Boys cross country: Scouting DuPage County
As a freshman two years ago, Glenbard South's Caleb Walter was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the IHSA Class 2A state cross country meet.
"There were a lot of people, a lot more than I thought," he recalled of the penultimate event held at Peoria's Detweiller Park. "It was a pretty packed race, but it was really great to be there. There were a lot of really fast people and a lot of motivation."
In the wake of a COVID-19-disrupted sophomore, where the Raiders took fifth at the Chicago Latin sectional, Walter is now a junior and would love nothing more than to make a return trip to state after a year hiatus, though there was an unofficial state meet in downstate Chillicothe, the 2020 XC Championships.
His goal? "Hopefully run in the 16s and then, of course, just run at state and do as well as I can there," he said.
Neuqua Valley senior Nick Rohlwing has even bigger aspirations.
"Our goal is to win state," he said. "There is no reason we can't win state, or at least (reach the) podium at state. Our pack has run really well together, we have a unique intensity in our workouts. We want to add to the legacy of the team's success in the past."
That includes three cross country state titles. Rohlwing and his track and field teammates also won Class 3A state in June.
Rohlwing is going to have plenty of help. Fellow senior Noah Schalliol had a great summer of running, Neuqua Valley coach Paul Vandersteen said, and sophomore Zach Close won the DuPage Valley Conference frosh-soph 3,200 this spring.
The DVC will once again be one of the top conferences in the area, with Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley rounding out the top four. The Warriors have five seniors that change up their finishing order almost every meet, coach Kevin Rafferty said. That group is Aidan Oster, Angel Solis, Ethan Marshall, Andres Perez and Jacob Tukker.
"Our strength has been our tight pack and our small one-five split," Rafferty said. "That is our emphasis going into this season."
Naperville North will be led by senior Gabe Ryan, a varsity runner since he was a freshman. He'll be helped by junior Colin Corcoran and sophomore Luke Donaldson, along with junior Adbisu Wolski, who's had "an incredible jump" over the summer, according to his coach, Tim Brown. Metea Valley will be led by senior Ben Lamsma and sophomore Rameez Abrar, who ran a 4:40 1,600 in track.
Over in the West Suburban Silver, York will once again be a state contender with its five-senior quintet of Ethan Summer, Jeff Luka, Garrett Schwan, Jackson Geiger and Eric Rutherford. Glenbard West lost a talented senior class to graduation, but will rely on seniors Michael Miller, Sean Rather and Jack Hatlestad, along with sophomore newcomer Anthony Nitto. Hinsdale Central will be led by junior Daniel Watcke, who won the 800 at state track.
"As always, the conference is loaded with talented teams," Glenbard West coach Kyle Nugent said. "I expect every team in the conference to be competitive at the state level, and our goal is to mix it up with those teams."
On the West Suburban Gold side, Downers South will return Tim Neumann, who finished 10th in the 3,200 at state track. Willowbrook will be led sole returning senior Damian Rocha, who runs the 400 in track, but "he's grown to love cross country," coach T.J. Artman said.
Addison Trail coach Brad Donaldson will have only seniors and sophomores this season, but they'll be solid. Senior Alex Martinez was a sectional qualifier last year. He and senior teammate Max Ojeda have been training with the graduated Dylan Moran, who runs at Elmhurst University. Hinsdale South will need to replace its top runner, the graduated Julian Watson, but will do so with juniors Adam Fournier and Aaron Koehler and senior Quartus Rassi.
In the DuKane, Wheaton Warrenville South lost five of its top seven to graduation, but returns senior Michael Atkins, who finished second in the conference meet and fifth at the sectional. Across town, Wheaton North brings back a host of runners that placed third behind St. Charles North, which won Class 3A at the 2020 XC Championships. The top three for the Falcons will be seniors Ryan Schreiner and Ryan Zydek, and junior Jonah Noyes.
St. Francis will once again be tough in the Metro Suburban and will try to defend its 2020 league title with Chris Spahn, Sam Andrzejewski, Daniel O'Connell, Andrew Hernandez and Chris Covone. IC Catholic Prep will be led by sophomore Bryson Spaulding, while Wheaton Academy coach Chris Felinski expects a top-three finish behind seniors Sheldon Powell, Daniel Kersey and Christian Ruch.
That brings us to the Upstate Eight, which will boast solid teams in West Chicago, led by senior captains Jared Diaz and Connor Zentner; Fenton, which returns junior Victor Vazquez, all-league a year ago; and Glenbard South. Raiders coach Doug Gorski agrees with Walter that an official state meet has added a new facet to the season.
"It's definitely put a little fire, especially in some of the seniors," he said. "Our goal is to win conference and get to state for the third year in a row."