Schaumburg wins Hoffman regional
Senior Travis Morrison and Schaumburg didn't let a little rain ruin their day.
With a heavy downpour pelting the course, Morrison made a break after the first mile and cruised to first in 15:20, leading Schaumburg to the Hoffman Estates Class 3A regional title with 32 points at Busse Woods on Saturday.
The Saxons came from behind to nip Prospect (36 points), which led the race after two miles.
Dundee-Crown (106 points) edged Conant (110 points) for third, with Rolling Meadows (121 points) taking fifth. The top five teams advance to next Saturday's Schaumburg sectional at Busse Woods.
Individual qualifiers include Elk Grove junior Alex Mertes (13th place), Hoffman Estates senior Kevin Lang (23rd place) and three Maine West runners, senior Tim Bugajsky (15th place), Ryan Magnoni (28th place), and Haider Sheikh (32nd place.).
Morrison hesitated midway through last week's Mid-Suburban League race in finishing fourth, but the senior did not make the same mistake twice.
Morrison took control of the race early in the second mile and never was challenged.
“I came into the race wanting to run relaxed and smooth,” said Morrison, “Last week I was thinking too much, today I just ran. That's what I have to do next week.”
Junior Tyler Anderson (15:25) and sophomore Evan Prizy (15:39) broke the Prospect pack in the final mile in finishing third and fifth to help secure the Saxon title.
Senior Pat O'Connell (16:01) and junior Pat Swiech (16:03) finished 11th and 12th to complete Schaumburg's scoring.
“We progressed well through the whole race,” said Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider, whose team won its 19th regional title and first since 2007. “Now hopefully we can keep it rolling.”
Prospect finished a disappointing fourth in the MSL, but the Knight rebounded nicely with senior Kellan Strobel (15:24) leading the charge by taking second.
Junior Mike Thill (15:47), senior Greg Netols (15:55), junior Josh Campos (15:57), and senior Bobby Koertgen (15:58) then packed together a 7th- through 10th-place finish.
“We had a tough loss last week, and the whole week we talked about coming back strong,” said Strobel. “This week we came in with a spark and we surely put it on the course.”
Dundee-Crown senior Anthony Manfrin suffered a hip injury that wiped out last year's track season for him. The D-C senior came back last weekend to win the Fox Valley title and continued his comeback on Saturday by taking fourth in 15:32.
“I'm starting to finally get back in shape,” said Manfrin who finished sixth in Class 3A last season. “It's about finishing strong; the end of my race is what's hurting me. I'm working on developing my kick and staying confident.”
Senior Robert Medina (16:17), senior Ryan Smith (16:19), and senior Jon Keable (16:20) finished 22nd, 24th, and 25th for D-C.
“It was a real solid run,” said D-C coach Tom Smith, “Medina, Smith, and Keable just latched on to each other and packed up, that was the key.”
Troy Cunningham (15:42) looked solid in taking sixth, helping Conant to fourth place.
“He's a hungry kid,” said Conant coach John Powers of Cunningham. “He's been to state meets and he wants to go back. As a coach you can work with that.”
Junior Alex Miller (16:13) and sophomore Joe Sulentic (16:14) finished 18th and 19th to support a Conant attack that featured a key 58-second split between their first and fifth runner.
Junior J.P. Manzanarez (16:09), junior Brendan Thielsen (16:15), and sophomore Alex Duman (16:16) finished 16th, 20th, and 21st to help Rolling Meadows secure the final spot and advance to next week's sectional.