Boys cross country: Antioch runs to NLCC victory

Antioch's boys cross country team edged Lakes for top team honors in the Northern Lake County Conference meet on Saturday at Fox River Park.

The Sequoits had the top finisher, sophomore Charlie Smith, who covered the course in 15:45.1.

Next came junior Connor Riss of Grayslake North (15:50.7), senior Eli Minsky of Grayslake Central (15:59.5), senior Adam Fox of Wauconda (16:05.5) and sophomore Brandt Batteau of Grayslake North (16:09.5).

Antioch finished with a total of 65 points, with Lakes at 70. Grayslake North (93) came in just ahead of Grayslake Central (100), Round Lake (101) and Grant (104) to take third place.

Antioch got a 13th-place finish from Mikey Volkmar and then packed Eric Hart, Andrew Johnson and Alex Besson in the 16 through 18 spots.

Mid-Suburban League: A sopping wet Salk Park course greeted Barrington's Nick Laning on Saturday for the Mid-Suburban League boys cross country meet in Rolling Meadows.

But the Broncos senior offered an airtight approach to the situation at hand.

Laning controlled the race from start to finish, withstanding a challenge from Hersey sophomore Josh Methner before pulling away in the final 300 meters to secure the Mid-Suburban League title in 14:43.

"It's really special," said Laning, who is the first Barrington runner to win the MSL title since Erik Peterson won back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011. "I'm super happy and could not have done it without my team. Obviously they have been supporting me every step of the way."

Hersey was dominant in the team race, placing five runners in the top eight to run away with the team title with 26 points, its fourth MSL title in five years.

Prospect finished a distant second with 71 points, followed by Barrington (88 points) and Palatine (108 points). Fremd (149 points) nipped Buffalo Grove (152 points) for fifth place.

"That was the goal," said Hersey coach Kevin Young. "They are a very mature group and they just executed the plan from start to finish."

Laning was pretty much in control from start to finish, too. Methner (14:49) was nipping at Laning's heels deep into the race, but had no answer for the senior's final surge with 300 meters remaining.

"He's just really strong," said Methner who was also doing a nice job of navigating the sloppy course. "I knew I had to push myself if I wanted to win. I think the competition brought it out of me."

"I felt him (Methner) on my shoulders pretty much the entire race," added Laning. "I was just trying to push it and give it everything I had -trying to get the win."

The course was definitely softened by early morning downpours, but the rain subsided for the varsity race, giving the runners a narrow window for competing.

And Laning definitely took advantage.

"Nick is just a big, strong kid," said Barrington coach Tom Root. "And he just blasted through the wet and soggy course and crushed it. I saw him coming out and controlling the entire race."

Hersey also did a nice job of controlling the race from start to finish. Methner set the pace for his team and was followed by senior Ryan Theisen (15:10) in third.

The Huskies sealed the victory with junior Ryan Buch (15:20), senior Nate Mayo (15:23) and sophomore Max Svienty (15:25) forming a solid line to take 6-7-8. Senior Sean Patton (15:47) also earned all-conference honors by taking 24th place for the Huskies.

"We knew what we had to do," said Theisen. "Everyone was running the same race and everyone had to go through the same conditions. Our goal was to get out fast and grind through it."

Hersey jumped out to a nice lead and then kept thing moving in the final 2 miles.

"That's what we were aiming for," Methner said.

Senior Jack Terry (15:21) gave Prospect a nice lift by taking fifth place. He was followed by senior Nate Cozine (15:37) and sophomore Erik Snell (15:38) in 12th and 13th place.

"I think we definitely performed well as a team," said Terry, whose squad was missing No. 2 runner Andrew Reimman, a junior. "We keep getting faster and faster and the team is coming together."

Senior Jack Hempleman (15:41) took 19th place and was followed by senior Casey Daleieden (15:46) and sophomore Tom Walter (15:47) in 22nd and 25th place.

"Hersey was fantastic," said Prospect coach Mike Stokes, "but I felt we did a nice job. We ran six strong today and I'm pretty happy about that."

Barrington also did a nice job of moving up. Supporting Laning's effort were junior Greg Van Hollen (15:39) and senior Aiden King (15:41) in 14th and 16th place.

"We did a really good job of staying together and pack running," said Van Hollen. "We have just been trying our best to bring the pack up with Nick (Laning), we're following his lead."

Sophomore Richard Jacobo (15:17) did a nice job of moving up front. He finished fourth individually to lead the way for Palatine.

"I thought he finished his last mile better than he has finished all year," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "That is mentality that we want him to have."

Senior Evan Eckels (15:32) placed 10th and senior Art Oshinson (15:45) was 21st for the Pirates.

Senior Ed Worthem (15:41) and junior Charlie O'Brien (15:46) finished in 18th and 23rd place in powering Fremd to a fifth-place finish.

Senior Mitchell Guittar (15:36) came on strong after a sluggish start to secure 11th place in aiding Buffalo Grove's run to a sixth-place finish. Zach Gazda (15:41) added a 17th-place finish for the Bison.

"I think my finish was very good considering my start," said Guittar, who did a nice job of moving in the final 2 miles. "Overall if I had a better start I think I could have done a little bit better."

Rolling Meadow junior Eddie Lennon (15:27) definitely felt comfortable on his home course. The Mustangs senior looked smooth in running to ninth place for seventh-place Meadows.

"It definitely gives me confidence I can run with a lot of the top guys," said Lennon. "Just knowing I can run with them will help going forward."

Junior Tyler Polak (15:39) finished 15th in helping Wheeling to an eighth-place finish.

Conant senior Chris Floyd (15:43) secured 20th place to help push the Cougars to a ninth-place finish.

The boys' frosh-soph race was stopped midway through the race due to weather. The JV girls open and JV boys open races were also postponed. All three races will be run consecutively on Monday at Salk Park in Rolling Meadows, starting at 4:45 p.m. with the boys' frosh-soph.

- Michael Eaken