all did a great job and executed well."

Highland Park hung tough throughout the race and placed four runners in the top 10, including junior Jose Reyes (16:29) in fourth. But Giants had no answer for the Knights' pack.

Libertyville sophomore William Gordon (16:54) finished 24th, and was followed by junior Maxwell Sauers (17:12, 22nd) and senior Nathanial Sweitzer (17:13, 24th) in helping the host Wildcats to third place.

St. Viator sophomore Patric Natindim (17:11) powered the Lions to a seventh-place finish by securing 20th place.

"I think I really worked hard in the summer to get to this point," said Natindim, who leads a Viator attack that has qualified for the Class 2A state meet in four of the past five seasons. "We all know our top guys can stick in one group and that should aid us as the season progresses."

- Michael Eaken