Lakes Sunset Series Meet #3
DEERFIELD PLACES THIRD AT COMPETITIVE LAKES SUNSET SERIES MEET #3 DESPITE INCOMPLETE SCORE
The final of three Lakes Sunset Series meets was by far the most competitive attracting ranked teams from across the region such as Lake Zurich and Warren. Deerfield brought their best eight runners to compete in this flighted invitational.
Each flight featured 22 runners, two runners from each of the eleven teams. The finish place of all eight runners counted towards the team score.
The first flight was for each teams’ 7th and 8th runners, which featured Deerfield seniors Jonah Kaplan and Ben Zamler. Both runners got out in the front pack, but Kaplan struggled with a medical issue, and it would not have been safe to continue. That left Zamler to battle for Deerfield, and he finished in second place in 16:57. Without an 8th runner, Deerfield was given a “ghost runner” in last place, which is 22 points. That setback was too much to overcome, but Deerfield kept battling anyway and proved that they can keep up with top teams.
The second flight for each team’s 5th and 6th runners included junior Eric Lakemaker and senior Charlie Hart. Like the previous race, both runners got out in the front pack. Neither had their best performances of the year, but fortunately they had built themselves up so that off performances are still pretty good. Lakemaker fell off the lead pack after two miles, but reeled them back in for a second place finish in 16:27. Hart finished in sixth in 16:53.
The next flight was for each teams’ 3rd and 4th runners, which featured juniors Ryan Bernstein and Lucas Moskovitz. Paced by a good runner from Lake Zurich, Bernstein held on for about two miles before he fell off pace, but the two runners were already so far out in front that Bernstein easily held on to second place in 15:51. Moskovitz ran with the next pack and used a big kick to beat them for third place in 16:06. The 2-3 finish in this flight was big for the Warriors.
Finally, the championship flight featured each teams’ top two runners, which for Deerfield was senior Josh Puyear and junior Cole Bernstein. This was a star-studded flight with many of the state’s top runners. All the expected runners were in the lead pack including Puyear and Bernstein. Over time the pack started breaking up. Puyear held on for a long time and finished an impressive 4th in 15:25 behind two Lake Zurich runners and Warren’s top runner, but he beat Warren’s second runner who he lost to earlier in the year and Highland Park’s top runner who is a returning All-Stater. Bernstein fell off the lead pack earlier and found himself surrounded by Highland Park’s runners. He caught and beat their All-Stater, but Highland Park’s #2 runner had a phenomenal day and beat both his teammate and Bernstein in the final quarter mile. Bernstein wound up seventh in 15:45.
This wraps up Deerfield’s participation in three outstanding meets at Lakes. They accomplished a lot and demonstrated the strength of the team both up front and with depth on the lower levels. Next up is the CSL North Conference Championships where Deerfield hopes to put that strength and depth on display even more.
