Boys cross country: Methner champ as Hersey finishes 2nd at state
PEORIA - The Hersey boys cross country team decided not to wait to celebrate until the final results were posted at Detweiller Park.
About 10 minutes after the completion of the Class 3A state cross country race, the Huskies gathered together in a circle. One by one, each member started moving in closer until the group of Huskies were tightly packed together - just like they were throughout Saturday's race.
Led by Josh Methner capturing the individual championship, the Huskies tallied 156 points to finish second in the 3A meet. With two of the their runners placing in the Top 25 for all-state honors, the Huskies edged out Neuqua Valley (159) for the program's second top-two state trophy. The Huskies finished second in state in 1972. Wheaton Warrenville South won the state title with 116 points.
But it was Methner's stunning performance that sparked the Huskies. He recorded a personal-best time of 14:11.50 to defeat Maine South's Tommy Brady (14:17.36) to become Hersey's first state champion.
"The key for me was getting out with my teammates for the first mile and sticking with the lead for the last part by running as hard as I could," Methner said. "It's great to experience this with my teammates and coaches. I can't believe I did this."
Hersey coach Kevin Young said Methner, a three-time state qualifier, sparked his teammates with his fast start.
"This is a special team and an amazing group," Young said. "We were gunning after ghosts today trying to set new records. We were trying to get the best team finish (ever), so it was a bonus to have Josh as the winner. He believed. He's such a talented kid."
Junior Max Svienty earned all-state honors by snaring 20th with a personal-record time of 14:46.09. Ryan Buch notched 32nd (14:55) and Colin Safford took 54th (15:05) for the Huskies.
"Our goal was to run our best race of the season," Svienty said. "We were shocked to get second. We're expecting big things for next year, too."
Barrington's ninth-place showing added to the Mid-Suburban League's memorable afternoon. The Broncos tallied 318 points, led by Patrick Furlong's 48th-place effort (15:00).
"This is really exciting and shows people what I can do," Furlong said. "We had a good team race."
Barrington senior Greg Van Hollen hit the finish line right behind Furlong to finish 50th with a personal-record time of 15:01.
"I just focused on beating people and not worrying about places and times," Van Hollen said. "(Patrick) really pushed me and it made the year special to finish close to him."
Rolling Meadows senior Eddie Lennon made his first trip to state a special experience. Lennon just missed a Top 10 placing, but he managed to earn 11th with a time of 14:38.
"I just wanted to get out under control and continually pick it up and pick people off," Lennon said. "I just wanted to make all-state. At the end, I saw I was going to get it and just tried to pick people off."
The Mustangs, in their first state appearance, notched 18th with 395 points. Sophomore Stephen Barretto had the second-fastest time among the Mustangs (15:12) to end in 71st. Rolling Meadows coach Frank Schweda said the program's first team appearance was special.
"This is a special day to get all seven guys running down here at state," he said. "We knew Eddie would be up in front and in the mix, so that was good. Stephen also had a great race. We had a good pack and that was probably why we were 18th instead of a lot lower."
Palatine junior Richard Jacobo missed beating his sectional time by two seconds but he walked away with all-state honors. Jacobo placed 23rd time with a time of 14:49, while Wheeling's Tyler Polak was 135th (15:36).
In Class 2A, St. Viator netted 526 points to finish in 21st place. Senior Jason Doland had the best time among the Lions with a 16:16 for 111th. Patric Natindim took 120th with a time of 16:20.
"The boys did pretty good because we expected to finish 19th, 20th or 21st," St. Viator coach Wayne Edelman said. "Jason ran the race of his life, finishing a minute faster than he ever ran. He had a truly amazing race."