Barrington's Peterson wins sectional title
Barrington junior Erik Peterson ran the whole race from behind at the Schaumburg Class 3A sectional.
Except, that is, when it counted.
Schaumburg senior Travis Morrison set the tone for the race, but was shadowed by Peterson and Lake Zurich junior Pat Juras.
Peterson and Juras surged to the lead in the final 250 yards and the two juniors battled it out to the finish.
But Peterson (15:04) found an extra gear just before the finish to edge Juras (15:06) and claim the sectional title.
“I knew it was going to be a battle and I was feeling it a little bit,” said Peterson of his finishing flourish. “But I knew I had something left and I pushed as hard as I could.”
Lake Zurich edged Palatine 71-74 for the sectional title at Busse Woods.
Schaumburg (98 points) took third, with Barrington (105 points) and a surprising Hersey (205 points) taking fourth and fifth, with all five teams advancing to next Saturday's Class 3A state race at Detweiller Park in Peoria.
Individual qualifiers include Stevenson senior Kevin Wood (fifth place), Buffalo Grove junior Jereme Atchison (eighth place), Highland Park senior Ari Rothschild (ninth place), Grant senior Ryan Mamerow (10th place), Glenbrook North senior Nick Hall (16th place), Round Lake senior Juan Carrera (17th place) and Prospect senior Kellan Strobel (18th place).
Juras powered Lake Zurich, and the junior was aided by Victor Delatorre (15:17), who took fourth place for the Bears.
Senior Ryan Moncrieff (15:33) and senior Alex Brend (15:48) added to the Bears success by taking 14th and 24th place.
Palatine got off to a slow start and could not recover. Junior Anthony Gregorio (15:22) led the Pirates' charge by taking seventh place.
“We came out here to win, but Lake Zurich ran a really great race,” said Gregorio, “None of us executed what we wanted to do, and we all have something that we can work on.”
Senior Reuben Frey (15:29) and junior Tim Johnson (15:30) took 11th and 12th for Palatine, with senior A.J. Laskowske (15:48) and junior Marcus Garcia (15:50) taking 23rd and 25th for the Pirates.
“Our start was off and we couldn't get it fixed,” said Palatine coach Chris Quick. “Credit goes to Lake Zurich for executing their race better than us. I think we'll run with a little more fire next week.”
Schaumburg's Tyler Anderson finished third at the Hoffman regional last week, but the junior lost one of his spikes early in the race and finished 44th. But the Saxons, thanks to a gutsy race by Morrison, were able to recover and finish third.
Morrison took control of the race early before the final surge by Peterson.
“I wanted my move to be the move that decided the race,” said Morrison of his early success. “But I didn't have anything left, and (Peterson) was the better runner today.”
Sophomore Evan Prizy (15:22) continued an impressive season by taking sixth place, with senior Pat O'Connell (15:54) and junior Pat Swiech (15:55) taking 28th and 29th place.
Senior Connor Prizy (16:01) completed the Saxons' scoring by placing 39th.
“We're just looking to get everybody to run their best race on the same day and we'll be all right,” said Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider. “ We still have a chance to put it together.”
Last year Barrington missed qualifying to the state meet by 1 point; this year the Broncos left no doubt by securing fourth place.
Peterson once again showed why he will be a threat at state, but the sophomore had plenty of support with senior Carl Eiring (15:46) taking 21st place, followed by senior Andrew Foley (15:52), senior Ryan Graves (15:55), and senior Kyle Dockery (15:58) taking 27th, 30th, and 34th place.
“We wanted to work hard enough where it wasn't going to come down to the wire this year,” said Barrington coach Ty Gorman. “They really pulled through and ran their best race of year by far today.”
Hersey raised a few eyes by taking the final spot with a solid race; the Huskies gutted out the final mile to secure their first trip to the state meet since 2007. Senior Ryan O'Donnell (15:32) and senior Nathan Knautz (15:34) finished 13th and 15th.
Seniors Steve Tubergen (16:17), Sam O'Neil (16:20) and Brian Havel (16:30) aided the Huskies by taking 59th, 62nd, and 74th.
“You need something extra there that last mile,” said Hersey coach Tim Phillips. “They're seniors and they worked hard, they jelled and finished great.”
Prospect finished sixth with 236 points, and the Knights were dealt a blow when number two runner Mike Thill faded down the homestretch, finishing 102nd and needing medical attention after the race.
Strobel (15:38) paced the Knights attack qualifying individually with an 18th place finish.
“It just doesn't even come down to Michael (Thill), we should have run better,” said Prospect coach Mike Stokes. “We just didn't have it today.”
Dundee-Crown Anthony Manfrin (15:39) missed qualifying by one place, finishing 19th. Last year Manfrin took sixth in Class 3A, but the senior suffered stress fracture in his hip last spring and he was still recovering from that entering this cross country season.
“We told him at the beginning of the season we want to have as good a cross country season as we can,” said D-C coach Tom Smith of Manfrin. “But we want him healthy so he can run a good track season. He's disappointed now, but we're going to work through it and get ready for the spring.”