Over the weekend, the Pirate cross country team took on many of the best teams in the state as they traveled down to Hinsdale Central for the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational. The varsity boys took sixth on the field with Hinsdale coming out on top.

“Our goal this weekend is to gain some good experience for the team and to finish pretty high in this meet,” Coach Joe Parks said. “We have a very solid team this year. We have a very strong senior class with All- State athlete Mason Krieg and Jack Cassacio who qualified to state in track.”

Palatine was ranked fifth by Illinois Cross Country and Track and Field going into the weekend.

“Our team is looking better than it has before,” Senior Jack Cassacio said. “My personal goal is to place well, compete, and score low for the team.” 

He also states that after going to state meets for cross country and track, he has way more confidence than he’s ever had.

 “Hinsdale is always a great place to start with really good competition, it’s good to know what your season is going to look like with those guys,” Cassacio said.

He ended up placing ninth in a fast field as the second man for the pirates behind Mason Krieg who finished sixth.

On a high note, freshman Alex Krieg ended up winning the freshman race. Krieg broke the course record for the freshman race with a time of 9:44 for 1.93 miles.

“I’m very happy with the result and even more shocked that I broke the course record,” Krieg said. “It was also cool to see my other teammates place in the top 25 as well.”

Overall the Pirates had a very good performance across all levels. The Pirates go against Schaumburg Saxons in a small dual meet next week. Hopefully they see more good results in the meet.