CHICAGOLANDPREPS.com
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com editor
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Running in the biggest meet of their careers, the Mustangs of Northside College Prep put forth their best effort of the season.
Personal records were shattered left and right by Northside — competing at state for the first time in school history — at the IHSA Class 2A state meet held at Detweiller Park In Peoria on Saturday.
Leading the way for the Mustangs was Pat Duffy, who completed the three-mile course in a time of 16:09, good for 95th place and a full 32 seconds quicker than his sectional time run a week prior at Fenton.
“This definitely felt like the final race,” said Duffy, a senior who set a PR at Peoria. “I think that helped a lot for our performance. There was a lot of pressure, but it was the good kind of pressure.”
While the chaotic start always means a fast first mile, it’s still hard to prepare for just how fast it is.
“Just watching the girls race, it made us nervous with how fast the pack was going and it was just as fast,” Duffy said. “It was a really fast pack but it feels really good to be going that fast with so many people. You just have to get out and not get boxed out and then start picking people off.”
Not far behind Duffy was fellow senior Ezra Edgerton. He completed the course in a time of 16:17, 42 seconds faster than his sectional time, finishing in 109th place.
“I was pretty nervous before the race,” Edgerton said. “I had this feeling ‘Alright, this is my last race. No matter how bad I’m going to feel I’m just going to go as hard as I can.’ Luckily I didn’t feel too bad and my legs didn’t get too tired until the end.”
Edgerton came into state with a sound strategy that he implemented from the get-go.
“What I learned from sectionals is, don’t go with the fast pack for the first mile,” he said. “So I kind of rested in the first half so on the second half my legs weren’t tired. I could just accelerate through the whole thing. I passed a good amount of runners at the end and it felt good.”
Junior Patrick Brennan continued his second half of the season surge as the third Mustang across the line. He finished in 154th place with a time of 16:37, a full 45 seconds faster than his sectional time.
“During the second mile I started to lose sight (of my teammates) and I got down a little,” Brennan said. “But I saw them in the last mile and in the last 100 meters I just pushed to get up to the,
“This is my first season and I was just doing this just to get ready for track. I didn’t expect to be doing this well. I really didn’t.”Finishing immediately behind Brennan were teammates sophomore Cesar Rufino (155th, 16:38) and freshman Malcolm Grba (156th, 16:38). Also competing for Northside at state were sophomore Simon Kafka (178th, 16:51) and senior Mac Melto (195th, 17:11).
While the cross country season came to an end Saturday, the indoor track season is just around the corner.
“I’m definitely going to take a few days off and then I’m going to get to shorter distance workouts like 400’s and 800’s,” Duffy said.
Edgerton who also played soccer in the fall is excited to get a little time off.
“Running all summer, playing two sport and then this I’m going to take some time off,” he said. “I feel like I could use some rest and get some college (applications done).”
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com Editor
October 29, 2011
But Northside College Prep didn’t veer from its game plan. The Mustangs slowly but surely picked off runner after runner and by the end of the race, Northside wound up with a fifth place finish, qualifying for the state meet as a team for the first time in school history.
Pat Duffy set the pace for the Mustangs, taking 12th place with a time of 16:41.
“It was a really flat course so it was easy to know where you are at all times,” Duffy said. “My strategy was just to get out to the front of the pack and then start taking all the guys out the last two miles, picking them off, one by one.”
Ezra Edgerton was Northside’s second finisher. He took 20th place in a time of 16:59. It was his first race back after nursing an injury over the last month.
“It felt good,” Edgerton said. “For the first time I got to train every single day all season. The first mile was really fast. Everyone went out way too fast. There were so many people ahead of me but I knew they were going to die because I looked at the seed time. Everyone did slow down then.”
Duffy was thrilled to see Edgerton racing again.
“We were really excited because Ezra who was injured ran this race and he wound up running just as good as when he was not injured,” Duffy said. “
Malcolm Grba was third across the line for the Mustangs running a time of 17:03, good for 23rd place.
“I think I tried harder than I ever have,” Grba said. “Even though the time wasn’t my PR, it was a harder course. I left it all out there.”
Northside’s strategy of moving up as the race went on proved to be a winning strategy.
“We didn’t talk about (doing it) but that’s what ended up happened,” Grba said. “I started running faster than I usually do, which was good. I was beating people that I hadn’t beat before so it felt really good.”
Finishing out the scoring for Northside was Cesar Rufino (27th, 17:12) and Patrick Brennan (33rd, 17:22). Mac Melto (17:37) and Raymond Siddiqi (18:31) also competed.
Jones earned the team total with 45 points. Mather was second (55) followed by Fenton (77), St. Viator (97) and Northside (115) which comfortably beat out St. Patrick (134) for the fifth and final qualifying spot to state.
Everyone on Northside is excited to be a part of history. The Mustangs will compete in the state meet, held at Detweiller Park in Peoria, for the first time ever.
“It’s definitely exciting. We went down last year, not for state but for a (regular season) meet,” Duffy said. “The course is awesome so I’m excited to run it. It should be a blast.”
Edgerton is excited to represent the school at a state meet.
“No matter what we do, it’s going to be a great experience,” he said. “It should be fun. I definitely want to run my best race. I heard it’s a fast course and I’ll be able to really prepare for it.”
Grba has the perfect strategy already planned out for Saturday’s race.
“This is it, state’s the last race we’re going to run for a while so you might as well put all of it on the line and see what happens,” Grba said. “In three miles you’re going to done so just push through them.”
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com
Saturday, October 22
Northside College Prep's goal all season long has been about getting to the state meet.
The Mustangs took the first step to reaching that goal by qualifying out of the Class 2A Mather Regional at Legion Park last Saturday.
Northside finished in fourth place, despite missing a couple of their runners. The Mustangs scored 87 points, which put them behind Mather (34), Fenton (57) and St. Viator (67). But they still finished ahead of five teams as they easily qualified for sectionals.
Leading the way for Northside once again was Pat Duffy. He's gotten better all season long and Saturday was no different as the senior took 9th place, navigating the three-mile course, located right across from Northside, in a time of 16:10.31.
"We ran this course a lot freshman and sophomore year so we definitely had a home-field advantage which made it real fast for me," Duffy said. "It was a great course, really flat and really fast."
Duffy knew exactly what Northside needed to do in Saturday's meet.
"Just to take as many Fenton, Mather and St. victor guys because they’re the ones we were contending with for qualifying," he said.
Cesar Rufino was second for the Mustangs finishing in 15th place overall after registering a time of 16:40.22.
"I felt really comfortable with this race, especially since coach Gordon has been telling us to warm-up with one loop," Rufino said. "I already knew my strategy coming into this race. The last two races have just been priceless for me.”
“We feel great. We keep dropping time. The last race I ran a three-mile race was at the Whitney Young meet at Washington Park and I ran a 16:58 and today I ran a (16:40).”
Rufino was careful to follow his game plan to the last detail.
“On the first straightaway there’s a path of pavement and since I had spikes on I thought it would be a bad idea to run on that,” Rufino said. “I just kept my own pace on the grass and as soon as we hit the turn I started picking people off.”
Not far behind Rufino was Malcolm Grba, finishing in 18th place with a time of 16:46.55. Grba enjoyed racing close to home
“We actually could sleep in a little bit today which helped,” Grba said. “Everyone PRed, so it was a great race. It was really fun.”
Grba knew that he and his teammates would need to bring their best to regionals.
“There was some tough competition and there were a lot of good runners,” he said. “I did a pretty good first mile and the second mile I cracked down and tried to pass people. After the first mile I was in 46th place and I finished in 18th so I felt really good passing people.”
Also scoring for Northside were Mac Melto (22, 16:51.49) and Patrick Brennan (23rd, 16:51.92). Other contributors for the Mustangs were Raymond Siddiqi (3rh, 17:30.44) and Alex Gordon (37th, 17:31.31).
Duffy and his teammates will now get ready for the Fenton Sectional on Saturday.
"I'm very excited," Duffy said. "Some of us are injured and hopefully well come out and do even better than we did today.
Duffy earns All-City honors
By Rob Valentin
Chicagolandpreps.com editor
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Northside College Prep’s Pat Duffy was looking for a solid race in the city championships at Washington Park on Saturday.
What he got was the best race of his life. The senior ran a personal best time of 16:21.3 to earn city honors by taking 17th place.
“There were a lot of teams in the beginning so you had to make sure you got out really quick so you weren’t boxed out because that’s what happened last race,” Duffy said. “I was really intent in getting out really fast. Once I was up there I just stayed there with the top guys.”
“The first mile was kind of tough because I had run out real fast,” Duffy said. “
But the energy kept carrying me along. I got 5:18 first mile. The second mile was tough because the second mile is always tough. The last mile felt really good. I just kept picking people off. The last 800 meters I passed 10 kids.”
The Mustangs were without a couple of their top runners who were competing in the sophomore race so Duffy felt a little more pressure.
“Definitely, you feel a lot of pressure,” he said. “But in a way it’s less competition with your own team and you just focus on getting the guys in front of you. It’s kind of freeing.”
Brennan was second across for the Mustangs varsity squad, finishing the course in 30th place with a time of 17:00.48.
“I started off just trying to keep up with Mac (Melto) because he was 14 seconds ahead of me (in the last race),” Brennan said. “I felt good so I kept on going and went past him. From there it just felt good. It was a good race.”
Brennan broke his personal record by 22 seconds and he couldn’t be more thrilled that he’s running his best at the end of the season.
“When I passed Mac I just really felt good,” Duffy said. “In the second mile I’m usually still passing guys but I was pretty far ahead of most of the crowd.”
Melto, who was third across with a time for 17:30.66 for 45th place, was definitely impressed with his race. And he was very pleased with Brennan’s performance.
“I always have these set guys I compete with and I beat them all,” Melto said. “I think it was a pretty good day for me. And Patrick Brennan, he just went out there and it was inspiring.”
Melto was excited to show what he had to offer at this year’s city championship.
“Last year when I came to the city meet I wasn’t as prepared,” he said. “I came down with a big cold for a few weeks and it was a bad experience. Coming into this one I felt good and I had been training hard every day.”
Also competing for Northside in Saturday’s meet were junior Raymond Siddiqi (56th, 18:08.81) junior Nathaniel Agharese (57th, 18:10.02), senior Dan Graham (69th, 18:31.12) and senior Josh Williams (75th, 18:59.76).
Northside’s full varsity team will be reunited when they run at the Class AA Mather Regional next week at Legion Park.
“Definitely I just want to do as good as I did today because I got a PR,” Duffy said. “I’m going to keep dropping time.”
Brennan and Melto like the team’s chances of getting to state.
“We have a great shot (to get to state),” Brennan said. “Coach has been telling us where we’re at, where we’re seeded. We’ve all been dropping time and the courses just get faster from here.”
“We’re going to have a really hard training week,” Melto added. “I’ve never been to state for cross country and I don’t think anyone on this team has. We really want to make our mark, so we’re really going to train hard.”
Northside sophs take second at city
Rob Valentin
Chicagolandpreps.com editor
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Northside College Prep’s Cesar Rufino showed that he’s going to be a dangerous runner in the city for years to come.
The sophomore battled adversity and took third in the sophomore city championships at Washington Park, completing the two-mile course in a time of 10:59.04
“It was honestly a big surprise for me,” Rufino said. “My knee was sore throughout the week so I kept away from any running to make sure it was nice and heeled for today. I tried to run (Friday) and it was bothering me.”
Rufino’s strong finish helped power the Mustangs to a second place finish as a team. Their total team time was 56:51.8 and they had a point total of 58, putting them only behind Jones (56:19.06, 42).
The schools best ever finish in the sophomore race was fourth back in 2008.
“I talked with Simon (Kafka) and Malcolm Grba and we just wanted to have the best race we can,” Rufino said. “We wanted to win so we went all out.”
As for his individual race, Rufino tried to use the crowd to get out to a fast start.
“After the first 800, seeing all those people cheering me on was pushing me,” he said. “Then I got a pretty good lead. And now I know what I need to work on, which is my kick. That’s where those two Whitney guys got me. Other than that, it was a really good race for me.”
Kafka, who was also coming off an injury, didn’t mind the shorter race. The sophomore was the second Northside runner across the finish line taking sixth place in a time of 11:08.67.
“I was really excited to be running two miles because I was injured and didn’t get to practice as much as I wanted to,” Kafka said. “It was a bit less so I could kick it stronger. It was a good race.
“The first mile I really wanted to pull Malcolm and Cesar with me so we could get a good pack and get those first three in quickly. I felt like I was really strong the first mile. The second mile I couldn’t kick as much as I wanted but I’m pretty happy with my place.”
Grba was third across for the Mustangs, taking 10th place in a time of 11:13.87
“I’m not a fan of the two-mile and I didn’t really know how to approach it,” Grba said. “My strategy in a three-mile is to pace myself and then take off in the third mile and pass all the dying people. I’m actually a little injured. I got injured in a track workout two days ago, so I just tried to run through it.”
Grba knew he had to get off to a quick start to avoid getting boxed in on the turns.
“The first mile I was just trying to stay up there,” he said. “I thought more people would fatigue a little bit. I tried to stay up there until the end. People had such a kick because they weren’t tired.”
Also running well at city for Northside were Alex Gordon (18th,11:33.39), Robert Szmurlo (25th,11:56.83), Joel Deleon (34th, 12:26.42) and Henry Lothschutz (43rd, 12:49.81).
Northside will now look ahead to regionals. The Mustangs compete in the Class AA Mather Regional at Legion Park.
“I’m definitely excited,” Grba said. “Our team is looking great. It’s a three-mile race and we’ll have a full week of training hard. I think we’ll have a good shot at it.”
Kafka and Rufino share Grba’s enthusiasm as regionals draw nearer.
“I’m pretty excited,” Kafka said. “Our freshman/sophomore team is pretty good and we have some good seniors so I think we’ll do pretty well.”
“I think we have a really good chance at making it to state this year,” Rufino said. “We have a great team this year and we have a promising future with me, Malcolm and Simon.”
Grba is just a freshman so regionals will be the most important meet he’s run in.
“Coach said we’ll have a hard training week and I’m looking forward to that,” he said. “I’m getting my legs ready, I’ll use my strategy and hopefully we’ll be ready. I think we can get to state.”
Mustangs top St. Pat's
at Pat Savage Invite
By Rob Valentin
Chicagolandpreps.com editor
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011
Northside College Prep had a big test on Saturday as they prepare for the city championship on Oct. 15 and the IHSA postseason thereafter.
The Mustangs competed in the Pat Savage Invite at Niles West on Saturday, having a solid day in the cold and mud beating out St. Patrick, a team they’ll compete with for a spot to the state meet.
Northside got the Better of the Shamrocks by scoring 446 points while St. Pat’s had 486. The Mustangs were 17th overall posting victories over Woodstock (555 points), Notre Dame (609 points), Dundee Crown (616 points), Oak Park River Forest (662 points), Curie (668 points), Wauconda (730 points), Kenwood Academy (767 points), Marian Catholic (786 points), Bremen (799 points), Von Steuben (868 points), St. Laurence (871 points), Glenbrook South (904 points), Northridge (915 points), Argo (930 points), Lake Forest Academy (938 points), Zion Benton (950 points), Steinmetz (951 points), Glenbrook North (1030 points), Leo (1157 points), and Woodstock North
Malcolm Grba led the way for Northside as the first Mustangs across the finish line with a time of 17:11.53.
“It was really muddy, it was fun but it was really hard to get inside the turn,” Grba said. “I was right on the inside or right on the outside. You kind of had to give and take.”
Like heat or cold, mud definitely has an effect on runners.
“You just really have to push through it,” Grba said. “You can’t really strategize for it. You just have to push through it as far as you can. But you can pass a lot of people through there because a lot of people get week in the mud.”
With city two weeks away, Grba was using the meet as a bit of a test for city.
“I wasn’t really focusing on getting a great time here because of all the turns but it was a really fun race,” he said. “I’m feeling good the past two races. I just have to keep training hard and see where it takes me.”
Pat Duffy had a very solid day for Northside, coming across second for the team with a time of 17:19.38.
“The first mile was terrible because the start boxes were (very) small,” he said. “It’s a straight run so every one is boxed so that really affects your time. I ran about 30 seconds slower than I would run a first mile. You have to be really aggressive to get people behind you. And you have to use all the turns and the mud to your advantage.”
“Individually I’m doing fantastic,” Duffy said. “In the beginning of the season I had a lot of injuries. I finally feel that the past two weeks I’m at where I want to be and I’m really excited for city. We had a really hard workout last week.
Simon Kafka was next in for Northside, completing the race in a time of 17:28.73
“I actually really liked (the meet),” Kafka said. “I like a muddier course, a more challenging course. I think it’s fun.
Kafka knew getting out of the starting box fast was going to be important.
“I tried to kick it as much as I could,” he said. “Usually in races I try to stay away from that because it will burn me out. But I knew from past races that it’s really tight and you can’t pass people here.”
Also scoring for the Mustangs were Cesar Rufino (17:38.67), Mac Melto (17:48.9). Other contributors were Patrick Brennan (18:10.5), Raymond Siddiqi (18:53.1), Alex Bologna (19:37.66), Nick Hill (20:16.95) and Brian Glatter (22:35.44).
Mustangs stand tall at Libertyville Invite
ChicagolandPreps.com editor
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Northside College Prep had the opportunity to square off against some of the biggest and best schools in the state Saturday morning as they ran in the Libertyville Invite at Adler Park.
The Mustangs were missing a couple of key runners but still had a strong day, taking eighth place in the very prestigious three-mile meet.
Northside was once again powered by the 1-2 punch of Cesar Rufino (35th, 17:12.01) and Malcolm Grba (37th, 17:12.8).
Grba’s time was the fastest ever by a Mustangs freshman at the Libertyville Invite.
Grba finished ahead of several Northside graduates who are running in college including Wesley Laytham (17:42, now running for Davidson), Taylor Kuehn (17:45), Jon Kittaka (17:48, now running for Carelton College) and Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss (18:41, Division III Washington).
“Simon (Kafka) is usually Cesar and I’s pacer and I stay behind but I ended up going ahead today,” Grba said. “I went harder the first two miles that I did the last one. I didn’t get that finish I wanted at the end.”
Grba certainly enjoyed the stiff competition and difficult course the meet had to offer.
“It was the same hills over and over again and it really got to you,” he said. “But I like the challenge.”
Rufino also liked the challenge.
“It’s always nice running against that type of competition,” he said. “New Trier is ranked fourth in the state.”
With Kafka sidelined with shin splints, Rufino and Grba employed a new strategy.
“Malcolm kind of introduced me to a new strategy where he picks out certain people and runs after them. On the first big loop I was around 45th and when I came back around someone told me I picked off five guys. That’s my type of race.”
Rufino likes what he’s seen from his Northside teammates this year.
“I think we’re getting an even tighter pack,” Rufino said. “We’re building up nicely. When we have our full team together we’ll be ready for whatever is next to come.”
Mac Melto showed that he’s just not a sprinter by being the third Mustang across the line in a time of 18:01.22, good for 52nd place. Melto, a senior, took seventh place in the 400 during the spring state track and field meet in Charleston.
“I feel like I used to be all focused on sprinting and I’m trying to branch out,” Melto said. “I can get that endurance and maybe start running 800’s and even improve my 400.”
You definitely won’t find many 400 runners competing in cross country during the fall season, but that’s what makes Melto so special.
“It’s another thing to put on my running resume,” Melto said. “I feel like it’s good to be in these upper level distance races and show everyone how versatile I can be.”
Melto missed last week’s meet at Horner Park due to ACT testing, so he felt a little rusty on the course.
“I wasn’t really in the swing of things and it took a me a while to get going,” Melto said. “Last weeks meet would have really helped me but it’s early in the season and I can keep building.”
Grba enjoyed seeing Melto show off his stamina.
“He’s just a great runner and a joy to have on the team,” Grba said. “He’s kind of a mentor to me and I like that.”
Also scoring for the Mustangs on Saturday were Pat Duffy (53rd, 18:06.31), who knocked more than a minute off his time from last year and Patrick Brennan (58th, 18:23.87), who ran a personal best. Other key contributors were Alex Gordon (65th, 18:38.11) and Raymond Siddiqi (73rd, 19:29.04).
robvalentin@hotmail.com
Mustangs look solid at Horner Park Invite
Saturday, September 10, 2011
ChicagolandPreps.com editor
Northside College Prep was locked in an epic duel with Fenton on Saturday in the Gordon tech Invite at Horner Park.
And while the Bison just narrowly beat out the Mustangs (40-46), Northside looked pretty darn impressive beating out 14 other teams at the 16-team meet.
All five of the Mustangs’ scoring runners finished in the top 13. Leading the way for Northside was Simon Kafka, who navigated the 3.18-mile course in 17:23.1, good for sixth place overall.
The course was supposed to be three-miles but an error by an official had the runners adding an extra .18 mile to the race.
“It was a bit long because they made us go a bit further,” Kafka said. “Our times were a bit slower. I knew we were going too far but I just followed everyone else.”
Kafka was dealing with shin splint problems that kept him out of practice. That made the extra .18 a little bit harder.
“I thought I good run a good time and run a PR but I just wasn’t prepared tor un that extra bit,” Kafka said. “I wound up dying a bit. I was planning to pick it up on that last lap.”
Kafka has big expectations for the 2011 season.
“I’d like to run a sub-16,” he said. “I broke it on a short course and I was excited but I want to break it on a legit three-mile course.”
Second across the line for the Mustangs was Malcolm Grba (8th, 17:26.1). The freshman has had an impressive start to his varsity running career.
“I started out kind of back behind our top three runners,” Grba said. “I wanted my strategy to have a strong kick at the end because my first race I was gassed at the end and I didn’t have a lower time in my third mile than my first two. I wanted to focus on my kick and pick people off as it goes on. I stay with a strong stride but try not to overwhelm myself.”
Grba was proud of the team’s effort.
“All of our top four were right there and it felt great,” Grba said. “Everyone is going to do well in the end.”
Grba also has high hopes for the Mustangs this season.
“I’d like to keep on dropping time and I want us to get to state and show everyone that Northside is a good team,” he said.
The Mustangs third runner across the line was Cesar Rufino. The sophomore finished in ninth place with a time of 17:29.4.
“My strategy especially in the past two races has been to keep up with Simon for as long as I can,” Rufino said. “Last week in the Rebel Invite in Wisconsin, I kept up with Simon for a good two miles and then he kind of broke away from me. Today in stay of being right on him I tried to stay five second back of him and kick it for the last mile.”
Along with Kafka, Rufino is shooting for a sub-16 minute mile.
“Like Simon said, he want to get a sub 16 and I think I would be able to do that,” Rufino said. “I’m a sophomore and last year I always trained with Charlie (Mesimore) and Wesley (Laytham). I learned a lot from them. They were my mentors and I still talk with them. I want to follow in their footsteps and be the next Charlie or Wesley.”
Other top finishers for Northside were Ezra Edgerton (10th, 17:32.2), Pat Duffy (13th, 17:48.8), Nathaniel Agharese (18th, 18:06.6) and Alex Gordon (30th, 19:02.8).
robvalentin@hotmail.com
Mustangs' pack takes third to start 2010
St. Patrick meet pictures at bottom of page
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com editor
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Wesley Laytham and Charlie Messimore picked up right where they left off as they opened the 2010 cross country season in the St. Patrick Invite at Schiller Woods on Wednesday.
The duo cruised through the three-mile course finishing in the top ten to lead the Mustangs to a third place finish in the team competition behind Lane Tech and Fenwick.
Laytham finished with a 16:00, which put him in seventh place while Messimore wasn’t far behind taking ninth place with a time of 16:05.
“I think that’s a little bit better than I expected,” Laytham said. “You can tell it’s been a while since I raced because my legs got tight and I was really working hard.”
Laytham was a bit concerned with his quick start but he was happy with the rest of the race.
“I think I probably should have gone out a little more conservative and then made a move,” he said. “Instead I went out with the front pack and dropped off. But it’s the first race.”
Meanwhile, Messimore did what Laytham had wanted to do.
“I felt surprisingly good,” Messimore said. “I was shooting for a 16:40 and I ran a (16:05). I was pretty much following a strategy where I was going to go out the first mile and be around the 30’s (place wise). I wanted to be fresh after two miles to be able to make a push.
“After the first mile I felt really relaxed and was passing guys in groups. After two miles I passed a Mather guy going up the hill and I was just like ‘I have to go for it.’ I felt really relaxed throughout the race.”
Both runners have high hopes for Northside this season.
“I definitely think we’re going to get better and stronger as team,” Laytham said. “Everyone looked good today and we’re just starting to get into the groove and working together as a team. I think we’ll be a lot more competitive by the end of the season.”
There’s obviously a long way to go before the city meet but Laytham wants to repeat as city champs.
“I think people are writing us off but I think after today we’re looking strong,” he said. “I know how our team develops throughout the season and if it goes like it has the last couple years, I think we’ll be a tighter pack and move up.”
“I think a good goal for me would be to qualify for state,” Messimore said. And for the team, I think we definitely have a shot at defending our city title. We have a deep team but he have to improve to catch Lane and Mather.”
Erik Zuehlke had a very solid race taking 16th place with a time of 16:47. It was a personal record for the senior who made huge strides over the summer.
“Erik has really improved,” Messimore said. “He ran his butt off this summer and he’s just improved tremendously. He’s going to be a very good third man and he really pushes us in practice.”
Despite the strong finish, Zuehlke was hoping for even more
“It went okay but I could have did better,” Zuehlke said. “I think I took it out a bit too fast and the rest of my race suffered for it. But it’s the first race.
“I ran everyday during the summer and I tried to keep a decent pace while running. I didn’t want to just do a lot of miles. I wanted to be fast and be as good as I can during the season. I’d like to get sub-16 by sectionals.”
Freshman Simon Kafka also looked pretty solid in his first three-mile race ever, taking 18th overall in a time of 16:51.
“It’s amazing for a freshman to place in the top 18 in this race,” Mustangs head coach Jon Gordon said.
Rounding out the scoring five for Northside was Dominic Sieminski in 30th place with a 17:34, Danny Sobor (32nd, 17:37) and Pat Duffy (33rd, 17:38) also contributed to the Mustangs.
_________________
All hail the Kings
of Chicago
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com Editor
Saturday, October, 17, 2009
All season long the goal for Northside College Prep was to capture a city championship.
Mission Accomplished.
The Mustangs cruised to the program’s first city title as they scored 44 points, besting second place Lane Tech (60), third place Mather (64) and a hail storm at the beginning of the race. All five scoring runners for Northside finished in the top 20 of a race that featured 175 participants.
“This is our first city championship and it’s a lot of fun because it’s my senior year,” said Cuitlahuac Pineda-Youniss who took second place in a photo finish. “I’m really happy about our team.”
“This means a lot because the seniors on this team Jiasong (Yang), Cooper (Eben) and Cuit have been the foundation of the team,” said junior Charlie Mesimore. “This program really got good when they became sophomores. They’re really good and they’re the best training partners. Just to win it for them means the most for me.”
The meet wound up being closer than expected.
“It was a lot closer than we thought it was going to be because we haven’t raced schools like Lane and Mather in a while,” said Northside runner Wesley Laytham. “We were all pretty worried after the first mile and Charlie and I, who have admitted we’re not having the best years, just tried to hold onto the city title for us.”
The race for the individual title couldn’t have been any closer, literally.
Lane Tech’s Kulayifi Haji and Pineda-Youniss were locked in an epic battle the last couple hundred yards and Haji was able to pull off the victory by one-hundredth of a second. Haji’s time was 15:37.15 and Pineda-Youniss was 15:37.16.
“He took a lead in the last 800 meters and for the rest of the race I didn’t even remember what I was racing,” Pineda-Youniss. “I just told my body to go as fast as I can. I saw the finish line and I was just running to run.”
Cooper Eben wasn’t too far behind, taking sixth place in a time of 15:51.59.
“We were working pretty hard and we were really going for first place,” Eben said. “I came in expecting to do better than I did. I didn’t feel up to what I should have today.”
Eben had a good plan for the race and while he didn’t have his best performance, he got the job done.
“Throughout the first mile I was up with the main pack,” Eben said. “The front pack started moving a little ahead of me. I was with Victor Terrezas from Lane Tech and I just kept thinking ‘Don’t let Victor pass you.’ That kept me going strong and brought me through the finish.”
Mesimore finished the race in a time of 16:05.63, which was good enough for ninth place.
“After the first mile I just started thinking about moving up,” Mesimore said. “Lane only had two guys ahead of me but Mather had four and I knew I had to catch up to those Mather guys. I passed two of them and then the pack really strung out.”
The beginning of the race with was greeted with a brief hail storm and that definitely got all the runners juiced up.
“That was pretty cool,” Mesimore said. “Everyone was so pumped up but I just kept thinking ‘Everyone is going to be so jacked up. You have to contain yourself and run your race.’ That’s what I told all the guys and it was. At the mile I was in 25th and then guys just started coming back to me.”
Laytham was the fourth Mustang runner to cross the finish line as he took 11th place in a time of 16:17.45.
“The first half mile was pretty quick because we all had a lot of adrenaline,” Laytham said. “But then we all settled into a good and worked on gutting it out to get the guy in front of us.”
Northside’s unsung hero was Fahad Sarvari. The junior had the race of his life taking 20th place in a time of 16:40.86, which beat his personal record by 30 seconds.
“I just went and didn’t hold anything back,” Sarvari said. “I came in ready to go. This is why we have seven guys running. It’s a team effort and if someone has a bad day, someone has to step up.
“I’ve been having bad days, so I was due to step up. I wish my times would have gradually gotten better but I’ll take the spike.”
Other key contributors for the Mustangs were Yang (35th, 17:09.12) and Erik Zuehlke (37th, 17:16.99).
Up next for Northside is the Class 3A Loyola Regional at Harms Woods on Saturday, October 24th.
“We’re just going to go out and run hard,” Laytham said. “Charlie and I are going to do a lot of preventative stuff this week like stretching and icing so we can both have PR’s next week.”
________________________________________________________________
Northside brings home
fourth at Niles West
Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com Editor
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Northside College Prep had a preview on Saturday of the state sectional course they’ll be running on come Oct. 31.
And the Mustangs had some success taking fourth place in the White Division of the Pat Savage Niles West Invite.
Leading the way for Northside was Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, who finished fifth with a time of 16:08.56.
“I wish the race was yesterday because I was flying through warm-ups,” Pineda Youniss said. “I was hoping to go faster because I wanted to break 16:00.”
Pineda Youniss ran into some trouble during the last mile when he was cut off by a competitor trying to pass a lapped runner. Pineda Youniss took a tumble and was passed by two other runners.
“I almost hit a flag pole,” Pineda Youniss said. “In the last half mile, you’re trying to build up your momentum so imagine just completely stopping and then having to get back up and get that speed.”
The good news is that the entire Mustangs team was able to get some experience on a Niles West course that they’ll be running on when sectionals roll around.
“They changed the course from last year so now you know when you need to kick heading into the final part,” Pineda Youniss said.
Cooper Eben was close on his teammates heals and finished the 3-mile course in a time of 16:12.73, which was good enough for seventh place.
“One of the hardest parts about this course is the start,” Eben said. “They’re really small boxes, there’s a lot of runners and it’s so easy to get boxed in. And there’s a lot of tight turns.
“It takes a lot of energy trying to go around packs and I got too tired early in the race. The last two miles I was pretty close to Cuit and that’s when he got tripped up.”
Up next for Northside was Charlie Mesimore whose trying to bounce back from some early-season injuries and get back to 100 percent. The junior came across the line in 27th place with a 16:39.49.
“I ran slower today than last week so that was bad,” Mesimore said. “In the beginning I was way back in the 100’s because it’s so crowded and the turns are tough to navigate.
“It’s just kind of frustrating because I ran this meet last year and I was a minute slower today. But I don’t think anyone was satisfied with how they ran this week.”
Mesimore and his team don’t have a meet next week as they prepare for the city meet but that only means this week of practice will be pretty tough.
“The week before city might be a little easier but we’ll train real hard this week,” Mesimore said. “That should be fun. The goal will be to win city and I want to PR and finish top ten.”
Wesley Laytham was the fourth Mustangs’ runner to cross the finish line and he was right behind Mesimore taking 28th place in a time of 16:39.77.
“Today was just overall a bad day,” Laytham said. “With the crowded start we got boxed in and Cooper and I had to fight through that.”
Things only got worse for Laytham after the crowded start.
“My hamstrings tightened up after the first mile and I was kind of dying,” he said. “It just wasn’t the best day.”
________________________________________________________________
Mustangs take big step
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com Editor
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Running
at full strength for the first time this season, Northside College Prep had an
opportunity to show how dangerous they’ll be as they took second place in the
Leyden Invitational on Saturday.
Junior
Charlie Mesimore was as close to 100 percent as he’s been the entire year and
was the Mustangs fourth runner across as he finished the 5k course in ninth
place with a time of 16:56.
“This
is my first real race back and it’s just about getting back into racing form,”
Mesimore said. “The first two miles I ran 5:20 and 5:18 and that’s really good.
But the last mile I was barely sub 6:00 so I just have to work on that.”
While
Mesimore didn’t have a perfect race, he was just happy to be on the course
after a rought start to the 2009 campaign.
“It’s
just been frustrating,” he said. “I had a great summer of training and then I
broke my toe the first week of August. I was slow coming back and then at St.
Pat’s I dropped out after having some quad tightness.
I
got that checked out this week and the doctor gave me some anti-cramping
medicine and it’s really worked out. My goal is to be good for regionals, maybe
city. I should be able to hit my peek for this year.”
Cuitlahuac
Pineda-Youniss was once against Northside’s top runner, as the senior took
fourth place in a time of 16:24.
“Today
was kind of a bad race,” he said. “I had a real bad cold and the past week I’ve
just been recovering from sickness. I just didn’t have the best mentality. I
always want to PR and do my best but I just came into this meet feeling bad.”
Pineda-Youniss
was happy to have his teammate on the course running well.
“It
was good to see Charlie get a race in,” he said. “He had a good time and this
just makes us stronger for regionals and sectionals later this season.”
Cooper
Eben wasn’t far behind Pineda-Youniss as he took fifth in a time of 16:25. In
fact, Eben had the lead heading into the last 50 yards but Pineda Youniss’
longer legs allowed him to slip past Eben. Still there was a lot for Eben to be
happy about.
“It
was a great race, probably the best of my season so far,” he said. “The first
mile was different than other races because it was a much smaller field so I
was able to get in the front pack within the first 30 seconds. I just tried to
stay up with Cuit and we just kind of went back and forth.”
One
of the reasons Eben was happy with his performance has to do with his college
plans.
“I
know Yale looks at runners for the 5k at 16:00 so that’s my biggest
motivation,” Eben said. “My previous best for a 5k was 16:58. I really want to
go to Yale. I visited the campus in spring break and it was so amazing. I loved
listening to the presenters talking about the school.”
Sandwiched
between Eben and Mesimore was Wesley Laytham, who finished the course in a time
of 16:42.
“For the first mile we were a solid pack and I kept all the guys in sight for the entire race,” Laytham said. “When you’re that close you really feel like racing. The first mile was fast and my hamstring hurt a little bit for the rest of the race. But I think it was a really good race for me.”
“I
felt pretty good today,” Zuehlke said. “I tried to stay with Jiasong for most
of the race. It was a fun race and I didn’t feel too much pressure. I had a
real good second mile and that’s usually the weakest. But I still need to work
harder on my second mile and my kick a bit.”
The Mustangs will compete at Niles West next week in what will be a sneak preview of the course that hosts the sectional meet on October 31.
Northside fights through adversity
By
Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com
Editor
Saturday,
September 13, 2009
Northside
College Prep’s boys had a lot to overcome in Saturday’s Gordon Tech
Invitational at Horner Park.
The
first hurdle came when Charlie Mesimore woke up with a fever and was scratched
from the race. That meant everyone was going to have to pitch in to make up for
the loss of one of the Mustangs’ top runners.
Cuitlahuac
Pineda Youniss did his best to chip in and was in position to take the lead
late in the race when he was spiked by a fellow runner.
Pineda
Youniss, however, stayed tough and finished the race in sixth place with a time
of 15:57. It was his best finish on the Horner park course.
“It
was nice to see that even though he got spiked and it affected him, he was able
to run his fastest time on this course,” said Northside head coach Jon Gordon.
Right
behind Pineda Youniss was Cooper Eben, who took seventh in a time of 15:58.
“Yesterday
my lower calf was hurting so I was worried about that,” Even said. “So I ran in
trainers today to give me more stability. They give you a little more support.”
Eben
was thrilled with his performance on Saturday.
“I
was able to run a very good race,” he said. “I didn’t want to be at the front
to start, partly because of the injury and partly because I didn’t want to
waste all my energy.
“I
did the first mile in 5:12 and was able to pass people in the second mile. I
just kept seeing targets and tried to pass them.”
By
the end of the race, Eben was able to chase down a
Wesley
Laytham had a very nice race as well, running away with 11th place
(16:14).
“The
first mile I was right where I wanted to be,” Laytham said. “I ran a 5:10 split
and I was with the leaders. The second mile I dropped back to the chase pack,
which is where I normally run. I was hurting when I got to the two mile mark
but I just tried to go as hard as I could the last mile.”
Laytham
would have liked to take the team title but he knows the Mustangs will have
plenty of chances the rest of the season.
“We
don’t put too much weight to our team finish in this race,” Laytham said. “It’s
a long season and we won’t let us get this down.”
Rounding
out the top five for Northside were Jiasong Yang (37th, 17:18) and
Fahad Sarvari (38th, 17:19).
“It
was a bad race for me today because I wanted to break 17:00 and I ran 17:19,”
Sarvari said. “I ran a 5:40 in the first mile but things fell apart in the
second mile so I have to work on that.”
One
of the things that may have contributed to Sarvari’s rough week was a lack of
sleep. School started last Tuesday and he’s been swamped with school work,
leading to a lot of short nights.
“I’ve
been up until 2 a.m. every night,” Sarvari said. “I guess it’s just going to
take a little bit of practice to get used to it.”
Erik
Zuehlke (45th, 17:43) and Forrest Cortes (49th, 18:11)
also contributed for the Mustangs.
Saturday
did provide Northside with a chance to gain some experience at a course that
they’ll see again later this season. The Mustangs will run in regionals at
Horner Park.
“The way our schedule is designed, the kids will get experience on the regional and sectional and state courses,” Gordon said. “So when they get to the state course (in November) we won’t be one of those teams looking around at the map. They’ll be able to visualize it before they race.”
Northside nabs second
By Rob Valentin
ChicagolandPreps.com Editor
One of the Mustangs top runners, Charlie Mesimore, had to drop out during the race due to a sore hip but Northside was able to overcome the adversity taking second with 62 points while St. Ignatius won the meet with 54 points. Fenwick was third with 101 while Mather (120) and Marian Catholic (141) rounded out the top five.
Leading the way for the Mustangs was Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss. The senior completed the three-mile course in a time of 15:29, which was good enough for second place overall behind Lane Tech’s Kulayifi Haji.
“I was going to be happy if I broke 15:50 and to run 20 seconds lower than that is great,” Pineda Youniss said. “I was really pumped before the race.”
Several runners went out very fast trying to set the tone of the race but Pineda Youniss stayed focus and hung with the second group. The strategy paid off as, one-by-one, he picked off runners and moved to the front. Just short of the two-mile mark he made his move going down a large hill and pushed into second place.
“You always get the kids who think they’re gonna keep that speed the whole race but they drop off eventually,” Pineda Youniss said. “I passed them up going down the hill and I never saw them again.”
While the first race was a success, Pineda Youniss knows there’s a long way to go to break his eventual goal.
“I want to break 15:00,” Pineda Youniss said. “I don’t care if I take last place in city as long as I can break 15:00. I’m just going to do what I’ve been doing and take every practice seriously.”
Cooper Eben was the next Mustangs’ runner to cross the finish line. The senior finished the race in fifth place with a time of 16:05.
“There’s always jitters but it was the first race of the year and you just want to take whatever you can learn from it and build off of it,” Eben said. “I wanted to get as close to 16:00 as close as possible and I was real close to that.”
Eben felt he ran a pretty clean race but there were definitely some areas to improve upon.
“Everyone went out and you want to go with them but that’s something I have to work on,” Eben said. “I ran the first mile at 15:08 and that was too fast, I want to be between 15:10 and 15:20. But it’s good to make mistakes early in the season and then learn from them.”
Wesley Laytham finished in eight place for a time of 16:21 giving Northside three runners in the top ten. It could have been four in the top ten but the injury to Mesimore prevented that.
Instead, the Mustangs had to look to their other runners to perform and they did just that as Fahad Sarvari (22nd, 17:16), Jiasong Yang (25th, 17:18) and Erik Zuehlke (27th, 17:28) all had strong races in the 17-team meet.
“This is my first year running varsity so I was really excited,” Sarvari said. “But I did a lot of training during the summer so I knew I was prepared. But my teammates told me ‘You put the work in. You’re going to be fine.’”
Like his teammates, Sarvari stayed patient early in the race when everyone went out fast.
“At the half-mile I was probably in 50th place but then they started peeling off and I was passing them,” Sarvari said. “It felt really good passing the guys from Lane. My goal was to run a 17:15 and I was right there so that’s good.”
