Scouting Cook and Lake boys track and field
After finishing in a 30-30 tie for second place with Edwardsville at the IHSA Class 3A state meet last spring, the Warren boys track team is prepared to make another strong run downstate for coach Josh Williams in 2023.
The Blue Devils will definitely miss Luke Wiley (now running track and cross country at North Carolina) as Wiley placed second in the 3,200, and fourth in the 1,600 downstate. Aaron Ayobami (Loras College) was a part of Warren's powerful 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams while Max Zeisler (Southeast Missouri State) will be missed in the 800 and the 4x400.
Great senior depth is something that the defending NSC and sectional champs will have to fall back on as Jailen Duffie, Jaden Turner, and Cassius Callahan were all a part of Warren's fourth-place 4x100 team last year. Caleb Levy (third in 800), and Joell Belonga (eighth in 4x400) are also ready to close out their high school careers on a positive note.
Antioch finished fourth at the NLCC indoor meet, and the Sequoits' 4x200 relay team of Payton Holmes, Joey Neumann, Martin Cohen, and Kellen Brawner took first place in 1:37.33. Holmes is also a team leader in the 200 while teammates Tyler Wolfe (800), Carter Webb (1,600), and Carson Lanners (1,600) are key distance runners.
Carmel only had one key loss to graduation in Luke Daniels, and the Corsairs are fortunate to have senior Luke Cerwin back in the 400, 4x400, and 4x800. Juniors Dev'ion Reynolds (100/200/long jump/4x100/4x200) and B.J. Mensah (400/4x400) are off to great starts this season as is sophomore teammate Cole Bonham (1,600/800/4x800). Junior Christian Stevens gives added support in the relays along with Kyle Paras. Senior Deimos Teng will also run relays as will freshmen Bobby Bi, Carter Kasten, and Joey Lodowsky.
Grant has some strong senior leadership back in Dane Glover (300/4x400), Everett Polka (110), Quincy Carlson (110/300), Angel Morales-Cobain (100/200/relays), and Jack Polark as the Bulldogs will try to make a jump up in the NLCC standings this season. Junior Memphis Roman placed second last year in the NLCC in the 3,200 while sophomore Niko Dayment placed eighth at sectionals in the 1,600. Dayment is the freshman school record holder in the 1,600.
Grayslake Central took first place in the NLCC last year, but the Rams lost Brian Vale (Milwaukee School of Engineering), and Shawn Sharma (Monmouth College) to graduation. Senior Kaiden Miller (long and triple jumps) is a leader along with juniors Trey Sato (distance), and Sean Mullen (hurdles/pole vault). Other keys for the Rams will be Brannon Duffin (sprints), Evan Richardson (400), Duncan Jones (400/800), Kyle Bianchi (800/1,600), Will Welty (3,200), Jaydin Kante (shot put), and Camden Heavelyn (800). Central's 4x400 team of Elliot Bond, Jones, Richardson, and Soto should be excellent.
Grayslake North finished second by a large margin to crosstown rival Central at the recent NLCC indoor meet. Senior sprinter Zach Weitgenant has been fantastic for the Knights as he won the 60, 200, and 400 runs at the NLCC meet. North's 4x400 team of Owen Davies, Enoch Fajimi, Sergio Janneau, and Xavier Camper finished second in the NLCC meet while senior Nathan Alfaro won the shot put competition. Caden Smith and Harrison Linderman are top pole vaulters while DeAndre Neely is a top long jumper.
Lakes took third place in the NLCC outdoor meet before it placed third in the indoor meet earlier this season. The Eagles have the No. 1-ranked pole vaulter in Class 2A back in junior Paul Migas, who won the state title as a sophomore with a vault of 4.70 meters. Lakes junior Peyton Whitehead is also coming off a great sophomore campaign as he placed fifth in the state in the 800-meter run.
Lake Zurich will definitely face a huge challenge against Warren (tied for second in Class 3A) among other teams in the NSC this season. But first-year head coach Todd Anderson has a lot of great senior distance runners in his lineup with Braden Eckman (3,200/1,600), Cole Boudreault (3,200), and Will Perez (1,600) ready to lead the Bears' pack. Eckman also competes in hurdles while sophomore Owen Peshek (200/400) will be an athlete to watch for Lake Zurich this year.
Libertyville had to wave goodbye to Ali Faiz (state qualifier in 1,600, Marquette) after the Wildcats placed third in the NSC last year. Libertyville junior Oliver Allen is a top hurdler for the Wildcats while sophomore teammates James O'Keefe, Mike Chudy, and Calvin Carter will all provide strong distance running for coach Stuart Mendelsohn's squad.
Mundelein is hoping to move up the NSC standings this season after placing seventh last year. Seniors Marcel Siepko (100/200/relays, sixth at sectionals in 200), and Reece Dylan Cruz (100/200/relays) will be a good starting point for coach Kurt Rutz. Juniors Julian Eagar (100/200/400/relays) and Brandon Hanson (shot put/discus) will be counted on along with sophomore Javier Mata (fifth in NSC in 1,600).
Round Lake is going to have a difficult time replacing Jamariel Brown (Knox College), who placed ninth in the state in the 400 last year. But the Panthers have junior teammates Adrian Wright (sprints), and Daniel Campos (distance) ready to make an impact for their squad this season in the NLCC.
Stevenson is coming off of a very successful 2022 campaign where the Patriots won the NSC indoor championship before following up that performance with a second-place finish in the outdoor season. Among the top returning performers for Stevenson this year will be senior Marcus Casselberry (hurdles/sprints), juniors Dylan Zimmerman (distance), Ethan Aghakhan (shot put/discus), and Alex Xie (jumps).
Vernon Hills will try to replace five state qualifiers that the Cougars lost to graduation following the 2022 campaign, including David Mun, who placed sixth in Class 3A in the discus throw. Vernon Hills still has a lot of experience returning with Jake Slavish (sprint relays/300, all-state in 4x200), Sean Kalu (high jump/sprints, all-state in 4x200), Jaden Buford (CSL North pole vault champion), Tom Elster (throws), Brady Clegg (1,600/3,200), and Erick Herrera (400/800).
Wauconda lost a standout distance runner in Ryan Rininger to graduation as Rininger is now running for UW-Stevens Point. The Bulldogs have an outstanding high jumper back in junior state qualifier Kosta Zografos, who also won conference, county, and sectional championships in that event last year. Zografos set a school record in the high jump already this season with a leap of 6-feet, 7.25 inches. Zografos and teammate Jacobs Wurster (60-meter dash) both competed in the Top Times meet in Bloomington last weekend.
Cook County
Barrington will not have key graduated competitors Connor Lee (eighth in 100, South Carolina), or Joey Furlong (sixth in 3,200, Eastern Michigan) to turn to for guidance in 2023.
But the Broncos have Luke Hall (sprints), M.J. Ward (middle distance), A.J. Van Vuren (distance), Brad Fisher (hurdles), Ikki Takahashi (jumps/sprints), and Alejandro Herran (jumps/sprints) ready to step into larger roles. Barrington will be trying to defend its MSL West and Lake County meet championships this spring.
Buffalo Grove will have its work cut out for itself this season in the MSL East alone as the Bison will have huge challenges to face against powerful teams like Prospect and Hersey. But the Bison have an outstanding distance runner in their corner as senior Mario Torres recently won the MSL indoor meet's 3,200-meter run in 9:22.39.
Conant will have a lot of competition to face as usual in the MSL this spring as it has to go head-to-head with perennial powers like Palatine and Barrington in the West Division. But the Cougars definitely have a promising young runner in junior Gaven Coprin as Coprin won the 800-meter run in 2:03.26 recently at the MSL indoor meet.
Elk Grove has a strong hurdler returning in senior Piotr Slezak, who placed second in the MSL indoor meet with a time of 8.33. Senior Owen Davenport is looking strong after placing fifth in the triple jump at the MSL indoor meet while Kachi Ugwu (sprinter) will play football at North Central next fall. The Grenadiers are aiming to get a relay downstate with the help of sprinter Alex Enriquez and Ugwu. Keane Bayani is making huge strides in the distance races while Ramiro Valdivia (throws) is pushing to earn a berth to state.
Fremd finished right in the middle of the Mid-Suburban League pack last season with a sixth-place finish at the conference meet. It will be tough for the Vikings to make a huge jump up the MSL standings this year, but senior Theodore Cunningham is a good starting point after he brought home the 1,600-meter championship from the MSL indoor meet on March 18.
Hersey placed fourth in the MSL last year, and the Huskies will have returning state qualifiers Will Nolan (shot put/discus), Cameron Donner (4x800), and Will Naughton (4x800) ready to make another push for Charleston. Seniors Froy Alonso (200/400), Chuka Ibe (100/200), Aiden Nishimura (400/800), and Fortis Variano (400) are also back along with juniors Gus Dammann (shot/discus), Gabe Lazu (jumps), Nasir McKenzie (100/200), Reese Settersten (100/200/LJ), Lucas Cekic (100/200/LJ), Alex Korkis (jumps), Andy Korkis (jumps), Zach Frayder (1,600/3,200), and Patrick Untiedt (100/200/TJ).
Hoffman Estates will turn to junior standout Ivan Rodriguez, who reached state last year at 200 meters after winning the sectional in that event with a time of 22.56. Rodriguez will also be an integral part of the Hawks' 4x100, and 4x200 teams. Hoffman Estates also expects Chase Hampton to be a mainstay on the squad in the triple jump (season-best mark of 44 feet last year), the 4x100, and the 4x200. Giovanny Hernandez won the 55-meter hurdles in 8.12 seconds at the MSL indoor meet in mid-March.
Leyden will face some major obstacles against teams like Downers Grove South and Willowbrook in the West Suburban Gold. Senior Angel Roman (200), and Joshua Chigna (400) give the Eagles some good speed while teammates Nathan Larsen and Daryl Esparza are leaders in the 800. Leyden's Duvan Trujillo is a key competitor in the long jump.
Maine East will have a tough time replacing Lukasz Iwanowski, who is now running at Saint Louis University. The Blue Demons (fifth in Central Suburban League in 2022) will have senior Lucio Roa back in the shot put along with the junior trio of pole vaulter Matthew Ng (third in CSL), Jordan Landau (hurdles), and Timo Kato (hurdles).
Maine South has a strong distance runner in Luca Arcuri, who placed 12th in the state in the 3,200 last year. The Hawks have a lot of depth in the distance running events with Luke Pravacek (second in CSL in 1,600) Will Huddleston (ran in 800 at Illinois Top Times meet), and Joey Karlesky (3,200) ready to go the distance. Ethan Reyes tied for second place in the 60-meter run recently at the indoor conference meet.
Maine West will be fielding two all-senior relay teams as Aidan Cusack, Manny Santos, Robert Styburski, and Karol Derezinski will be putting it on the line for the Warriors in both the 4x100 and 4x200 races. Juniors Ernie Martinez (100/200/400/high jump) and Ryan Hauptman (800) should be key contributors for Maine West along with sophomore Maksym Makota (100/200).
Palatine took second in the MSL and was champions of the long-running 89th Palatine Relays in an IHSA sport that dates all the way back to 1893. The Pirates will be without a couple of big-time performers in graduated Jake Bostick (third in long jump), and Jhermari Mabry (seventh in discus). Some of Palatine's top returners will be seniors Mason Krieg (1,600), David Lopez (400), Jon Coroneos (hurdles), Adrian Zych (triple jump), and Jack Casaccio (800). Sophomores Carter Hayes (1,600), Ethan Hunt (triple jump), and Hamza Khan (hurdles) will compete at the varsity level.
Prospect is a force to be reckoned with as the Knights recently won the MSL indoor title by a 117-105 margin over runner-up Schaumburg. The Knights lost 6-time all-stater Sean Beihoffer (UC-Santa Barbara), 3-time all-stater Matt Raitano, T.J. Garland (EIU), Mitch Kamp (DePaul), Bryce Tuchner (Rhodes College), and Sean Kura (Iowa State) to graduation. Top returners for the Knights are Dominik Balenda (fourth in 400), Jack Berman (10th in 100, 8th in 4x200), Aidan Orlando (100, 8th in 4x200), Owen Guagliardo (state qualifier in pole vault), Luka Kuzmanovic (4x800 state qualifier), and Andrew Katsogianos (4x800 state qualifier). Colin Diversey (pole vault), Ben Schenkenfelder (discus), and Jaylen Calhoun (high jump) will be keys in the field events.
Rolling Meadows does not have the luxury of trotting out graduated Michael Campbell (fourth in 110, third in 300, UW-Oshkosh) or Georgios Siomos (state qualifier triple jump, UIC) again this spring. Instead, the Mustangs will march out senior George Barnett (throws), junior Ethan Little (triple jump), sophomore Will Viken (pole vault), and sophomore Gunnar Woetzel (300/400) in hopes of moving up in the MSL standings this season.
St. Viator was really hit hard by losses to graduation after finishing third at the Belvidere sectional by just four points to champion Woodstock. Senior state qualifiers Michael Schumacher (sixth in 1,600), Daniel Crawford (200), and Michael Carlucci (300 hurdles) closed out their high school careers on high notes downstate. The Lions also lost their all-senior member 4x400 relay team (ninth in Class 2A) that qualified for state to graduation as St. Viator will have to begin the rebuilding process without the presence of these team leaders.
Schaumburg is off to a solid start this season as the Saxons finished a pretty close second to powerful Prospect in the recent MSL indoor meet. The Saxons got a first-place finish from Alex Valencia in the 400-meter run (51.59) as Valencia finished just ahead of teammate Omarion Jones, who won the 55-meter sprint in 6.60 seconds. Schaumburg's Esad Sengun was the pole vault champion at the MSL indoor meet with a vault of 4.34 meters.
Wheeling will not have Daylan Berger (seventh in 300 hurdles) to rely on as Berger is now competing for UW-Eau Claire. The Wildcats have senior distance runners Sam Patel, Chris Ordon, and John Ramirez back along with distance runners Jake Ning, Pawel Rakoczy, Tyler Woods, and Jesus Campos. Junior Sincere Wilkerson is a contender to reach state in the high jump while teammate Brandon Soriano will compete in the 300 hurdles and the 4x400.