D-C charges into state meet confident

The Dundee-Crown boys cross country team did not win the prestigious Palatine Invitational earlier this season.

Actually the Chargers did.

Veteran D-C coach Tom Smith put all of his freshman and sophomore runners together on the sophomore level. D-C won the sophomore race by a whopping 36 points over the storied Elmhurst York program.

"Before that we didn't show up on the radar," said Smith. "We beat teams like York and Palatine that are good, quality programs. That's when we knew if we took those good young guys and put them with our juniors and seniors, we can run with people."

That became evident when the Chargers took second in the Fox Valley Conference and then turned in strong showings at the regional and sectional levels.

Now D-C will be running in the state meet for just the second time in school history. The Chargers are part of the Class 3A state finals field Saturday at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

D-C's only other state appearance came back in 1992. That team featured the likes of Leon Torres (all-state that year), Rich and Pat Arsenault, Scott Sheehan, Derek Eckersburg and Leykun Mehret.

"The two teams have some similarities," said Smith. "Both have the two front-runners and after that an interchangeable pack."

But Smith says this 2007 group truly stands out among the best he's ever coached.

"We've not had this amount of guys run that many good times," said Smith. "I've had a lot of good groups and good teams and relationships, but depth-wise, top to bottom, this is the best we've had here."

Senior Connor Kustief and freshman Anthony Manfrin have been constants at the top of the lineup. Manfrin finished first among D-C runners at the sectional last week.

Manfrin is one of two freshmen in the Top 4 (Jon Keable is the other).

"We've got a lot of young guys and we've got a lot of talent and that puts together a good team," said Manfrin. "We've been talking about this the whole year. Coach told us that we have the talent and we did all of those miles over the summer and put in a lot of work."

Junior Paul Smith has been D-C's third runner, while sophomores Jon Magnant, Matt Weichmann and Nathan Prom, along with junior Dan Magnant and senior Tyler Neumann have also been part of the equation.

D-C is so deep that Smith has used a different lineup in all three postseason events (conference, regional and sectional).

"We've had a feeling of go big, or go home," said Kustief. "We've put everything we have into this. We don't want it to end. This is a great feeling. We wanted to run with the best and now we will be."

The scary thing is, D-C will return 7 of its top 9 runners. In fact, 8 of the 12 runners on the state roster are either freshmen or sophomores.

"Because we are so young people were always talking about next year," said Smith. "I told the kids let's see what we can do this year. I know this is total cliché, but this has been a total team effort. The guys put in the time in the off-season. It's the most consistent group I've had with that. All of the ingredients have come into place."

Smith noticed an unusual calm at last week's sectional.

"You could tell with them that it was just another race," said Smith. "They weren't overwhelmed by any stretch. They have never shied away from competing with anybody."

The rest of the local boys contingent at in Peoria in the Class 3A meet includes the Cary-Grove boys team. The Trojans, led by sophomore Phil Fairleigh, are in the state meet for the second time in three seasons. Seniors Mike McNamara and Kevin Lang, along with juniors Kai Rikardsen and Adam Resseguie also scored for the Trojans at the sectional.

"It's been a really satisfying year for us so far," said Fairleigh. "We've won conference, won regionals and advanced to state."

Streamwood senior Neal Klein (second straight state appearance) and Huntley senior Todd Farbiak will compete in the Class 3A meet as individuals.

Klein finished 45th in the state last year as a junior.

"Last year was really beneficial," said Klein. "The first year is unexpected because the start is way faster than normal races. The first mile is usually 10 seconds faster than what you are normally used to."

Klein is shooting for a medal (Top 25) in Peoria.

"My performances at conference, regional and sectional were good. My legs have been feeling great and this week of practice has been going really well for me," said Klein.

An untimely collision with a post at last year's sectional meet quashed any hopes of a state berth for Farbiak.

But Farbiak redeemed himself this season and will end his high school cross country season on the big stage in Peoria.

"This is awesome," said Farbiak. "My biggest goal has been to get there. I've worked really hard throughout the season. I've worked my butt off. All of the hard work and the workouts and listening to the coaches have paid off big-time."

Farbiak has his sights set on a Top 25 finish (all-state), but would also like to crack 15 minutes.

"I've been trying to get into the 14:50s," said Farbiak. "I came close at the sectional last week."

The Class 3A boys race is slated to begin at 2 p.m.