Boys cross country: Record for Jack Aho, title for Mundelein at Warren
With numerous course records set and a team race that was decided by 1 point, the Blue Devil Invitational was one for the ages Saturday morning at Warren's O'Plaine campus.
Defending Class 2A state champion Jack Aho of Grayslake Central shattered the previous 2.95-mile course record of 14:43 by winning the race in 14:13 under warm and humid running conditions.
But it was the battle for the team title that stole the show, as Mundelein nipped Fremd 97-98 for the championship of the 22-team meet. Defending Class 2A state champion Grayslake Central (99 points) was right on the Vikings' heels in third place.
Cary-Grove pushed the Rams with a solid fourth-place score of 107 points, while Crystal Lake South (148) also had a good showing in sixth place.
Not only did Jack Aho break the course record, but so did runner-up Jack Becker (14:28) of CLS, third-place finisher Danny Peterson (14:34) of Fremd, fourth-place finisher Matt Aho (14:35) of Grayslake Central and fifth-place finisher Alex Ratkovich (14:39) of Cary-Grove.
"I was trying to push it the whole way and I knew the course record was 14:43 by (Warren's) Dustin (Macuiba) last year, so I was really happy with that," said Jack Aho, who easily beat his personal best time of 14:24 from last year at state. "We've got some new guys coming up to varsity this year and they're learning, so we're looking for our fourth and fifth guys to get closer to our top three."
The No. 4-ranked Rams boast three all-staters, including junior Eli Minsky, who took 11th on Saturday.
"We were all hungry to run fast so it was kind of nice to come out on a fast, flat course on a nice day and see the times drop," said Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella. "We're trying to develop our fourth and fifth runners and we're making strides. But it was good to see our top three doing what they're supposed to do."
Mundelein used much more of a group effort to get the job done, as sophomore Robert St. Clair led the Mustangs' push in seventh place.
Mundelein also got a 12th from senior Ben Krauss and a 17th from sophomore Alan Salgado.
"We're happy to have won obviously, but we've got a ways to go to get to where we want to be, an it's the closest race we've ever been involved in," said Mundelein coach Kurt Rutz. "Robert St. Clair ran a great race. He finished very strong, and he had a really good week of workouts."
Besides Peterson's great run, Fremd also got a 16th from Luke Vogelgesang, a 22nd from Jack Buban and a 26th from Charlie O'Brien.
"Two of our guys had a strong performance, and Danny (Peterson) sneaked into third with a good kick at the end," said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez. "We're improving. We're coming along, and we ran only four of our top five today because we had one guy sick."
After top runner Ratkovich, Cary-Grove was paced by Kyle Adams in 15th and Jack Adams in 18th.
"(Ratkovich) ran great again and all seven of our guys actually ran great races," said Cary-Grove coach Layne Holter. "It's a great day for running, even though it's a little hot and humid. Having a dry course helps."
Crystal Lake South got a sixth-place finish from Jon Prus, while Antioch freshman Charlie Smith placed eighth. Grayslake North was led by senior Liam O'Connell in 14th place. Ryan Foster added a 21st-place finish for Crystal Lake South.
"We knew (Smith) was a great runner. He's a very talented kid, and he's a swimmer so he doesn't have a lot of miles under his belt," said Antioch coach Chris Bailey. "We've got a young group with five of our top six guys coming back next year so the future is bright."
The host Blue Devils were led by Andrew Miller in 24th and Julian Cruz in 27th. Mundelein's Dario Carillo finished 29th to outdistance Fremd's Ed Worthem in 32nd place.
"The top five broke the course record, but the ground is really hard so you have a lot of traction," said Warren coach Bill Dawson. "But (Jack) Aho is really gifted, and it's just impressive from the beginning he took off and he looked great."
Fenton (15th place) was led by Christian Sanchez in 38th place, while teammate Jeremy Lodewyck placed 65th for the Bison.