Illinois 3A action never fails to impress with team and individual runs.
Tony Jones & Victor Terrazas
Class 3A State meet recap
11/7/09
Detweiller Park; Peoria, IL
low 70's; light cross wind and sunny
-Opening shots-
A lot of scenarios played were played out prior to the beginning of the week regarding the main event. Would Lukas Verzbicas break 14:00? Would he challenge Craig Virgin’s 13:50 record? Would Loyola Academy win the state championship? Could York rebound from a supposed bad sectional performance? What about Neuqua Valley? Regardless of what anyone feels or say, the race must be run.
-Team-
 | 2009 State Cross Country Champions- Neuqua Valley Wildcats
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Top Five Teams-
Naperville (Neuqua Valley) 4,16,23,27,29, (50), (55)= 99
Wilmette (Loyola Academy) 9,12,22,24,44, (54), (118) = 111
Elmhurst (York) 2,3,21,31,61, (117), (151) = 118
Mt. Prospect (Prospect) 5,34,37,45,60, (88), (125) = 181
LaGrange (Lyons Twp) 20,32,51,62,69, (113), (127) = 234
Summary: every successful program has a smart coach. It happened to be on Saturday that Neuqua Valley coach Paul Vandersteen outsmarted the newcomer and the wizard. Perhaps, Aaron Beattie sacrificing himself for the sake of the team with moderate splits of 4:45 and 9:40. Maybe the heat played a factor with it being over 70 degrees at race time. Still, running 14:31 and finishing 4th overall is nothing to sneeze at. What really won the race for the Wildcats was the tight pack running. The unit’s 1-5 split ran 39 seconds. Senior Billy Klimczak closed the scoring running 15:10.
It was bound to happen sooner or later for the previously high-flying Loyola Academy Ramblers. They were top ranked most of the season and got the #1 national nod on the eve of the championship. But in the team camp, they didn’t seem too fazed. Surprisingly, Nico Composto, the team’s ace was not among the early leaders. Was he conserving? He appeared to be in distress for a good portion of the race running in the 50’s and 60’s. Meanwhile, his team was taking care of business. Mark Donohue and Jack Seeburg were trying their best in staying afloat with the top pack. They placed 11th and 15th overall to lead the team. Patrick Smith and Composto surged hard down the homestretch to valuable points. For Loyola, winning their first team trophy was a joy and something they won't forget.
York has been in the underdog position more than a few times. Some pundits have went as far as to think the Dukes would finish out of the trophy round. Not a chance. The young men of Elmhurst ran their best race of the season and placed 3rd. But they were just seven points back of runner-up Loyola. York was actually leading the race at 2m but they suffered a setback with their 5th slot. Jack Driggs believes they will shore up that slot for Nike Cross Regionals next weekend in Terre Haute, Indiana. He and Andrew Smith want to go back to nationals. If their second and third place finishes are any indication, the rest of the midwest may be in trouble. Joe Newton will make certain of that (from afar).
-The chase after history-
It really depends on whose interpretation you get when pondering whether Lukas Verzbicas was really chasing history. But once the gun sounded, that talk became an after thought. The herd of runners stormed out in normal 3A fashion. Verzbicas was not in the lead right away. However, he did take the lead in what could be perceived as the fastest  | Aaron Beattie of Neuqua Valley leads the second chase pack at the mile mark
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opening ½ mile in 2:09. He company right on his shoulder (later turns out to be Sergio Miranda of Romeoville) for a short while. Tyler Jermann (Naperville North) was leading the first pack a few seconds back. The first mile was covered in 4:31 with Verzbicas striding all alone. The first set of runners rolled past in 4:44. Notables in the mix were Anthony Manfrin (Dundee-Crown), Driggs, Smith, Sangha, and Martin Grady (Oak Park Fenwick).
Verzbicas continued his assault against history and his opponents as he passed through in 2k in 5:37. The next check mark was the halfway point. Palatine coach Chris Quick yells out 6:51. That is record pace. Jermann strolls in 7:08 to lead the pack. Most of the same cast is in tow. Meanwhile, Verzbicas is still light years ahead of the field. He hits the two-mile in 9:15. That’s faster than the 9:16 that Chris Derrick put out two years prior. He is still on record pace. Beattie, Jermann, Manfrin, Driggs, and Smith were the notables through in 9:40.
The final mile was all Verzbicas and he looked like he was on cruise control at 2.5 miles. His time of 11:36 was off record pace but still far ahead of Prospect’s Chris Spudic, who crossed in 12:10. He had a fleet of runners on his back. But the story was Verzbicas. The lanky sophomore did not exactly cruise it in despite no chance of breaking 14:00 at this point as the finish clock was already reading high 13:50’s as he reached the end. The final time was 14:07- 10th best of all-time at Detweiller. Smith and Driggs passed Beattie with less than 100m out for second and third in 14:28. Spudic enjoyed a career day in 5th. Manfrin got a measure of satisfaction coming in 6th. He was dead last last year. O’Fallons Michael Scolarici was the first finisher south of 1-80 in 7th place. The frontrunner Grady copped 8th place in 14:48. Pat Lesiewicz of Schaumburg was the MSL’s first representing coming home in 9th. Garrett Sweatt of Edwardsville rounded out the top 10 in 14:49.
Verzbicas understood the history of Detweiller Park but admitted he wasn’t as ready as he liked with a sore Achilles Heal that kept him out of practice for several days during the week. “I gave it all I had today. Only if I had more training,” he said gamely to the reporters.
Now, it’s on to the post-season. Verzbicas doesn’t know exactly which one of the ample races he will compete in. If his ankle is still bothering him, Nike Cross Nationals are out. The Footlocker Midwest Regional is three weeks away and seems more viable at this point. |
