Boys cross country: Fremd finding right stride
Fremd's boys cross country team has been trending in the right direction.
The Vikings continued to head that way in Tuesday's Mid-Suburban League West triangular.
Senior Ed Worthem (16:08) and senior Matt Wallace (16:15) captured second and fourth place to power host Fremd to a pair of MSL Victories at the Harper College course in Palatine.
The Vikings edged Barrington 27-28 and added a 21-37 victory over Conant.
"Our guys are improving," said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez. "We are a different team since the beginning of the season. They are growing and learning about themselves and we are more of a team now."
A cooling rain greeted the runners to start the race.
But it didn't seem to affect Barrington senior Nick Laning.
The Broncos senior, who finished fourth at the Palatine Invitational on Saturday, used a surge midway through the race to gain separation from the front pack and drove home to a first-place finish in 15:59.
"I felt pretty good," said Laning who flashed his all-state potential in a series of big runs in the last week. "The goal is to keep training through these races and focus toward the end of the season."
Worthem and Conant senior Chris Floyd (16:11) were not far off pace, finishing in second and third.
"We knew that Laning was just going to fly with it," said Worthem, who has had a steady season and is gearing up for a big finish. "I'm well on my way. I've been working hard and I'm hoping all that training pays off."
Floyd also has emerged this season and was coming off a third-place finish at the Bartlett Invitational.
The Cougars senior seems to have found the right touch and will be among the top runners in the MSL.
"I'm feeling stronger in my workouts," Floyd said. "The last few races were not super fast times, but I definitely feel like I'm in a place to do well in the next few weeks."
Wallace had one of his best races of the season in securing fourth place for the Vikings and was aided by junior Charlie O'Brien (16:40) who took fifth place.
Freshman Ben DeWeerdt (16:43) and freshman Matt Hargrave (16:44) combined to take sixth and seventh place to keep the Broncos close. Junior Jack DeWeerdt (16:48) added a ninth-place finish.
But junior Wesley Jones (16:52) and Ethan Saunders (16:59) captured 10th and 11th place to secure the victory for Fremd.
Barrington was able to secure a 21-38 MSL West decision over Conant.
Senior Samuel Torrens (16:45) aided the Cougars with an eighth-place finish.