Boys cross country: Antioch's Smith takes 4th in 2A at state
There were some great performances by Lake County boys cross country runners as they lined up for the 73rd Annual IHSA state meet at legendary Detweiller Park in Peoria Saturday.
In Class 2A, Chatham Glenwood took first place with 153 points to edge second-place Springfield (161 points), and Bloomington, which edged Kaneland 167-168 for the third-place trophy.
Lakes placed 14th in its first trip to the state meet in school history while Mahomet-Seymour's Mathias Powell won the 3-mile race in 14:31.
After placing 10th in the state a sophomore, Antioch junior Charlie Smith was able to capture even more of his magic downstate Saturday afternoon as Smith placed fourth in 14:54, which was his best time ever by seven seconds.
"It was a phenomenal finish considering the season we've had so to finish fourth says a lot about him as a person," said Antioch coach Chris Bailey, whose team lost former assistant coach John LaPointe to a heart attack at an early-season practice. "I couldn't be prouder, and it couldn't happen to a better kid. We lost our assistant coach at the beginning of the year and Charlie was injured earlier this season, but he kept pushing through it."
Grayslake North senior Connor Riss also made the all-state (top 25) team with a 12th-place finish as did Vernon Hills senior Jimmy McDonald in 15th place.
"He (Riss) struggled in the final 400 to 500 meters, but the goal was to finish in the top 25 and he made it, and 15:09 was a (personal record) for him by about 13 seconds," said Lakes coach Anthony DeStephano. "He was sixth with about 400 meters to go and he held on to take 12th so I'm proud of him."
Lakes was led by Jack Erwin in 35th place while teammate Owen Wenberg placed 44th.
"We had a couple of PRs and we had three more at their season best. For us it was the fastest seven guys we've ever had in one race," said Lakes coach Travis Shepherd, whose team had just witnessed Lakes sophomore Brooke Stromsland win the Class 2A girls race before they competed. "It's been a journey (making state), now we've broken through so we want this to become a tradition and make this a regular thing."
R.J. Migas was Lakes' No. 3 runner in 105th place followed by teammate Jack Engel in 113th.
In the Class 3A race, Wheaton Warrenville South ran to the title by a 116-156 margin over Hersey as the Huskies did have an individual champion crowned in Jack Methner (14:11.50).
Mundelein's team did struggle a bit in running to a 19th-place finish in the huge field, but junior Dillon Blake had a fantastic finish for the Mustangs with a 12th-place run as he tied his best time ever (14:38). Blake also became Mundelein's first all-stater in 31 years with the fastest time in school history on the Detweiller Park course.
"I'm very happy. My goal going in was top 15, and I moved to the front in the second mile," said Blake. "Next year we're definitely hoping to continue our tradition of making state as a team. There is a lot to take away from this race, and a lot to improve on."
Mundelein coach Kurt Rutz was hoping for a little higher finish as a team, but the effort was always there.
"We just weren't aggressive again, we didn't get out, and it cost us," said Rutz, whose team placed 12th last year. "He (Blake) ran exactly what we thought he could do, he moved up very well after the first mile, and he can finish in the top 10 or top five next year."
Lake Zurich sophomores Jack Gilboy (37th), and Jake Myers (46th) led the Bears' pack to 22nd place as a team while Robert St. Clair placed 87th for Mundelein. Libertyville's Will Gordon placed 78th.