A first for Palatine

The Palatine Invitational has featured its share of memorable meets -- but, oddly enough, the host Pirates have not been a part of that history.

But on a sunny fall morning at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve on Saturday, Palatine made a bit of history in a loaded field that included six of the top 11 teams in the state, according to the Illinois cross country coaches poll.

And in doing so, the Pirates disposed of mighty York -- a team that has won 26 state titles and nine Palatine Invitational titles.

Palatine placed five runners in the top 31, edging defending state champion York 77-79 to win the team title.

The Pirates, who had never won their own invitational, broke the Dukes' string of four consecutive titles.

"It's the Palatine Invitational. We wanted to win, we had never won it," said Pirates coach Chris Quick, whose team had finished second in each of the previous four years. "The exciting thing is, the past two weeks we've put ourselves in contention with the top teams in the state."

"It's a long season and a lot of things can happen, but at this part of the season we're right in the mix."

Hersey took third with 118 points, followed by Sandburg (141) and St. Charles North (144).

While Palatine was beating York for the team title, Hersey's Kevin Havel was in his own fight with the Dukes' Tom Achtien for individual honors.

Havel took the lead after two miles, but he could not hold off the hard-charging Achtien.

Achtien started making his winning move with 300 meters remaining and finally overtook the Hersey senior with 10 meters left to win in 14:02.

"I just had a little more left," said Achtien who finished eighth at state last season. "I was thinking I was toast, but somehow, some way, I just pulled something out. That's how every runner is. You find another gear."

Havel started conservatively, satisfied to run with the lead pack. The senior took the lead after the 2-mile mark before crossing the finish line as the runner-up in 14:04.

"I'm still working on my speed," said Havel who was running with a tweaked left IT band but acknowledged it did not affect the outcome of the race. "I felt good physically, which means I probably could have ran a little faster. But at the same time, I have a little bit more potential to reach, which will be achieved at the state meet."

Last week Palatine finished 2nd at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational.

Senior Matt Smoody (14:13) led the charge for the Pirates -- who took 22nd last Saturday at the Peoria Notre Dame Invitational -- by overtaking York's Steve Sulkin (14:14) for third place.

"This is big, because all summer we've been wanting to beat York," Smoody said. "Because if we beat them, now it'll boost Palatine's confidence to beat them at state. It's just so great to finally beat them."

Pirates sophomore Chano Bernardo (14:31) continued his breakout season by capturing eighth place.

"It feels good," Bernardo said. "I just want to keep it up for the team."

Palatine senior Kevin O'Brien (14:36) took 11th, while senior Alex Mourousias (14:58) and senior Eddie Lopez (15:04) added 26th and 31st to complete the Pirates' scoring.

"We're just doing what our coaches tell us do. We have a job to do," O'Brien said. "No Palatine team has ever won this, so we've been looking to see if we could win this for awhile now."

York had four runners finish in the top 21. The Dukes have finished either first or second at Palatine 13 times in the last 16 years.

Senior Bill Wisser (14:24) took fifth and combined with Havel to lead Hersey (118 points) to third place.

"I think the team is coming together," said Wisser of the Huskies, who were also aided by junior Erik Stanton's (14:46) 17th-place finish. " I think we're going to peak at the right time. We'll all come together and have a good end of the season.

St. Charles North recovered from an early spill by junior Chris DeSilva to take fifth place.

DeSilva (14:45), despite falling in the first 100 meters, rebounded to take 15th. Senior Scott Speare (14:29) picked it up for his fallen teammate by securing seventh.

Senior Michael Strasser (14:58) aided the North Stars with a 25th place.

"I knew I had to get after it more than normal," said Speare of his performance. "I probably could have run a little bit better having Chris (DeSilva) up there with me, but my coaches supported me through the entire race."

Lyons (186 points) took sixth place followed by Centerville, Ohio (219).

Senior Matt Barns (14:47) and senior Dan Quarfoot (14:49) took 18th and 20th place to lead Barrington (253 points) to eighth place.

Senior Curtis Weisenberger (14:53) secured 23rd place as McHenry took ninth.

Senior Mike McNamara (15:08) took 33rd place to lead Cary-Grove (314 points) to 10th place.

Individually, Mundelein's Alex Mena (14:35) ran a strong race to finish 10th, gutting out the final stretch.

"I didn't know the final stretch was so long," said Mena, who staked out his position early. "I just wanted to stay with the leaders. This year I'm taking things serious."

Prairie Ridge senior Billy TenBush (14:37) took 12th place, followed by Vernon Hills' Moe Bahrani (14:37) in 14th place.

Senior Connor Kustief (14:52) finished 22nd for Dundee-Crown.