Boys cross country: Fremd thinks fast in season-opening win
Fremd wanted to get out to a fast start in its season-opening boys cross country dual meet, and the Vikings did just that.
Senior Danny Peterson set the tone and a solid Vikings pack finished the deal in powering to a 23-32 Mid-Suburban Crossover victory over Hersey on Tuesday at Harper College in Palatine.
Peterson, who finished fourth at the Mid-Suburban League meet last, showed he is ready for more success this season in cruising to the victory in 16:06.8.
The Vikings showed a solid pack by taking places four through seven to secure a victory over a talented Hersey squad.
"Our goal was to slingshot Danny (Peterson) up front and then have everyone try to close the gap," said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez. "We still have things to work on, but it was a good start."
Peterson set the pace early, and then made separation finishing 13 seconds in front of Hersey senior Jacob Krupa (16:19.2).
"I wanted to take it out pretty hard," said Peterson of his opening mile. "I wanted a comfortable win; I didn't want to leave it to a kick."
A young Fremd team finished 12th at the Schaumburg sectional last year and came into Tuesday race with a bit to prove.
Junior Matt Wallace (16:41.4) led the chase pack in grabbing fourth place; he was followed by junior Ed Worthem (16:50.6), senior Luke Vogelgesang (16:51.3) and senior Jack Buben (17:01.4) in sealing an impressive victory.
"We didn't do as well as we wanted at the sectional last year," Wallace said. "We've been targeting this year and we've been working every day since last year."
The key to race was the Vikings pack keeping in contact with Peterson, and despite getting a bit strung out in the final mile they were able to accomplish that goal.
"Every race we're trying to get as close to Danny as we can," said Wallace, "Today we were able to stay together the first 2 miles before we broke off."
Hersey was glad to have Krupa back, as the senior was sidelined most of his junior year with a medical condition.
Krupa showed Tuesday that he is back by leading the Huskies' charge with a second-place finish.
"I couldn't wait to get the season underway," said Krupa, who finished 12th in the MSL as a sophomore. "I want to prove that I haven't lost anything and I just got better."
"We weren't sure that he would be running again," said Hersey coach Jay Renaud of Krupa, who dealt with blood pressure issues. "Just too even see him running again is exciting for us. His potential is very high this year."
Junior Ryan Theisen (16:31.2) made a move halfway through the race in breaking up the Fremd pack and securing third place.
Senior Sam Svienty (17:10.9), junior Quinn Cunningham (17:20.9) and senior Andrew Hyndman (17:24.5) went 8-9-10 to complete the Huskies' scoring.