Lake Zurich claims sectional title
There may have been a little bit of doubt about the Lake Zurich boys cross country team heading into the Class 3A Schaumburg sectional Saturday morning at Busse Woods.
But after raising their first sectional championship plaque in school history in the sport following the 20-team meet, the seventh-ranked Bears proved that they are definitely for real as they head downstate for the state meet next Saturday in Peoria.
Lake Zurich used its familiar team effort to get the job done as they barely toppled sixth-ranked Palatine 71-74 for the crown on the 3-mile Busse Woods course.
Coming down the stretch it was Lake Zurich junior standout Pat Juras and Barrington's Erik Peterson going for the individual title. Peterson (15:04.78) made a very late pass by Juras (15:06.82) to win the race by less than two seconds.
The Bears' pack had the right formula to get the job done against the Pirates and third-place team Schaumburg (98 points) as Saxons coach Jim Macnider will retire following a stellar 38-year career which included three state titles in the late 1980s.
The final two berths to Detweiller Park went to fourth-place team Barrington (105 points) and fifth-place Hersey (205) while Prospect (236) fiinshed sixth.
Juras has been a fantastic leader for the Bears' pack. He won the North Suburban Conference meet two weeks ago before winning the Libertyville regional last weeked.
Senior Victor Delatorre was Lake Zurich's No. 2 runner Saturday followed by teammates Ryan Moncrieff in 14th, Alex Brend in 24th, and Jon Smith in 31st.
“Last year we just barely made it to state, but this year everything has changed and I hung back for the first 2 miles today like I usually do,” said Juras, who ran a p.r. in the meet. “Dyestate ranked us seventh in the state behind Palatine and we proved the rankings don't mean anything.”
Lake Zurich coach J.B. Hanson couldn't be happier with his team, but the Bears have more work to do downstate.
“We've really had a nice season, and it's been a fun season so far,” said Hanson, whose team will make its third straight trip to state and third in school history. “Pat Juras got beat at the finish by a tough runner from Barrington and Victor Delatorre was awesome for us today. Jon Smith stepped up big-time for us as our No. 5 runner.”
Not only did Lake Zurich shine brightly under the sunny skies Saturday morning, but the Lake County area had three at-large individuals advance to the 2010 state meet next weekend starting with fifth-place finisher senior Kevin Wood (15:18) of Stevenson.
“He (Wood) just missed state last fall and he put in the work over the summer so as a coach you can't ask for a runner to be more consistent than he's been,” said Stevenson coach Scott Somers. “He ran really well today and he moved forward with the top five or six for almost the whole second half of the race.”
There was a few more very happy runners following the meet as Grant senior Ryan Mamerow held true to form to capture 10th place in 15:27 and become the first runner in school history to qualify for the state meet.
“I'm really excited, and I didn't know what place I was going to take so it was really nerve-wracking,” Mamerow said. “I've kind of been working toward my goal of being all-state (top 25), and I have a lot more motivation than I had last year.”
“I'm so proud of him (Mamerow) and he's definitely earned it,” said Grant coach Jeff Durlak. “Obviously when you get here anything can happen and I think he's the first guy from our school to qualify for state.”
After reaching the state meet last year as a junior, Round Lake senior Juan Carrera did it again as Carrera earned the sixth of seven at-large berths with a solid 17th-place finish.
“I got shoved into a tree on the second lap and I fell back a lot,” said Carrera, who had a pretty bad scrape below his left shoulder blade from hitting the tree. “I passed (Anthony) Manfrin (of Dundee-Crown) right before the finish, and I guess it was a little warmer than I was hoping for today.”
The temperatures in the mid-50's suited Carrera just well enough to make back-to-back trips to state.
“I think he (Carrera) still has more in him and I told him he just needs to qualify for state and we'll see what he can do at state,” said Round Lake coach Kevin Brady. “A couple of guys passed him with about 150 meters to go, and if he stays positive I think he'll do better.”
Manfrin earned the seventh and final at-large berth in 19th place while Warren sophomore Martin Martinez just missed a berth to state in 20th place.
Senior Martin Mena had a strong 26th-place showing to lead Mundelein's team while Carmel junior K.J. Matuszak was also impressive in 37th. Libertyville was led by junior Dan Ryan in 42nd while Lake Zurich's Shawn Picha placed 51st, and Libertyville sophomore Nick Korhumel 52nd.
Ÿ In Class 2A, top-ranked defending champion Belvidere North rolled to the Belvidere sectional crown with 30 points to easily defeat runner-up Crystal Lake Central (87 points).
The Lake County area did have the final two individual at-large qualifiers reach state as Grayslake Central junior Luke Zygmunt (16:16) placed 19th and Lakes sophomore Ryan Prais placed 20th. Prais placed 16th in the state in Class 2A last fall as a freshman.
“He (Prais) was not feeling 100 percent so he didn't practice yesterday, but he actually ran faster this year than last year,” said Lakes coach Andy Schroeder. “He was definitely our main shot at state, and he got caught at the finish by a couple of runners.”