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Boys cross country / Mid-Suburban meet preview

By Michael Eaken

Daily Herald Correspondent

Where: Busse Woods Forest Preserve

When: 10:30 a.m. Saturday

Host: Elk Grove

What to watch: Palatine is going for its ninth consecutive MSL title, while Barrington senior Erik Peterson and Buffalo Grove senior Jereme Atchison will battle for the individual title.

Teams to watch: Palatine is top ranked in both the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll and the dyestat.com poll, and with good reason. Senior Anthony Gregorio and senior Peter Tomkiewicz give the Pirates a powerful 1-2 punch. Last year Gregorio was runner-up to Peterson, and Tomkiewicz has had a breakthrough season. Senior Marcus Garcia and senior Tim Johnson provide the Pirates with a second wave that is tough to beat. If senior Tim Meincke is rolling, the Pirates are pretty much unstoppable.

No. 4 Buffalo Grove capped a successful regular season by winning its first MSL East title. Atchison leads a Bison attack that can match Palatine’s top four runners. The key for BG has been its 2-3-4 runners as senior Taras Didenko, senior Dan Roe and sophomore Steve Salvano have closed the gap with Atchison, making the Bison a legitimate threat.

No. 9 Schaumburg, No. 12 Prospect, No. 13 Barrington, and Rolling Meadows will make this a very competitive field. Junior Evan Prizy and senior Tyler Anderson have paced Schaumburg, last weekend the Saxons took first at the Sterling Invitational. Junior Michael Leet paced Prospect early with junior Quentin Shaffer and senior Mike Thill adding support for the Knights. Peterson definitely puts a charge in the Barrington attack and junior Ryan Burgoon has contributed with a strong junior season. Senior Brendan Theilsen has led Rolling Meadows this season.

Key runners

Erik Peterson, Barrington — The defending MSL champion will be tough to beat. Peterson warmed up for the MSL meet by nipping St. Ignatius junior Jack Keelan at the Wheeling Invite. This will be the first time Peterson faces BG’s Atchison this season and it has the makings of a memorable race.

Jereme Atchison, Buffalo Grove — Atchison has made the jump from all-state runner to potential state champion. Saturday offers a big test for the Bison senior. Atchison ran a 14:27 at Detweiller Park, the state course, on Sept. 10. One week later Peterson hit a 14:25 at Detweiller. This one will go down to the wire.

Anthony Gregorio, Palatine — This senior seems to have gotten lost in the hype between Peterson and Atchison, but Gregorio has the wheels to take the title.

Peter Tomkiewicz, Palatine — The senior took first in last year’s junior varsity race, this year Tomkiewicz has made plenty of progress and is looking at a top-five finish in the varsity race.

Evan Prizy, Schaumburg — Prizy finished sixth in the MSL last year, and the junior has had no letdown this season.

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