Fitting finish in MSL meet
With all these talented runners fighting for a conference championship, battling step-for-step for 3 miles, it's rare when someone can actually enjoy that typically gut-wrenching push to the chute.
But on this picturesque Saturday morning at Busse Woods, Schaumburg junior Pat Lesiewicz knew he had already done enough pushing to take in all the cheers from the friends and family that lined the final stretch of this hilly course.
After finishing 11th in conference last season, Lesiewicz (15:14) out-kicked Palatine junior Chano Bernardo (15:22) in the final mile to win the Mid-Suburban League championship. Lesiewicz became the Saxons' first individual champion since Brian Viezbicke in 1992.
"I felt really strong at the end and I opened it up a lot," Lesiewicz said. "I heard (Bernardo) fall off and I knew I had it after that. That was a fun last stretch."
Bernardo, who took seventh last season at the 2.95-mile course at Deer Grove East, was all smiles as he soaked in the handshakes and pats on the back from teammates and opponents.
"At the final mile coming down that hill I was pretty tired," said Bernardo, laughing.
Palatine junior Alec Bollman finished 13 seconds behind Bernardo for fifth place, and was closely followed by teammates Juan Perez (12th, 15:52), Tom Laskowske (13th, 15:54) and Lukasz Kierys (15th, 15:57) as the Pirates scored 47 points to win their sixth consecutive MSL championship.
Prospect took second with 80 points, followed by Conant (113), Hersey (135) and Fremd (144).
"That was a great race," Bollman said. "It was a hard course - those hills killed me. I thought I was going backward sometimes!"
Prospect senior Chris Hayek took third in 15:30 and ran neck-and-neck with Lesiewicz and Bernardo through the first mile-plus before the talented juniors pulled away.
"They're so good," said Hayek, still catching his breath. "They're probably the best juniors in the state."
Albert Ciolek (ninth, 15:48), Chris Spudic (20th, 16:04) and Vincent Tagare (22nd, 16:05) also made all-conference for the Knights.
Fremd junior Aaron Ferst finished fourth in 15:32, up from 31st last season. "There are so many good guys, you just want to go out and compete," he said. "I knew who was going to go out and lead it. I just tried to key off who was up there."
Hersey senior Erik Stanton fought through a painful right shin to take sixth (15:37).
"In the middle of the race I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish it," said Stanton, who finished third at conference last season. "I know if I wasn't hurt I would have been right up there with those guys."
Matt Cwiok also earned all-conference honors for the Huskies in 16th (15:57). Rolling Meadows juniors Photis Karkalis (seventh, 15:38) and Angelos Karkalis (21st, 16:04) made the all-conference team as did Conant senior Tyler Fuchs, who took eighth in 15:47. Juan Ramirez (23rd, 16:07) and Ryan Moeller (24th, 16:13) also earned all-conference honors for the Cougars, who were without their top runner, senior Jeff Thode (collapsed lung).
Hoffman Estates finished sixth and was led by all-conference runners Kyle Gonzalez (10th, 15:50) and Matt Perez (17th, 15:58). Barrington was seventh and was paced by Micah Koenig (18th, 15:58) and Chris Cogswell (25th), who earned the final all-conference spot in 16:14.
Buffalo Grove freshman Jereme Atchinson finished 14th (15:57) and Schaumburg senior Phil Allman joined Lesiewicz on the all-conference team with a 19th-place finish. Wheeling senior Eric Rodriguez finished 11th (15:51).