Naperville North claims state cross country title
PEORIA - More than an hour after placing fourth in the Class 3A cross country final race, Naperville North's Kyle Gibson still couldn't wipe the grin off his face.
There was more behind that grin than personal accomplishment.
"That's secondary to the team win," Gibson said. "We came in confident today, we put a lot of work in, and all credit goes to coach (Dave) Racey."
The Huskies won their first state title in cross country by a single point over York, which was chasing its 26th team title in legendary coach Joe Newton's 45-year career.
"We had kids that were sick and hurt here today, but they're tough and they came through," Racey said. "Getting the opportunity to even run close to York is personally very satisfying."
David Williams and Tyler Jermann earned all-state recognition by placing 9th and 16th, respectively, while Mike Herbert placed 31st and Bob Guthrie finished 43rd in the field of 210 runners for the Huskies..
"The best team won," Newton said. "They ran the best on the day, and that's what good coaching is."
Conant's Jeff Thode won the individual state title in 14:18, York's Steve Sulkin finished one second behind Thode, and the Dukes' Jordan Hebert came in two seconds behind Sulkin in placing third.
Defending state champion Neuqua Valley placed fourth, led by Danny Pawola's fifth-place finish. Teammate Aaron Beattie finished 30th and Brian Morenus was 36th, while Luke Verbus and Connor Shields placed 56th and 57th, respectively.
Two-time all-stater Pawola placed eighth at last year's race.
"The end result isn't really what I hoped for today, but I gave it everything I had and that's all you can do," Pawola said.
Downers Grove South sophomore Ben Silver placed 17th, Glenbard East's Nate Young was 20th and Hinsdale South's Max Rodrigues took the 25th and final all-state spot this year.
In Class 2A Fenton placed 13th as a team behind all-state finisher Nathan Smith, who finished 12th in the field. Twin brother Justin Smith placed 44th, Rob Howe was 55th and Michael Harkins finished in the top 100 to help lead Fenton to its first state finals since 2001.
"My last miles have been a lot stronger this year," Nathan Smith said. "I've definitely been more consistent."
Fenton coach John Kurtz applauded his runners' effort on the day.
"I'm very happy for Nathan. He and (Justin) are just phenomenal kids," he said. "They led us back here, and Howe ran very well today."
Wheaton Academy's Mark Phillips finished his senior year with all-state honors, placing fourth in 15:08 - just six seconds behind second-place finisher Kasey Ferrigan of Dixon. Rock Island's Tim Hird won the individual state title in 14:56.
"I was aiming for top 10, so I'm really happy," Phillips said. "I didn't think I'd come this far, but I put a lot of work in over the summer and it paid off."
The Warriors' Kent Smith also placed 65th on Saturday.