Boys cross country: York's Kern burns it up, wins Palatine Invite

York's Charlie Kern showed his closing speed last year in finishing second at the Class 3A boys cross country state meet.

On Saturday under a gray sky, the Dukes junior once again had the finishing touch in taking first in 14:36 and nipping Lake Zurich senior Brian Griffith (14:36.2) at the Palatine Invitational at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve.

In a quality field, Kern hung back early before making his move in the final mile and passing Griffith just before the finish to secure the victory on the 3-mile course.

"I was confident in my kick," said Kern who rebounded nicely from an eighth place finish at the Richard Spring Invite last weekend. "We practice on closing all the time during training and I was super hungry this week."

Griffith, who took first at the Richard Spring Invitational last weekend, also showed plenty in taking second on Saturday.

"I heard him (Kern) coming and I knew about his kick," said Griffith of the photo finish. "I just tried to run my hardest the last 200 meters, but he ended up catching me."

Grayslake Central senior Jack Aho (14:38.3) wasn't far behind. Aho, who won the Class 2A state title last year, followed behind the two leaders in taking third.

Aho lost contact with the leaders with about 400 meters remaining, but held off Hinsdale Central senior Blake Evertsen (14:41.3) and Maine South senior Reese Jordan (14:42.3).

"The last mile was everyone for themselves," said Aho, whose was among the leaders in a tight pack at the 2-mile mark. "Mentally I wasn't there today. I'll go from this and this race will only help."

Lake Zurich flexed it muscles and showed they will be in the mix for a state trophy this season by taking first in the team race with 124 points.

An experienced Bears squad placed four runners in the top 27 in securing the title, followed by Kentucky's St. Xavier (143 points) and Hinsdale Central (205). Hersey (243) took fourth place followed by York (260) to round out the top five.

"It was a good race for us today," said Lake Zurich coach J.B. Hanson, whose team won at Palatine for the first time. "This team has a lot of potential, a lot of experience, and they have really high goals. We'll keep perfecting our process."

Griffith set the tone for LZ, and he was aided by big efforts from seniors Kyle Griffith (15:02.8) and Matt Pereira (15:03.2), who finished in 15th and 16th place.

Junior Patrick Burns (15:18.2) kept the line moving with a 27th-place finish, and junior Eric Metzger (64th place) finished the scoring for the Bears.

Brian Griffith has looked like a different runner this season and has emerged as the Bears leader.

"I'm running with more of a purpose this year," said Griffith of his fast start. "When people make moves I feel like I'm ready to react to them and cover the moves, this year I'm more confident in running with the front pack."

Hersey has also been running with a purpose this season. The Huskies were coming off a fourth-place finish at the Richard Spring Invitational and also recovering from a tough dual meet loss to Prospect on Thursday.

But Hersey stepped up big on Saturday, despite missing three of its top seven runners.

Senior Jacob Krupa (14:57.8) led the charge in taking 11th place. He got caught in the opening mix, but was able to surge in the final 2 miles to complete a successful run.

"I was just trying to work my way up the final 2 miles," said Krupa, "The whole team ran amazing, we are all running with a ton of confidence and we're just trying to use that energy."

Senior Sam Svienty (41st place) and junior Nate Mayo (44th place) supplied a lot of that energy that has the Huskies attack moving forward.

"They ran tough on some tired legs after Thursday," said Hersey coach Jay Renaud. "We have a lot depth and guys are stepping up and filling holes."

Palatine's Brian Leonard (14:58.8) gave the Pirates a big boost in taking 12th place and propelling his team to a seventh-place finish (301 points).

Leonard set the pace early leading at the half-way mark before falling off the lead pack.

"I was kind of stuck at the front for awhile," said Leonard. "It started breaking off a bit, and I tried to stay with the break in the last mile, but just couldn't do it."

Senior Ben Kontney (42nd place) kept the Pirates' line moving, with a solid contribution from freshman Richard Jacobo (73rd place).

"Our emphasis is getting better," said Palatine coach Chris Quick. "Brian didn't have his best race today, but we had a lot of other guys step up."

Barrington junior Nick Laning (15:06.4) continues to improve and he added to his impressive start this season with a solid 20th-place finish.

"Going forward it gives me a lot of confidence," said Laning, "I tried pushing it in the second mile to stay with that top pack, I broke off a little, but that effort really paid off in the end."

Junior Sean MacGregor (15:00.6) added a 13th-place finish, combining with Kern's winning effort in helping York secure fifth place.

Stevenson junor Nikita Smyrnov (15:09.6) took 22nd place followed by Libertyville junior Alex Tam (15:10.8).

Senior Charlie Zimmer (15:03.6) and junior Michael Ronzone (15:12.5) placed 18th and 25th in leading Marmion Academy to a 10th-place finish.

Senior Matt Aho (14:54.5) took eighth place, combining with his brother Jack in leading Grayslake Central to an 11th-place team finish.