Prospect's Spudic draws attention with late move

There was no hesitation for Prospect's Chris Spudic at the Mid-Suburban League Meet on Oct. 17th at Busse Woods.

The senior saw an opening just after the 2-mile mark and made his move running away with the MSL title in 15:20, 36 seconds in front of Palatine Alec Bollman who finished second.

For Spudic it was major breakthrough, marking the first major invite victory for the Prospect senior.

"That was the biggest race I ever won," said Spudic of his conference title. "To actually win a big race gave me a huge boost of confidence."

But it was all part of the plan for Spudic and Prospect coach Mike Stokes.

The Knights eased their way into the cross country season, with their first major invite being at Oak Park-River Forest on the last weekend of September.

Most teams had run one or two major invites by that time, but Prospect had taken a different approach.

Prospect took first at Oak Park-River Forest with Spudic taking second individually. The following weekend at Peoria Central Invite, the Knights took second to York with Spudic finishing second.

That set the table for Spudic's conference run.

"That was a testament to him and his internal fortitude," added Stokes, "He had faith in himself and his coaches in what we do here."

Last year Spudic was Prospect's No. 2 runner and finished 49th in Class 3A helping the Knights secure a sxith-place finish at the state meet.

With the graduation of the Knights No. 1 runner Chris Hayek, Spudic knew he would have to help take over the leadership for a talented Knight squad.

But it was no problem for Spudic, who along with senior Albert Ciolek have given the Knights a smooth transition this year.

"As a sophomore we had only 1 senior and 1 junior, so me and Albert had to step up our leadership that year," added Spudic. "So we've almost been leaders now for two years."

Spudic took a huge step forward last spring during track season, the then junior qualified for state in 3,200 by placing third at the Loyola Sectional.

Spudic had to go under the state qualifying time and did that by running a blazing final lap to finish in 9:32. That proved to Stokes that Spudic had what it takes to lead his Knights squad this year.

"That was a huge last lap," added Stokes of Spudic's sectional run. "He really dug down deep and showed himself that he can kind of go beyond that."

"Definitely one of my best races," added Spudic, "It kind of catapulted me into this season."

After hard summer workouts which included a trip to Colorado, the senior was ready to make his mark this season.

And he has not disappointed taking over the top spot for the Knights.

"It was a challenge, I don't know if it was tough," added Stokes of Spudic becoming the Knights' front runner. "He's driven to do that. Sometimes we have to put the reigns on him."

A key to Spudic's rise as one of the state's elite runners has been more endurance.

"It seems like I have a lot more left for the last mile and the middle of the races," added Spudic, "I'm not sagging."

"He's overcome adversity and stayed focus," said Stokes, "He has just shown a steady improvement and worked very hard."

The Prospect team has also shown steady improvement. Ciolek and junior Kellan Strobel have given the Knights a solid pack up front to lead a very deep team.

Last year Prospect finished 33 points behind Palatine in taking second in the MSL, this year the Knights narrowed that margin to 4 points.

That has raised the expectations for Spudic and the Prospect squad.

"If everyone runs the best they can run we will be really good," added Spudic of the Knights potential. "We'll be a force to be reckoned with."

At the Peoria Invite Spudic (14:51) finished second to York's Andrew Smith (14:43). A bit of hesitation during the race may have meant the difference for the Prospect senior.

But the senior used that to his advantage at the MSL meet.

"After thinking I could have had that (Peoria) if I only had the confidence to go out there and win," said Spudic. "When the opportunity at conference presented itself, it was like well I'll take this now-let's do it."

Spudic has two more opportunities, including Saturday's Class 3A Schaumburg sectional, followed by next week's state meet and the senior looks like he his ready.

"The Peoria Invite was really only his second invite of the year," said Stokes. "The advantage we have as a whole and he has is that other teams have been ripping it since early September. We are coming into our own now and I think Chris is really feeling that. I think he is right on schedule."