Glenbard West Boys Spoil Wheaton South Lake Park Sectional Party

-The talk coming in was what kind of effort would Wheaton-Warrenville South give in this supposed pit stop before heading to Peoria for the state championship. Well, the Tigers received a wake up call courtesy of Glenbard West whose final surge propelled the Hilltoppers to win 58-67.

For most of the race you could see the orange jerseys of Wheaton South attacking up front. Glenbard West on the other hand wore white uniforms. Both teams had numbers up front fighting against the top individuals. But as it usually does, position and closing out races. The Hilltoppers were just a little bit better in that department. Junior Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody were able to surge home hard in third and fourth place which appeared to be the tide that won the race. It was top front running followed by a very strong scoring split at 26 seconds that got the job done. 

York has had some big time issues this season, particularly with the loss of their general Charlie Kern Jr. Kern had missed the entire IHSA season because of illness. But if you look at the rankings board, he has a time of 14:31 posted from the Detweiller at Dark meet. He still has the 5th fastest time ran. Kern was cited halfway through the race donning the traditional green and stocking cap of the Dukes. He was apparently inserted because he felt ready to compete. But it was a mental boost for York who actually needed his assistance in qualifying for state. The Dukes placed a solid third (117 pts) ahead of a tough Whitney Young team (146). As usual with the controversial Niles West/Lake Park rotation, it took quite awhile afterwards tabulating the final state berth. It was announced that New Trier was team heading to Peoria. The Trevians beat out Wheaton North 155-156. Maine South was 7th with 161. It was once again the thriller that everyone who has been around for awhile expects.

The supposed less than idea course must have been surveyed by Maine South junior Tommy Brady and teammate senior Brandon Christopher took the race out hard from the gun. They dragged along the pack hitting the first mile in about 4:45. Clayton Mendez was there in the chase pack running smart and tactical- bidding his time to go and take over. At 2m it was Mendez ahead of Brady in 9:48. Mendez continued overpowering Brady and the rest of the group and stormed home in a personal best/school record 14:35.