Boys cross country: Lake County previews

Antioch

Coach: Dave Judson

Outlook: Antioch coach Dave Judson believes his team will stay competitive in the North Suburban conference this year, possibly ranking in the top three. He also believes a trip to sectionals is realistic. His optimism stems from the experienced group of runners he has this year. The Sequoits are led by senior Bryant Giorgi who captains the squad of 18 runners. Junior Mike Cook is back for his third year with the program and Judson believes that extra running before school will help push Cook to new heights. Junior Derek Goldman is back for a third year after taking up the sport as a freshman hoping to get in shape for basketball season. Judson said Goldman has taken to cross country as he's found that he's a better runner than a basketball player.

Carmel Catholic

Coach: Jim Halford

Outlook: Coach Halford's team is poised to make some vast improvements over last season, even if that doesn't translate into success in the state tournament. According to Halford, the ability of his team to make it through to the sectional championships relies heavily on the draw, which has not been announced yet by the IHSA. But the team should be competitive thanks to two juniors and a bevy of seniors leading the way. Cameron Rieger is currently the team's top performer on the young season. Coming off of a successful track season, in which he ran a 9:40 in the 3200, Halford expects Rieger to run a flat 15 minutes at some point this season. Junior Matt Difiore is another junior expected to progress significantly after running a 4:40 mile in track as a sophomore last spring. Rounding out Halford's top five varsity performers in various orders given the course and conditions will be seniors Kent Rieger, (coach's son) James Halford and Frank Huschitt.

Grayslake Central

Coach: Joel Peebles

Outlook: Grayslake Central has fielded a team of 23 boys this fall. They'll be led by senior co-captains Jared Zygmunt and Mark Giertych. Zygmunt qualified for the state meet in 800 meter run last spring and should be ready to advance in the postseason in cross country this fall. Junior Kevin Dickson returns for his second year of varsity experience and coach Peebles expects him to push the captains and occasionally crack the top two on the team. Peebles said his team should benefit from life in the 2A Division and hopes to get one if not all of his top three runners into the state championship meet. In order for the team to push through the post season and finish high in the Fox Valley Conference, they'll need strong seasons from three sophomores: Ryan Seiffert, Jake Walker and Patrick Rosenberg. Junior Kyle Allen has qualified for the varsity lineup this season for the first time.

Lakes

Coach: Andrew Schroeder

Outlook: The Eagles have fielded a team of 26 runners this year including nine seniors and a deep sophomore class of 10. Seniors Ethan Hahn and B.J. Fuller have been leading the way so far. Hahn finished eighth in the Lake County Invitational while came in 24th. Behind those two, Lake Villa has freshman Blake Franson who ran 36th at the county meet and senior Billy McGrath battling for the three and four spots. Coach Andrew Schroeder said this has the potential to be the "best cross country season ever at Lakes," since only two leading scorers have graduated and the team has 7-10 runners competing for the 5-7 spots on the varsity. Due to the team's depth, Schroeder will not rule out a trip to sectionals or state.

Lake Zurich

Coach: JB Hanson

Outlook: Coach Hanson has high hopes for his team thanks to the leaders at the top of the lineup and the work that this deep team has put in to prepare for this season. Senior co-captain Mickey Stott is a four year varsity letterman and a two-time all-conference performer. Hanson said that Stott put in a 1,000-mile summer and is set to return to his place among the area's elite. Junior Geraldo Perez is once again healthy after breaking an ankle last winter. He missed all of track season but Hanson said Perez has been running strong in the early going. Hanson said he is also excited about "talented" sophomore Andrew Morrison, who could push the top two runners on the team this season. Senior co-captain Andy McGuinness is a four-year team member who will have a chance to crack the varsity lineup this year. Sophomore Francisco Soto is a returning all-conference athlete. The team's goals according to Hanson are to defend their conference and regional titles and become the first Lake Zurich cross-country team to qualify for the state meet.

Libertyville

Coach: Mark Buesing

Outlook: Libertyville will look to improve on a fifth-place conference finish in 2006 with a lineup that sports two seniors at the top of the list. John Cavicchia and Colin Quinn will lead the way for coach Buesing's team that also includes senior Rule Scott. Sophomore Mitch Neubauer has been running well in the three-spot for the team this season. Junior Jim Murnick rounds out the top five. Libertyville's varsity squad finished 12th out of 23 teams at the UW-Parkside Rebel Invitational on September 1. The junior varsity finished second out of 22 teams as did the freshmen in a 17-team field.

Mundelein

Coach: John Osmanski

Outlook: Mundelein will hope to stay among the area's top teams in 2007 and try to chase down defending conference champions Lake Zurich. Coach Osmanski believes that several teams in the North Suburban have improved and he hopes to keep pace with leadership of senior Alex Mena who finished second in the Lake County Invitational last week. Mena will be joined at the top of the varsity lineup by fellow senior Matt Hoffmeyer and freshman Matt Mena. Three seniors will compete for the last two scoring spots on the varsity. The troika of Dom Juozitis, Adam VanNewhenizen and Phil Rykyto will mix it up with sophomore David Duvall for the Mustang's varsity points this year.

Round Lake

Coach: Kevin Brady

Outlook: During his four-year tenure as cross country coach at Round Lake, Kevin Brady has struggled to field a full team. This year, with seven runners, that's not a problem, barring injury. Two runners are back from last year's squad and the top returnee, senior Scott Pacelt is in his third year with the program. Brady believes that Pacelt is a strong candidate to advance past the regional this fall. Junior Carlos Landa is has come over from the soccer team and established himself as the second runner early on. The third spot is currently held by freshman Christian Castro. Brady says that with a full team he hopes to be competitive with the other small schools on the schedule and build some momentum for a program that desperately needs to improve its numbers on a yearly basis.

Stevenson

Coach: Don Proft

Outlook: If Stevenson is to compete for the North Suburban Conference boys cross-country championship or advance in the postseason in 2007, it will likely be carried by the legs of its junior class. Coach Proft has four juniors in the top five spots of his varsity roster. Included among them are his top two runners Oliver Rose and Tyler Bartlow. In the fourth and fifth spots respectively, the Patriots have juniors Lin Bo and Nik Arun. Barrett Wood is the lone senior among the top five, currently holding down the third spot in the lineup.

Vernon Hills

Coach: Michael Roberts

Outlook: This season, the Cougars are hoping that class realignment and their subsequent placement in 2A will prove advantageous in the postseason. Coach Roberts believes the time is right for Vernon Hills and is excited about the team he has assembled. The top runner, senior Moe Barahni finished third at the county invite and hopes to get his times into the 15-minute range by the end of the season. Roberts said that Barahni is an extremely disciplined runner capable of being the area's best this year. Junior Max Condocia is a track standout who excels in the two-mile run and Roberts is hoping he'll build endurance. The coach also raved about freshman Thom Flynn, who finished fourth among his classmates at county. "He's been training very hard and I'm very pleased with his work so far," Roberts said. "I think he's really one to watch for the future."