History Updates - I know we did not
have our greatest race, but there are always a ton of updates after a state
meet. Check out the updated list of
PHS State meet times
and places, Top
50 times at Detweiller Park,
State Team Finishes,
and All-State athletes.
Chano was our 10th All-Stater in the last six years - honors earned now by
seven different athletes over that span. Our program has the third
most All-State athletes in the big class behind only York and Schaumburg.
Also, check out the Deer Grove
East top marks for 2008. I filled in everyone's times for the year
and updated the
Palatine career list. See where you stack up amongst all athletes
who have run on the course since 2001.
Picture Updates - Kendall Cox was good
enough to take my camera and get some shots of the race and the awards.
I collected these in the
final photo
gallery of the year. Enjoy.
IHSA State - Chano Bernardo Seizes First
All-State Finish

Heading into this state meet, our most
realistic goal was to finish in the top five. We knew that one of the
nationally-ranked big four would have to implode a bit for us to beat them.
We harbored dreams of a trophy, but reality was that Naperville North, York,
Geneva, and Neuqua Valley were much better than everyone else. We had
beaten #5 Lyons Township at the Peoria Notre Dame meet so we knew they were
in reach. I regarded Prospect and Edwardsville as the next two best
teams, and we had beaten Prospect during the year.
In the end we were undone by a lack of
experience and an inability to execute our race under the state meet
pressure. Our front four ran well, but not spectacularly, and our back
three were simply not up to the task. You will not finish well scoring
runners in 162nd, 164th, and 183rd places with none of those guys breaking
16:00. Eating a big fifth man score ensured us of a spot near the back
end of the top 10, and our place was the one we deserved. Our normal
40-45 second split ballooned to 68 seconds in the state meet. Teams
simply do not recover from a split of that variety since the state meet is
so thick with runners. For example, Tommy and Juan were separated by
only seven seconds, but there were 21 runners in between them. Big
gaps = Big points for the team.

We broke from Box 28 which ensured us a nice
smooth ride around the outside of the first turn. Chano and Alec
hooked up early and looked solid coming through the 800 in 2:19. They
were a bit far back and needed to move. Tommy and Juan were close as
usual, coming through in 2:22-2:23. Larson and Blyth flashed through
in 2:25-2:26 while Kierys was way out of position and behind. As we
came to the mile, we were still not in great position. Chano and Alec
went out in 4:51 and 4:52 while Tom and Juan hit the mark in 4:54. The
other three went out over 5:00 pace, which virtually relegates a runner to a
back end finish at Detweiller. I saw Blyth getting pummeled in the
crowded traffic in here, and I knew that we had a tough task ahead of us.
Few runners ever come from behind in the state meet because the field is so
thick.

After seeing Alec drop off Chano so badly
just past the mile and seeing Kierys completely out of it, I knew we were in
big trouble. We had recovered from similar trouble the year before,
but our #5 was way off of a position to move. Chano moved hard in the
back loop to get in 16th place, but everyone else was in trouble. Alec
was going backward while Tom and Juan were hooked up but too far back.
My heart sank even further as I endured "the wait." "The Wait" is the
feeling you get as you look for a fifth runner in a cross country race and
know that your chances of doing well are going down the drain. Nowhere
is the "wait" more pronounced than in the state meet - so many runners go by
so quickly that you can see the points adding up.

At the 2 1/2 mark, Chano was trying to hang
on to 19th place. I hoped that he would not fade. Alec was
showing some life, but had clearly lost track of his appropriate running
group. He looked swamped. Juan had dropped off of Tom, and I was
hoping that he would hang on and not lose too many places. I waited as
long as I could for our 5th, but I knew we were done and I headed to the
finish.
As I sprinted up the hill to the line, I
heard the York crowd go crazy. Steve Sulkin had started his trademark
kick, and he had his sights set on catching Conant's Jeffrey Thode.
Inexplicably, Thode had thrust himself into a sizeable lead at the 2 1/2
mile mark and was trying desperately to hold on. As everyone knows by
now, Jeffrey suffered a punctured lung the Sunday after our dual meet with
Conant and had been pronounced out for the season. But there he was,
leading the state meet with 200 meters to go. The crowd exploded in
roars of support for both men, the volume pumping as both drove for the
line. In the end Thode closed an improbable run with a one second
victory and an individual state title. By holding off Sulkin, he also
earned a tie between Conant and us for 9th place. They defeated us on
the tie-breaker to force us down into 10th.

I got to the coach's box soon enough after
Thode won to see Chano hold off three hard-charging guys and finish
All-State in 21st place. His finish salvaged a rather ordinary and
disappointing day. Alec clearly underperformed, finishing 54th in
15:18 - only 7 seconds better than his time at PND from the year before.
He was beaten by a number of rivals he normally bests and will have to learn
to be a more aggressive runner before he can be a champion. Tommy gave
it his all to finish in a PR of 15:27 in 72nd place. Juan ran 15:34,
but that was good only for 93rd place. Our top four did what Palatine
guys are supposed to do: if you don't race well at least you are strong
enough to perform at a solid level.
Our back end simply imploded under the bright
lights. Larson ran near his time from PND but was never really a
factor in the scoring until the last 200 meters when he passed Blyth.
He will need to learn from this season and this race and become more of a
factor next year. Blyth ran a career best on Detweiller, but it was
just not enough. Kierys will be the first to tell you that he simply
blew up. He has been our hero a number of times this year, but knows
that his weak race cost us a number of team spots. I am not sure what
went wrong, but he will need to accept the race and move on to bigger and
better accomplishments in the future. Head up, Lukasz.
The final team results were exciting and a
bit interesting. I think the depth of the state was down overall this
year, but the top four were simply incredible. Naperville North held
off York by one point to earn its first state title on the boys side.
Congrats to Coach Dave Racey and crew! I know that Racey's boys have
been a bit snake-bitten over the years so I was happy to see them get to the
top of the podium. York ran well to score 85 points (and lose -
unbelievable). Geneva ended up with four All-State runners and got
third! Wow. Neuqua Valley ran well enough to trophy in almost
every year ever, but had to settle for fourth.
Our 10th place finish was close, which made
it even worse. LT was a clear 5th while Prospect finished 6th only 27
points ahead of us. Losing to Prospect and Conant is very
disappointing as we had bested those teams on all occasions so far this
season. St. Charles North and Edwardsville also snuck in right in
front of us. Being close just makes it hurt even worse. I had
seen us as the 5th-6th best team on paper going into the year, we had
performed at that level in every meet, yet we ended up taking 10th at the
end. I know that leaves a sour taste in my mouth, and I hope that next
year's returnees take heed and redouble their effort to help us get back to
the top of the heap.
Our seniors performed admirably and valiantly
this season. I do not think a group of guys could run much harder or
put any more effort into this. In fact, we may have wanted it a little
too bad. Still, reflect back on where this class started: Juan Perez
ran 20:15 at PND as a freshman, Morlock ran 20:06, Kierys ran 18:59, Bethke
was 18:41. Baran ran 22:25! This year's freshmen class alone had
four guys run 17:38 or better. We may have achieved as much as we
could with the ability we had. I am proud of this group and was
privileged to work with each one of you throughout your careers. We
have one final track season together, and I will relish the time we have
left. You guys have enriched me immeasurably, and I hope you take as
much away from our program as you gave me.
November 1, 2008 - Boys Win IHSA
Sectional Title
After a lackluster win in last week's IHSA
Regional, we went out and took care of business in the Schaumburg Sectional.
The boys ran well and delivered a strong victory with 88 points, topping
fellow MSL power Prospect by 22 points (110). The win was our fifth
Sectional title in the last six years. The other team qualifiers from
our Sectional were Lake Zurich (123), Conant (128), and Lake Forest (152).
Congrats to everyone on a hard fought race.
Coach Stokes' guys made it down after a rough Sectional race with a young
team last year, and I know that Coach Powers is proud of all the seniors on
his team who got it done for each other. To see Jeffrey Thode running
so well for his team was a great moment for the sport. LZ made state
for the first time in school history, and fellow NSC school Lake Forest
rebounded from some mid-season injuries to snag the last spot.
October 26, 2008 - Palatine Programs
Take Two Regional Titles
Both the boys and girls teams won IHSA
Regional titles on Saturday, continuing a trend of sharing hardware that
began with last week's twin MSL Conference titles. Hopefully we can
keep that trend rolling in next week's IHSA Sectional at Busse Woods.
Sarah McIntosh won the girls individual title as the ladies narrowly
defeated Hoffman Estates by a score of 52-56. Courtney Brown also ran
onto the All-Regional team with a 5th place finish.
On the boys side, Lake Zurich and Conant both
pushed us to the max through the two mile, but our boys stayed poised and
rallied in the last mile to pull off a win that looks bigger than it
actually was. We scored 57 points to 72 for Lake Zurich and 73 for
Conant. The guys were paced by All-Regional runs from Chano Bernardo
(3rd) and Alec Bollman (5th).
This Regional title was our sixth in the last
seven years and continues a string of success that Miller and I have had
together as coaches. As we wind down our time coaching together, these
wins get sweeter and sweeter for me. What a joy to get to do this with
you Coach! Congrats on another big Palatine win.
October 19, 2008 - Boys and Girls Win
MSL Titles
A couple of years ago (2004 I think) the boys
and girls teams pulled off a clean sweep of the MSL conference meet, winning
all six team and individual titles. We did not quite succeed at that
level on Saturday, but our kids were darn close. We won five team
titles and three individual titles, and it was a lot of fun to think back on
how hard all of the boys and girls worked at Early Bird this summer to lay
the groundwork for this success. Congrats everyone!
The two most important races were the boys
and girls varsity. Sarah McIntosh lead the way by winning her first
conference title. Sarah, Courtney Brown, Ruth Allen, Becca Sund, and
Tory Wright each earned All-Conference honors and led the team to its first
title since 2005. On the boys side, we won our sixth consecutive MSL
title behind five finishers in the top 15. Chano Bernardo (2nd), Alec
Bollman (5th), Juan Perez (12th), Tom Laskowske (13th), and Luke Kierys
(15th) earned All-Conference honors in leading us to a 47-80 win over a
young and improving Prospect team. It was the second All-Conference
honor for both Chano and Alec.
We dominated both the F/S and JV races
despite a tough challenge from Prospect in the JV. Nine of our F/S
runners were All-Conference as we defeated Prospect by a score of 37-80.
Our honorees included: Erik Bethke (3rd), Ryan McGough (4th), Tim Johnson
(5th), A.J. Laskowske (8th), Erich Kuerschner (17th), Kendall Cox (20th),
Reuben Frey (21st), Tim Meincke (22nd), and Anthony Gregorio (23rd).
My hands hurt just typing all of that!
In the JV we won a close race over Prospect
by a score of 24-36. Eric Blyth won the race and ran his way onto the
varsity top 7. Behind him, Top 25 finishers included Jeff Larson
(3rd), Justin Smith (4th), Ryan Wojdyla (6th), Vlad Novikov (11th), Matt
Wiggen (13th), Eric Rodriguez (15th), Brian Sund (16th), Justin Olson
(19th), Colin Morlock (21st), and Drew Shaler (22nd). We took half of
the top 22 spots, and I could not be prouder of these guys who work so hard
and are rarely recognized.
St. Charles Best Invite - Boys Win on All
Four Levels
After competing all season in high-powered
invites, it is nice to go out to St. Charles and be part of something that
is low-key. There are only eight teams and no girls races. Our
goal this year was to use our depth to try and win on all four levels.
We did just that. Outside of a flat and lackluster varsity race, the
team looks prepared, and you can tell that the taper is working for the guys
who are finishing their seasons at the MSL meet. I am short on time so
I'll just give the highlights:
October 3, 2008 - Boys Win 7th Straight
MSL West Title
We had no weekend meet, but the boys did have
to run hard on Thursday night to defeat Conant and clinch our 7th
consecutive MSL West title. The streak lives on for another year at 43
consecutive MSL races! Conant gave us a great run, but the boys stayed
poised and pulled it out in the last 800 meters to win by a score of 24-32.
We also defeated Barrington 15-49. Our frosh-soph won both duals to
finish their season undefeated.
Fremd Dual - Emerging Fremd Team Provides
Solid Challenge
I have known since last track season that
Fremd was much improved. With the Palatine Invite on the horizon, I
did not want to have our guys work too hard in this one, but I also knew
that Fremd would be fired up to give us their best shot. We certainly
got it. Our guys handled them in the end, but it was not the cruising
victory we wanted. Chano wore Aaron Ferst down after the 1 1/2 mile
mark, and our pack of Bollman, Perez, and Laskowske fought with Fremd's
nice-looking sophomore Andy Mack before we let him go and finished in
fourth, fifth, and sixth. Bollman wanted to go get him and tried to
run through three coach stop signs, but we told him to save it for
Saturday's Palatine Invite. Bethke once again dropped off the group
and had to work hard to finish in 8th place. The final score was
24-33.
September 29, 2008 - Varsity Places 3rd
at Palatine Invite
We had a great day at the Palatine Invite on
Saturday, showcasing the depth of our program against many of the other best
programs in the state. The boys varsity placed third behind Elmhurst
York and Lyons Township, the sophomores and junior varsity placed second
behind York, and the freshmen team won the whole thing! Our varsity
girls also won behind a near course record winning effort from Sarah
McIntosh. Check out all the results in the
Results section.
September 20, 2008 - Boys Run
Great at Peoria Notre Dame
Our program got to flex its muscle in
the prestigious Peoria Notre Dame Invite, finishing top three on all levels.
Our varsity originally thought that we won on the sixth man tiebreaker over
Sandburg, but a late change in the score (a debatable video review) saw us
lose by a point. Our junior varsity dominated the field, scoring 21
points even though the PND people refuse to score it or give a team award.
Lastly, our frosh-soph guys placed third overall. What a great day!
Hoffman Estates Dual - Boys and Girls Win
on All Levels
Hoffman Estates always has a couple of really
good guys, and I know they train really hard in the summer so I always
expect a tough team race as well. A lot of their best guys from last
year graduated so I did not know exactly what to expect. We knew and
respected Perez and Gonzalez and ended up getting a great battle from their
third man Hamilton, but our depth allowed us to win in the end 19-41.
September 14, 2008 - Boys and Girls Win
at Schaumburg
The boys and girls each had great
performances on both levels in our Thursday dual with Schaumburg at Hoover
Elementary School. The ladies put seven in the top nine as Sarah McIntosh
ran to a dominating victory. They also went 1-5 in the open race. Our F/S
followed suit by sweeping the top six spots and eight of the top ten,
winning 15-48. The varsity race was even better. Schaumburg’s Pat
Lesiewicz won the race in a course record time of 15:42, but we took the
next ten spots to win handily by a score of 20-43. Lesiewicz’s run was so
impressive and a privilege to watch. Twenty years of great Schaumburg guys
have run there, but he broke the record by seven seconds and looks as if he
is moving into state title contention individually.
September 7, 2008 - Boys Take Three
Trophies at Hinsdale
The boys and girls teams opened their invite
season on Saturday at the Hinsdale Hornet-Red Devil Invite. Both teams
competed well even though we did not win any of the five levels in which we
competed. The boys placed third in the sophomore race, second in the
varsity race, and second in the freshman race. Neuqua Valley won all
three levels and looked great. The girls placed second in both the
varsity and the open races behind Hinsdale Central. I put links to
official results of all races on our Results
page.
September 3, 2008 - Pirate Boys and
Girls Win Openers
We finally got to kick off our season last
night in a dual meet with Prospect. The heat was brutal with the
temperature in the low 90s at race time with the heat index in the mid-90s.
Despite the heat, the boys ran impressively, winning 19-41 on the varsity
level and 20-39 on the F/S level. Prospect is a talented and tough
team who will be much better down the road when we meet again. A
couple of their key guys were out last night so I am sure they will be ready
when the big meets come around at the end of the season. Our girls
also ran well. I don't know the final varsity score, but we went
1-3-4-5-6 for 19 points.