Cross country: Barrington boys regain focus, win Lake County meet
It was a tale of two cities for the Barrington boys cross country team.
Coach Tom Root noted the Broncs recently ran a Mid-Suburban League crossover meet against Hersey at MacArthur Middle School.
"They beat us fairly handily (20-39) at the varsity level, but more importantly to use to note as a program, they outclassed us in terms of the non-running 'intangibles,' " he explained. "They looked more united and supportive of each other before, during and after their races. We left that day a bit bummed, but with a lot to work on."
The next day, Barrington went up to Waukegan Sportpark and ran in the Lake County invitational. What a difference a day makes. Barrington won the Lake County title.
"Our entire focus was on being a 'better team,' " Root said. "After pouring our entire focus on the non-running stuff, we left that meet with a team win."
Barrington won it with 34 points, placing five runners in the Top 15 and runners 6 and 7 finishing 16th and 17th. Senior Joey Furlong won the individual title with a time of 16:16. Senior Zach Daniel was fifth (16:39), sophomore Max Lewis was sixth (16:47.9) and senior Joey Drage was seventh (16:54.6).
Elk Grove boys update:
Jimmy McNamara has been a huge bright spot for the Grens out of the gates this fall. McNamara won a dual meet against Conant and finished in the Top 10 at the Harvest Fall Classic last weekend.
Coach David Dompke noted Elk Grove conducts a time trial at the beginning of the season. There, McNamara ran the fastest time the program has seen in the last seven years.
Prospect boys update:
Prospect was 11th at the Hornet-Red Devil invitational last weekend where TJ Garland turned in a big performance. Coach Jay Renaud noted Garland time-trailed at 9:42 a few weeks back for 3,200, which was a 13-second personal best. At Hornet-Red Devil, Garland ran 15:27 for 3 miles, a massive personal best, Renaud noted. He took ninth in a stacked field. "He's my runner on fire," Renaud said. "TJ had an incredible summer, running 60-70 miles per week. He's primed for a breakout season."
Prospect girls update:
Prospect finished second on the varsity level at the Hinsdale Hornet-Red Devil invitational. Highlights included junior Hailey Erickson taking fourth at 17:56. Sophomore Lily Ginsberg was fourth in the frosh-soph (18:16). That time would have placed her ninth at the varsity level. Ireland Wildhart won the JV race with a time of 12:09 on the 1.93-mile layout.
Sophomore Fiona Chojdecki won the JV race against Schaumburg recently and then took 12th at Hornet-Red Devil in the frosh-soph division (19:56). "Fiona's confidence has grown a ton after tearing it up in track," coach Pete Wintermute said. "I am excited to continue to watch her progress. The ceiling is very high for Fiona."
Maine West update:
he Warriors took second at the District 207 meet. Sophomore Ryan Hauptman, senior Andrew Stutheit and sophomore Ben Huk were Maine West's top finishers.
Coach Nate Hassman also cited strong progress from freshmen Joey Bruno, Frankie Ferrariolo and Jesse Martin. "The times they posted for the District 207 meet are among the fastest on the team," he said.
Palatine girls update:
In addition to winning a dual against Rolling Meadows, Palatine was 11th at the tough Hornet-Red Devil invitational. Freshman Abigail Jordan was third in the frosh-soph race at Hornet-Red Devil (18:11). "Abigail is looking very strong and has a bright season ahead," Pirates coach Ruth Spethmann said.
Conant girls update:
Junior Aimee Antuna has been strong for Conant this fall. "Aimee is stepping up for the varsity team in both practice and meets," coach Kalli Dalton said. "She is taking risks to become a better runner."
Maine East boys update:
Senior Lukasz Iwanowski finished 15th at Fenton in 16:28, while junior Adam Mrozek has started the season with some of the best times of his career, coach Chris Peters noted.
Maine West girls update:
Kennedy Young was the Warriors' top finisher at the recent District 207 meet. Coach Greg Regalado is looking forward to senior transfer student Julia Wolke racing Saturday at Lake Park.
Schaumburg boys update:
The Saxons were fifth at Plainfield Central, running only five runners. Coach Kirk Macinder noted the team had a 22-second Top 5 split, "which is outstanding," he said. "We have five runners currently at the varsity level. All five are highly invested in our team's success. I am very proud of all of them."
Leyden boys update:
Coach Brad Henning noted Christian Lopez, Israel Rodriguez and Jamie Favela all have grown into their roles in the Eagles' Top 7. Juan Mendoza has emerged as the team's leader, "and is a constant workhorse during practices," Henning said. "He is juggling work, school and athletics and doing all at a high level. He is our No. 4 or No. 5 runner and has been leading by example and now he is finding his voice to lead the team."
Maine East girls update:
Freshman Ashley Gaba ran away with the JV title at the District 207 meet, then took 31st at Fenton in the frosh-soph race (22:08 in her first 3-mile effort).
Wheeling boys update:
Senior Kevin Romano, a first year cross country runner, has enjoyed a 45-second time drop recently and has ditched 90 seconds since the end of July. Sophomore Jack Schreiner has dropped almost 2 minutes for 3 miles since the summer. Others on the improvement train include Tyler Woods, Sam Patel, Tommy Papaioannou, Jim Kyvik and Juan Sierra, coach Tom Polak noted.