advertisement

Boys cross country: Glenbard West takes title at Kaneland

Of all the people at Kaneland High School Saturday morning who looked up at the gray, stormy skies and groaned, Glenbard West's Pierce Cousins did the opposite.

"I actually love running in the rain," said Cousins, who offered a good reason. "Because it just makes other people slower."

Cousins didn't let the weather bother him, taking third at the 50th annual Larry Eddington Invitational in a time of 15:46.

"I was able to stick with the top guys the whole race," Cousins said. "It was a really good race for me."

Cousins had plenty of company near the front from his teammates. William Hohe ran a 15:42 to take second after DeKalb's Riley Newport edged him into the chute for first with a time of 15:41.

Glenbard West's Colin Hess took sixth in 16:03.

Hohe and Cousins stayed behind the lead pack in the first mile, using that group of runners to help withstand the wind. Hohe broke free from Cousins with about a half-mile to go on his way to battling Newport for first.

"I was running out of gas," Cousins said.

Like Cousins, Hohe said he didn't mind the rain.

"I like it but it definitely brings down the time, slows us down a little," Hohne said. "Strategy wise it's more about place than time. It was a little more slippery, little bit more messy. You have to strategize not to go out too hard because the wind can pull you back."

Glenbard West, who started the year taking second at the Fenton invitational behind Hohne's fourth-place run, scored 59 points Saturday to win the team title over DeKalb (68), Kaneland (96), Benet (101), Sycamore (148) and Jacobs (162).

For the host Knights, Daniel Occhipinti was the first in with a time of 16:00, good for fifth.

"I was trying to stay behind the Front Runner to block wind as much as possible," Occhipinti said. "I didn't stick with them as long as I'd like."

Occhipinti was coming off a 15:15 time last week in Peoria.

Teammates Isaiah Dallal (13th), Ethan Walker (15th) and Ben Durbala (16th) ran a tight pack on their home course in an invitational with a rich tradition.

"It's definitely a really cool meet on our home course," Occhipinti said. "We love having everyone here. We pride ourselves on how it's run, all the parent volunteers who come out to support. We're really glad we could run and get this one in."

Andrew Doetsch continued his strong sophomore season at Jacobs by running a 16:13 to take 10th. The Golden Eagles graduated five of their top seven runners, and Doetsch is a big part of the program's future.

"It's next group up and they are exceeding expectations," Jacobs coach Kevin Christian said. "It's been a fun season.

"Andrew is having a great season. He's progressing at an extremely high rate. He's good now, he's going to be absolutely great to finish the season. Every meet he runs he just moves up and up and up. The workouts, everything is showing."

Burlington Central's top runner, Anthony Farmer who ran a 15:04 last week, was out sick. Ben Grundman paced the Rockets Saturday in 20th in 16:28.

"Our girls and guys did a great job," said Vince Neil, both the Burlington Central boys and girls coach. "Our packs are coming around so we're not just individual runners anymore. We're really grouping things up. We'll try to close down those gaps and margins between our top crew and next tier."

  Glenbard West's Pierce Cousins Saturday during the 50th Annual Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Kaneland's Daniel Occhipinti Saturday during the 50th Annual Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Glenbard West's Colin Hess and Dekalb's Aidan Donohue Saturday during the 50th Annual Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Andrew Doetsch led Jacobs in 10th place Saturday at the Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Kaneland's Isaiah Dallal Saturday during the 50th Annual Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Benet's Dominic Adams and Kaneland's Ethan Walker Saturday during the 50th Annual Eddington Invitational at Kaneland High School in Maple Park. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
  Burlington Central's Gio Martinez heads to the finish line Saturday. Brian Hill/bhill@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.