For the better part of the early season, the Prospect boys cross country team has been under wraps.

But on a warm Saturday at the Libertyville Invitational, the Knights opened it up.

Prospect placed five runners in the top 12 in running to the title with 41 points on the challenging Adler Park course in Libertyville.

Highland Park took second with 67 points, followed by host Libertyville (106 points), Jones College Prep (115 points), and New Trier (122 points).

Libertyville senior Alex Tam was in command from start to finish in securing the individual title, crossing the line in 16:00, easily outdistancing Lake Forest sophomore Nate Schmitt (16:26), who took second.

“I wanted to play it smart and not go out too fast,” said Tam, who finished 40th in Class 3A last season and has jumped out to a nice start this season. “I’m really excited, I’m a lot stronger than last year and I’m prepared to try my best.”

Prospect senior Jack Terry (16:28) pushed the Knights’ attack by taking third place. Terry and the Knights were eager to get things going after lying low the first few weekends of the season.

And after holding back the first half of the race the Knights unleashed a vicious come-from-behind attack that sealed the victory.

“At that point I was ready to go,” said Terry. “We have been putting in so much work, we knew we could come out and prove ourselves.”

Andrew Reimann (16:34) slipped at the start of the race and then lost hissun glasses. But the Knights junior would not be denied in taking sixth place, and he was followed by senior Nate Cozine (16:47) in ninth.

“We went out fast without draining ourselves mentally,” said Reimann of the Knights’ conservative approach early. “Then we were able to dig in and focus at the end.”

Sophomore Erik Snell (16:48) and senior Jack Hempleman (16:54) then closed the door by taking 11th and 12th place. Senior Casey Daleiden (16:59) added a 16th place finish for the Knights.

“We have some back claws,” said Prospect coach Mike Stokes, whose team is ranked No. 10 in the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll. “They all did a great job and executed well.”

Highland Park hung tough throughout the race and placed four runners in the top 10, including junior Jose Reyes (16:29) in fourth. But Giants had no answer for the Knights’ pack.

Libertyville sophomore William Gordon (16:54) finished 24th, and was followed by junior Maxwell Sauers (17:12, 22nd) and senior Nathanial Sweitzer (17:13, 24th) in helping the host Wildcats to third place.

St. Viator sophomore Patric Natindim (17:11) powered the Lions to a seventh-place finish by securing 20th place.

“I think I really worked hard in the summer to get to this point,” said Natindim, who leads a Viator attack that has qualified for the Class 2A state meet in four of the past five seasons. “We all know our top guys can stick in one group and that should aid us as the season progresses.”

— Michael Eaken

at Peoria: Hersey boys cross country coach Kevin Young was looking for a good measuring stick for his Huskies, and the Peoria Notre Dame Richard Spring Invitational provided a perfect platform.

Hersey certainly did not disappoint on a hot day at Detweiller Park in Peoria, as the Huskies ran to a nice third-place finish with 125 points.

Defending Class 3A state champion Neuqua Valley took first with 112 points, followed by Wheaton Warrenville South (119 points).

Sophomore Josh Methner (15:01) powered the Huskies by taking ninth place. He was followed by senior Ryan Theisen (15:08) and senior Nate Mayo (15:23) in 16th and 27th place.

“It was a good day, it was the first time we really got after it,” said Hersey coach Kevin Young of his team, currently ranked No. 5 in the Illinois Cross Country Coaches Poll. “We are starting to believe we are an elite team and before we believe we are an elite team we had to race like an elite team. That’s kind of where we are at right now.”

Junior Ryan Buch (15:29) and sophomore Max Svienty (15:42) added to the effort in 34th and 49th place.

Sandburg senior Dylan Jacobs ran to the individual title, crossing the line in 14:23. He was followed by Arthur’s Logan Hall (14:37) and Neuqua Valley junior Zachery Kinne (14:39).

Barrington senior Nick Laning (14:46) also had a good day, running to a fourth-place finish with his best mark on the state course.

Laning used a fast start to gain position and then focused on pushing the middle mile, leading to a sweet finish.

“I’m super happy,” said Laning of his big performance. “I had to stay focused in the back loop, and then I went all out in the third mile. It was just a great race overall for our entire team.”

Palatine sophomore Richard Jacobo (15:17) took 24th and was followed by senior Evan Eckels (15:31), who captured 38th place in helping the Pirates to an eighth-place finish.

Laning paced Barrington’s 14th-place finish. He was aided by senior Aiden King (15:48) in 60th place.

— Michael Eaken

at Warren: With race-time temperatures at 80 degrees, the Warren Invitational was not for the faint of heart Saturday morning on the newly aligned 3-mile O’Plaine campus course.

But when all was said and done, Mundelein had run to its third first-place finish of the 2017 season as the Mustangs easily outdistanced runner-up Glenbrook South 60-110 for first place in the 18-team field.

Evanston topped Fremd 114-135 for third place while Rolling Meadows was a close fifth with 147 points. Cary-Grove (169 points) pulled away from Antioch down the stretch to capture sixth place.

Crystal Lake South senior standout Jack Becker rolled to first place in 14:47.3 to beat his next closest competitor by over 18 seconds. After taking 20th in Class 3A as a junior, Becker is now one of the contenders to win the Class 2A crown this fall as the Gators moved down a class based on their school enrollment.

“Going into this I knew it was hot so I didn’t want to take the pace out right away,” said Becker. “Around the 2-mile mark I started to make a move, and then I never looked back after that point.”

The rest of Crystal Lake South’s pack struggled under the stifling running conditions, but CLS coach Rich Eschman is very optimistic about Becker’s chances this season.

“He ran the way he’s been doing all year which is awesome, and he just wants to keep it up,” Eschman said. “He’s being really smart about his racing, and in Class 2A he’s definitely one of the top three guys without a doubt.”

Mundelein’s push for the championship was led by Robert St. Clair in fourth, Michael Parduhn in sixth, and Carl Schoenfield in ninth. Dario Carrillo (18th), and Aidan Afonso (23rd) rounded out the Mustangs’ top five scorers.

“I think Mike Parduhn got hurt by going out too fast in this heat, but overall we did alright with three runners in the top nine,” said Mundelein coach Kurt Rutz. “Dillon Blake won the frosh-soph race, and it was a really tough week of practice so we did not give them a break.”

Senior Ed Worthem led Fremd’s pack in fifth place followed by teammates Matt Wallace in 20th, Charles O’Brien in 28th, and Wesley Jones in 35th.

“Ed (Worthem) is coming back from being an all-stater on the 4x800 team in track last year, and it was good to see him mix it up with the good guys from Mundelein,” said Fremd coach Darius Sanchez. “The top three is coming along well, and our No. 2 guy (Wallace) missed last year with a stress fracture so it was good to see him out there.”

Eddie Lennon was Rolling Meadows’ top runner in 19th place followed by teammates C.J. Miller (25th), Tanarius Twiggs (29th), and Royce Piscitello (33rd).

“I’m pretty happy with the varsity guys because in the fresh-soph meet we had three in the top 10 who could have helped us,” said Rolling Meadows coach Frank Schweda. “I was pretty happy with how Eddie (Lennon) ran because obviously it was pretty hot. Our top four has trained well together and we’re trying to get better.”

Elite sophomore Charlie Smith led Antioch in third place while Round Lake’s Diego Giron (13th) nipped Cary-Grove’s Derek Warren (14th) at the finish line.

Wauconda got a 21st-place run from Adam Fox while junior Bryan Holland led the host Blue Devils in 24th. Wheeling’s Tyler Polak placed 26th followed by Cary-Grove teammates Maxum Caesar (27th), and Jonathon Lewis (31st).

“Bryan (Holland) made the decision to come out for cross country late and I’m happy with how he ran,” said Warren coach Bill Dawson. “Most of our top runners are freshmen and sophomores, and I thought our other runners ran pretty well because nine of our top 10 are underclassmen.”

— John Bumbales