Boys cross country: Scouting the Fox Valley
Aurora Central Catholic The Chargers placed ninth in Class 1A after taking second at sectionals and first at the Seneca regional. Unfortunately, top 800-meter runner in the U.S. Patrick Hilby (eighth in state, University of Wisconsin) has graduated. Sophomore Ben Bohr (41st) and senior David Valencia (69th) also ran at state. Having five seniors graduate was tough, but ACC junior Jack Swiatek, freshman Josh Reinbold, sophomore A.J. Viveros, sophomore Reece Voller, senior Joseph Escobedo, and freshman Cal Reinbold are ready to step up. Other keys will be Chris Ginocchio, Bryan Lopez, Brecken Oester, Sam Woodward and Peter Galer.
Aurora Christian The Eagles only had four individuals competing at the Class 1A Seneca regional last year, but none of them were seniors. Juniors Jack Wayne and Owen Fenska both qualified for the Oregon sectional meet and they provide the team with two experienced front-runners heading into the new season. Senior Seth Pennings and sophomore Matthew Scudieri also return to the squad this fall with hopes of performing well in the Chicagoland Christian Conference.
Bartlett The Hawks took 10th at the Class 3A St. Charles East regional as now graduated Luke Regalado qualified for sectionals. Bartlett opened this season by placing sixth at the Elgin City Classic meet last weekend as senior Whalan Eid placed fifth in 15.44.60. Juniors Joseph Bagnuolo and Aimad Ourahou placed 11th and 22nd respectively at the Elgin meet followed by sophomore Sebastian Martinez and freshman Adrian Rodela.
Batavia The Bulldogs placed fourth in the DuKane Conference, third at regionals, fifth at sectionals, and 26th in Class 3A. Senior Francesco Benelli (72nd at state) should be Batavia's top runner while senior David Bednarek and sophomore Eddie Polaski also ran at state. The Bulldogs lost four seniors to graduation. But newcomers Alejandro Jacob, Ryan Widmer, Luke Gianfrancesco, Cody Rummel, Gavin Warpinski, Diego Gomez, Will Polaski, and Matt Guiry will focus on "enjoying their own journey" as coach Bronco Meeks said.
Burlington Central The Rockets lost Class 2A state qualifier Ryan Kries (71st) and two other key seniors to graduation after placing sixth in the FVC, third at regionals, and 10th at sectionals. But seniors Jayden Beecroft and Andres Quesada will provide leadership. Sophomores Danny Burke and Brandon Pflug will have a big impact on team scoring while freshman Dane Walikonis, senior Connor Polz, and freshman Venkata Anantha will be keys. Sophomore Aadi Sheth and senior Julian Onayemi round out the lineup.
Cary-Grove The Trojans placed third at the Class 3A Grant regional before junior Jameson Tenopir placed 12th at sectionals and 86th in Class 3A. Tenopir was the runner-up at the McHenry County meet last Saturday where Cary-Grove placed sixth. Senior Ethan Waddell is looking like the Trojans' No. 2 runner followed by seniors Sam Vogt, Brendan Bachmann, and Grant Bond as runners 3-5. Juniors Braden Bogda and Michael Hancock were the sixth and seven runners at the county meet.
Crystal Lake South The Gators placed ninth in the FVC, sixth at regionals, and 15th at sectionals before junior Joey Gonzalez placed 78th in Class 2A. CLS senior Adam Strombom is coming off a strong track season and summer of training to help lead the team. Junior Chad Wehby is also ready to perform well after a solid track season and summer of training. These top three runners will be the Gators' strength while coach Nick Willhoit is excited to see how the rest of the pack develops.
Dundee-Crown The Chargers placed eighth at the Class 3A Palatine regional as senior Joseph Hillyer qualified for the sectional meet. Hillyer took fourth place last weekend when Dundee-Crown placed sixth at the Kane County meet. Sophomores Joshua Michalski and Logan Grey placed 16th and 32nd respectively in that meet. Senior Eddie Leon was their No. 4 runner. Junior Jared Marin, senior Aidan Jacobs, and junior James Rider are currently the 5-6-7 runners at the varsity level.
Elgin The Maroons placed 4th in the UEC and eighth at regionals as seniors Cole Tupper, Richie Loeza, and Ian Godinez qualified for sectionals. Tupper (14:58) placed 38th in Class 3A, and he is supported by juniors David Dorantes, Daniel Valdivia, Kevin Martinez, and Edgar Serrano. "Our team goals are simply to improve as much as possible and be competitive in the postseason," said coach Chris Vargas. "We have a committed group of young men who have been consistently running year long since they started our sport as freshmen and I anticipate big growth this season!"
Geneva The Vikings placed fifth in the DKC, fifth at regionals, and 16th at sectionals. They have their top trio back in seniors Julian Hipp (32nd at sectionals), Luke Gaston, and Dominic Ross. Seniors Drew Hosman and Noah Martin also ran at sectionals, and they will be joined by teammates Ernie Bebe, Dominic Savarese, Ian DeGuzman, and Mack Biesk. Geneva's ultimate goals would be to qualify for the state meet and mix it up with the top teams at its conference meet.
Hampshire The Whip-Purs placed sixth in their own Class 3A regional by tiebreaker over South Elgin before they took 18th at sectionals. Hampshire didn't have any seniors run at sectionals, and it will be counting on the senior duo of Jack and Nolan Sheets to lead the pack. Samuel Beamon and Cody Dobush give the Whip-Purs even more senior experience while the junior trio of Marcus Davis, Aric Abbott, and Ian O'Connor were their 5-6-7 runners last weekend at the Kane County meet in Batavia.
Huntley The Red Raiders finished third in the FVC, third at regionals, and 10th at the Class 3A Lake Park sectional. Senior Tommy Nitz advanced to the state meet where he earned all-state honors with a 21st-place finish. Juniors Andrew Raistrick and Nathan Sauber are among Huntley's top returning runners along with sophomore Brandon Thompson. Senior Derek Spaid, junior Logan Barreto, and senior Matt Kolozsy will be keys as the team has five of their top seven runners back.
Jacobs The Golden Eagles placed second in the FVC, fourth at regionals, and ninth at sectionals as they lost two state qualifiers to graduation. Seniors Max Sudrzynski (23rd at sectionals) and Isaac Pepin (25th in FVC) will be big factors. Freshmen Gavin Glosson, Alex Taskov, Zac Anderson, and Doyle Watson are newcomers to watch. Juniors Austin Stevenson and Mehdi Abdagic are key runners along with teammates Gavin Van Antwerp, Michael Moore, and Vince Robles.
Kaneland The Knights are coming off a great season by winning the Interstate 8, taking second at regionals and sectionals, and placing fourth in Class 2A. Kaneland's performance at state featured a sixth-place by senior Evan Nosek, and a ninth by graduated David Valkanov. Junior Evan Whildin (36th), senior Zachary Murdock (80th), senior Liam Lentz (143rd ), and sophomore Joey Schuch (222nd) will be huge factors. Nolan Reutimann, Sahel Torres, Ricky Anderson, Carson Kaiser, Drew Gritzner, Gianni Middona, and Grant Caston all have a shot at varsity.
Larkin The Royals placed 11th at the Hampshire Class 3A regional with only one senior. Now with another year under its belts, Larkin will turn to seniors Rafael Valdes and David Lawson to provide leadership. Sophomore Andrew Gonzalez was the Royals' No. 3 runner at regionals while seniors Xavier De Leon, Cruz Bravo, and Alex Lopez bring a lot of experience to the troops. Other contributors will be Daniel Gonzalez, Alex Puglise, and Caleb Reinheimer as the team hopes to reach sectionals.
Marmion Academy The Cadets won the Chicago Catholic League title before winning regional and sectional crowns and taking eighth in Class 2A. Seniors John Daffenberg (31st) and Matthew Sullivan (66th) give Marmion a great returning duo. Juniors Michael Whitacre, Joseph Dorando, Jonah Sartain, and Sam Rowe round out the top six runners heading into the new season. With good experience back, the Cadets hope to improve on last year's finish at the state meet.
South Elgin The Storm placed second in the UEC, seventh by tiebreaker at regionals, and 15th at sectionals with no seniors. Seniors Noah Callahan, Logan Lott, and Gael Bibiano give South Elgin a strong front trio followed by junior Aldrin Boongaling and senior Charlie Stace. Senior Brody Mills and junior Josiah Lindsey also ran at sectionals. Seniors Noah Sanders and Kyle Diven will also compete for a varsity spot. Coach Kari Turcan hopes some individuals can make a run for the state meet on Nov. 9.
St. Charles East The Saints placed fourth at regionals, second at sectionals, and 14th in Class 3A as they graduated four of their top five runners. St. Charles East opened the season by placing fourth at the Kane County meet as senior Greyson Ellensohn led the team in second place. Junior Michael Wilson was the Saints' No. 2 runner followed by the senior trio of Ryan Tobin, Rich Meszaros, and Patrick Klasa. Ellensohn, Tobin, and Wilson all ran at the state meet last year.
St. Charles North The North Stars won the rugged Elgin City Classic, placed sixth at regionals, and 17th at sectionals. Senior Noel Sookswat, junior Lucas Reed, and sophomore standout Sam Hill give St. Charles North a strong returning trio. The team did lose No. 1 runner Will Stone and No. 4 runner Wilhelm Lackner to graduation. Despite the big losses to graduation, the North Stars are ready to move forward with several sophomores and juniors stepping up to the varsity squad.
St. Edward The Green Wave has a very young and inexperienced squad as they embark on the new season. But sophomore Jayen Jaitley is already gaining valuable varsity experience after he placed 32nd at the Genoa-Kingston Kickoff meet last weekend. Freshman Lucas Murillo placed 45th in his first high school outing at the Genoa-Kingston meet. Led by Luca Bryja in third place, Harvest Christian Academy rolled to the team title in the Genoa-Kingston meet with 25 points.
Streamwood Without a lot of depth to fall back on, the Sabres competed mostly as individuals last year. Senior Alex Harrison qualified for the powerful Class 3A Hoffman Estates sectional as an individual last year. Streamwood does not have a lot of experienced runners returning this fall, but junior Adel Delic and some freshmen newcomers are expected to fill out the roster for the Sabres in the rugged Upstate Eight Conference.
West Aurora The Blackhawks placed third at regionals and eighth at sectionals, but they lost four key seniors to graduation including two state qualifiers. Junior Nathan Gehrmann, sophomore Lachlan Mahoney, and senior Michael Nava all ran at sectionals where now graduated Sean Heetland placed 12th. Despite the major losses to graduation, West Aurora is hoping to earn a trip back to sectionals behind the strength of Gehrmann, Mahoney, and Nava.