From the Daily Herald

Raiders nudge Bison for title
By John Lemon Daily Herald Sports Writer
Posted on October 14, 2001

Ed Lee/Daily Herald More Prep Photos Online. Click here.

Micah VanDenend is back, and so is Glenbard South.

The Raiders won their second Suburban Prairie Red Conference meet in three years Saturday in Bensenville. Glenbard South's 34 points beat Fenton's 43 in a matchup of two teams expected to finish in the top five in the state. Geneva took third with 56.

VanDenend led the way, outdueling Fenton's Carlos Mendoza and Geneva's Dan Huling. He won in 15 minutes 13 seconds, with Mendoza second at 15:18 and Huling third in 15:19.

The three were tight the entire race until VanDenend made his move in the final 200 meters on a wet, slippery course at Fenton.

"Normally I like to get out harder," said VanDenend, a senior who finished seventh in the state as a sophomore but missed nearly the entire 2000 season and most of this fall with a stress fracture in his right fibula. "We all sort of took it easy. Nobody wanted to go out.

"He (Mendoza) is an awesome runner. He always makes me work harder."

Mendoza, who finished 23rd at state last year, was disappointed not to win on his home course.

"He (VanDenend) had a good race," Mendoza said. "I was feeling good and then at the two-mile I got a side stitch. I didn't have my usual kick. I don't think I ran my best race."

The Raiders have run well this year without their top runner, but have been patiently waiting for VanDenend to get back to see just how good they can be.

Saturday was a good indication.

"He was incredible," said Glenbard South coach Andy Preuss. "Micah brings everyone else up."

VanDenend received plenty of help from his teammates. The Raiders showed their tremendous depth, finishing sixth, seventh, ninth and 11th.

Kevin Kuhlman ran with Fenton's Andy Sbertolli for nearly the entire race. Sbertolli finished fifth in 15:52 and Kuhlman sixth in 15:53.

Glenbard South's Eric MacTaggart (15:53), John Mulrow (16:27) and Kyle Nugent (16:37) were the next Raiders across the line. Preuss had said the key would be which team gets its fourth and fifth runners in first, and Glenbard South did just that.

"They ran awesome," Preuss said. "Up and down the line. It's exciting to see because they've come back from a lot of adversity. They believed in themselves."

"They have done an incredible job without me," VanDenend said. "Every meet. They are awesome. It's been hard to sit out and watch. Now that we're at full strength we want to show at state how good we are."

After Mendoza and Sbertolli, Jose Muneton was eighth (16:22), Joe Roeges 13th (16:38) and Larry Anzalone 15th (16:44) for Fenton, who won the 2000 Suburban Prairie Red title.

"They (Glenbard South) were better than us today," Mendoza said. "We knew they were much better than they were ranked. They've got a strong front runner and are strong four and five. Our team ran subpar today."