Bernardo's debut keeps Palatine rolling
Palatine sophomore Chano Bernardo was a little nervous Wednesday. Not only was the diminutive runner making his varsity debut, but he was also expected to be a top finisher for the Pirates against Schaumburg.
It turned out Bernardo (14:58) had nothing to worry about as he placed third and helped Palatine extend its Mid-Suburban League winning streak to 34 with a 21-39 dual win over the Saxons at the Deer Grove East Forest Preserve.
"No one knows about (Bernardo)," said Pirates senior Mat Smoody, who led all runners with a 14:37 finish. "He's a great runner. He's really strong mentally. It will be big come October."
Bernardo, who is about 5-foot-3 and weighs just more than 100 pounds, didn't run cross country as a freshman but has excelled this year. The secret to his success lies in a five-mile paper route that he runs every morning delivering the Daily Herald.
"He's doing something that none of these other kids can do," Palatine coach Chris Quick said. "It's a special brand of toughness."
The addition of Bernardo, along with senior Kevin O'Brien (fourth, 14:58), senior Alex Mourousias (sixth, 15:23), junior Eddie Lopez (seventh, 15:27) and fellow sophomore Alec Bollman (eighth, 15:33), would appear to give the Pirates an imposing group of top runners.
"Today was a good test to prove that we're going to be up in that mix (of top teams)," Quick said. "Maybe some people don't know how good we are. That's kind of the theme of these next two weeks to start showing people how good we are."
Schaumburg struggled from the start, and leading runner Nathan Rutz (14:48) thought his team might not have been mentally focused.
"Looking back, I'm not sure if we were all there as a team (and) ready to run," Rutz said after finishing second. "Physically yes, but mentally I don't think we were."
Sophomore Pat Lesiewicz (15:10) placed fifth but no other Saxon cracked the top eight.
"We got beat in the first mile," Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider said. "They got out on us in the first mile and we couldn't do anything about it. I've got guys complaining that they had a lot left."