Schaumburg's Pat Lesiewicz sure to make some noise

Schaumburg's Pat Lesiewicz was quietly going about his business on an early Saturday morning preparing for the upcoming cross country season.

The senior stealthily and easily cruised the 3.1-mile course at Hoover Middle School. But Lesiewicz is sure to make some noise once the season starts.

Last year Lesiewicz capped a breakout season by finishing 13th in Class 3A with a time of 14:45 at the state meet in Peoria. The calm senior also won the title at the Mid-Suburban League meet and took second at the regional and sectional meets.

"Lesiewicz is clearly our No. 1 guy," said Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider of his star runner. "Expectations this year? Hopefully top five at state."

"I feel really strong this year," added Lesiewicz. "I have pretty high expectations for myself this year."

And there is good reason for Macnider's and Lesiewicz's confidence.

Lesiewicz had a solid if not impressive first two years at Schaumburg, but last season proved to be an eye-opener.

Lesiewicz showed he meant business in an early season dual meet against Palatine by setting the Schaumburg course record at Hoover with a time of 15:42 - seven seconds faster than the previous record.

"I didn't expect to be clocking those times," said Lesiewicz. "It was overwhelming when I broke it, it's great confidence boost. I knew I could race with anyone."

His record-breaking run even impressed his team.

"When he broke that course record it opened some eyes," said junior teammate Travis Morrison. "He was running the workout averaging five-minute miles, but then he goes out and runs that in a race- it was pretty nice to watch."

Conant's Jeff Thode won the Class 3A individual state title, but a collapsed lung kept the senior from running the MSL meet, which opened the door for Lesiewicz.

The Saxons junior responded by pulling away from Palatine's Chano Bernardo and Prospect's Chris Hayek in the final mile to win the MSL crown in a time of 15:14 on a wet and muddy course at Busse Woods.

"I ran a tactical race, I didn't want to push it too soon," said Lesiewicz of his MSL title. "With a half-mile to go I started moving. I could feel the others dropping off behind me - the last 200 meters I really turned it on."

Lesiewicz then finished second at the regionals and sectionals before taking 13th and gathering all-state honors at the state meet. But it left Lesiewicz and Macnider wanting more.

"It was an interesting season last year," said Macnider. "I don't know if it was a confidence thing or what at the end of last season - he got 13th at state meet - but I thought he was better than that."

Lesiewicz increased his mileage this off-season and ran what his coach believes was one of his best races in winning the 3,200 meters at the St. Charles North track sectional in May.

Marmion Academy's Andrew Larson tried to break Lesiewicz by running the final 400 meters in 59 seconds, but the then-junior responded by running the final lap in 57 seconds in pulling out the win in 9:17.

"We boost mileage year to year," said Macnider of Lesiewicz's senior workload. "You have to be patient, but he should show significant improvement from last year to this year."

The Schaumburg team should also show improvement, Morrison is looking healthy after suffering three stress fractures the past two years and senior Mike Perry, junior Andrew Cardoza and junior Connor Prizy, along with a talented group of sophomores, add depth to a Saxons team hoping to return to state for the first since 2006, when they captured the third-place trophy.

Lesiewicz, a straight A student, is currently looking at Naperville's North Central College and Notre Dame. But for now the senior has a bit of unfinished business to take care of on the course.

"I've seen almost every runner," said Lesiewicz of his competition. "I've seen how they race, how they finish, how they kick - I've done my homework. I think I know everyone pretty well."

Lesiewicz has the training, experience, and talent and now the senior is hoping to put it all together for his final season.

Lesiewicz showed a glimpse of it on an unusually cool August morning breezing through the Saxons' time trials.

Schaumburg has had plenty of success in boys cross country, churning out nine state trophies, including three state titles, along with an honor roll of all-state runners.

And as the cool morning air brought back memories of the chill of November, Lesiewicz quietly turned his attention to the task at hand.

"Last year I think I was too focused on the beginning of the year," he said. "I just wanted to start running amazing times.

"This year I'm more focused on the end of the season. I don't have to focus on every little race, my focus is the state meet."

One need not turn up the volume to hear that message.