Colin Hill comes home first in the undercard race (deactivate the mute button)
Deer Grove East Forest Preserve; Palatine IL
It was a great day for cross country in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. The real deal feel of the upper 50s at game time was welcomed relief for all of those who experienced 80s and 90s just a few days prior.
The first full set of the day began with stellar sophomore Colin Hill won the sophomore boys race in 15:32. In fact, he and his Dukes of York mates swept the first four spots to score 42 points over New Trier's 96.
The varsity boys race was the main event Meet of Champions that had everyone waiting for. #2 Mundelein straight off of their trip from the west coast was supposed to strut their stuff. But apparently, some injury or two to several members has depleted the Mustangs a bit. They would finish a distant
The Hersey boys were not happy with a 4th place finish last weekend in Peoria. In not so many words, the team vowed to do much better. That meant running better 2-5 behind star junior Josh Methner. The Huskies did just that with a good 1:10 scoring split to compliment Methner's big victory. The 84 total points put a stamp on things now and should quiet pundits for a while. One of Kentucky's best teams St. Xavier of Louisville took second with 188 points.
Methner is a quiet assassin when it comes to racing in big meets. You can see it in his eyes and later body language as he prepares for his victims. The opening pace went out to his liking in 4:50-51 as he worked the snake-like turns with senior Tommy Brady of Maine South and junior Ethan Kern of York among others. But by the halfway point the race was in hand. The outcome was a new meet and course record 14:32. Brady strutted home second in 14:42. Kern, who continues to gain strength, was third in 14:52.
#7 Lyons was supposed to duel with #9 Oswego and #10 Barrington for the girl's title. It would not materialize as the Lions crushed the field. The scoring pack put together a solid 1:00 finish on the strength of sophomore Kate Dickman's third-place finish. The 2-5 scorers hung together for most of the race and ran a level-headed race. The outcome saw the score lopsided 87 points in Lyons' favor. Finally, it was Barrington over rival Palatine 163-166 to take third.
Sophomore Molly Fitzpatrick of Barrington initially thought she would battle Alice Abbott of St. Charles East. But Abbott and her team were at a new meet instead. The first mile was a comfortable 5:35 for Fitzpatrick leading the way over several girls. She would soon take off and run solo the remainder of the race and coast home in 16:52- just a few ticks off of the all-time record and 32 seconds ahead of sophomore Anne Marie Jordan of Palatine.
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