Barrington's Peterson, Palatine boys take MSL honors

Coach Chris Quick and Palatine know they have a solid team but an up-and-down regular season may have left a few questions.

But the Pirates put it all together on a perfect fall morning en route to winning their record eighth consecutive Mid-Suburban League title with 41 points at Busse Woods on Saturday.

Schaumburg (57 points), Barrington (95 points), Prospect (114 points) and Hersey (137 points) rounded out the top five.

The Pirates featured seven runners in the top 23 to make a huge statement.

“That was the first glimpse, said Quick of the Pirates' potential. “We knew we were that team and that was the frustrating thing. We executed our race plan and I was really happy.

While Palatine was nailing down team honors, Barrington junior Erik Peterson held off Pirates junior Anthony Gregorio to secure the individual title in 15:06.

Gregorio took second in 15:07, with Buffalo Grove junior Jereme Atchison (15:14), Schaumburg senior Travis Morrison (15:15) and Palatine senior Reuben Frey (15:18) rounding out the top five.

Peterson pushed the pace halfway through the race, then held off Gregorio's late surge to take first place.

“I stuck to the race plan and it paid off, said Peterson, the first Broncos runner to win the MSL title. “My experience paid off today, I didn't get too antsy and I was comfortable.

The Pirates looked comfortable sticking with their solid pack. Gregorio and Frey led the charge, with senior A.J. Laskowske (15:30), junior Tim Johnson (15:38) and junior Marcus Garcia (15:40) following in hot pursuit to finish seventh, 12th and 15th.

Runner-up Gregorio had one of his best races of the season.

“It felt great to go and do what I know I can do, said the junior, who briefly took the lead in the final mile. “As a team we're definitely coming together right now. Now we just have to keep moving.

Pirates senior Ryan McGough (15:47) and junior Tim Meincke (15:57) also took all-conference honors by taking 17th and 23rd place.

“We definitely were ready for this one, Frey said. “All the other meets were just to get in the groove, but this is the one that really mattered. We came out firing today with all our emotion.

Schaumburg also came out firing with Morrison taking fourth, followed by sophomore Evan Prizy (15:28) in sixth. Saxons juniors Tyler Anderson (15:39) and Pat Swiech (15:40) took 13th and 14th places, with senior Pat O'Connell (15:52) adding a 20th.

“We moved up real well, said Saxons coach Jim Macnider who is retiring at the end of the year. “I thought we might have chance to run down Palatine, but they were out a little too far. I think we'll keep getting better.

Morrison hung with the leaders early but could not answer the midrace surge by Peterson and Gregorio.

“Peterson likes to run in spurts, then he made a move and Gregorio was all over it, Morrison said. “I should have hung with them, but as a team I think we're starting to show our true colors.

Peterson once again pushed the pace for Barrington, with senior Tim McAuliff (15:51), senior Karl Eiring (15:53) and senior Kyle Dockery (15:56) finishing 19th, 21st, and 22nd.

Peterson has definitely put his name up with the state;s elite runners and is looking for a big finish.

“He had to work to get that today, said Broncos coach Ty Gorman. “He always looks smooth, but I still think he has a better race in him.

Now the Broncos are hoping to narrow the gap between their frontrunner and chase pack.

“We're happy finishing third, but our pack is still a little far back, Gorman said. “Today was a step forward.

Prospect flashed its pack running early but could not maintain the pace.

Knights snior Kellan Strobel (15:35), senior Gregory Netols (15:37) and junior Michael Thill (15:42) finished ninth, 11th and 16th.

“We tried to stick together as team because that's what we want to do toward the end of the season, Strobel said. “We just didn't race as well as we thought we could. The first mile may have shocked us a bit and it is kind of hard to recover from that.

Hersey's Ryan O'Donnell (15:33) had not raced in over three weeks because of a right Achilles injury, but the senior came back strong to finish eighth. O'Donnell hung with the leaders for over half of the race, but slowed a bit in the last half.

“I kind of hit a wall, O'Donnell said.

“I'll see all these guys again and they are going to keep pushing me.

Conant senior Troy Cunningham (15:35) came back from a midseason health setback to take 10th place as the Cougars finished sixth.

“I was hoping to run a little faster today, Cunningham said. “I'm still working on getting my time down. I probably went out a little too quick, but it set the pace for everyone else.

Rolling Meadows junior J.P. Manzanarez (16:00) took 25th place to help the Mustangs finish seventh.

Buffalo Grove junior Jereme Atchison (15:15) placed third, recovering from a slow start by attachingd himself to the chase pack and finishing with a strong kick.

“I felt like I was gaining on them, said Atchison of Peterson and Gregorio. “But they were able to pull away down the home stretch. I'm back to running my own race. Now I just have to keep improving.

Bison junior Tara Didenko (15:50) was 18th.

Elk Grove junior Alex Mertes (15:58) set the early pace before finishing 24th.

East Suburban Catholic

Benet beat host St. Viator 46-66 to capture the ESCC championship at Melas Park in Mount Prospect. Kevin Schreiber was the Lions' top runner, finishing fifth in 16:19. Teammates Eric Loy (16:47) and Peter Cleary (16:54) took ninth and 10th.