Boys cross country: Antioch's Smith savors state championship
It was a very long road to reach the top of the mountain, but it was mission accomplished for Antioch senior Charlie Smith Saturday afternoon at the 74th Annual IHSA boys state cross country meet in Peoria.
After placing 10th as a sophomore and fourth as a junior, Smith captured the Class 2A first-place medal with a personal best time of 14:46.46 on the storied 3-mile Detweiller Park course, which was eight seconds faster than Smith had run in the past.
Kaneland wound up winning the team title by a minuscule 94-95 margin over runner-up Dixon while St. Ignatius (141 points) took home the third-place trophy.
A two-time IHSA state champion himself in the early 1990s, Antioch coach Chris Bailey was overwhelmed with pride after watching Smith reach his dreams and goals despite some ups and downs with injuries throughout the 2019 campaign.
"He came through like a champion. That's been his goal for four years, and each year he's gotten closer," said Bailey. "I couldn't be prouder of him, and Charlie just out-kicked the guy from Morton (Sam Lange) in the last 100 or 200 meters."
Smith joins a long line of great runners to come out of Lake County including Grayslake Central's Jack Aho, who won back-to-back Class 2A state titles in 2015 and 2016. Antioch's Andy Napier placed fourth in Class AA in 2003.
"I'm just so grateful. I had so many teammates come out and support me, and I'm just taking it all in," said Smith, who plans to run competitively in college. "The key for me today was pushing that second mile, and I think I executed my plan well."
While Smith was a runner everyone was watching Saturday, Grayslake Central senior Craig Hundley was completely off the radar after earning the fifth of seven individual at-large berths downstate out of the Belvidere sectional last weekend.
But Hundley (15:04) had different plans on Saturday as he came out of nowhere to place fifth in his first appearance at state.
"He shocked the world. He ran his best time ever by over 40 seconds," said ecstatic Grayslake Central coach Jimmy Centella. "He led at the mile, and when the front group caught him he kept his composure and he was able to finish in the top five."
Hundley's time at state was 56 seconds faster than he ran last weekend at sectionals.
"My goal was just to place in the Top 25 (all-state). My coach told me to take a risk and it totally paid off," Hundley said. "The key was just to work hard with my team and having my coach push me every single day."
Class 3A: St. Charles East nipped Wheaton Warrenville South 64-68 for the championship while perennial power York (153) took third place.
Hersey senior standout Josh Methner rolled to the individual crown with a stunning course-record time of 13:49.86. Methner will be running for Notre Dame next year.
Led by junior Jake Myers' all-state performance (21st), Lake Zurich placed 14th in its 12th straight trip to the state meet.
North Suburban Conference individuals excelled with Mundelein's Dillon Blake (16th), and Stevenson's Corey Pacernick (18th) earning all-state status. Blake was also all-state last year with a 12th-place run as a junior.
Libertyville's Will Gordon finished 68th.