CL Central's Bondi, Grant's Mamerow lead the way

It is not very often that the team and individual competition both go down to the wire in a 3-mile boys cross country meet.

But that is exactly what happened Saturday morning at the 37th Annual Pat Harland Invitational hosted by Antioch at hilly Fox River State Park in Silver Lake, Wisconsin.

Grant senior Ryan Mamerow led the entire way by a small margin over Crystal Lake Central's Michael Bondi and another pack of runners. But Bondi put on a huge burst of speed in the final stretch to overtake Mamerow (16:08) and win the race by one second.

Crystal Lake Central barely won the team competition by a 78-79 margin over runner-up Jacobs while Barrington (100 points) looked impressive in third place despite not using its top lineup. Warren (119 points) and Crystal Lake South (154) rounded out the top five finishers.

"He (Mamerow) ran a great race and he had it in his pocket, but the kid (Bondi) caught him in the end," said Grant coach Jeff Durlak. "He (Mamerow) ran by himself most of the race so he had to deal with the wind by himself. But he's where he needs to be right now, and he's working to get downstate."

Junior William Hennessy was the Golden Eagles' top runner with a third-place time of 16:15 while sophomore Martin Martinez (16:16) led Warren in fourth place.

"It was a little cold (50 degrees) so I cramped up around the 2-mile mark, but I just fought through it," said Martinez. "It was a tough course with a lot of hills and there was a lot of good competition here too."

After Hennessy, Jacobs' pack was bolstered by senior Nick Ellingson in fifth, and teammate Alex Johnson in 15th.

"We've closed the gap on Crystal Lake Central and once our fourth and fifth men drop a little bit we're going to be right there," said Jacobs coach Kevin Christian. "Our top duo was awesome and they are the hardest working kids I've ever had. I credit Ellingson for getting the work ethic behind the team."

Barrington's pack was led by Karl Eiring in 14th, Nolan Wojtowicz in 18th, Pat Mangan in 21st, Alex Anderson in 22nd, and Mark Davis in 25th.

"Kyle Dockery was third with a half mile to go, but he turned his ankle and he didn't finish," said Barrington coach Ty Gorman. "The guys who ran ran well and they did pack it up nicely and that is what we were focused on."

Warren's fourth-place push was led by Martinez, Kevin Vollrath in ninth, and Mike Harland in 19th.

"We're just trying to get a little better every meet, Martin ran really well, and Kevin ran well considering he has been sick," said Warren coach Bill Dawson. "This is not an easy course so if you are in the 16's you ran well, and our top three were all in the 16's."

Grayslake Central's pack was paced by junior Luke Zygmunt in 11th, Kevin Boyle in 42nd, and Kyle Rehberg in 43rd.

"Our goal for this race was to try to have our top three beat our No. 1 runner's time here last year and we did that," said Grayslake Central coach Jim Centella. "Luke ran about 50 seconds better than last year and Kevin and Kyle ran 15 seconds faster, so that is a good sign and it shows we are heading in the right direction."

Crystal Lake South was led by the duo of Andrew Hubbard in 16th and Ryan Masey in 17th. The host Sequoits' troops were led by junior standout Matt Poss in 20th place.