Déjà vu for St. Charles North at Last Chance Invite
St. Charles North's boys cross country started the season thinking big. Halfway through, they are thinking even bigger.
"Our first goal at the beginning was to get to state and after the first few weeks we thought we could do a lot better," North Stars junior Billy Clink said. "Now as a team we are thinking at least top 10 at state. That's what we are going for."
The North Stars took another step toward that goal with an impressive showing Saturday at their own Last Chance Invitational at Leroy Oakes. Clink's sixth-place finish in 15:26 led a tight pack that totaled 78 points, 15 better than runner-up Prairie Ridge.
"All the guys felt really strong, the coaches said we did a good job staying together," Clink said. "We have to get ready for state. We are going to do good."
Saturday's championship was St. Charles North's second in as many invites this fall at Leroy Oakes. The North Stars opened the season winning the Leavy Invitational, ironically also with 78 points and also with Prairie Ridge in second place.
North Stars coach Kevin Harrington has made running together the team's focus. Declan Duggan came in 10 seconds behind Clink in eighth, Ryan Senci was 11th and Zachary Heuer 22nd. Grant Markowicz rounded out the top five in 31st in 16:10 on a slightly different Leroy Oakes course.
"Our goal was to get through a mile and then to keep with us as far as possible," Clink said. "After a mile and a half I started cruising, I felt really good. There was no time in the race I felt bad."
Wheaton Warrenville South senior Keenan Havey has seen the course before, running it in junior high and now three times in high school. He never ran it as well as Saturday, posting a 15:15 time to win the race by two seconds over Prairie Ridge's Marc DiVerde.
"My middle (of a race) is pretty strong, it's the end I have been struggling with more," Havey said. "I think it (my kick) was better than most (races). I had a couple inspirational words from my coach and it pushed me to go as fast as I could over the last bit."
Havey's previous best finish this year came at Wauconda where he took 10th. He also placed 41st at Peoria Notre Dame.
Havey took the lead about halfway through the three miles. His victory led WW South to third out of the 18 teams. Kyle O'Malley was next for the Tigers in 20th.
Batavia followed Wheaton Warrenville South in fourth place, a finish that left coach Mike DiDomenico thrilled.
"We thought coming in it would be fantastic for our kids if they could finish top five and I have to tell you they ran really well," DiDomenico said. "Collectively as a team I thought they did a great job, they ran exceptional. It was a great, great, great day for us."
DiDomenico made some changes putting three new runners in his lineup. Sophomore Trevor Hollis, who has been working his way back from a hip injury this summer, finished 43rd in 16:26. Junior Kevin Millen placed 50th in 16:42 to complete Batavia's top five.
The newcomers followed Batavia's normal front-runners Chris Spadafora (13th, 15:42), Mike Redmond (15th, 15:45) and Matt Lash (21st, 15:54).
"Maybe we ought to have Homecoming every weekend because they seemed to perform," DiDomenico said. "They responded. We're excited."
Hersey senior Steve Tubergen finished 10th in 15:40 to lead his team's fifth-place finish.
"We had a nice tight pack," Hersey Tim Phillips said of his group that placed 10th, 18th, 26th, 39th and 53rd.
"That's a big improvement for us because we've been kind of spread out. It seems we focused on that a lot better early in the race. The times were really good considering how tough the course is. The course is so beautiful, so different compared to the flat courses we run on."
Elk Grove junior Alex Mertes also placed in the top 10, taking seventh in 15:35. Mertes passed a couple runners in the final 800 meters to move up.
"I usually have a pretty good kick at the end," Mertes said. "It was a really good race. The hills were iffy but you have to pack it up and work well. The team ran pretty well. It's one of the biggest hilly courses we see and I enjoy it a lot."
Other top 10 finishers included Glenbard North senior Kyle Flores (fifth, 15:24), Metea Valley junior Joseph Stewart (ninth, 15:37) and Burlington Central's Clint Kliem, third in 15:18.
Kliem stayed with Havey through two miles and had a chance for second place before getting passed late. Kliem also finished third two weeks ago at Kaneland's Eddington Invitational to go with fifth-place runs at Peoria Woodruff and Aurora Central's Charger Classic.
"I was definitely impressed with my performance today," Kliem said. "It was a good challenge today."
The Rockets took sixth as a team with 166 points. Sophomore Mike Gulik (25th) and junior Joe Gannon (29th) followed Kliem.
"This course has everything, there were a lot of fast schools, this is the first time we've raced here," Kliem said. "We're the second smallest so to be able to compete with these teams is huge. This is easily the best team we've had in years. If we make it down to state it would be huge."
Geneva's Connor Bartel took 16th in 15:48 to lead the Vikings' ninth-place finish.