Sixth runner lifts Saxons
In one of the best races of the season, Schaumburg needed contributions from everyone to beat Conant in a double-dual Mid-Suburban West meet with Barrington at Busse Woods Forest Preserve.
The Saxons pulled off a 28-28 tie-breaker win thanks to junior Phil Allmon, who finished in 16:41 as the sixth Schaumburg finisher, edging the Cougars' sixth man.
"I guess that's one heck of a way to finish," Schaumburg senior Nathan Rutz said after finishing second. "It's always good to come out with a win at the end, especially over a team like Conant. They're real tough."
Senior Erich Seimetz took sixth, followed by sophomore Pat Lesiewicz in eighth and senior Brian Burkhardt in ninth. Junior Jay McNamara took 12th to finish the Saxons scoring.
"It was a tough mental race and I'm glad we came through," said Schaumburg coach Jim Macnider. "It was an unbelievable race. You had to have guys who were willing to put it on the line and we did."
Conant junior Jeff Thode won individual honors in 15:32. Junior Tyler Fuchs and senior Tyler Hinckley placed fourth and seventh overall, respectively, for the Cougars.
Senior Andrew Mueller rounded out the top 10.
Conant coach John Powers said before the meet he thought the Cougars were on par with Schaumburg, but was still looking for a race where everyone performed to their capabilities.
"We expected it to be close," Powers said. "Just the way that we had been running and (Schaumburg) had been running, you knew it was going to be neck-and-neck all the way. I thought we ran well."
Powers added it was the best race his team had run as a whole this season.
Seniors Dan Quarfoot (third, 15:40) and Matt Barns (fifth, 15:51) led Barrington in their final prep duals.
"It's kind of weird," Quarfoot said. "You don't really want to dwell on things but before the race I was (thinking) Busse Woods is one of my favorite courses and this is the last time I get to run here."
Busse Woods is also home to the Schaumburg sectional, but the course is set up differently. The confusion caused Barns, who was leading at the time, to overrun a turn and backtrack.
Barrington lost 23-36 to Conant and was defeated by Schaumburg 24-33.
Palatine wins West: Palatine continued dominating the MSL West by winning its sixth straight division title at the Barrington Pond Forest Preserve in Hoffman Estates.
Mat Smoody (15:32), Kevin O'Brien (15:33), and Chano Bernardo (15:34) finished 1-2-3 leading Palatine to a 22-34 victory over host Hoffman Estates and a 16-45 win over Fremd.
"It's really important for our kids," said Palatine coach Chris Quick whose team has won 20 division titles. "Just in terms of the competition in this conference, it's an honor to compete against these teams. It's a point of pride."
It is Palatine's third straight senior class that has not lost a dual meet as the Pirates have gone 37-0. The MSL record is 45 consecutive victories.
"It is a little bit of pressure," said Smoody. "We wanted to keep the tradition going. We're taking it one step at a time, but this was an important step."
Alex Mourousias (16:01) aided the Pirates with a 7th place finish. Ross Goers (15:44), Matt Perez (15:52), and Emilio Saraga (15:56) finished 4-5-6 as the Hawks defeated Fremd 18-41.
Nick Hurley (16:10) led Fremd in eighth place.
Hersey clinches East: Prospect came into 2007 with a string of three MSL East titles. That run came to an end Wednesday as Hersey beat the Knights 21-36 for their first division title since 2003.
"It's like the first championship of the season," Huskies coach Tim Phillips said. "This was important and the next step up is the conference meet.
"For the seniors, it was important for them to end it well. Our seniors have done really well but hadn't won a title."
Making it a little more special, it was the first time in school history the boys and the girls won division titles.
Hersey senior Kevin Havel placed first after finishing the 3.08-mile Prospect course in a record 14:58.