Buffalo Grove's Atchison shows he belongs with the elite

It has been a growing process for Jereme Atchison, but the Buffalo Grove junior is ready to take it to the next level now.

Atchison was a Mid-Suburban League all-conference runner his first two years, and last year as a sophomore he got his first taste of the state race as a first-time qualifier.

Now Atchison is ready to take the next step, and the junior showed it on an unseasonably cool Saturday morning capturing second place with a time of 15:51 at the 30th annual Fenton Invite.

"He took a step last year by qualifying for state," said Buffalo Grove coach Jamie Klotz of his junior standout. "This year he's looking to be in the mix and become all-state - that's the goal."

Atchison used a surge after the first mile to take the lead at the 2-mile mark, but couldn't counter a surge halfway through the final by Oak Park-River Forest junior Malachy Schrobilgen, who took first in 15:43.

"I was waiting for him," said Atchison of Schrobilgen who finished 19th in Class 3A last season. "But I just couldn't stay up with him. I wish I would have gone with him a little longer, but it's good experience."

Oak Park-River Forest showed why it is an early state trophy contender, running away with the team title by scoring 21 points.

Schrobilgen had plenty of help as senior Peter Hogenson (15:52), senior Eunhwann Yoo (15:54), junior Nicholas Reyes (15:57), and Brendan Donley (15:58) finished third, fourth, sixth and seventh for the Huskies.

"Our strategy was to run as a pack for the first couple of miles, then open it up to see how we stack up," said OP-RF coach Jose Sosa of the Huskies' dominating performance.

Glenbard West (107 points) took second, followed by Fenwick (142 points), Hoffman Estates (149 points), and Prospect (150 points).

Junior Mike Lederhouse (15:57) took fifth place in helping Glenbard West to a runner-up finish; it was a major jump for the Hilltoppers after the finished 10th at Fenton last season.

"We have a strong nucleus of young runners and we've been putting in a lot more mileage," said Lederhouse, who stayed glued to the lead pack. "I tried to stick with the front pack, and when they went I went with them."

Junior Ken Leaf (16:16), senior Brad Wyatt (16:57) and senior Dave Noland (16:59) supported the Hilltoppers' effort by finishing 13th, 23rd, and 24th.

Senior Kevin Lang (16:29) spurred a gutsy performance from a young Hoffman team by finishing 17th and leading the Hawks to an impressive fourth-place finish.

"We could be really good if we stay together," said Lang of the Hawks' potential. "I felt like I started off well, fell off, but finished strong."

Junior Michael Goers (16:57) took 22nd for the Hawks' attack.

"We're a young squad and we were untested," said Hoffman coach Matt Dowd, "But they had a great summer and they're starting to come together."

Prospect did not run its regular varsity lineup, but senior Alec Wolfe (16:56) stepped up taking 21st place to lead the Knights to fifth place.

Junior Taras Didenko (16:02) aided Atchison run by taking ninth place to help lead BG to sixth with 154 points.

Didenko came back from a subpar dual meet race on Tuesday flashing his potential with a strong showing.

"I just wanted to stick my head in there and fight," said Didenko of his race strategy.

Senior Joe Giamberdino (16:15) took 12th place and junior Matt Denny (17:01) added 25th place to help St. Francis finish seventh.

Giamberdino started off smoothly, but the senior hit a bit of turbulence after the first mile.

"I just wanted to hang on during the second mile,' said Giamberdino, "That is always the toughest part and I think I did a pretty good job."

Senior John Oldenburg (16:46) and junior Kevin Jorgensen (16:52) finished 18th and 19th, pushing Lake Park to eighth place.

Senior Rob Howe (16:23) worked the final 2 miles to finish 16th, helping host Fenton to a ninth-place finish.

"The front pack started to go a little bit, I was sticking with the chase pack, and we started to go as well," said Howe of his final mile.

Senior Sam O'Neil (16:56) finished 20th to aid a Hersey team that did not run its top seven.