Boys cross country: Leonard-led Palatine turns it up at Barrington
The temperature may be on the way down, but the Palatine boys cross country team is heating up.
Senior Brian Leonard once again led the Pirates' charge on Wednesday, taking first in 15:31 and leading Palatine to a 25-34 Mid-Suburban League West dual meet victory over host Barrington at Beese Park.
Leonard was five seconds off the course record set by Conant's Zach Dale (15:23) in 2013.
Senior Ben Kontney (16:02) continued to make quite an impression by taking fourth, while freshman Richard Jacobo (16:27) offered a glimpse of his potential in securing a fifth-place finish.
"It's a nice mix," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "We have some quality veterans, and we also have some younger runners stepping up. The guys are running aggressive."
Leonard is certainly is. He used a quick start, then shook Barrington junior Nick Laning (15:49) in the second mile before cruising to the finish with an 18-second cushion.
"It was time to put the hammer down and go for it," said Leonard of his second-mile surge. "We are all definitely running with a purpose, and everyone is fighting for their spots."
Kontney has solidified the No. 2 spot for the Pirates, while Jocobo has injected a bit of energy. The Pirates also got key performances from senior Nate Izewski (seventh place), junior Evan Eckels (eighth place), senior Curt Kontney (ninth place) and Aiden Keifer (10th place).
"I'm definitely running with more confidence this year," said Ben Kontney. "This meet meant a lot to us, and we mentally wanted to go for it."
Palatine enters a pivotal section of its schedule as it travels to Peoria for the Richard Spring Invite this weekend, followed by the Palatine Invitational a week later.
"Obviously it was a good step today, but we still have things to clean up," said Quick.
For Barrington, Laning has emerged as a leader. The junior finished fourth at the Lake County Invitational and followed it up with a 10th-place finish at the Wauconda Invitational.
"I'm hoping to build off those invites," said Laning, who shadowed Leonard for the first mile. "I'm going into this year with a lot more confidence from our training in the summer and I'm feeling good."
"Nick is running fantastic," said Barrington coach Tom Root. "He's just extremely consistent in meets and practices, and the results are there."
Junior Hamzah Firozi (16:01) has also been consistent this season and added a third -place finish on Wednesday for the Broncos, with senior Jon Love (16:41) securing sixth place.