Palatine takes team title; Barrington's Peterson unmatched

Palatine's boys cross country team wasn't at its best on Saturday at the Schaumburg Class 3A sectional, yet the Pirates continued to roll.

And Barrington senior Erik Peterson answered every challenge thrown at him.

Senior Peter Tomkiewicz (15:16) and senior Anthony Gregorio (15:23) took sixth and ninth place in leading Palatine to the title with 91 points at Busse Woods Forest Preserve.

Prospect (104 points) took second followed by Lake Zurich (122), Barrington (129), and Buffalo Grove (156).

All five teams advance to next Saturday's state meet at Detweiller Park in Peoria.

Peterson first had to answer Buffalo Grove senior Jereme Atchison, who put on a surge midway through the final mile.

The Broncos senior then had to answer a final challenge by Lake Zurich senior Pat Juras, who was nipping at his heels at the finish line.

Juras (14:57) finished second with Atchison (15:05) taking third.

“I think it helped having the inside position,” said Peterson of his victory. “It came down to the kick at the end. It felt pretty good.”

Senior Marcus Garcia (15:35) and senior Tim Johnson (15:40) took 18th and 22nd to help Palatine overcome an unusually slow start.

Junior Christian Zambrano (15:59) helped seal the victory, taking 37th place.

“We went out too slow and were playing catch up the whole race,” said Palatine coach Chris Quick of his team's effort. “Our seniors fought at the end and picked up some key spots. They had enough poise at the end to help us win.”

“We didn't get out hard enough,” said Gregorio. “We have one more week to make a difference and we know we have better stuff in the bag. We'll be ready to go.”

Junior Michael Leet (15:14) and junior Quentin Shaffer (15:28) finished fourth and 13th to help propel Prospect. Senior Mike Thill (15:34) added 17th place for the Knights.

“We started slow at the beginning of the season, but we're getting it together now,” said Leet.

Prospect finished fifth at the MSL meet, but the Knights won the Hoffman Estates regional and followed it up with another solid performance on Saturday.

“Last week was a shot in the arm for us,” said Prospect coach Mike Stokes of the regional title. “It was a wake-up call for how good we really are.”

Junior Ryan Burgoon (15:24) and senior Nolan Wojtowicz (15:48) took 11th and 25th place to support Peterson's title run.

“We had a lot of guys that didn't have any varsity experience at the beginning of the season,” said Barrington coach Ty Gorman. “We spent the first half of the season learning how to run at the varsity level. There were some jitters and there were some nerves, but they came through today when it counted the most.”

Atchison helped pace Buffalo Grove to its first state qualification, but the Bison senior had plenty of help.

Senior Taras Didenko (15:28) and senior Dan Roe (15:42) took 14th and 24th place.

“It's a testament to these guys' hard work,” said BG coach Jamie Klotz. “They laid it on the line today. Realizing that goal is something I'm really going to be feeling tomorrow. It might have been actually harder to get to the state meet than it will actually be to run in the state meet.

“The main goal was to make as a team to state,” added Atchison, who briefly took the lead in the final mile. “It went out a little slower than conference and I wanted to push it a little.”

Senior Mitch Wilkens (15:14) and junior Joe Cowlin (15:24) both qualified for state, finishing fifth and 10th for Prairie Ridge.

Senior Tyler Schneider (15:20) and senior Alex Miller (15:25) took seventh and 12th place and advancing for Conant. Schneider has helped to key a late-season charge for the Cougars.

“I was really comfortable that first mile,” said Schneider, who clung to the lead pack early. “I just felt the energy from the whole team.”

At Fenton: Junior Kevin Schreiber took seventh in 16:20 as St. Viator finished fourth with 97 points to qualify for the 2A state meet.

Sophomore Nick Brey was 15th (16:45) and was followed by senior Elliot Hilgert (21st, 17:01), junior Tyler Sammons (22nd, 17:02) and sophomore Jason Ziolkowski (32nd, 17:19).

At Niles West: Leyden's Fabian Cabrera finished eighth in 15:19 to qualify for the state meet.