FTTF Boys Unveiled Some Surprising Gems In Peoria

Each race on the historic Detweiller course was packed and full of intense action

Peoria, IL-

Just like their girl counterparts, the boys action was filled with an element of surprise as well as predictable outcomes. 

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Class 3A-

The hype died down somewhat after word got about some teams not running full squads. ACT, injuries, and a few other unforeseen items came into play. However, let's not paint a faint image on the teams that showed up in full metal gear. New Trier is a vast program that often sends its fleet to several meets on the same day around the state. They had a group at Lake Park that placed in top 10. The main group got the job done by incredible pack racing. When you lack a true frontrunner, bunching together like a beehive is imperative. The Trevians used junior Charlie Siebert's 15th place effort (15:15) to spawn a 23-second scoring split. It was good enough to overtake the premeet favorite Oswego East who led early on. Waubonsie Valley found the right time to unleash the fifth gear over the final mile to take third place. They two used a great split in running their best team effort in years. 

Lincoln-Way Central senior Jared Kreis got off to a blazing start and held a short lead through the first mile in 4:38. A few ticks back were Bolingbrook senior Tyler Cushing followed by Berwyn-Cicero senior Guillermo Ibarra. Kreis continued to lead the charge as he passed the second mile in 9:32. The same chasers were about eight seconds. Over the final mile, it appeared as though the heat and humidity were making a comeback. Kreis faded a bit but he was able to hold on for the win in 14:36. Guillermo crossed the line ahead of Cushing 14:38.6-14:38.7. Senior Jason Hoffman of Minooka ran a personal best 15:00 to finish third. He beat out senior Heriberto Alvarez of Oswego East who clocked 15:03.

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Class 2A-

The #1 team in the state came in and took care of business. The back end scores get the credit for doing their jobs. If things came down to the seventh man, the Knights still would have come out victorious. But it was the front running from seniors Austin Adams and Daniel Occhipinti. They placed third and fifth overall. Marmion Academy held off newly minted 2A foe St. Ignatius of Chicago. Both teams came to fight and they battled all the way to the last man in on the ledger.

The biggest surprise of the individual race was Sam Lange of Morton. The senior was among that passed through the first mile under 4:50. Lange moved to the front in the "Bermuda Triangle" and was in complete control by two miles. He would win the biggest race of his life in 14:47. As the only runner of 15:00 was telling and it puts him as a strong contender for the state title in the early going. Anthony Farmer of Burlington Central closed out well for second place in 15:04.

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Class A-

This meet appears to bring out the best the classification has to offer every season. There are more ranked teams here than any other race. That means the element of surprise is also bigger. There would be no surprise with #1 Stanford-Olympia running away with the title. The Spartans put all seven runners in the top 25 before any of the top five teams even had three among the same ratio. Junior Charlie Kistner would take fifth overall in 15:25. A scoring split under 50 seconds to boot is what the doctor ordered. Previous top dog Elmwood placed fourth but that is nothing new for a team that usually "trains through" many of its September scheduled meets. The biggest surprise here is unranked Latin. The Romans came out of nowhere to earn the third-place trophy. Freshman Akili Parekh led the way with a 25th place finish.

Dawson Smith of Rock Falls took the victory as he was the only one under 15:00 at 14:58. Senior Noah McIntyre of Athens was a distant second in 15:12. He was followed by sophomore Miles Sheppard of Hamilton (15:17), Collin Eisenbarth of IVC (15:20), and Luke Sikora of Chicago U High (15:24) for the top five spots.