Early Saturday morning on September 23rd, the boys cross country team attended one of the biggest invites of the season, the Palatine Invite, running against top ranked teams in the state. On the sophomore level, York let their talent shine, finishing 1st through 4th place and sweeping the competition.

Sophomore Colin Hill took the lead early on, placing 1st, setting the Dukes up for success. Close behind Hill, Thomas Braun finished 2nd, Sam Ayers finished 3rd, and Mickey Vreeland finished 4th, all finishing within .1 of a second of one another. Overall, the sophomores dominated their race, finishing 1st as a team.

“Our times were all within .1 seconds of each other and we were always trying to beat each other throughout the race like we’ve been doing for the past couple weeks,” sophomore Mickey Vreeland said. “I felt our last 300-400 meters was the most competitive we had been all season. We had a pack 3 wide and running for our lives.”

In addition to sweeping the race, this opportunity to compete served as a confidence booster for the sophomore runners. Sophomore Thomas Braun was confident that York would place four runners in the top four.

“I knew it was possible from the beginning but once we passed those two guys from New Trier with 800 meters to go, we just raced each other until the end,” Braun said.

As a pack, the York sophomores were able to take the task of winning the meet by breaking the race down, and running together to take home a victory. All four runners raced well alongside each other, motivating and working together.  

“We’re always competing with each other and trying to make sure everyone gets better,” Vreeland said. “Braun, Ayers, and I, were sticking together. Maybe half-way through I was falling back, but Braun yelled, ‘Mick! Get up here!’, and we stuck together to the finish line.”

We look forward to seeing these sophomores compete vying for spots in the top seven as the season advances into the state series.