2023 ILXCTF.com IHSA/Illinois XC Team Previews - Class 3A Boys

 

It’s Downers Grove North turn to lead the way in Class 3A

 

By Michael Newman

 

Downers Grove North made their way through a tough couple of meets last year winning the sectional, finishing third at state, and making it to Portland after finishing third. The Trojans this year get to wear the target on their back as the 2023 favorite.

 

It is a role that they will accept reluctantly. They realize that the only time to be ranked #1 is after November 4.

 

This will be a different year than it was last year. Five teams last season set themselves ahead of all the other 3A teams. It will be a different story with 13-14 schools chasing Downers Grove North and a top three finish.

 

Here is a look at some of the Class 3A Boys teams including the top 30 rated teams to start the 2023 season.

 

1 Downers Grove (North)

Coach – John Sipple; 2022 Finish – 3rd Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Caden Weber SR; Ryan Eddington SR; Zach Bender SR; Grant Schroder JR; Brady Travers JR; Phillip Cupila SO; Ryan Gustus JR; Owen Kelly JR; Curtis Mysliwiec SR; John Courtney JR; Will Surratt SO.

 

Notes – The one thing that you see from a program is consistency in everything that you do. If it is not broken, don’t fix it. This is the case for Downers Grove North. All eyes will be on this team heading into this season after finishing third in the state meet last season, third at the Nike Cross Midwest Regional, and then 11th at the Nike Cross Nationals. North has made it NXN now for the second time. They qualified for the state meet for nine straight maybe becoming ten in November. During that time, they have one state championship, two second-place trophies, and two third place trophies. That’s consistency.

 

“Our summer training was solid,” said Downers North Coach John Sipple. “Many of the guys have been able to progress their training volume where they would like to get it before school starts.  Additionally, with the loss of some very good leaders our team is adjusting and filling in the openings left behind from last year's group.    

 

Just as in year’s past, North reloads and the next group of runners enter as seniors, as senior leaders. The Trojans have four runners back from the NXN and state teams. Three of those runners are seniors. They all learned more about themselves in those two meets that will make them even better in the next couple of month. Caden Weber was the team’s top runner last year at state placing 13th overall.  Weber improved on the track last spring earning all-state honors in the 4x800m Relay and then all-state in the 1600 Meter Run placing fourth. Ryan Eddington was the same way on the track after finishing right with Weber at Detweiller finishing 14th. He was sensational in his final races in track. He had one of the fastest times in the 1600 Meter Run in the state (4:07.91). Eddington was part of the all-state 4x800m Relay. He came back in that meet running 1:52.84 to finish second in the 800 Meter Run.

 

Grant Schroder was the team’s fifth runner at state with a 68 place finish. Zach Bender was the team’s seventh runner at state. Schroder had experience in spring in that 4x800m Relay. He also ran 4:18.74 at the end of the year at Magis Miles for 1600-meters. Bender ran in the 4x8 relays prelims at state. His 1600 personal best dropped down to 4:18.82. Having four runners under 4:20 entering their senior season (Schroder is a junior) is a nice thing to have.

 

The Trojans have four runners that will give them low points. They have six runners that will challenge for the final three top seven spots. Brady Travers dropped his time from 9:57 during the season down to 9:33.90 for 3200-meters in the track sectional race. That will give him some major confidence heading towards this fall. “A number of our guys continue to build off of the progress that they made this past track season,” Sipple said. “Curtis Mysliwiec, juniors Ryan Gustis, John Courntey, Isaac Moss, sophomores Philip Cupila, Brennan Hardy, and Will Surratt, are all among the standout names.  We have been very happy with how far many of our guys have progressed and it will be a lot of fun to see how these guys learn to run at the varsity level.”

 

The one good thing about this team is that they keep their feet on the ground. North will get excited about a race, performance etc. but the next day is a new day. The team will run some tight pack running during the first half of the season. When they get to November, their racing strategy will change. They will be the team favorites to start the season but won’t matter until November. “This group has gained some valuable experience over the last few seasons to learn what racing is at the state/regional/national level,” Sipple concluded. “They have some lofty goals this season, which is exciting to be around, but more importantly they are finding that the day to day time they get to spend together is what it's all about.”

 

2 Arlington Heights (Hersey)

Coach – Kevin Young; 2022 Finish – 17th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Liam Naughton SR; Zach Frayder SR; Rob Geissenberger SR; Cameron Donner SR; Mateus Salomao SO; AJ Svienty SR; Jon Choi JR; Owen Wade JR; Aidan Korb SO; Brandon Rugg SO; Jon Bui JR; Billy Allen JR.

 

Notes – Hersey finished third in the Mid Suburban League, second in the Wheeling Regional and then fifth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional. They were behind Prospect by six points and ahead of Barrington by just a point. At the Mid Suburban League Meet, they were behind winner Palatine and Barrington by 14 points.

 

I don’t think anyone (including the team) figured they would finish where they would finish. Dismiss the weather conditions. Everyone ran in that slop. The one redeeming factor for the team is all seven runners in that race finishing 17 is that they all return ready to do some big things.

 

“We are a very upperclassman heavy group this year. We return all 7 of the state competitors from last season. Even though last cross season did not culminate as planned(17th at state) there were a lot of very valuable lessons and experiences taken from the season. They have had a very consistent summer of training and have set some very high goals for the year,” said their Coach Kevin Young.

 

The one runner that to the next step up during the track season is possibly their top runner Liam Naughton. The senior was 10 spots behind state top runner Zach Frayder who finished 80th. Naughton made the state finals in the 1600 Meter Run where he ran a personal best of 4:15.62 but missed all-state by seven hundredth of a second. I am guessing how down he was after the race. I can imagine how driven he will be this fall.

 

The top five of that state team that included Frayder, Naughton, Rob Geissenberger, Mateus Salomao, and AJ Svienty were separated by just 26 seconds. It was the right idea but too far behind. Their top split in their league Championships was just 22 seconds. The split at sectionals was 41 seconds. Their top five runners were interchangeable all in a different team place. It’s nice to have the ability for one runner to step up for another. Naughton is ready to take the next step up. The pack of six runners behind him needs to be 35 second behind their senior leader.

 

I don’t think this team realizes how talented and good they are. It is probably something Young has stressed for the past nine months. This is not a 17th place state team. They will finish much higher. They will be tough to race against this season. “The guys would like to get back to the top of the MSL, but it's going to be a fun battle all season with Barrington, Palatine, Prospect, Fremd, and Conant all returning very strong runners,” said Young. “They'd also like to give themselves a shot at a trophy. Only time will tell! The Illinois teams are tough and deep this season, so our main focus needs to be on what only we can control. This group has made some big jumps during the track season, so we hope to continue to make those steps forward. There's only "one more" opportunity for a lot of these guys, so I expect a bit more urgency, pride and passion in what they bring to practice and meets all season.”

 

3 Hinsdale (Central)

Coach – Jim Westphal; 2022 Finish – 2nd Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Aden Bandukwala SR; Max Lowe SR; Nikita Kamenev JR; Evan Kurimay SR; Cooper Revord JR; Michael Gamboa SO; Justin Bilyar SO; Henry Miller FR; Elliot Kotleba FR.

 

Notes – It seemed like during last season Hinsdale Central was a work in progress. Their entire top seven did not run together but it seemed like the pieces that were a team were coming together. That would come in the WSC-Silver as the team won as well as their own regional. Their final four races of the season were the best finishing second at the Waubonsie Valley Sectional by two points to Downers Grove North. They missed the state title by one point to Plainfield South. The Red Devils rebounded in winning the NXR Midwest Regional and then finishing eighth at the Nike Cross Nationals. The team came together at just the right moment.

 

Now with the 2023 cross-country season within reach, Hinsdale Central becomes a work in progress once again.

 

“Our training went fairly well,” said their coach Jum Westphal. “No big interruptions. Started our summer training a little later than usual due to getting out of school later, i.e. June 8th, so about two weeks later.”

 

The Red Devils again will be one of the top teams in the state. It will look different like every team does at the beginning of the year. Gone are their leaders Daniel Watcke, Michael Skora, and Jesse Gamboa that were the core of their team. Many lessons were taught by those runners that have been grasped by this current team.

 

It does help that you have the top runner in the state leading your team. Aden Bandukwala finished no higher than fourth last fall heading into the state meet. His kick at the end at Detweiller Park gave him the state title. We saw what he did last spring being all-state in the 3200 Meter Run and then another kick that gave the second state title of the season in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

Three runners are back from that state team including Bandukwala now stepping into the leadership role. “Aden will be the first to tell you that he really benefited from having great training partners in Dan Watcke & Michael Skora last year,” said Westphal.  “Every workout with those guys was a learning experience for Aden and he learned how to be a better competitor and teammate. We noticed Aden's confidence really grew at our conference meet when he took the lead somewhere before the 2 mile mark, heading up the long hill at KLM, and really pressed two of the top kids in the state in both Watcke & Liam Newhart. He threw in a second surge in the later stages of that race that really kind of jumped out to us as coaches. Aden's recent spring success will help him in that he's learned to compete no matter the situation and not matter if he's feeling good or not. This is an incredible senior class and Aden knows it and is taking nothing for granted.”

 

Another runner that grew at the end of the track season was Max Lowe who will be an all-state runner this November. He stepped up at state to finish 53rd at state and fourth runner at NXR Midwest. Lowe ran 4:29.36 in the spring. More importantly, Lowe was entering his senior season knowing it was now his turn. “Max is excited for the upcoming season,” said Westphal. “He's been working extremely hard and is looking to be a team leader, along with Aden. He had a nice track season and is hoping that translates into a successful Fall campaign.”

 

Westphal has a talented group coming back. They do not have the varsity experience that they will have by the time they get to the state series. This group will be another work in progress. Bandukwala will be the front runner and could have a tight pack led by Lowe, Michael Gamboa, Cooper Revord, Nikita Kamenev, and Evan Kurimay will be in the pack behind. This team could run a 35-40 seconds on the group. The key will be how close could that pack be to Bandukwala. This team is deeper than people think. Central also has a good freshman group coming in led by Henry Miller and Henry Kotleba which Westphal feels they will need sooner than later.

 

Class 3A is wide open this year with up to 15 schools able to be in the top five. Westphal does not know how good this team is or maybe he does? We could find out sooner than later or we can watch as they progress to the next level.

 

4 Plainfield (North)

Coach – Andy Derks; 2022 Finish – 4th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Owen Stahl SR; Easton Miller SR; Quinn Davis JR; Thomas Czerwinski SO; Cullen Williams SR; Aidan Connors SO; James Maso SO; Sean Jansen SO; Noah Gilbert SR; Evan Alexander SO; Gavin Hall SO; Logan Dodson FR; Dominic Frigo FR.

 

Notes – Plainfield North found their way around the mud at Detweiller Park to finish fourth in last year’s 3A State Meet. It was a surprise in the standings that not many people at the park expected. All except the team that achieved that. “I think our performance at last year's state meet made this team hungry for more,” said Plainfield North Coach Andrew Derks said. “It broke down some barriers that I think we may have had as a program about being able to compete with the best teams in the state and be a team that truly sees itself as a trophy-contending team. These guys have not backed down from any talk about where they want to be at the end of the season.”

 

They do lose their top runner Oliver Burns who graduated after placing fifth last year. The Tigers do have the runners that could take fourth-place into trophy territory. Their split at last year’s state meet from the second through fifth runners was 26 seconds led by Owen Stahl. Last year’s 2 runner will play a big part of this team. “Owen is an absolute competitor,” said Derks. “As a coach, you love to have guys like Owen on your team.  He really developed his speed last winter/spring and turned himself into a 4x4/4x8 guy in track. He has been building a very solid summer of training minus a little break to get his wisdom teeth out, but he's a runner that will get better and better as the season goes. He may not be our best guy right now, but he is our leader and will be there when it counts, I have no doubt about that. I'm excited to see what he can do this season. He has extremely high goals for himself and his team. He knows how to run well in big races.”

 

Quinn Davis, Thomas Czerwinski, Easton Miller, and Aidan Connors return from the state team. With the depth of this squad heading into this season, their team may have a different line-up. “We had a solid summer of training,” added Derks. “It was interesting since we came out of track season with our top XC guys focusing on different events and then transitioning back together all with the focus of racing 3-miles.  Owen Stahl and Easton Miller were both very 4x4/4x8 focused in track, so their transition back to XC training was different than someone like Quinn Davis who was more 3200m focused in track.  All in all, we are in a good place. Most of our core Sophs - Seniors were consistent in the 40-65  miles range on any given week, we were able to get to trails throughout the summer for some quality 10-13 miles long runs, and our good group of Sophs definitely took the next step in their training. We have a long way to go still but I love our team and where we are at right now.”

 

Noah Gilbert had a great summer of training and could join the group up front. Gavin Hall was the team’s third freshman last season but with his training has joined Czerwinski and Connors in the front group. “We've had others put in solid, consistent summers as well, but these 3 have definitely elevated from where they were in the past,” Derks said.

 

This could be a different look for the Tigers with no runner, like Burns, in the top 10. They do have a strong pack that will be up front perhaps negating a front runner. The team’s pack close together last fall. They will need to find someone to step up in the top five. They have five to seven runners that could accomplish that. The thing for this team to have the same kind of split towards the front. The possibility is there where Plainfield North could have two all-state runners in November.

 

“We've been building this thing for several years now and it's fun to watch these young men develop confidence in themselves,” Derks concluded.  “We've got a great mix of experienced guys, young guys, speed guys, aerobic guys, vocal guys, and quiet guys... But when it comes to the team, they are all-in for each other. The other thing I think they learned is how to approach big races both strategically and psychologically. They're not intimidated by the moment or the surroundings, and with 5/7 coming back, they're ready to improve.”

 

5 Barrington

Coach – Thomas Root; 2022 Finish – 11th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Joe Bregenzer JR; Ethan Scott JR; Justin Hurtado JR; Avery Erickson JR; Max Lewis SR; Manasyu Chaudhari SR; Haru Nagaoka JR, Brian Breen SR; Srini Jagannath SR; Wyatt Nichols SR; Mark McGinn JR; Will Schneider FR.

 

Notes – This team had their ups and downs during the end of last season. The Broncos finished second in the Mid Suburban League, fifth at the Palatine Regional, sixth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional, and then 11 at the state meet. It was not a matter of total inconsistency. It was their top four runners, all sophomores, learning how to race. Their top six runners are back to lead Barrington ready to use what they have learned.

 

“While we certainly graduated our share of great athletes last year, the majority of last year’s top group is returning,” said Coach Thomas Root. “We were very impressed last year for how young we were, but we had a lot of growing to do. This year, those returners come back with a huge leg up in the maturity department and with the varsity experience they picked up last year, they are tackling the training in an extremely unified fashion, placing great trust in one another, and showing wisdom beyond their years. They are thoroughly enjoying piling on the miles together, dominating their own performances from years past, and adopting new ways to keep getting better.”

 

Joe Bregenzer emerged as the team’s top runner last year as the junior was all-state placing 24th. He could have a lot more in store over the next couple of months. “Joe is likely the most no-nonsense, all-in runner I have ever coached,” Root said. “He is superpowered in the focus department, meticulously taking care of his training and demanding excellence from all around him. His greatest area of growth over the last year has been in the way he lifts up his teammates around him.”

 

Ethan Scott, Justin Hurtado, Manasyu Chaudhari, and Max Lewis were the second through fifth runners for Barrington at the state meet. Avery Erickson, Haru Nagaoka, and  Mark McGinn are ready to take the next step up. McGinn and Nagaoka could be the most improved runners on the team according to Root and could join into the top five conversation.

 

Bregenzer will provide the low numbers up front for the Broncos. Bregenzer was just 20 seconds ahead of the pack last year at state by 20 seconds. It should be a little bit larger as the season continues especially if he is closer to the front. The split behind him was 33 seconds on the next four runners. The experience from last year should push them to higher levels. We will have a better idea of how good this team is. We will find out in there first two meets at Lake County and then in Peoria at the Richard Spring Invitational.

 

6 Palatine

Coach – Joe Parks; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Andy Hansen SR; Alex Krieg SO; Carter Hayes JR; Abraham Hernandez SR; James O’Sullivan SO; Erick Gonzalez JR; Christoper Quick SO; Alex Huila SR; Miles Serra FR; Anton Crane FR.

 

Notes – The Pirates will be a team to challenge for a trophy this season despite the fact that seven of their top ten runners from last year’s team have graduated. It could be tough for Palatine considering they have a smaller team heading into this season. “Our training was good,” said Palatine Coach Joe Parks. “It felt different than last couple years as our last two graduating classes were deep and talented. We’ve got the talent still, but numbers and depth are about as small as I’ve ever coached. Really small senior class currently and our sophomore class is small too (but fortunately talented and hardworking).  Otherwise, a pretty normal summer for us.”

 

It could be Alex Krieg that will be the top runner on this team. As a freshman last year, he was the team’s #2 runner in the three meets that preceded state. He did not have his best race at state as the team’s fourth runner. His success on the track qualifying state in the 1600 Meter Run with Hayes shows how good he will be this fall. He will be one of the leaders for this team this fall. Andy Hansen showed great improvement that continued after finishing 52nd. He dropped his personal best to 9:53.67 last spring for 3200-meters. Carter Hayes is the third runner that we could see as a top runner for Palatine. He finished 99 in the state race but took a big step up in track qualifying for state in the 1600 Meter Run. His personal best dipped down to 4:22.04 last spring. It gives Palatine a strong first three runners.

 

“Andy and Carter should have potential to battle in the front of any race they are in,” said Parks. “Both were two of only three frosh-soph boys (along with Barrera of Dekalb) to qualify this past spring in the 3A 1600m.  They are far from polished, but they have learned to work well together and live each other up. They will be fun to watch this fall. Hanson is still bit of an unknown, even though he’s a senior. He’s had some hiccups the past few years. If he can simply stack some healthy weeks he will be a huge part of our success. His work ethic is top notch.”

 

What will need to be watched is who will step up as Palatine’s fourth and fifth runners? It could be Alexander Hernandez that had a best last year is almost a minute of Hayes. Sophomores James O’Sullivan and Christopher Quick have showed improvement over the summer and could be ready to move up.  What could get Palatine among the best is higher finishes in the top three. What could hurt this team is if their next four runners are too far back.

 

7 Winnetka (New Trier)

Coach – Matthew Sloan; 2022 Finish – 10th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Ben Crane JR; Atticus Miller SR; Joey Papanicholas JR; Felix Hekster SR; James Flynn SR; Kyle Fix SR; Nick Goebel SR; Walter Garrett JR; Cooper Hazday JR; Jules Sichel SR.

 

Notes – You can ignore the fact that New Trier only has three runners back from last year’s 10 place state team. It seems that you see this program somewhere in the front especially when they get to Peoria. The last time the Trevians miss the state meet was in 2006. This year will be another year you will see New Trier on the starting line on November 4 around 2 PM.

 

“The athletes had a tremendous summer of training. I made some adjustments to the transition phase from track into summer training to keep our fitness improving,” said Coach Matt Brown. “The team will again start up front with Ben Crane. The junior missed all-state last year placing 30th. We could see him in the top 10 in this season. “Ben has had an outstanding summer of consistent and high quality training,” added Sloan.  “He is a leader in our program. He sets the tone for work ethic and drive for excellence. Ben just missed breaking the 2.2 mile course record at the BYU running camp back in June. He has big goals and I have no doubt that he will achieve them. I look forward to watching Ben mix it up with the best in state at the front of races this fall.”

 

Atticus Miller and Joey Papanicholas ran in last year’s state meet and again should be in the team’s top five. The one runner that will give the team the boost is Felix Hekster. He was a JV runner in their conference meet and ran in the regional meet. His track season provided us an idea what he could do this fall. “Felix Hekster is rolling,” said Sloan. “He is building upon an outstanding junior year. During track season he ran 9:29 and qualified for the state meet. His progression from a 13:30 2-mile time trial in the July of his freshman year to 9:29 is fantastic. Felix has been training on the heels of Ben in all workout this summer. He will be a force this fall.”

 

Crane will provide his team low numbers in the front. The top five split is projected to be just 50 seconds this season. Runners such as Jordan Kreiner, James Flynn, Kyle Fix and a number of rising juniors Walter Garrett, Cooper Hazday, Tyler Parks, Evan Shu, and Jonah Swanson had good training summers and will build this team challenging for top seven spots.

 

“We are very pleased with the current state of our individual and collective fitness,” added Sloan. “Athletes have built their aerobic engines through continuous threshold runs and cruise intervals while also making use of road trips to seek out great trails and hills in the area. There is a positive vibe and focus in our program. The boys have pushed each other throughout the summer.  I’m proud of their work ethic and progress. The coaching staff and I look forward to continuing this journey with our athletes and seeing how our program stacks up against the great competition that Illinois has to offer.”

 

8 Oak Park-River Forest

Coach – Chris Baldwin; 2022 Finish – 5th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Michael Michelotti SR; Daniel Johnson SR; Lewis O’Connor SR; Andrew Harmon JR; Mariano Escobedo SR; Finn Kelly JR; Liam O’Connor JR; Connor Schupp JR; Henry Schacht SR.

 

Notes – The Huskies pushed through a tough WSC-Silver Conference Meet finish second last year on their way to a fifth place finish in the state meet. Oak Park does lose three runners to graduation including their leader Liam Newhart. This is still a team to keep a close eye on in 2023.

 

“We pushed back the start of our summer training this year because we had a large number of kids racing post season races or needing a little extra time to recover from the season,” said Chris Baldwin. “We had several of our juniors attend the University of Wisconsin camp and several other athletes taking college visits and vacations.  We were a little more spread out than we had been the past two year, but the kids completed the work when they were away from our summer camp.   They are excited to be back together and to compete against the best teams in the state.”

 

Michael Michelotti will be one of the runners to watch in the front for the Huskies. Now a senior, he finished as the team’s second runner placing 36th at state. Daniel Johnson ran 14:59 at the Richard Spring Invitational last September. He did not race again until his sectional race where he was the team’s fifth runner, then sixth runner at state. Johnson had a strong track season. I see him close to Michelotti with both runners in the top 25 this November.

 

Lewis O’Connor stepped up this spring after being fifth runner last year helping the Huskies last spring in the 4x800m Relay. O’Connor along with Finn Kelly, who both had good summer month of training, will be an asset for Oak Park in their top five. Andrew Harmon ran on the Frosh/Soph level in both cross country and track. He was the team’s seventh runner at state. His improvement during the track season indicates that he could surprise some in the team’s top five. Mariano Escobedo and Liam O’Connor will give their team depth in the top seven.

 

Although Oak Park lose Liam Newhart to graduation, his presence is still around the team with the lessons that they learned from him. “Liam is a phenomenal kid,” added Baldwin. “His love and commitment to his teammates was infectious. He always cared how the team did or what he could do to help the team.  It was always about the whole team and not about Liam.  His leadership and ability to keep the team relaxed will be missed, and we are very excited to see his growth continue and Madison.  The whole class of 23 had a huge impact on our program, they showed what hard work and belief can do for your team.   Our 2021 team did not make the state finals to taking 5th the following year is something that is rarely done in 3A.   Owen Augustine was a leader on the team from Freshman  year, Nick Parrell worked his ass off to become 42 at Footlocker Regionals and sub 9:20 kid.(He wasn’t even a top 8 freshman on the team) .   The class of 23 was amazing and they set the tone for our current seniors who  have some big shoes to fill.  I am fully confident they are up for the challenge.”

 

9 LaGrange (Lyons Township)

Coach – Michael Danner; 2022 Finish – 7th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Nick Strayer SR; Cillian Henning SR; Ben Wuggazer JR; Max Waschuk SR; Brendan Welton SR; Isaac Constas JR; Patrick Collins SO; Tate Pavelka JR; John Barrette SR; Aidan Fouilard SR; Charles Ciesla JR.

 

Notes – It seems like every season Lyons Township sneaks up on teams because some think that the team has lost the talent to contend for a trophy. They always have the talent. The Lions will contend for a conference title as well as a chance for a state trophy. The Lions are always at constant to run at Detweiller Park in November.

 

Coach Mike Danner returns perhaps the top duo in the state this season. Nick Strayer and Cillian Henning finished ninth and tenth in last year’s state meet just separated by a splash of mud. That held true were they were within two seconds of each other in three of their four meets heading into state. Strayer was part of Lions relay in the 4x8 at state finishing fifth running a 1:54 split. He ran a best of 4:17.29 best for 1600-meters during the outdoor season. Henning ran 9:31 during the track season with ankle problems slowing down his training. Both are ahead of where they are at last year according to Danner.

 

Ben Wuggazer did not race in the state series for the Lions but came back to run as the team’s fifth runner at the NXR Midwest Regional. An ankle injury slowed him, but Danner believes he could be solid top five runner for the team. A key for this team is to build the pack and lower the split behind their first three runners. Some of those runners include seniors Max Washchuk and Brendan Whelton, juniors Isaac Constas and Tate Pavelka along with sophomore Patrick Collins. “I feel we have considerable depth and a lot of kids capable of having a breakout season,” Danner said. “Clearly the key to our success this season will be to tighten things up at 4-5 man. We have plenty of kids capable at the 6-7 spot.”

 

10 Naperville (Central)

Coach – Grant Baganz; 2022 Finish – 20th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Tyler Browning SR; Foster Shelbert SR; Nick Kamp SR; Max Henige SR; Julian Brozek SR; Dylan Evans SR; Patrick Clune JR; Brayden Groenenboom SR; Manny Najera FR.

 

Notes – This will be more of a rebuilding year for the Redhawks after finishing 20 in the state meet while losing their top four runners to graduation. Central also will lose Luke Flessner who would have been in the team’s top five. Flessner is concentrating on hurdling and will not run cross-country this fall.

 

The Redhawks do have the depth to support the three runners back from the state team. “ Our summer went well,” said Coach Grant Baganz. “We did a lot of fartlek’s, hills, tempo, and such, and less pace-specific running. In addition, we did some higher level aerobic longer runs. For time trials, we really only did one. Also, while not the focus, we continued to touch every training gear, including pure speed, regularly.”

 

Tyler Browning ran anywhere from three to five on the team’s top five last season. He was the Redhawks third runner at state and is figuring to be one of the team’s leaders. “Tyler is among our most confident and competitive guys, and that has paid off for him,” said Baganz. “Each year, he has shown steady improvement, and no less is expected this year. His 9:26 3200 during the past track and field season gave him additional confidence that he can be All-State this fall. Tyler has a bit of an edge about him, in a good, yet still humble way, and we hope that more of this rubs off on his teammates.”

 

If Browning is not the team’s top runner. It should be Foster Shelbert who has transitioned nicely from the sprints to the distances. Shelbert was all-state in the 800 Meter Run placing seventh. Shelbert anchored Naperville Centrals 4x8 state team to a fourth-place finish and a fifth-place finish at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. His 1600 time during track also dropped down to 4:18 last spring. “Foster gained increased confidence during the past track and field season, which he needs to translate over 3 miles,” said Baganz. “He is more than capable, as we have seen in many workouts and races, including some seemingly effortless tempo runs in the past. He has had his share of triumphs and disappointments, but since these have happened as a younger runner, they will only make him better as a senior. Foster has unlimited potential and can be right there in the All-state conversation if he truly wants to go after great things at any distance. Tapping into his middle distance confidence and love for his team will be the biggest helps.

 

There are a number of runners including Nick Kamp, Max Henige, and Patrick Cline that will lead a large group challenging for top five positions. The Redhawks will need to rely on a tight top five split of 35 to 40 seconds in challenging for a top 10 state finish.

 

11 O’Fallon

Coach – Jon Burnett; 2022 Finish – 14th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Dylan Ybarra SR; Eli Greenstreet SR; Zach Thoman JR; Harrison Schroeder SO; Robert Wocking JR; Brayden Kloeppel SO; Jackson Gherardini SO; Chad Brown JR; Cy Hinton JR; Andrew Roberts SR

 

Notes – With Class 3A wide open this fall, O’Fallon has the talent to finish among the top five teams or could go lower than they are rated here. The Panthers are a driven team this season that could do some great things Dylan Ybarra again will lead this team heading into his senior season. Ybarra was all-state finishing 21st at last year’s state meet. He should be among the top 10 runners in this classification. He does have two teammates that could be among the top 40 in the state. Eli Greenstreet finished 37 as the team’s #2 runner and was 18 seconds behind Ybarra in the state race. Zach Thoman, the team’s third runner, was 28 seconds behind Greenstreet, 10 seconds ahead of him in the sectional. The two runners should be interchangeable trading off the 2-3 spots cutting down the split in the three runners. The split at state on the three runners was 46 seconds at state, 36 at sectionals, and 35 seconds in their conference meet.

 

Harrison Schroeder and Robert Wocking should fit in the four-five spots in their top five. The two runners were within 15 seconds of each other at the end of the season. O’Fallon’s top five split was 77 seconds in their sectional race, 63 seconds at state. In keeping their split under 60 seconds in this season’s bigger meets, the higher this team will finish.

 

“Summer training went very well,” said Coach Jon Burnett. “We had several athletes looking to improve on the 2022 season.  We return many athletes with a lot of varsity experience such as Dylan Ybarra, Eli Greenstreet, Zach Thoman, Harrison Schroeder, and Robert Wocking. We also return Brayden Kloeppel and Jackson Gherardini who gained some varsity experience last season as freshmen. This group is running practices in a tight pack.  It will be interesting to see how this training will translate into races. The track season did not finish the way we would have liked.  Hopefully, we will learn from that experience and finish in a high note this fall.”

 

12 Aurora (West)

Coach – Anthony Rizzo; 2022 Finish – 7th Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional

Runners – Sean Heetland SR; Nathan Gehrmann SO; Michael Nava JR (transfer from East Aurora); Sam Roco SR; Branden DeLeon SR; Aiden Massaro SR; Isaac Aguado SR; Lachlan Mahoney FR;  Miguel Orrala JR.

 

Notes – Things were looking good for the Blackhawks after finishing fourth at the Southwest Prairie Conference Meet giving them hopes that they could make through to the Waubonsie Valley Sectional Meet. Things turned upside down for Aurora West the next weekend at the Hinsdale Central Regional finishing seventh missing making it to the next weekend by four points.

 

“I think Regionals was a strange day for us last year,” said their coach, Tony Rizzo.  “Sean came down with some illness a day before and had some medicine that proved to knock him down, as you saw from the results.  Several others did not have excellent races, but we have learned that if we work together we can defeat a course. I still believe that we deserved to be in the Sectional and that if we were in any other Regional, even with the poor race, we would have been there.  What can we say, that Regional and Sectional is a monster and a bloodbath.”

 

Things should change for West Aurora this fall. They return five runners from the regional race. Rizzo does lose Devyn and Ayden Jenkins who transferred away from the school. They do have a transferrin with Michael Nava who ran for East Aurora last season and could be on this team’s top seven. Nava was East Aurora’s third runner last fall. They also have a freshman Lachlan Maloney entering West Aurora as a freshman. Rizzo will take his time with Maloney maybe not moving him up until the state series.

 

West Aurora has strong front runners with Sean Heetland and Nathan Gehrman who both qualified for sectionals and the state meet. Aiden Massaro and  Samuel Rocco had great summers of training and have closed the gap on the top two runners. “Brandon DeLeon had a fantastic and consistent summer, where he has not in the past,” added Rizzo. “I believe this will make a major difference as we progress.”

 

Aurora West has not made it to the state meet since 2011 so this is foreign territory for the team this season. The team does have the talent to accept the challenge and make it to the state meet. “I think that we are in a great position to begin striking,” Rizzo said. “We have some confidence, experience, and most of all, desire to make it all happen. I think that the kids want it and we are guiding them to the end so that they can properly represent themselves as well as West Aurora.”

 

13 Naperville (Neuqua Valley)

Coach – Jamie Janota; 2022 Finish – 12th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Zac Close SR; Robert Glenn SR; Tony Hinderliter SR; Anthony Pastore SR; Joshua Nauman SR; Aaron Hamilton JR; Ryan Adamski JR; Brian Bowers SR; Jacob Lane SR; Jesse Gudauskas FR.

 

Notes – It is a new era for Neuqua Valley as Jamie Janota steps into become the second coach in the program’s history replacing the team’s original coach and program founder Paul Vandersteen who retired after last fall. “Not much really has changed,” said Janota. “If it ain't broke don't fix it, I guess.  But it's not as if I'm the new kid on the block either.  I'm starting my 22nd year at Neuqua Valley today, and a lot of what has been created in that time, I've had a hand in as well.  If anything, I just see small tweaks that I'm making.  Nothing major, more in the world of administrivia for now.  But I'm sure that will change as time goes on.”

 

Neuqua Valley finished 12 in last year’s state meet and return their top three runners from that team. A summer of hard work could take the Wildcats higher. “I felt that the summer went pretty smoothly,” added Janota. ”Our key workout is our 1200 intervals, and I saw the boys getting stronger with each passing week.  They embraced running with one another, especially Robert Glenn and Tony Hinderliter, who should be our 2 and 3.  We closed out summer in Oregon, IL, with our away camp.  The boys crushed our Led Zeppelin hill workout while we were there.  All the coaches were impressed with how the boys embraced the pain and kept pushing through it, something we've talked a lot about this summer.  Andy Derks came to speak to our crew, and he spoke to that issue as well.  Very thankful for Andy!”

 

Zac Close continues to improve to the point where he could be one of the top five runners in Class 3A this fall. He finished 15th at last year’s state meet. He ran a personal best of 9:14.70 for the 3200 Meter Run and finished sixth in the event in the state track meet earning all-state honors. Robert Glenn and Tony Hinderliter showed improvement this summer giving the team a strong 2-3. Anthony Pastore could be the most improved on the team getting closer to the pacj on the front. He will give this team a boost this fall. Josh Nauman and Brian Bowers are some of the runners that will challenge for the rest of the spots in the top seven. Close will give his team low numbers in the front. Glenn or Hinderliter should be in the top 30 when they get to the state meet. A split under 45 seconds on the second through fifth runners benefits this team beautifully.

 

“It's very difficult to encapsulate 21 years of working with Paul into a quick few lines honestly,” concluded Janota. “I think when I first began coaching, I was more of a hot-head and would not have patience for some of the stupid stuff that teenagers can get involved in.  Paul always had a pretty calming presence that I slowly adopted over the years.  I can still get pretty fired up during races, but - and here's my Marvel movie reference - I've found myself being much slower in reaction and word when there is chaos all around me.  At times I feel like Quicksilver from the X-Men movies, where he's moving at the speed of light, yet the chaos slows down, and he can consider how to set it all right.” 

 

14 Plainfield (South)

Coach – Jason Crowe; 2022 Finish – Class 3A State Meet Champions

Runners – Camyn Viger SR; Dylan Maloney JR; Gavin Borger SR; Joaquin DeAlba SR; Riley Fink JR; Austin Cory SO (from soccer); Alex Batsala FR; Tyler Miller SO; Dylan Buturusis FR; Cole Maranowicz JR; Aron McCormick JR; Brayden Bergman SR.

 

Notes – Plainfield South made school history last fall winning the program’s first state title. They rolled from there making it to NXN by finishing second at NXR Midwest Regionals and then finishing 13th in Portland.  The trophy is now in the trophy case looking at these runners as they go to run knowing that this is a new season.

 

“This summer was excellent,” said Coach Jason Crowe said. “Especially with the commitment from our incoming freshmen and key varsity returners.  Camyn Viger, Dylan Maloney and Gavin Borger (our top 3 returners) spent 5 weekends at a high altitude camp in Crested Butte, Colorado.  They had some great runs and workouts at 9,000 feet.”

 

Viger showed great improvement during his track season after finishing 11th at state. He lowered his bests down to 9:13.18 for 3200-meters and 4:09.34 for 1600-Meters. He was all-state finishing second in the 1600 Meter Run and helped his team with a third-place finish in the 4x800m Relay. He will be in the conversation on who will win the Class 3A individual title in November.

 

Dylan Maloney was all-state last year as a sophomore finishing 16th at state, His time dropped down to 9:14.66 for 3200-meters during the track season. Gavin Borger was the seventh runner for the team at the end of the season. His summer of training was impressive. It showed when he was behind six seconds of Maloney at the team’s opening three-mile time trial on August 12.

 

The thing to watch for this team is how the top seven fills in. We had a better after the team’s time trial. Joaquin DeAlba was 34 seconds behind the first three and looks to be the clear #4 runner heading into their opening meet. Four runners are within 15 seconds of each other that includes Riley Fink, Austin Cory, Alex Batsala, and Tyler Miller. Cory is a sophomore who played soccer last fall. Batsala is just a freshman and could find his way into the varsity’s top five. The split from their fourth runner to the pack is 20 seconds.

 

“The past year has been exciting,” Crowe said. “Not only has the championship been additional motivation but has been a boost of confidence to the whole program.  Last year's team has now created the blueprint to how to win a state title and last year's seniors have left a legacy behind for the present and future to follow.”

 

The Cougars will be in the top 10 sooner than later.

 

15 Riverside-Brookfield

Coach – Jack Brady; 2022 Finish – Class 2A State Meet Champion

Runners – Cooper Marrs SR; Jack O’Brien SR; Brady Norman JR; William Kallas SR; Brennan Lester SR; Hayden Marrs SR; Asa Kahle JR; Diego Lopez-Molina JR; Evan McMullen SR; Hayden Hass JR.

 

Notes – The defending champions from 2022 in Class 2A will not be able to defend their title in Class 2A. Riverside-Brookfield was moved up due to classifications changes for the next two seasons. The Bulldogs won their state championship with six underclassmen last year. They will do so entering this season with six seniors leading the way.

 

The move to 3A offers another challenge,” said their coach, Jack Brady. “Winning last year at 2A was an experience on how to deal with the pressure of the biggest meet and how to deal with adverse conditions. Hopefully the lessons learned carry over to this season.”

 

Cooper Marrs was one of the elite runners in Class 2A and top runner last year for the Bulldogs when he finished fifth in the 2A race. Jack O’Brien was also all-state placing 16th. Wiliam Kallas was 30th in 2A just 24 seconds behind O’Brien. One of the biggest improving runners for RB was Brady Norman. As a sophomore last year, Norman dropped his 3200 Meter Run personal best from 10:14.55 down to 9:35.26. He could give this team a stronger first four runners.

 

The top five split for the Bulldogs last year at state was 79 seconds off Marrs, Their two to five split was just 46 seconds. The improvement of Norman will cut down that split. They will need to lower their gap down to 35 seconds. Brennan Lester and Hayden Marrs will boost this team’s top seven. This is a deep team with eight seniors in the top twelve.

 

We will see how good this team will be in their opening meets at Lyons Township and then the First to the Finish Invitational.

 

16 Yorkville

Coach – Chris Muth; 2022 Finish – 22nd Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Jake Younger SR; Owen Horeni SO; Brody Greyer JR; Ryan Rotramel JR; Ben Kieffer SR; Eyan Meyer SR; Walter Strait JR; Lukas Summers JR; Adam Klemm SR; George Werderich SR; Ian Goodwin SR; Bryan Fichtel JR.

 

Notes – The Foxes are a team on the rise this season returning 11 of their top 12  runners that have a good chance to improve on last year’s 22nd place finish. “Our training was consistent and with purpose,” said Coach Chris Muth. “We didn’t have our normal track this season to train on due to the football field going from grass to turf, so we had to adapt some and adjust from normal workout progression.  We have a very solid top four this year, but our team accomplishment will come down to the second group's willingness to close the gap and minimize the split.  We have one senior currently in our top seven, so we are young and have a lot of growth that can be obtained with hard work and experience.”

 

Owen Horeni had a good freshman year that started finishing 51 at state as the Foxes’ top runner. His track season was even better as he ran a personal best of 1:54.08 earning all-state honors placing eighth. “Owen is a very talented athlete, in fact one of the best talents that we have come through our program in my coaching tenure, Muth said. “He is coming off a very successful track season in which he accomplished some amazing times, through his hard work.  He continued track into the summer, and we have done our best to transition him fully into cross country over the past month.  He has high expectations for the upcoming season with lofty goals, and I believe totally in him and his ability.  The sky is the limit with this young talented runner.”

 

Jake Younger missed last track season due to a stress fracture but is healthy after summer training. He could be alongside Horeni this fall. The top five split was 70 seconds on their top five last November. The improvement of Younger could cut that split down. Seniors Ben Kieffer and Eyan Meyer along with juniors Brody Greyer and Ryan Rotramel will make this team a strong top seven and could make this squad a top 10 team by state series time.

 

17 Deerfield

Coach – Scott Friedlander; 2022 Finish – 11th Class 2A State Meet

Runners – Dylan Cohen SR; Dane Brown SR; Ryan Jones SR; Jon Wool SR; Eric Hogenkamp SR; Jamie Chandler SO; Andrew Firestone SR; Nick Dowell JR; Edwin Shi SR.

 

Notes – Deerfield earned a state trophy in 2021 when they finished second in Peoria. They did not have any returning runners from that team. The team was rebuilt and even made it back to state where they finished 11th. The Warriors now go on another adventure where they have been moved up to Class 3A for the next two years. Deerfield returns six runners from last year’s team, five of them are seniors.

 

Deerfield has qualified for the 2A State meet six times but never in Class 3A. The last time the Warriors qualified for the “large school” meet was in 1982 when they finished 15 in the Class AA Meet (there were only two classes at that time). There was a 30 year gap between that meet and their first 2A appearance in 2012.

 

This team will most likely be placed in the north suburban 3A sectional which will be tough this fall. The Warriors have the talent to be one of those seven qualifying teams. Dane Brown and Dylan Cohen were the top two runners for the team last season. They will lead Deerfield once again. “Both Dylan and Dane have had their struggles recently,” said Coach Scott Friedlander.  “They had good cross country season’s last year, though they both fell short of 2A All-State. Then Dylan had a rough track season that frustrated him a lot, and we never figured it out. Fortunately, that seems to be a thing of the past because he’s back in form and running great now. Dane had the opposite experience. He had a great track season where he qualified for State, but now he’s having a slower summer because a re-occurring foot issue has flared up a few times. Regardless, I think both Dylan and Dane are set for a great season and having them at the lead gives us a ton of confidence.

 

Seniors Ryan Jones, Jon Wool, and Andrew Firestone along with sophomore Jamie Chandler were part of that top seven and will give their team a strong nucleus to build from. Eric Hogenkamp had a strong summer of training according to Coach Scott Friedlander will make their top seven even stronger. “Eric Hogenkamp has improved a lot this summer,” Friedlander said.  “He’s on one of those hot streaks where he’s feeling great and loving every run. At both races the team did this summer (Detweiller at Dark and our Alumni Race) he was the team’s #2 finisher.”

 

What will Deerfield do to surprise us in 2023? We will find out in the next couple of months. The team’s top five was over a minute at state last year. That gap needs to close down for Deerfield to make it to state three years in a row. “Our success last year is a major confidence boost,” said Friedlander. “After finishing 11th place as the most inexperienced team in the state meet and returning nearly everybody, they were eyeballing returning to the podium in 2A until we found out we would be moved to 3A. However, trophy teams in 2A should be able to run with the top 28 3A teams, so these guys believe they can. We haven’t qualified for State in 3A (or equivalent) since 1982. We spent six seasons since then in 2A, but subtracting those, that’s still a drought of 34 XC seasons.”

 

18 Highland Park

Coach – Steve Buti; 2022 Finish – 10th Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Nate Wehner SR; Brian Hatoum JR; Barak Goldstein SR; Dylan Dominguez JR; Lukaas Nales SR; Doug Anderson SR; Usiel Rodriguez JR; Yonatan Garfinkel SR; Robert Obpza SR.

 

Notes – Despite the fact that Highland Park only had four runners back from their team that finished tenth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional, the Giants could be a better team than they were when they finished the season. Their top three runners heading into this year all qualified for the state track meet. Nate Wehner, who qualified for the Peoria race and finished 59, made it to the state track meet in the 3200 Meter Run dropping his best in that event down to 9:23. Barak Goldstein made it to state in the 800 Meter Run missing the finals by one spot.

 

The runner that could be the one to lead this team is Brian Hatoum. His best time for 3-miles in cross country was 16:46 and also ran at regionals. His times dropped considerably on the track qualifying for state in the 3200 Meter Run. His times dropped to 4:23.17 for 1600-meters and 9:24.14 for 3200-meters. “Nate Wehner put in another quality summer of training and is focused on helping the team get to the State Meet,” said Highland Park Coach Steve Buti. “After a breakthrough track & field season, Brian Hatoum continues to show improvement with a fantastic summer of training. He is ready for a successful season. Barak Goldstein has also had a breakthrough this summer and will look to make up a strong top 3 for the team this season.”

 

Dylan Dominguez and Usiel Rodriguez were separated by 16 seconds as the teams; fifth and sixth runners and will be part of the back of their top five. Dominguez in that race was just 14 seconds behind Goldstein. It is hard to predict how Goldstein’s improvement this summer will translate to longer distances. A team that I would keep an eye on. The Giants could be close making it to the state meet.

 

19 Elmhurst (York)

Coach – Charlie Kern; 2022 Finish – 11th Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional

Runners – Max Zangan JR; Zach Saltiel JR; Jack Sebastian JR; Ian Davies SR; Sam Kehoe JR; Josh Tobin JR; Emmett Bradford JR; Carter Olsen SO; Ryker Harges SO; Owen Teague JR.

 

Notes – York missed it to the state meet as a team for the first time since 1963. This team is young with just one senior running right now in the top 12. Coach Charlie Kern did not call this season rebuilding. He did call his team a work in progress. After a good summer of running, there has been progress with this team.

 

“Training went very well,” said Kern. “We only had a few Dukes miss time from injury.  The goal was to acclimate the team to increased volume from their F/S years (we only have one senior in our top 12).  We discovered through this process that some will need more time to adjust to higher mileage.  Those who were able to handle the increased load spent the final weeks of summer in the 60-70 mile range.  We have continued our tradition to run 400s on Mondays and started with 8 and a 1 minute interval and built to 16.  Our longest continual run was 60 minutes, but we did have "broken 75 minutes" (45,30) as the calendar turned to July.”

 

Two runners were in the top seven in York’s sectional race where they finished 11th at the Waubonsie Valley Sectional. Max Zangan and Jack Sebastian were runners in this race. Both are ready to go after a good summer of training. Zangan should be the team’s top runner. “Max has been our clear leader all summer,” said Kern. “He has run an impressive set of 4x1600m, 3 minute rest interval and averaged 5:01.  He has hit all the summer check marks with flying colors for a junior and we are very excited to see the training translate into racing this fall.”

 

Zach Saltiel had a major breakthrough last spring running 9:57 breaking 10-minutes for the first time. Iain Davies is the lone senior of this group and has showed improvement over the summer. Carter Olsen had a growth spurt heading into his sophomore season. His times have dropped and should be the top soph runner to start the year and move up from there. Emmett Bradford is a candidate for the top five. Minor injuries have slowed him down this summer. Josh Tobin and Sam Kehoe are XC newcomers that could surprise people this fall.

 

This team will be a work in progress but could put themselves in position to run great during the state series. York only had nine runners break five minutes indoors last March. That amount grew to 20 with the majority either freshmen or sophomores. The Dukes could be a year away from doing great things. Their progress shows that it could be earlier.

 

“ I know it is cliche, but we are primarily focused on micro improvements and micro loading new training stimuli,” added Kern. “Our team is young, and we are determined to build a solid foundation and we understand that we are in a 2 year build.  This permits us to focus on long term development and preparation.  We have stressed the need to be consistently training and string together days, weeks, months, and two years.  They expect to be a state meet team and they expect that there will be teams in our own conference that will take us to the metaphorical woodshed and give us a thrashing.  But they also know that the competition will enhance their own improvement and development.”

 

20 St. Charles (East)

Coach – Chris Bosworth; 2022 Finish – 24th Class 3A State Meet

Top Runners – Greyson Ellensohn JR; Adrian Ahuati SR; Jed Wilson SR; Oscar Frontjes SR; Michael Wilson SO; Connor Reed SR; Ryan Tobin JR; Patrick Klasa JR; Ryan Frontjes SR.

 

Notes – The transition of pack running towards the end of last season got St. Charles East to the state meet last November where they finished 24th. The transition was slow to get to state. They had a 51 second split on their top five, 16 seconds from 2 to 5 in their regional race where the Saints finish third. They ran better at the Lake Park Sectional with a 26 second split and finishing fifth. Their split was just 27 seconds at state.

 

“Our training went very well this summer,” said Coach Chris Bosworth. “All of the returning athletes had tremendous track seasons which has led to more confidence in their training.  We have progressed well and will look to continuing our foundational training through the end of August.  We will rely on much needed varsity experience that we gained last year, as a number of my top 7 kids made their varsity debut last year.  We took our annual Devil's Lake trip where we focused on some core values for the program:  Consistency, Hard work, and Teamwork.  We are going to be purposeful in our racing this season.  Our goal, like every year, is to be at our best as a program by the racing season.”  

 

There are a number of runners that could step up into the team’s top spot. One of these might be Jed Wilson. “Jed had a breakthrough track season this past spring,” Bosworth said.  “He dropped his times down in the 1600/3200.  The goal for Jed is to remain healthy as he has had injury setbacks throughout his HS career.  I will say that Jed is one of the most resilient kids that I have ever coached.  His ability to cross train, deal with injuries, and still be an influential part of our program speaks volume to the type of person he is.  I am going to be extra cautious with Jed this year.  His training and racing will be monitored very closely as we want him to be able to race at the end of the season.  He has big goals this season both team and individually.  I look forward to watching him grow as a Sr leader as a part of the program.”

 

The top five will be close together led by Wilson and followed by Greyson Ellensohn who had a big sophomore season improving his 1600 from 5:01 to 4:29 and his 3200 from 11:01 to 9:47. The two could push each others to fast times. Oscar Frontjes, Adrian Ahuati, and Michael Wilson were the three other state runners with Frontjes being the #1 runner for the team at state.    

 

21 Oswego (East)

Coach – Jim Milner; 2022 Finish – 15th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Dhairya Trivedi SR; Nicholas Goduto JR; Jack Schultz SR; Eddie Bozett  JR; Luke Tam SR; Evan Danan JR; Andrew Link FR; Mason Van Denend FR; Ari Cabrera FR; Camden Fankino FR; Jack Welstenholm FR.

 

Notes – The Wolves ended their season in 2022 finishing 15th in the 3A State Meet. They lost four runners to graduation including multi all-state runner Parker Nold. “Our training went will this summer,” said East Coach James Milner. “We focused on pack running and setting up our leadership after graduating a big senior class who composed most of our varsity team.  Our senior leaders really stepped up on our annual Colorado trip and got this team headed in the right direction. Expectations were being set and workouts had become more focused as we ended the summer training.”

 

This team should rely on pack running this season Dhairya Trivedi,  Nicholas Goduto, and Jack Schultz were all within 13 seconds of each other in their top five in the state race. Schultz was the team’s #1 runner almost a month ago in Detweiller at Dark. Eddie Bozett and Luke Tam lead four other runners that could end up on their top eyes. All eyes though will be on Trivedi when the season starts. “Dhariya is an outstanding individual,” said Milner. “He is a tremendous leader and person.  Great student as well.  Our seniors are doing a great job of leading as a group, however, Dhairya brings a lot of big meet experience having raced in both the track & field and cross country state finals, multiple times now.  We're looking to him to use that experience to help guide this group throughout the season.  His state meet experience should serve him well as an individual too.  He's training very well and is setting himself up to have a great season.  I'd look for him and Jack Schultz to lead our pack and take a step up as the season goes.”

 

22 Park Ridge (Maine South)

Coach – Greg Nordahl; 2022 Finish – 9th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Owynn Garrelts JR; Connor Foley SR; Owen Tremblay JR; Jack Eckhart; Gino Arcuri JR; Kyle Hauser SR; Liam Charley SR.

 

Notes – The Hawks will rebuild after finishing ninth last year at state. Four of their top five runners from last year graduated. Owynn Garrelts was the team’s third state runner and should step into the #1 position. The split could be big for Maine South as Connor Foley at state was 30 seconds behind Garrelts and Owen Tremblay was another 30 seconds behind Foley. Juniors Jack Eckhart and Gino Arcuri look to be the runners that step into the team’s fourth and fifth runners.

 

23 Wheaton (North)

Coach – Nate Roe; 2022 Finish – 21st  Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Aidan Murphy JR; Jude Hubbard SR; Luke Haworth JR; Isaac Schuda SR; Quinn Murphy JR; Jack Sanders SO; Daniel Xochitecatl SO; Jack Syme SR; Stefan VanGetson FR.

 

Notes – Wheaton North will look to make it back to the state meet for the fourth year in a row. The Falcons did have a good finish to last season finishing second in the DuKane Conference, second at the St. Charles East Regional, and fourth at Lake Park Sectional. North will return four runners after finishing 21st at the state meet.

 

“Summer training has been very steady,” said Coach Nate Roe. “We will likely have one of our smallest squads in a number of years, topping out at around 40.  A few varsity guys were a built up a bit more gradually/or started later due to larger trips at the start of the summer.  We've worked on doing our usual progression, but I've tried a few new additions, such as post-run work and maybe a bit more race-pace work earlier than usual.  We did a 2 mile TT at the end of July and seem to be ahead of where last year's group was.  Our annual trip to Northern Wisconsin was very successful, with a large group of 17 making the trip.  We had strong performances on our hilly 5 mile progression run, and many guys covering the half marathon distance for our end of trip long run.  We're trying to adopt the motto that Jay Johnson uses "If you want to do things you've never done before, sometimes you have to do things you've never done before."  The guys have embraced it and we have managed to stay pretty healthy aside from the occasional nagging soreness.  We won't be terribly deep and may depend on some younger guys earlier than hoped for, but we're ramping them up for that possibility.  We want our juniors and seniors to step up first and meet the challenge.”

 

Aidan Murphy is not a surprise anymore especially the way that he finished last fall. The junior was the team’s second and third runner in state series meet until he got to the state meet. He had a great race at state placing 42nd. His success on the track could drive him to bigger things this fall after running 4:21.43 in winning his conference 1600 Meter Run race. He started last season with a 4:37.42 personal best. The sky is the limit for this runner in the next couple of months. “Aidan has aspirations of being All-State on November 4th and is taking the necessary steps to do so.  I think just missing out on qualifying in the 1600 last spring has lit a fire in him,” said Roe.

 

Jude Hubbard had been running close to Murphy most of the season before Murphy’s state race where he was 53 seconds behind. He should be closer this fall. The two have been putting some good miles together over the summer according to Roe and be closer in races. Luke Haworth and Isaac Shuda ran state last season and should be among the team’s top seven. Quinn Murphy and Jack Sanders will look to close the gap on the top four. The Falcons enter the season as the favorite to win the DuKane Conference and hopefully back in position to make it back to Peoria.

 

24 Rockford (Guilford)

Coach – Rick Durso; 2022 Finish – 26th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Brandin Lawson SR; Landon Bachta JR; Hayden Johnson SR; Gavin Osbourne SO; Connor Schroeder SR; Riddock Blakeney JR; Gregory Bouldin JR; Jack Carson SR; Ander Toldo SR; Adan Salac SO; Quintin Richter FR.

 

Notes – The Vikings hade not run in the state meet since they qualified for state in 2004 finishing 23rd in AA Meet in 2004. They will look to make the return trip to Peoria in back to back seasons after finishing 26 at state last season. This team was young last fall and should benefit from their state meet experience returning five runners.

 

“The boys have had an excellent summer of training,” said Coach Rick Durso. “We set the theme early in June that summer miles bring fall smiles. The boys even met outside of our normal summer practice schedule and followed our training patterns. Their long runs have progressed each mini cycle and the best thing that has happened this summer is that they have learned to run as a pack.”

 

Their top runners Brandon Lawson and Landon Bachta set the tone for the team last season running close to each other especially in big meets. Lawson was ahead of Bachta in most races. It was Bachta that was 11 seconds ahead at state. “Brandon and Landon will continue to be a great 1-2 for our team”, said Durso. “I encourage them to compete with each other and I expect them to go back and forth all season long. Both of the boys have been great leaders all summer and they have high expectations for the team, and I look forward to seeing them lead the team to Peoria in November.

 

The team had an 83 second split in their top five runners at state. That is natural especially with their two runners slaying dragons in the front. Hayden Johnson and Riddock Blakeney had good summers in training. Sophomore Gavin Osborne took a huge step up the past couple of months. Expect all three runners to take giant leaps this season. Guilford again will be among one of the top teams within the NIC-10 Conference.

 

25 Bolingbrook

Coach – Jeff Lester; 2022 Finish – 12th Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional

Runners – Hussein Almousawi SR; Vincent DeFarno SR; Benjamin Cabas SR; Isaac Stowers SO; Logan Schmidt SR; Jason Vervack SO; Eric Gomez SR; Aaron DeMille SR; Owen Jones FR; Caedmon Vaske FR.

 

Notes – Bolingbrook took big strides up during the 2022-2023 school year that should pay off in this fall season. The Raiders finished 12th at the Waubonsie Valley last fall. They could better their standings in the Southwest Suburban Conference where they placed fourth.

 

“Our training was very solid over the summer,” Coach Jeff Lester said. “We are coming off of one of our best distance teams ever with a qualifying a 4x800 to State with a school record. That was only the second time in school history we have done that. There is a lot of confidence briming from that. We are ahead of where we were at last summer.”

 

Bolingbrook will miss last year’s #2 runner Ignacio Escamillo who decided to play soccer this fall. They do have Hussein Almousawi, who qualified for state last year, back for his senior season. “Hussein Almousawi is an exceptional human being,” said Lester. “At the State Track meet, he made the ultimate team move to scratch from the open 800 to make sure the 4x400 would make finals.  He is an athlete that can split a 51 in the 4x400, 1:57 in the 800, and 15:13 in XC last year (at the tough WV course). He will be turning some heads this season by the end of the year.”

 

Vincent DeFarno was the team’s top runner early last season before an injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. He had a good track season and should give this team a boost. Logan Schmidt, Benjamin Cabas, and Isaac Bowers are back from last year’s team solidifying the team’s top five. Eric Gomez is a converted soccer player that had big improvement over the summer and could find his way into the top five.

 

26 Hoffman Estates (Conant)

Coach – John Powers; 2022 Finish – 23rd Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Gaven Corpin SR; Jayden Patel SR; Connor Ariunbat SR; Kyle Corpin SR; David Shu SO; Dylan Wyka JR; Charlie Calderone SO; Shiven Patel SR.

 

Notes – The Cougars made it back to the state meet last season for the first time since 2013. Conant finished 23rd and return four from the state team. This team will look to pack it up this fall since they lost #1 runner Vijay Krishnamoorthi to graduation. “Summer training was rock solid’” said Coach John Powers. “We run a mid-summer time-trial every year and those first four were all faster than Krishnamoorthi’s time from last year. They ran the No Frills XC race at Deer Grove about a month ago.  Three of the four ran as fast or faster than they did at MSL and/or Regional last fall.  Both races were run on the No Frills course.”

 

Gaven Corpin has stepped up as the team’s top runner. He was the first Cougar across the line in the Detweiller at Dark race. Teammates Jayden Patel, Connor Ariunbat, and Kyle Corpin should follow behind. The pack of the state meet returnees was 36 seconds last year within that group. David Shu ran 4:43 as a freshman last spring and could step into the top five according to Powers.

 

27 Chicago (Whitney Young)

Coach – Eric Wiegmann; 2022 Finish – 11th Class 3A Roselle Lake Park Sectional

Runners – Dalton Lowery SR; Adam Abiade SR; Sebastian Vilches JR; Nicholas Ouhabi SR; Kendall Easterly SR; Calvin Allaband-Gamble SR; Joseph Dai JR; Silas Moody JR.

 

Notes – The Dolphins will look to improve last year’s finishes at the Chicago Public League Championships (5th) and the Lake Park Sectional (11th). Whitney Young returns four of their top five runners. Two runners will lead the way for this team with Adam Abiade and Dalton Lowery. Abiade qualified individually for state last year. Lowery did not run his best race at Lake Park ending his season. Lowery came back strong in track running a personal best of 4:18.49 in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

“Dalton Lowery and Adam Abiade have set some lofty goals this season,” said Coach Eric Wiegmann. “They put in the mileage and the work this summer, and both are looking to run at the next level. Richard Spring will be a big test for the both of them. The goal is for both Dalton and Adam to be in the top 25 November 4. They are outstanding students in the classroom and of their sport. Adam was a state xc qualifier while taking 5 AP classes. Dalton was humbled at the sectional during the xc season but bounced back nicely to run one of the top 1600 times in school history at the track sectional last May.”

 

Sebastian Vilches, Nicholas Ouhabi, and Kendall Easterly are the core to the pack behind their top two runners. The top five split at sectionals last season was 59 seconds. “Training this summer went well,” said Wiegmann. “We met regularly at school throughout the week. The upperclassmen took it upon themselves to organize long runs in the forest preserves over the weekends. We wanted to increase our mileage to avg 50 miles a week by late summer and I believe we were able to accomplish that - especially Dalton and Adam.”

 

28 Edwardsville

Coach – George Patrylak; 2022 Finish – 10th Class 3A Normal Community Sectional

Runners – Hugh Davis JR; Ben Perulfi SR; Jackson Amick JR; Parker Weaver JR; Colin Thomas SO; Daniel Story JR; Taylor Davis SO; Cooper Wittek SO; Jack Paty SO; Jackson Elliott SO.

 

Notes – This team should be good this year and make it back to state meet after finishing 10 at the Normal Sectional. The team was young in 2022 having six runners returning from their sectional team. “I am pretty excited to see how much our guys improve this year,” said Coach George Patrylak. “I knew last year we were going to be very young and inexperienced, and it showed.  I also feel like we rebounded during the track season and saw a lot of growth. We did have a solid summer of conditioning, with most of our top runners attending optional throughout the summer.  Our boys have worked hard and are hopeful they will earn the opportunity to compete at State this Fall.”

 

Hugh Davis got some quality experience qualifying individually for state. Ben Perulfi, Jackson Amick, Parker Weaver, and Colin Thomas were runners in the top five last season. There are at least five more runners that could challenge for the top five with lineups changing during the first half of the season. The top five split off Davis was 59 seconds at sectional. That split should go down as the season progresses.

 

29 Mt. Prospect (Prospect)

Coach – Jay Renaud; 2022 Finish – 28th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – John Peterson SR; Michael Piagari SR; Finley Moss JR; Collin Awe SR; Landon Samp FR; Aidan Letzel SR; Ben Wilkin JR; Owen Smith SR; Luke Robinson SO; Quinn Davis SO.

 

Notes – The Knights could be better than they were when they finished 28th at the state meet. They return three from that team. Last year’s #5 runner Alex Bonnette decided to not come out for the team this fall. “Summer running has gone very well,” said Prospect Coach Jay Renaud. “We went back to Lorado Taft in Oregon, IL for our team trip and we did this hill work inspired by Neuqua Valley. All of our guys did more hills this year than last. We are running more miles this summer compared to the last few years and we are doing longer tempos. We had 6 guys run 4:46 or faster in a 1600m time trial on 7/25 and we had about 3 guys missing on vacation who I think could have run faster.”

 

John Peterson continues to get better and should be the team’s #1 runner. Two other seniors, Michael Piagari and Collin Awe should again be in Prospect’s top five. New freshman Landon Samp ran 4:40 last year in Middle School and could be in the team’s top point at some point this season. Owen Smith had a breakthrough track season having run 9:54 for 3200-meters. Parker Moss has also showed improvement this summer and will bolster the team’s top five.

 

“The MSL is showing a resurgence in the quality and number of teams who are good, which is great as it encourages us to work harder,” Renaud said. “We'd like to find ourselves in the top 3 of the Mid Suburban League and qualify to state as a team and see how well we can place. Last year's state meet was incredibly disappointing, so we have used that as motivation.”

 

 

30 Palatine (Fremd)

Coach - Matt Zaluckyj; 2022 Finish – 9th Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Rory Gaan JR; Thomas Border SR; Adarsh Prathap SR; Cooper Hewson JR; Trent Odachowski SO; Bowie Hewson SO; Arjun Shah JR; Jack Kelly SO; Henri Potuznik SO; Jack Jennings FR; David Moore FR; Brydn Li FR; Nihal Kalsi FR.

 

Notes – The Vikings are young, have big expectations, and should move up in the rankings to qualify for the state meet after finishing ninth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional last year. Five runners back led by Rory Gaan. The junior traded the top spot with graduated Theo Cunningham last fall. Gaan should have it on his own after placing 41st at the state meet.

 

“We had our largest consistent group this summer including 30 athletes attending our overnight trip,” said Coach Matt Zaluckyi.  “Most of our boys ran the Palatine Pack No Frills meet @ Deer Grove and showed that they are way ahead of last year. The team has stayed healthy and built a base to be ready to go this fall.”

 

They should develop a good pack behind Gaan this season. Adarsh Prathap, Thomas Border along with Bowie and Cooper Hewson will be the nucleus of this team’s top seven. Incoming freshmen Jack Jennings and David Moore were IESA All-State last fall and could be two runners that find their way into the top seven by the time state series meets start. The top five split off Gaan was 52 seconds at sectionals. “Rory had a breakout season last year in XC and continued that this spring going 4:21 and 9:30 as well as showing some speed being on our state-qualifying 4x800,” said Zaluckyi. “He has had a very solid summer of training and he is someone who is not afraid to mix it up in the front pack of big races. He gained a lot of experience and confidence from being in some big races last year and knows he can challenge for wins in them this year.”

 

Teams to Watch (Listed in Alphabetical Order)

 

Algonquin (Jacobs)

Coach – Kevin Christian; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Andrew Beyer SR; Matthew Andreano SR; Isaac Pepin JR; Charlie Mason SR; Jacob Fetting SR; Max Sudrzynski JR; Mehdi Abdagic SO; Isaac Cartwright JR.

 

Notes – The Golden Eagles would like to be one of the 28 schools that toe the line at Detweiller Park in November. They missed making it by two points last fall finishing eighth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional. Three of their top seven runners are back from that team. “Our training was ahead of schedule,” Jacobs Coach Kevin Christian. “Big group that put in heavy mileage.  This past week our top 3 put in a terrific tempo run, led by Andrew Beyer running a 4-miler in 5:20.25 pace, with Matt Andreano and Max Sudrzynski right behind him.”

 

Beyer made the state meet as an individual. Matt Andreano was 20 seconds behind Beyer in last year’s sectional. Max Sudrzynski will be the team surprise this year. He ran 18:00 as a sophomore last year. His times dropped down to 1:56 for 800-meters and 4:32 for 1600-meters. “We graduated 4 of the top 7, but the other 3 have instilled it in everyone that they won't let that happen again,” said Christian. “Illness hit us during sectionals last year, so it was heartbreaking, this group is even hungrier because of that.  Beyer & Andreano have been on a mission, they've taken Sudrzynski with them.  Junior Isaac Pepin was part of that group and is doing everything to make sure we are going to be even better.  If the next group can have a guy step up, this team will be better.”

 

Aurora (Metea Valley)

Coach – Ruben Nino; 2022 Finish – 10th Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional

Runners – Austin Brown SR; Zach Johnson JR; Zach Ortlund SR; Rameez Abrar SR; Ian French JR; Nathan Behr SR; Josh Murray SR.

 

Notes – Metea Valley could make it out to sectionals depending where the IHSA places them. The Mustangs finished tenth last year in the tough Hinsdale Central Regional. Five runners are back from that team. Austin Brown showed dramatic improvement during the track season qualifying for the state meet in the 800 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run. Brown dropped his times down to 9:47 indoors for 3200-meters, 4:22.61 for 800-meters, and 1:57.55 for 800-meters. Rameez Abrar was the team’s top runner in the regional race. Ian French will be relied on to lead the pack behind the top two runners.

 

Aurora (Waubonsie Valley)

Coach – Kevin Rafferty; 2022 Finish – 9th Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional

Runners – Zach Self SR; Austin McInturff SR; Zach Hayden SR; Tyler Heap SR (ran track); Kyle Beitler JR; Bryan Mann SO; Ethan Hsu SO; John Smolen JR; Braedon Koerner SO.

 

Notes – The Warriors will look to improve on last year’s Hinsdale Central Regional ninth-place finish. Four runners are back from the regional team that are in better shape than last year in their summer training. “The externals of this are so hard to even begin to discuss,” said their Coach Kevin Rafferty said. “I don’t know who’s in our regional/sectional assignment. My kids have said “We want to qualify for state as a team.” In 2021 we had one of the best teams we’ve ever had at WV. Man for man that team could have run with our 2007 team and 2001 team. We were in an insanely competitive sectional in 2021 and had too many struggles on the day and didn’t qualify for the state meet as a team. That doesn’t make that season a disappointment and doesn’t mean that team was a bad team. I was proud of the team in 2021 despite the rough finish. The 2022 regional at Hinsdale Central was incredibly stacked. But we were not ready for that race. Even if we performed better on the day, our preparation up to that point was not well executed. We finished up last year with a rough race but our day to day performance set us up for that struggle. So, my kids wants to qualify for state. I want to build high quality character kids that are dedicated to the process of preparing themselves to the highest level possible and executing their race plan to the best of their ability from one meet to the next. I want to walk away from our last race with those guys feeling like they were as prepared as possible for that race and they performed to the best of their ability in that moment. I have no idea if the process of qualifying for the state meet will give us the opportunity to qualify for the sectional and the state meet if we run great races on that day.”

 

Zach Self and Austin McInturff are the team’s top runners after qualifying last spring for the state meet. That experience has taken the two runners to another runner this summer Tyler Leap ran track last fall and is new to the team and will be in the top five along with Zach Hayden. Will Beitler made huge strides from his sophomore season to this year’s junior season. Waubonsie Valley likes running tight packs. We could see that especially from three to five. The First two runners, Self and McInturff, are in a different stratosphere and could do some big things. “I think we’ve got the pieces to build a really solid team, it’s going to be a process and we’re going to stumble along the way, but I have high hopes we’re going to be competitive with a lot of teams that are starting the season off ranked ahead of us. (in other words, business as usual for my squad),” added Rafferty.

 

Batavia

Coach – Bronco Meeks; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A Hinsdale Central Regional

Runners – Colin Knowles SR; Francesco Benelli JR; David Bednarek JR; Alejandro Jacob JR; Ethan Storie SR; Felipe Wickler SR; William Streepey SR; Eddie Polaski FR; Will Polaski FR; Chase Flanagan FR.

 

Notes – It was a heartbreaking end to last year for the Bulldogs missing sectionals by five points finishing eighth at the Hinsdale Central Regional. Five runners are back from that team. They will miss their #1 runner Quintin Lowe who graduated. “Pack running has been a point of emphasis,” said Coach Bronco Meeks. “We do not have an individual that will be running out front as we have had in previous years. The group has shown some nice growth throughout the summer. To achieve their goals, they must continue to grow together throughout the season. It has been a fun process so far and we are looking forward to the journey of the 2023 cross country season.”

 

The split on the five returning runners in their final race was just 33 seconds. The pieces are there to take a step up. The key is moving their pack closer to the front. Colin Knowles will lead a pack with juniors Francesco Benelli and David Bednarek close. Felipe Wickler and William Streepey showed improvement during the summer and could be among the first five.

 

Chicago (Lane Tech)

Coach – Kris Roof; 2022 Finish – 27th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Will Kozlowski SR; Anan Bauman SR; Brendan Bradish SR; Paul Neely SR; Tristan Wong SO; Oliver Grusin JR; Henry Wittenwyler JR.

 

Notes – Lane Tech took a graduation hit as they lost four runners from last year’s 27 place state team. They will be one of the favorites for the Chicago Public League Championships in October. Will Kozlowski and Anan Bauman are the top two returning runners for the team. The two runners were part of Lane Tech’s state qualifying team in the 4x800m Relay. Kozlowski dropped his personal bests down to 9:21.54 in the 3200 Meter Run and 4:18.32 in the 1600 Meter Run. Kozlowski has a good chance to finish in the top 25 at state in November. Five remaining spots will need to be filled for this top seven. Their top five split is projected to start the season at 100 seconds. That will come down as we get closer to October.

 

DeKalb

Coach – Mike Wolf; 2022 Finish – 9th Class 3A Roselle Lake Park Sectional

Runners – Jacob Barraza JR; Riley Collins SR; Nathan Tumminaro JR; Eduardo Castro SR; Christopher Thunder JR; Sam DeLaCruz JR; Noah Thompson FR; Grady Fowler FR.

 

Notes – It will be tough for the Barbs to make it to the state meet after finishing ninth at the Lake Park Sectional. Four runners are back from that team. A big loss is Riley Newport who graduated and now at Duke University. Jacob Barraza has made huge strides in the last year. He will step into the #1 spot after finishing 27th at last year’s state meet. “ Jacob recognizes that he is going to have to push himself during workouts and not just gauge his effort based on where a fast teammate is,” said Coach Mike Wolf. “Jacob is a strong racer and he and Riley often had different race plans, so I feel he'll be fine in races.  Jacob just missed all-state last season (27th) and he wants to show strong improvement during his junior season.  Riley often talked to Jacob about being confident.  How he does belong at the top level of competition.”

 

Riley Collins looks to be the top runner in the pack some 80 seconds behind Barraza. Nathan Tumminaro and Eduardo Castro should be close to Collins. Freshman additions Noah Thompson and Grady Fowler look to push for a spot in the top five. “Our core group of juniors and seniors didn't do anything dramatic this summer, but we accomplished two important goals - successfully managing the increase in volume and staying healthy,” said Wolf.  “I feel that this group, who were primarily our #4-#8 runners last year, enter this season much more fit.”

 

Downers Grove (South)

Coach – Brian Caldwell; 2022 Finish – 16th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Josh Poeschel SR; John Clinton SO; TJ Harvat JR; Ethan Traugott SO; Anthony Addante SR; Owen Fudacz JR; Conrad Saner FR; Charlie DeLaPaz FR; Brayden Santana FR.

 

Notes – There were some that thought the Mustangs would not make it to state in 2022 after graduating key runners. The same holds true this season as they graduate their top six runners from the 16th place state team. Josh Poeschel is their only returning runner. He had a great track season to get ready for this fall. “Josh Poeschel is very clearly our top guy,” said Coach Brian Caldwell. “Josh entered last fall as our presumptive number one runner and looked the part until being sidelined with illness and injury. He bounced back with a solid track campaign that saw him qualify for the 3200 at State. He's taken things to another level this summer and looks fantastic. He won our annual Alumni Meet by over 30 seconds at the end of July and has looked great this first week of practice as well. We start each season with a 3k time trial and he ran completely solo to post the second fastest time in the 17 years we've done this (behind only Tim Neumann and just ahead of Eddie Siuda). He's got the potential to be one of the better runners in the state this fall.”

 

There are up to 12 runners that will challenge for a top seven spot behind Poeschel. “We have a lot of guys that could end up being the varsity mix which is a good situation to be in,” said Caldwell. “We really believe that our floor and ceiling as a team are both high. At the very least, we are going to be a pretty good team, but if we can have a few guys really have breakthrough years, this could be another year where we catch some people by surprise in October and November. Each of the last few seasons we've started at about this same point where on paper from the previous fall, we might be that formidable and those years have ended up being super fun and successful seasons. As a team, we are aiming to keep our streak of WSC Gold Championships alive but know that the rest of our conference will be improved this year and we have 9 of our top 10 spots from last year to replace. At this point it's all about the process and making sure we are putting in the work and having fun. We just need to get better week to week and have the same upbeat positive team culture that we have had in recent years and we are going to be a very good Cross Country team.”

 

Fox Lake (Grant)

Coach – Jeff Durlak; 2022 Finish – 17th  Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Max Haas SO; John Nehmzow SR; Niko Dayment JR; Ryan Golden SR; Michael Johnson SR; Eric Ramirez SO.

 

Notes – The Bulldogs look to improve on last year’s 17 place finish at the Hoffman Estates Sectional. Grant returns four runners from the sectional. Their top time runner from last season, Memphis Roman, did not come out for the team.

 

“Summer training went well with 15 boys consistently at our summer camp throughout June and July,” said Coach Jeff Durlak. “Our seniors (John Nehmzow, Ryan Golden, Michael Johnson) along with junior Niko Dayment and sophomore Max Haas really led our group this summer, both in training and in leadership.  There was a good turnout by our underclass group this summer and am excited to see the progress they continue to make this fall.”

 

Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East)

Coach – Ross Widinski; 2022 Finish – 18th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Drew Arnold SR; Michael O’Brien SR; Sean Hanrahan JR; Logan Kessling JR; Landon Johnson JR; Daniel O’Connor SR; Michael Andruch SO; Luke Muellers FR; Nathan Schroers FR.

 

Notes – The Griffins finished fifth at the Normal Sectional before finishing 18th at the state meet. Three runners are back from the state team led by Drew Arnold and Michael O’Brien. “Michael and Drew have put in the long and sometimes lonely summer miles this sport demands,” said Coach Ross Widinski.  “They have dedicated themselves to improving and put the work in to do so.  Drew, Michael, Sean Hanrahan, and Kyle Arnold will form a very solid top four.  We hope to discover a 5th runner as the season progresses.”

 

East has qualified for three straight state meets and will look to make it four in October.

 

Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

Coach – Kyle Nugent; 2022 Finish – 13th Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional

Runners – Chuck Halden SR; Graham Faris JR; Antony Nitti SR; Julian Hernandez SR; Cayden Camp JR; Liam Grady JR; Ryan Fader JR; Nile Woods SO.

 

Notes – This team could be a surprise team at the state level from the rough WSC-Silver Conference. The Hilltoppers finished 13th last year at the Waubonsie Valley Sectional and return five runners from that team. Chuck Halden and Anthony Nitti had great  track seasons and again are ready to lead their teammates. “Chuck and Anthony had great track seasons,” said their Coach Kyle Nugent. “Anthony has had a really good summer adjusting his training to prepare for 3 mile XC races. Chuck has had a few nagging injuries pop up this summer, which has caused him to miss a little training, but right now he's feeling pretty good. We are hoping that those two guys can be frontrunners while we should have a pretty good pack not far behind. Both of these guys are good middle-distance runners looking to make an impact in the cross country world this season! As long as we can keep them healthy I think they will be successful in leading our team to achieve our goals.” Julian Fernandez also had a great summer as a middle distance guy on the track. His adaptation to three mile races (he was seventh runner last fall) could give Glenbard West a boost.

 

It is hard to say how their split will run on their top five. It depends where the pack starts. It is projected at 50 seconds to start the season. It may need to close down even more. “We have a solid group of about 10 guys that make up our top training group,” said Nugent. “Our top group was able to increase the volume and pace of our training.  The summer has been consistent with pretty good overall health. We've had a couple guys miss short periods of time with nagging injuries, but it seems like we are getting healthy right as the season starts.”  

 

Glenview (Glenbrook South)

Coach – Kurt Hasenstein; 2022 Finish – 16th Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Andy Ordway SR; Jefferson Wei SR; Geoff Maddalozzo SR; Sam Knezevich SR; Ryan Gershowitz SR; Cole Branstrom JR; Will Fontana JR; Spencer Rudolph JR.

 

Notes – The Titans should move up this season after finishing 16th in the Hoffman Estates Sectional. The team should have a good pack with Andy Ordway and Jefferson Wei ready to lead them. Andy is another runner who improved dramatically last track season,” said his Coach Kurt Hasenstein. “Andy is not afraid of work and has big goals for the season.  I think he is ready to keep up with the front runners in the big meets.” Their top five split last year was just over 40 seconds. Cole Branstrom and Spencer Rudolph had great summers and jump in the middle of the top five mix.

 

“Summer training went well,” said Hasenstein. “We had a great turnout for the 2nd half of summer camp and our top runners were able to get some good mileage in.  Everyone seems relatively healthy.”

 

Huntley

Coach – Matt Kaplan; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A Roselle Lake Park Sectional

Runners – Tommy Nitz JR; Zach Zuzzio SR; Luke Grubbs SR; Jaden Gutierrez SR; Andrew Raistrick SO; Zach Donlea SR; Logan Barreto SO; Nathan Sauber SO (from soccer); Brandon Thompson FR.

 

Notes – The Red Raiders missed qualifying for the state meet by 17 points finishing eighth last year at the Lake Park Sectional. Five runners return from that team. Two of the runners, Tommy Nitz and Zach Zuzzio, qualified individually for the Peoria trip. “Tommy is coming into this upcoming season healthy,” said Huntley Coach Matt Kaplan.   In the spring he battled through IT band issues for many weeks but still was able to run new PRs of 4:21 for the full mile and 9:21 in the 3200 at the state meet. Tommy has a goal of helping his team get to the 3A state meet.  Tommy has qualified twice as an individual and wants to see the team punch their ticket.  Tommy will need to continue to get the low numbers when we get into the post season to give this team a chance to qualify.  Tommy has a goal of reaching top 25 in 3A this season as well.  Tommy has been putting in the work this summer so he's going to be ready for another successful fall season.

 

Nitz will get low numbers for his team. The team needs to keep the rest of their top five runners under 60 seconds led by Zuzzio and  Luke Grubbs. Nathan Sauber is running cross after playing soccer last fall. He has improved this summer. Freshman Brandon Thompson could be in the team’s top five and someone to watch for on this team.

 

“For 2 years in a row, our boys team has finished 8th at the sectional,” said Kaplan.  “This year's team returns 5 of our top 8 runners from last season.  The expectation for this year's team will be to work towards qualifying for the 3A state meet.  This team looks to have a 1-2 set of Tommy Nitz and Zach Zuzzio.  senior Luke Grubbs, Andrew Raistrick, newcomers sophomore Nathan Sauber and freshman Brandon Thompson look to be the names of who will be impacting our top 5 by the end of the season based on what I've seen this summer.  This team has potential to be a solid group, but we'll need consistent performances from our 3-4-5 to make that a reality.”

 

Lake Zurich

Coach – JB Hanson; 2022 Finish – 6th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Luke Marshall FR; George Sabev SR; Dalton Leitz SR; Gordon Libby SO; Max Kotelnikov SR; Owen Holzhauer SO; Dominik Herdus JR; Marc McCormac SO.

 

Notes – It could be a rebuild year for the Bears after finishing sixth in the state meet. It is doubtful that their #3 runner from last year, George Sabev, will run. “George Sabev developed severe tendonitis last winter and has run very little since (missing last track season),” said their Coach JB Hanson. “His status for this season is still unknown.  He has remained a part of the team as a captain and has led in other ways.  We are hopeful he will be able to begin running soon in any capacity.  Our team certainly needs his competitiveness and experience.”

 

This team is inexperienced so they could suffer some growing pains the first month of the season. Dalton Leitz was the team’s seventh runner from last year and the only runner with state meet experience. Hanson believes that freshman Luke Marshall could be among the top runners early this season. “Due to our lack of experience, we have fewer athletes at higher training levels than in the past,” said Hanson.  “With that said, our team has been training consistently and following their progressions nicely this summer.  I expect we will grow throughout the season and will be highly competitive in October.”

 

Minooka

Coach – Kevin Gummerson; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A Normal Community Sectional

Runners – Tyler Herrera SR; Hayden Host SR; Nico Cimino SO; Gavin Carlson SR; Caleb Kies SR; Nate Schalk SO; Samuel Cernetich JR; Mason Boles SR; Liam Anderson SR.

 

Notes – Indians had missed qualifying for the state just two times in the last seven meets. They missed last year finishing eighth at Normal. They do have their sights on making it back to Detweiller Park. Seniors Tyler Herrera and Hayden Host will step up as the team’s top runners.

“The boys had a quality summer of training,” said their coach, Kevin Gummerson. “ I have been very pleased with their effort , consistency, and excitement this summer.  They have formed a bond that is so important for a XC team to have.  They are determined to put together a very successful season.  They realize they have a lot of work to do and have no problem finding the motivation to do that.”

 

Nico Cimeno and Gavin Carlson are the other returning runners that will close the gap on the front two. Nate Schalk, Mason Boles, and Caleb Kies are among the runners that will tighten the pack split. “We came up a bit short last year on qualifying as team for the state meet, and that has been a source of motivation for these boys,” said Gummerson.  “They have ramped up the overall quality of their summer training and are really pushing each other to improve.  They realize we have lost some incredible seniors and now they need to raise their performance up another level.  They are fully aware that the SPC is a great conference and that combined with our season schedule will give us plenty of opportunities to run against the best this has to offer.  There is no doubt in my mind this team will be ready to put their best race together at the sectional meet.”

 

Mundelein

Coach – Kurt Rutz; 2022 Finish – 13th Class 3A Hoffman Estates Sectional

Runners – Alberto Diaz JR; Thomas Russ SR; Logan Ramirez JR; Finnegan Keegan JR; Nicholas Schwenk SR; Izic Miller FR; Elijah Mendoza SO; Nathan McCreight SO; Andrew Weaver SO.

 

Notes – Mundelein suffered a major setback heading into this season when their top runner Javier Mata decided not to come out for the team. He finished 39th at the state last year as a sophomore. The Mustangs will look to improve on last year’s 13th place Hoffman Estates Sectional. “Training this summer went well,” said Coach Kurt Rutz. “We are again a very young team, but our attendance at Summer Camp was good.  Long runs exceeded 10 miles.  Our spread 1-5 should be much smaller.” Thomas Russ and Alberto Diaz are expected to be the top runners.

 

Naperville (North)

Coach – Tim Brown; 2022 Finish – 8th Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional

Runners – Ammar Bhanpuri JR; Jack Robertz SR; Luke Donaldson SR; Miles Taylor SR; Lukas Keane SO; Aidan Malana SO; Patrick Baldinger SR

 

Notes – The Huskies just missed making it to the state meet last year finishing eighth at the Waubonsie Valley Sectional. “We had a great summer of training,” said Coach Tom Brown. “Leadership of seniors, especially Luke Donaldson and Jack Robertz, created an incredible atmosphere that focused on team building/bonding, positive mindset when challenged, and a ‘back-to-basics’ idea about running the longer tempo runs the right way.  Hopefully, this will spring-board into the season and have the underclassmen come on board.”

 

Naperville North will have a solid top three led by junior Ammar Bhanpuri. Brown ran him in Frosh/Soph races until the state series where he took off to become the top runner for the team.  Robertz (19 seconds) and Donaldson 61 seconds) will need to close that split. “Amar has had an incredible summer of running,” Brown said.  “He was the 1st individual not to qualify out of arguably the toughest sectional of the state, so I know it’s on his mind to do his best to help the team qualify.  He’s definitely hungry, but at the same time, humble and focused on putting team first.” 

 

Oak Park (Fenwick)

Coach – David Rill; 2022 Finish – 10th Class 2A State Meet

Runners – Nathaniel McKillop SR; Dean O’Bryan SR; Finn Munley JR; Benicio Carideo JR; Chris Zielinski JR; Aidan Powers So.

 

Notes – The Friars went from Class 2A state champions in 2021, finishing 10 in the Class 2A race last fall, and running in Class 3A this fall. Fenwick does have the talent to make the transition up a class with four runners back from the state team. Nathaniel McKillop finished 18 last year in Class 2A. He could be among the top 25 runners this fall in Class 3A. Dean O’Bryan is a solid runner and should lead the teams two through pack including Finn Munley and Benicio Cariedo. The three runners should be separated by a minute. Something to watch is who will step up into the fifth spot which could be another minute behind the first four.

 

Orland Park (Sandburg)

Coach – John O’Malley; 2022 Finish – 9th Class 3A Waubonsie Valley Sectional

Runners – Grant Giblin SR; Luke Atzman JR; Mateo Ramiro-Garcia SO; Jack Canellis SO; Myles Jacquez  SO; Damian Martinez JR; Jack Crotty SO; Jack Easterhouse JR.

 

Notes – Sandburg finished ninth last fall at the Waubonsie Valley Sectional. This could be a young team this season with three of their top five runners having graduated. Grant Giblin will again be the top runner for this team. Giblin qualified for the state meet finishing sixth at Detweiller Park. He will be one of the top runners in the state in November. Giblin was the anchor for Sandburg last spring in the 4x800m Relay that finished eighth.

 

This team will be young to start the season but have the talent to possibly make it back to state. That last time Sandburg missed making it to state prior to last season was in 2002. Luke Atzman will be a solid second runner for his team. Sophomores Mateo Ramiro-Garcia, Jackson Canellis, and Myles Jacquez could all fit into the top five but will need to be within a minute of Atzman.

 

Plainfield (Central)

Coach – Jeff Purdom; 2022 Finish – 7th Class 3A Minooka Regional

Runners – Tyler Schick SR; Harlan Matson SR; Arnold Arce SR; Ubaldo Rodriguez JR; Luke Adair JR; Raymond Churchill SR; Tyler Weir JR.

 

Notes – Plainfield Central should be in good position to advance to sectionals this fall. They missed sectionals last year finishing seventh at the Minooka Regional. Five runners are back from that team. Tyler Schick made it to state last year finishing 83rd and again will lead this team. “Tyler Schick has been a great leader for us, he works hard every day and runs his best races at the end of the season,” said Coach Jeff Purdom. “He has had the chance to race at the State Finals the previous two seasons and that experience should pay off in a big way this fall. Tyler gained some very valuable racing experience in the spring at the State Finals and that racing savvy will help him as well.”

 

Success could happen this fall if they can lower their split from their second through fifth runners. Seniors Harlan Matson and Arnold Arce along with juniors Arnold Arce and Ubaldo Rodriguez will look to stay close together in the next couple of months. “We had a really good summer as a team,” Purdom said. “The team carried a lot of good momentum from a strong end to the track season into summer training, we found some very good success with a high volume threshold work in the spring and that has carried over into the summer. Our top 3 guys most days were in lock-step with one another (Schick, Arnold Arce, and Harlan Matson). Matson dealt with some injuries in the spring but is back at full strength as the season gets rolling, and Arce builds confidence after joining the team his sophomore year with each passing race.”

 

Rockton (Hononegah)

Coach – Mark McLarty; 2022 Finish – 14th Class 3A Roselle Lake Park Sectional

Runners – Nicolo Altamore SR; Camden Juno JR; Landon Samuelson SO; Bryce Mohnacky SR; Alex Bartch SR; Benjamin Toole Ben Cooper SR; Jake McLarty SR; Aidan Paccagnini SR. Jaydon Philbee FR.

 

Notes -  Hononegah should improve on last year’s 14 place Lake Park Sectional finish. Their top nine runners are back. The team ran a 46 second split in that race. Moving the pack forward is something that will needed to be done but it will with all seven sectional runners back. Landon Samuelson was the top runner as a freshman and should lead again. “Landon was a big suprise for us last season,” said coach Mark McLarty.  “He did middle school track and ran around (5:30) for his best mile.  By the end of his freshman xc season he became our most consistent runner on the varsity team.  He was our top runner at conference, regional, and sectional, with his best time around 16:00.  He is great in difficult high pressure situations, and with his experience from last year, he will be even better this year.”

 

Nico Altamore was on an average 11 seconds behind Samuelson at conference and sectional giving the Indians a strong 1-2. “We should have a solid top 5,” said McLarty.  “Each of the last few seasons this group has continued to show improvement.  This group did a good amount of running in the summer and are eager to compete at a higher level this fall.  Nico Altamore (12), Alex Bartch (12), Camdon Juno (11), Landon Samuelson (10), and Bryce Mohnacky (12) will lead this team to a successful season.”

 

Wheaton-Warrenville (South)

Coach – Christopher Kuntz, Craig Lawrence; 2022 Finish – 13th Class 3A State Meet

Runners – Josiah Narayanan JR; Aiden Noel JR; Angelo Ruggio SR; Jack Ruswick JR; Jayden Bauer SR; Christopher Streidl SR; Samuel Purdue JR.

 

Notes – Don’t be fooled that Wheaton-Warrenville South’s loss of five of the top seven will affect this team in the next couple of months. The Tigers do return 14 of last year’s top 20 runners on their team to begin the season. Josiah Narayanan improved his time during the spring dropping his 3200 time down to 9:37. “We focus on pack running,” said co-coach Craig Lawrence.  Juniors Josiah Narayanan and Aiden Noel will lead the pack that will have some new faces this year from guys who have made great strides. This team has set appropriately high goals for the season and postseason. We strive to compete for the conference title at each level in what will once again be a talented and highly competitive DuKane Conference.”

 

This team does not have the big race experience other than Noel and Narayanan. Keeping their 2-7 pack close together early in the season to make it easier to keep those runners relaxed. “The kids have had an amazing summer of running.  They've been "All In" and worked extremely hard. While we graduated 5 of our top 7 from last season’s squad, we return 14 of our top 20 from last year,” said Lawrence. “We're excited about the work the kids put in during the off-season and can’t wait to see how that translates to races this fall.”