Palatine keeps West title, dual winning streaks alive
The streak is alive for another year.
The Palatine boys cross country team notched its ninth consecutive Mid-Suburban West Division title at the Conant triangular on Thursday.
The Pirates continued the streak with a 19-42 victory over host Conant, and a 15-50 victory over Hoffman Estates at Busse Woods.
In the process the boys continued their dual winning streak that started in 2002 with their 54th and 55th victories.
"I don't know if they think it's a burden, but for the team it's more about making their mark," said Palatine Coach Chris Quick of the dual and divisional winning streaks. "Kind of been the same goals for a lot of years, so we're fortunate that our kids keep doing the work to put themselves in position to win these kinds of things."
Sophomore Joe Sulentic (16:03) took third to lead Conant to a 17-46 victory over Hoffman.
Palatine dominated from start to finish. Junior Tim Meincke (16:03) and junior Anthony Gregorio (16:03) went 1-2 to pace the Pirates' attack.
"It was important to keep the streaks alive," said Meincke. "It was one of our main goals for the season."
Senior Reuben Frey (16:04) and junior Marcus Garcia (16:04) took 4-5 for the Pirates, with junior Tim Johnson (16:20) taking seventh to complete the Pirates' scoring.
Palatine survived a brutal September schedule with mixed results. The Pirates defeated defending state champion Neuqua Valley to win the Hinsdale Central Invite, then finished a disappointing eighth place at the Peoria Notre Invite in a field that included No. 1 Oak Park, No. 2 York, and defending Class 2A state champion Belvidere North.
On Saturday the Pirates eased to a third-place finish at their own invite behind York and up-and-coming New Trier.
The Pirates finally have a bit of a breather before the post season heats up starting with the MSL meet on Oct. 16.
"We definitely had a downer at Peoria," said Garcia of the Pirates' mixed results. "Palatine Invite was just another stepping stone trying to get us back up there. It was a good motivation boost for our confidence. Now were going to see what we can do in the postseason."
Conant was missing its top two runners, Alex Miller and Nikhil Byanna, but Sulentic and junior Troy Cunningham (16:16) stepped up to lead the Cougars' attack.
"We have a group of juniors that have been our locomotive right now, pulling and pushing us," said Conant coach John Powers. "And Sully (Sulentic) is only a sophomore, and you can't say enough about him."