D-C's Kustief optimistic about regionals

Dundee-Crown senior boys cross country runner Connor Kustief was missing a key ingredient prior to this season.

"I knew I had a lot of speed, but I knew I needed more endurance," said Kustief.

So Kustief turned things up a notch in terms of off-season training.

"I put in a lot of miles," said Kustief. "There were a lot of long runs. I started off doing 50 to 55 miles a week and as the summer went on it got up to 70 miles a week."

And that extra work has produced results.

Kustief recently finished third in the Fox Valley Conference meet after placing 26th as a junior (he was sick at that meet) and 30th as a sophomore.

Kustief will look to continue that momentum at Saturday's Class 3A Rolling Meadows regional at Salk Park Fields. At the regional level, the top 5 teams and the top 5 runners not on qualifying teams advance to sectional action.

"I feel like I've got that extra kick in the last mile," said Kustief. "That used to be a problem. Now with that last mile, I feel a lot better. The training over the summer really helped. Over the years, I would start out as an average runner. It comes down to training. What I did in June and July made me the runner I am now. "

Kustief said the fact he's been in big meet atmospheres before will help him come Saturday.

"The more you run, the more experience you have," he said. "The more you get out there, the better feel you have for it. Having the experience calms you down a lot."

D-C's boys team will be part of a Rolling Meadows field that features Palatine and Hersey -- two of the Top 10 ranked teams in Class 3A (according to Illinois Prep Top Times). Palatine was ranked third to start the week, while Hersey was seventh.

D-C recently placed second at the Fox Valley Conference meet. Besides Kustief finishing third, teammate Anthony Manfrin took fifth.

"We've got a lot of young guys on the team," said Kustief. "We don't have a lot of experience, but we have a lot of talent."

Cary-Grove, which recently repeated as Fox Valley Conference champions, will be part of the Class 3A Lake Zurich regional along with Jacobs. Cary-Grove is the only ranked team in the regional (25th in 3A according to Illinois Prep Top Times).

The Trojans showed off their depth by placing 5 runners in the top 22 at the FVC meet. Key runners Mike McNamara and Phil Fairleigh should be back at full strength Saturday. McNamara missed the league meet due to injury and Farleigh was ill. Kai Rikardsen was Cary-Grove's top finisher (9th) at conference. The Trojans won a regional title in 2006.

"We've got a good amount of depth," said Fairleigh, the only runner that returned from Cary-Grove's top 7 last year. "We've had some injuries, but we've had people really step up. We're confident, but we're not overconfident. We're confident people can step up again and keep this going and hopefully perform really well."

The other local Class 3A schools are spread among four different regional sites. Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood will run in the Class 3A Lake Park regional at the Lake Park Medinah Campus. Bartlett will run in the Class 3A St. Charles East regional at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve. Streamwood's Neal Klein finished fifth at the Upstate Eight Conference meet last week and is the area's lone returning state qualifier.

Prairie Ridge and Crystal Lake South are at the Class 3A Woodstock regional, while Huntley will run at the Class 3A Rockford Guilford regional at Elliot Golf Course. Prairie Ridge's Billy TenBusch won the FVC individual title last week, while Huntley's Todd Farbiak was second and South's Phil Hernandez was sixth.

The Rolling Meadows, Guilford, Woodstock and Lake Zurich regional advancers feed into the Class 3A Palatine sectional, while the Lake Park and St. Charles East qualifiers will head to the Class 3A Schaumburg sectional.

Burlington Central and St. Edward will run in the Class 2A Freeport regional at Highland Community College. Central is ranked 12th in Class 2A by Illinois Prep Top Times. Ryan Phebus recently placed fifth at the Big Northern Conference meet, while St. Edward's Jim Ziesk earned all-conference honors at the Suburban Catholic Conference meet.

Elgin Academy, Westminster Christian and Hampshire will compete in the Class 1A Winnebago regional.