Sixth-ranked Geneva riding high entering regionals

While the high school cross country season officially begins mid-August when teams begin their training, each individual knows deep down inside that the reason for all of their work begins this weekend during the regional contests.

The St. Charles East regional boys race will feature three area teams that are ranked in the top 20 by the Illinois Prep Top Times (IPTT), and another one on the rise.

St. Charles North and Geneva finished first and second, respectively, at the regional last year, and both field strong teams again this year.

The Vikings are coming off winning their first Western Sun Conference title and have runners from all four classes contributing to the success of their varsity program that is ranked No. 6 by the IPTT this year.

Sophomore Kevin Sparks placed second a week ago at the conference meet in a time of 15:51 after not running for two weeks, and junior Greg Adelman (last year's leader) was fourth.

Coach Bob Thomson was hoping to see how his team measured up against one of the area's top teams two weeks ago at the West Aurora Stampede, but the heat canceled the meet.

"I know the boys were disappointed that they couldn't run against St. Charles North (at the Stampede) to see how they matched up," Thomson said. "I think they're confident that they can go out and run with any team and they're very anxious to prove themselves this year."

Freshman Kevin McDowell, juniors Andrew Nelson and Drew Hickey, and seniors Drew Isbell and Evan Ehrhardt round out Geneva's top seven.

The North Stars finished third in the state in 2005 and second last year, and they returned five of the runners from that team this year.

The North Stars (No. 9 by IPTT) are led by seniors Chris DeSilva and Scott Speare, and both ran sub-15 minute times last week at the Upstate Eight Conference meet. Michael Strasser ran near 15 minutes last weekend, and Maxwell Clink was an all-state athlete last year.

Batavia is led by junior Robbie Blotter, who finished 12th in last weekend's conference meet. Drew Schmitt, Brad Wloszczynski, Al Lowe and Stephen Jurgens provide depth and a strong pack for the Bulldogs.

When all-stater Dave Grange graduated from Marmion, the Cadets cross country program was only supposed to have one top runner left. However, Josh Stein and company have proven that they might even have a better team than the one that finished fifth in the regional a year ago.

The Cadets head to the East Aurora regional Saturday.

Marmion coach Bob Rebensdorf likes the makeup of this year's team, adding runners from all classes to produce a solid pack behind his top runner, Stein.

"We've got a really good mix this year and we're getting great contributions from kids at all levels," Rebensdorf said. "We're trying to close up the pack so that we're getting closer to Josh (Stein) each week."

Stein finished third in last year's Wheaton North regional.

"Josh is looking even better than he did last year at this time and he really appears to be on a mission," Rebensdorf said. "He's got personal goals to return to state and place in the top 10, but he's also really focused on helping to get his entire team down this year as well."

Junior T.J. Heffernan, and sophomores Zack Young and Matt Wenzel provide additional depth for the Cadets.

Kaneland is ranked No. 15 in Class 2A by the IPTT, and the Knights will be looking to continue on what has been their best cross country season in some time at the Rock Falls regional. Senior Kevin Huml leads the Knights.

Girls cross country:ŒThe regional at St. Charles East will feature two of the area's best teams, along with two of the area's top individual runners.

Batavia and Geneva both feature strong lineups, and the Bulldogs will be looking to avenge last week's loss to the Vikings at the Western Sun Conference meet.

The Vikings team of fabulous freshmen won the conference meet with a near-perfect score of 16, and a strong pack has them placed as regional favorites.

Freshman Kelly Whitley won the WSC race and has her sites set even further down the road.

"We're really hoping to make it to state and that's what we're really focused on," Whitley said. "Our captains have told us how important it is to run as a team and as a pack, so that's how we try to run each race."

The Vikings' next four runners -- Liza Tauscher, Kat Yelle, Rachel Hammond and Tess Ehrhardt -- are also freshmen, so they are all gaining their experience on the fly. However, coach Thomson feels that's just something all runners have to go through eventually.

"They're all doing this for the first time," Thomson said. "Each race they're getting experience. Last week was their first conference meet, next week is their first regional, so each week presents new challenges for them and they're all learning along the way."

Myra Yelle and Emily Byars round out the Vikings' top seven.

Alexis Sampson, who was the runner to break up Geneva's perfect WSC meet score, leads the Bulldogs, and helped them earn second place in the conference.

Sampson will be joined by Amanda Good, Teresa Orlow, Kathryn Skleney, Ann Sutphen, Katie Parisi and Sydney Spain.

St. Charles East junior Lizzy Hynes and St. Charles North sophomore Stephanie Strasser will also get a chance to run against each other.

Hynes won the Upstate Eight Conference race in a time of 17:05, which is 8 seconds faster than the time she turned in last year in Peoria when she finished sixth at the state meet. Her goal her first two years was a state title, but now as a junior she's looking more to improve on her previous times.

"I've been training more, but I've kind of realized that I'm not going to win state, so I'm not necessarily going for the win," Hynes said. "I'd be happy to get second and I'd like to go out faster than last year, but not at breakneck speed."

Strasser finished third at the UEC meet last weekend and is now just getting her conditioning back to where she can race the full three miles.

Kaneland heads to the Rock Falls regional and also has a standout freshman in Andi Strang, who finished 11th at the WSC meet last weekend.

Aurora Central Catholic (2A) and Aurora Christian (1A) also field strong teams heading into their regionals. The Chargers, who travel to Princeton, are led by seniors Valarie Cintron and Jamie Nagel, and junior Meghan Kelly.

The Eagles are ranked No. 8 by the Illinois Prep Top Times and were sixth in the Class A state meet a year ago.

Seniors Ann Schuette and Anna Morgan lead the pack, while sophomore Deanna Jimenez and junior Kaitlin Bellak add depth.