(Glenview Announcements) The Glenbrook South boys will run at Harms Woods like it’s their last race of the season.

Unlike the frontrunners — Loyola, Maine South, Niles North, New Trier — the Titans will go all out at Saturday’s regional in hopes of grabbing one of the seven spots at the following week’s sectional at Niles West.

“We really will have to be on our game,” Glenbrook South coach Kurt Hasenstein said.

Hasenstein isn’t worried about David O’Gara and Sam Stanek, his two top runners. The coach said the Titans need the back end to keep up with the pace.

“Those are the guys who will have to close the gap,” said Hasenstein, who considers his club the sixth-best going into the regional.

At Glenbrook North on Saturday, the Titans took sixth at the CSL Meet with 163 points. New Trier won the team title with 60 points, while Maine South (66) and Niles North (69) were close behind.

“This conference is very tough right now,” New Trier coach Dave Wisner said. “It’s a much deeper conference than even last year.”

O’Gara led Glenbrook South with his 12th-place finish in 15:51.81. Stanek wasn’t far behind, taking 16th in 15:59.30.

“I thought those guys ran extremely well, and I was pleased with their performance,” Hasenstein said. “They beat guys they had not beaten this year.

“They are getting better each week.”

After that, the pack separated.

Brad Berg, who’s been battling injuries this season, was 37th (16:37.75). Casey Henrickson crossed 48th (17:09.17) and Peter Westerfield came in 50th (17:10.06).

“We need Casey and Peter to run their Peoria races,” said Hasenstein, whose Titans were 11th out of 55 teams at the Oct. 1 race. “We still need David and Sam to run up front, but we need the rest of those guys to run as a pack.”

Trouble is, Hasenstein is uncertain sure if Berg will be ready to run this week. The hard-luck athlete sprained his ankle, and the coach is unsure Berg will be available for the rest of the season.

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(Glenview Announcements) Glenbrook South boys cross country coach Kurt Hasenstein always believed Sam Stanek had the potential to be one of the best runners on the team this season.

A couple of weeks ago, he watched the senior post one of the fastest times in program history, as Stanek finished in 15:37 at Detweiller Park in Peoria, site of next month’s State Meet. That put Stanek in a tie for 16th on the Titans’ all-time list.

“I knew he was capable of that,” said Hasenstein, whose squad will compete in Saturday’s CSL Meet at Glenbrook North. “He just wasn’t where he should have been until Peoria. He always had the ability, and he had a great summer. It was a matter of time.”

David O’Gara tied for the 12th-best time in Peoria when he finished in 15:35.

“He continues to lead us,” Hasenstein said. “He has great ability and a lot of leadership for a young man. Any time you have two guys run some of the best times in school history it’s exciting.”

Brad Berg also had a breakout run in Peoria, in preparation for the conference meet. The senior had been dealing with a calf injury and missed some workouts. His time of 15:54 at Detweiller showed he’s almost back in top form.

“He’s starting to come around,” said Hasenstein, whose team placed 11th among 55 teams for its best finish at the invitational since 2003. “I told him to be patient, but it’s hard to do that.”

Sophomore Casey Henrickson and junior Peter Westerfield finished 4-5 in Peoria, and figure to be in the mix at the CSL Meet. Just like Stanek did, both experienced time drops of more than 30 seconds.

Alex Jackman is someone Hasenstein hopes to have at full strength by the start of the state series. The sophomore has struggled with injuries to his knee and lower body throughout the season. Jackman ran in Peoria, and finished in 16:59.

“We will see what the trainers say,” Hasenstein said. “He’s been jogging a bit more, but he has to be patient. He wants to get back in there, but we’ve got to let him heal.”

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(Glenview Announcements)  Though the boys cross country season is still in its early stages, Kurt Hasenstein has seen enough from his sophomores to warrant promoting them to varsity.

The Glenbrook South coach cant find any reason to keep the underclassmen on the lower levels any longer — especially David O’Gara, who’s won his past two underclass races, including Saturday’s Wauconda Invitational — as well as Alex Jackman, who placed 17th.

“He’s pretty tough,” Hasenstein said of O’Gara, who also won at Crystal Lake South on Sept. 3. “I try to bring kids along slowly, but he deserves the opportunity to be up on varsity. Alex (Jackman), too.”

O’Gara displayed his dedication to the sport in the offseason when he logged the most miles of any in the program.

“David’s become a runner year-round,” the coach said. “He had an excellent track (season) and was ready to go this year. Alex stays in shape, but he’s had some injuries from playing basketball. They both showed potential last year, and David has those intangibles you just can’t teach.”

In fact, Hasenstein almost ran Jackman at regionals last season.

“He was right on the bubble,” Hasenstein said.

Without O’Gara and Jackman in the varsity lineup, the Titans finished 15th among 27 teams at Wauconda. Hasenstein isn’t reading too much into the results.

“I don’t make a big deal out of September meets because we run on such hilly courses,” he said. “They are so tough, and they are different from the ones we run in our league or even the state series. We just try to work on different things, like getting out in good position and running with our pack.”

Sam Stanek and Brad Berg were Glenbrook South’s 1-2 runners at Wauconda. Stanek finished 32nd in 16:50.84, while Berg wasn’t far behind in 38th (16:56.99).

“They’ve been pretty consistent,” Hasenstein said. “They run close together. David’s even been running with them in practice. I was doing some math, and if David would have run, we probably end up seventh or eighth there.”

Hasenstein is looking forward to an upcoming meet at Warren, where the course more closely resembles what the Titans are used to.

“It has a nice long straightaway at the beginning, and we will be able to see how the race develops over the first mile,” he said. “We also want to pack together more.”

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