Junior Matusiak leads hopeful Lyons

Updated: October 3, 2011 7:32PM

“The Kid” is growing up.

Last year’s Lyons Township team featured several seniors, which made then-sophomore Michael Matusiak of La Grange one of the youngest members of the team when he finsished 90th in the Class 3A state meet.

“Last year, 10 of our top 12 (runners) graduated,” Matusiak said. “It’s weird for me. I was known as The Kid to everyone else.”

The Kid has become the leader of this year’s LT squad at it prepares to host the West Suburban Silver meet Oct. 15 at South campus.

Matusiak has been LT’s front runner in nearly ever major meet this season, finishing 24th (16:24) in the 39th annual Earl Invitational Saturday hosted by Loyola at Montrose Harbor in Chicago. LT placed fourth (194) in its last major meet before conference.

It would be unfair to compare this year’s team to last year’s. LT won the Reavis Invitational Sept. 10, but it has finished in the middle of the pack at its two biggest meets of the season: 16th at the Peoria Invitational Sept. 17 and 17th at the Palatine Invitational Sept. 24.

“We’re a young team. We do not have many seniors in our lineup for all those big meets,” Matusiak said.

One of the seniors, Grant Smith, finished 56th (16:52) at Loyola and was LT’s fifth runner to cross the finish line and count toward the team’s point total.

Matusiak has had varying degrees of success this season. He was ninth in the season-opening LT Invitational Sept. 3, but 42nd at Peoria and 32nd at Palatine.

One of the team’s biggest surprises at Loyola was James Ryan (16;25), who finished 26th after starting the season on the frosh-sophomore team. Ryan was LT’s second runner to score. He finished among top five scorers for the first time this season.

Returning sophomore Ed McCarter (40th, 16:39) and Ryan Speir (48th, 16:48) also scored for LT.

LT might not be able to challenge perennial power York in the conference meet, but Matusiak would settle for signs of improvement with regionals coming up Oct. 22. LT hosts that meet too.

“Our goal is to try to move up more and more as the season [goes],” Matusiak said. “We’ll shoot for the top this year.”

As a new team leader, Matusiak knows this year’s progress could lead to even better things next year with so many returnees expected back.

“We’re working on everything. We’re trying to get better in every aspect of the race. We keep trying to find things (that work),” Matusiak said.

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