Dundee-Crown's Manfrin makes right move
The strategy was perfect - wait back, make your move, and bring home a Top 10 finish and an all-state medal.
And after last year's episode of being disqualified at the state boys cross country meet, Dundee-Crown junior Anthony Manfrin couldn't have left Peoria's Detweiller Park Saturday any happier.
Manfrin ran the Class 3A 3-mile state course in 14:43 to finish in sixth place, the highest a Dundee-Crown boys cross country runner has ever finished at state.
"Finally got the medal," said Manfrin, who ran under control for the first mile. "Wanted to stay smart early then work the end and that's what I did. We were watching the other races and the kids out front were falling back. (Coach Tom Smith) told me to stay behind the front group and then I made my move at the 2-mile mark. The strategy worked."
And it helped Manfrin erase last year's bitter ending.
"I wanted to make up for last year and Top 10 was always my goal," Manfrin said. "I'm pretty happy."
As was Smith, the longtime Dundee-Crown coach.
"It was a great run," Smith said. "It was just a really solid run. The conditions were tough. It was hotter than it's been all year. Anthony showed a lot of discipline early staying with the pack and then he ended up moving up and moving up. It was just a great race."
Dundee-Crown senior Nathan Prom ran a 15:49 and finished in 105th place.
Cary-Grove senior Phil Fairleigh (14:50) capped a successful season by capturing 12th place and leading the Trojans to 13th place with 362 points.
"I just went out there and kind of had some fun," said Fairliegh, who was coming off an impressive victory at the Schaumburg sectional. "I didn't really have to many expectations but it was a good race, pretty exciting. I kind of took it slow a little and picked people off as the race went on. I'm definitely pleased to finish the season this way. The guys on the team ran well and it was really fun to run my last race with the team."
Kyle Zankowski (15:12) finished in 40th place leading St. Charles North (417 points) to 20th place.
Neuqua Valley won the 3A championship with 99 points while Loyola was second and York third. Sandburg's Lukas Verzbicas was the individual champion in a time of 14:07.
In the Class 2A race, Burlington Central sophomore Clint Kleim ran a solid 15:36 and nosed out Richmond's Ian Sanchez for 25th place and all-state honors.
"I came in wanting to run a sub-15, but to also get that Top 25," Kleim said. "Basically, everything went right for me today. Not one thing went wrong. Everything had to go the right way and it did. It was perfect."
Belvidere North, with 77 points, won the Class 2A team championship. Normal U-High was second and Springfield third. Paul Zeman of Belvidere North ran a 15:09 to win the individual title.
Michael Eaken contributed to this report