Palatine girls in gear; Prospect boys prevail
The Palatine girls cross country team is entering a crucial part of its season.
On Thursday, the Pirates defeated defending Mid Suburban League champion Hoffman Estates 25-32 in an MSL West dual meet at Deer Grove Park.
Looking ahead, the Pirates travel to Peoria on Saturday for the Notre Dame Invite before hosting the Palatine Invite on September 27th.
"We knew Hoffman would be a battle," said Palatine coach Steve Currins, whose team placed five runners in the top eight. "I'm very excited the girls are running hard, but we need to keep battling. We have a long way to go."
Hawks junior Melissa Schmidt took first in 17:14, but Pirates sophomore Sarah McIntosh (17:22) took second, followed by sophomore Courtney Brown (17:44).
Brown was fourth at the 2-mile mark but passed Hoffman's Hannah Worman (18:12) with 400 meters to go and took third.
"Last race I got outsprinted at the end," Brown said. "I didn't want that to happen again. We wanted to win this one."
Pirates sophomore Becca Sund (18:18), junior Ruth Allen (18:27), and senior Tory Wright (18:28) secured fifth, seventh and eighth to round out the Palatine scoring.
Schmidt is making quite an impression in her first year of cross country. The junior took the lead in the second mile and held off McIntosh for the victory.
"I wanted to catch the Palatine runner," said Schmidt who adds another piece to a strong Hoffman squad. "It's amazing to be part of something like this. We're expecting big things."
"She's a diamond in the rough," said Hawks coach Kirk Macnider. "She's going to keep learning and keep getting better."
Seniors Gaby Duenas (18:20) and Kathy Kenley (18:41) took sixth and ninth places, respectively, for the Hawks, who compete in their first major invite of the season Saturday looking to defend their title at Libertyville.
$CLASS=breakhead$Prospect boys prevail
Flanked by junior teammates Albert Ciolek and Chris Spudic, Prospect senior Chris Hayek didn't lose stride as he glanced back over his right shoulder with one mile left to yell some words of encouragement to sophomore Matt Ashton.
Thursday's Mid-Suburban League East dual meet against Rolling Meadows wasn't so much about who crossed the line first - Hayek did in 16:25.2 - but rather to get a complete team effort from a squad that's battled injuries and hasn't been whole all season.
"It's good to get the top guys back, and the pack just keeps rolling up there," said Prospect coach Mike Stokes.
Hayek, a state qualifier last season after finishing 15th at the Palatine sectional, was content to run with his teammates until his strong, first-place kick tore through the final stretch of grass at Salk Park's 2.98-mile course.
"We like to run together - you do better when you run with the people you train with," he said.
Ciolek crossed the line second in 16:27.6 as the Knights (2-1, 2-0) took seven of the top nine spots to defeat Rolling Meadows 19-42.
"A lot of the younger guys - the sophomores and inexperienced juniors, are stepping up and running really well," Ciolek said.
They've had to with sophomore Kellen Strobel (top freshman at the 2007 MSL meet; 33rd, 15:19) yet to compete this season because of a shin problem, and with Spudic battling left knee soreness.
"It was definitely nice to finish with the team," Spudic said after taking third (16:29.5) in his season debut.
"Spudic just looked awesome coming back, so I'm really happy to have him back in there," Stokes added.
Ashton finished sixth in 16:49.3, and was followed in the chute by teammates Kenny Halloran (17:02.8), Greg Netols (17:07.9) and Ryan Lynch (17:11.0).
"Today is really about the team," Stokes said. "Saturday (at the Libertyville Invitational) they get to do their own thing."
The Mustangs (1-2, 1-1), also battling the injury bug, were missing one of their top runners in senior Kevin Clark. Last year's sectional qualifier (11th at the Rolling Meadows regional, 15:43) hasn't run this season due to a leg injury.
"Yeah, it's a big loss - he's probably our best runner," Meadows junior Photis Karkalis said after finishing fourth in 16:33.4. "We're just trying to give him something to shoot for - to get healthier faster."
Angelos Karkalis crossed the line in 16:39.8 as Meadows finished 4-5.
"(Photis and Angelos) closed the gap on the Prospect No. 3," said Mustangs coach Jim Voyles. "I thought they finished real well."
Mike Bobowski scored a 10th-place finish (17:11.4), while Eric Arrazola (12th, 17:26.3) and A.J. Adams (13th, 17:55.1) rounded out the Mustangs' top 5.
- Matt Beardmore