Open Race Champs and Varsity 15th at Richard Spring

Yesterday we travelled to Peoria to the Richard Spring Invitational for the first time in DGS history. In past years, we’d gone the weekend before to the First to the Finish Invite. This was our first really big meet in a couple of years and the team showed some really positive signs of where we are headed as a program.

In the varsity race, we matched up against 15 teams that were state ranked in 3A, along with a number of 2A and 1A schools that were highly ranked. After being ranked in the high 20s earlier in the season, we dropped out of the rankings so came in unranked. Also in attendance was Lincoln High School from Portland, Oregon that flew to the chicagoland area for the big race. Amongst the field of 76 teams, we ran well enough to place 15th, beating a number of teams that on paper were ahead of us. 2A #1 ranked Mahomet-Seymour finished one spot in front of us and the Portland school was another that was ahead. Our usual #1, Tim Neumann bolted to the front where he would remain battling for the lead for a little past the halfway point. Shortly thereafter, Tim “hit the wall” and faded over the last mile to finish as our #5 runner on the day. He’ll be ready to bounce back next weekend at Palatine and score a low number for us as we move forward. Running lifetime bests were the guys who ultimately emerged as our top 4 on the day. Breaking 16 minutes for the first time officially, Carter Smott, Jacob Curulewski, and Nick Motuelle ran 15:51, 56, and 58 respectively with Shane Hosty close behind in 16:01 (also a personal best. The performances by these guys is just the beginning and we should see those times continue to drop as the season goes on. With Tim feeling better, we’d have finished more likely around 9th place as a team. From a coaches standpoint, we’ve always loved the fact that at least for another week, we’ll be flying under the radar but we expect over the next few weeks the rest of the state will take notice.

Following up that was the Frosh/Soph race. The boys finished a solid 14th place behind top 20 finishes from our first two. Josh Poeschel placed 6th in a personal best of 16:13, while Anthony Addante was 15th in 16:44. Richard Gasmen, Zachary Cotner, and Billy Neumann rounded out our top 5 scorers, while John Foley and Owen Fudacz were our 6th and 7th running lifetime best 3 mile races.

The final race of the day is where we again displayed our “whole team” philosophy and the tremendous depth of both talent and guys that are “all-in” and but in some serious work. The team won the Open race in dominating fashion with a team score of only 50 points, well ahead of Lane Tech who was second and scored over 100. Jeffrey Spirek ran a brilliant tactical race to place 2nd. He bided his time and waited until the middle of the race to move to the front. There he battled with a Barrington runner. The two pulled away from the rest of the field early in the second mile. Unfortunately, the Barrington guy had one more move coming up the final straightaway that at this point in the season Jeffrey couldn’t cover. He did place 2nd of 548 finishers in a lifetime best of 16:12. Logan Rodi who moved up well throughout the race finished 7th, while Michael Joseph was 10th. The final two scorers for DGS were Dean Golminas in 17th, breaking 17 minutes for the first time and Jeremy Wilczak who finished 22nd. Our #6 and 7 were not far behind as Nolan Crooks and Luke Urban ran personal bests as well. Overall, we had over 45 guys in that race and the majority of them ran their fastest times. We can’t wait to keep this momentum going with our home meet tomorrow at O’Brien Park against Addison Trail and Morton. Our next invite is at Palatine next weekend.

Go Mustangs!