Boys cross country: Scouting the Fox Valley
Bartlett HawksCoach: Jeremy Ruston
2014 finish: Sixth place UEC Valley
Top returning runners: Seniors Justin Isla, Lucas Isla, Matt Edmier, Matt Brown, junior Andrew Pelster, sophomore Brandon Kim
Key newcomers: Freshman Angelo Peters
Outlook: Justin Isla and Edmier are returning sectional qualifiers for the Hawks. "Our strongest attribute is experience," said Ruston. "Last year there were only a couple seniors on the entire team and only one who had run in a varsity race the year before. This year they all have gotten stronger mentally and physically, which will lead to greater success." Pack running will be a key for Bartlett. "We will have a solid five, but we will need to close the gap between each runner and try to keep the pack close. We don't have a front-runner so to do well we will need to keep a small 1-5 split. Kim and Peters are drawing rave reviews. "Although Justin and Lucas have proved to be the Top 2, I would keep an eye on Brandon and Angelo. They have proved this summer that they can run with the older guys and aren't afraid of them. They both will continue to get stronger and improve as the season goes on." Ruston said the team's key goals are to get to the sectional and make a possible run at a team state berth. The Hawks also would like to be in that top tier in the UEC. "The conference has changed quite a bit with Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley leaving," Ruston said. "It is wide open with Neuqua being gone. I would say St. Charles East, Geneva and East Aurora are the favorites."
Burlington Central RocketsCoach: Vince Neil
2014 finish: Fourth Big Northern Conference
Top returning runner: Senior Nick Harvey
Key newcomers: Senior Josh Teets, freshman Charlie Domagalski
Outlook: The Rockets suffered a big loss with the graduation of standout Clay Musial, who now is running at Rice University in Houston. However, Harvey returns after qualifying for the sectional a year ago. "We'll be pretty solid," said Neil. "We should have pretty good depth. The guys had a good summer and trained well. We pretty much have that Top 5 but we need to bring up the 6-9 kids. We have a couple nice freshmen that came into the program. By the end of the season we'll be improved." Teets is in his first cross-country season after going Downstate in track last spring. "I think Josh will come up big," said Neil. "Overall, it's a good group of guys." Neil, in his 12th season, said the competition in the area is as tough as ever. "The Class 2A cross-country teams in this area have been very strong in the past and this year will be no exception," he said. "To be successful in this area, a team needs to have not only 5 quality scoring athletes, but five more supporting runners to help all 7 athletes race for a chance to run Downstate. There are so many quality teams that are so deep with athletes who can run at a high level. Although our team is young, they do recognize the challenge that faves them. I like our intensity and work ethic thus far."
Cary-Grove TrojansCoach: Layne Holter
2014 finish: 8th place Fox Valley Conference
Top returning athletes: Seniors Sang Seo, Ryan Pinter, juniors Alex Ratkovich, Jack Adams, Kyle Adams, Tommy Williams, sophomore Jack Warnecke
Key newcomers: Sophomore Steven Soli, freshmen Alex Sepeczi, Darek Warren, Thomas Roth, Andrew Lewis, Otto Skelley
Outlook: Youth is the word at Cary-Grove this season. "We lack experience on the varsity level," said Holter. "Three of our top guys were injured and missed most of last season so racing experience is what these guys really need. Six of our top seven are underclassmen with limited or no varsity experience. We have a great team dynamic and a great work ethic. These guys are hungry." Those three injured runners from last year are Ratkovich and the Adams brothers. "They are friends and continuously train together," said Holter. "They are competitive and hungry." Holter sees teams such as Crystal Lake South, McHenry and Huntley as potential top-tier occupants in the FVC. "We need to move up in a very tough conference and gain experience this year to make another jump next year," he said.
Crystal Lake South GatorsCoach: Rich Eschman
2014 finish: Fox Valley Conference champions
Top returning runners: Seniors Tommy Melone, Doug Cain, Doug Hall, junior Jon Prus, sophomores Jack Becker, Ryan Foster
Key newcomers: Juniors Alex Foydl, Miles Foydl, sophomore Matt Van Witzenburg
Outlook: The defending FVC champions (who won the crown for the second time in school history) return five of its Top 6 runners with Becker and Prus leading the way. "Jack and Jon give us a good 1-2 punch toward the front," said Eschman, in his 23rd season. "We will need Tommy and Doug to run about 15 seconds faster than last year and we will need Ryan, Alex and Miles to give us a fifth runner. Our biggest obstacle will be staying healthy. The guys need to spend more time doing the little things such as stretching in order to stay healthy." Eschman noted the FVC qualified five teams for either the Class 3A or 2A state meet last year. "The conference again will be very good with Huntley and McHenry on the Valley side. Grayslake Central, Crystal Lake Central and Prairie Ridge all will be very good."
Dundee-Crown ChargersCoach: Tyler Carlson
2014 finish: Ninth place Fox Valley Conference
Top returning runners: Seniors Josh Wizgird, Logan Hayes, David Yonamine, sophomore Danny Price
Outlook: The Chargers are coming off a ninth-place league finish, but their frosh-soph team took fourth last season. Plenty of competition is occurring in practice. "We had planned on five returning varsity athletes, but that has changed," said Carlson. "We have a number of wide-open spots. The seniors put in a concentrated effort to challenge one another over the summer. Their example should pave the way for a competitive varsity squad." Pack running will be a strength for Carlson's group. "Our team's strength will be effective pack running," he said. "The greatest obstacle is that the Fox Valley Conference will be strong with a number of quality teams and some truly fantastic individuals."
Elgin MaroonsCoach: Drew Smith
2014 finish: Sectional qualifier
Top returning runners: Seniors Brandon Copeland, Vince Coletti, juniors Christian Ulloa, Jakob Woerner, Carlos Orduno, Max Troyke, Oscar Martinez.
Key newcomers: Sophomore Jon Porras, freshmen Enrique Delgado, Gio Cisneros, Juan Villagomez
Outlook: Smith takes over for longtime former coach John Devine. Elgin is coming off a 2014 season where it advanced to sectionals for the first time since 2011. Four seniors from the team's Top 7 a year ago have graduated. "We're concentrating on rebuilding the varsity," said Smith. Porras was injured for the majority of last season. "Jon had a great summer of training and is leading our frosh-soph crew," said Smith. "His form is much improved over last year and he's hungry. Copeland is the team's top runner right now. "Brandon will be a strong leader for this team on and off the course," said Smith. "I believe he has a solid enough base to do great things this season." Coletti is another senior showing great promise. "I have high hopes for Vince," said Smith. "I believe he can cut a lot of time off his previous PRs if he keeps working hard."
Elgin Academy HilltoppersCoach: Brian LeVanti
Top returning runners: Seniors Devin Uner, Michael Lucas, Michael Huang, sophomores Prudhive Gudapati, Ben Simon
Key newcomer: Sophomore Connor Jaworski
Outlook: Continued development is at the top of the priority chain for first-year coach LeVanti. "While our team is a mixture of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen, we are looking forward to running hard and will continue to develop and grow as a team," he said. "We have a young and enthusiastic group of athletes. Our team's experience and work ethic will help our athletes set and achieve their individual goals. Hopefully their hard work will translate into success in the postseason."
Hampshire Whip-PursCoach: Dennis Wozniak
2014 finish: 11th place Fox Valley Conference
Top returning runners: Juniors Jacob Oury, Will Matushek
Outlook: Depth will be of some concern for the Whip-Purs in 2015. "An obstacle is depth," said Wozniak. "We have 18 boys." Oury qualified for sectionals last year and set the school record at the sectional meet. He'll again be a key presence for the Whip-Purs. "We would like to move up in the Fox Division standings this year," said Wozniak.
Harvest Christian Academy LionsCoach: Steven Bland
2014 finish: Northeastern Athletic Conference champions
Top returning runners: Seniors Caleb Vislisel, juniors Michael Sisko, Riley Steiner, sophomores Kyler Young, Dylan Lockwood
Outlook: Harvest won its second NAC title in a row last year, won a regional and placed 19th at the Class 1A state meet. Bland has been impressed with the team's work ethic. "The majority of the team did a lot of summer running," he said. "This is perhaps the strongest team we have ever fielded in our short history (5 years). Obviously it's the competition that stands in our way. Several teams in the region and section have a lot of returning athletes and they, too, will be much stronger. We need to stay healthy, injury-free and keep our focus." Bland said conference contenders include the likes of IMSA and Westminster Christian, along with newcomer Aurora Christian. "We will look to win the conference, this always is our first goal," said Bland.
Huntley Red RaidersCoach: Matt Kaplan
2014 finish: Third place Fox Valley Conference
Top returning runners: Seniors Keagan Smith, Seth Conroy, Mike Grocholski, Zach Hollman, junior Matt Kapolnek, sophomore Joey Ozzauto
Key newcomers: Freshmen Jadon Conroy, Chris Simek, Marcus Herrington, Jake Sutter, Brandon Galante
Outlook: Huntley is positioned well by bringing back six of its Top 7 runners from a 2014 team that took 19th in the state with Smith finishing ninth individually and earning all-state honors. "Our team goals are to ultimately return to the state meet and improve on our team standing," said Kaplan, in his eighth season. "With the senior trio of Keagan, Seth and Mike, our team should be in a great position throughout the season." Keys will be the fourth and fifth runners. "Matt and Joey will look to close that gap to our Top 3 in order to give our team the best chance for success," said Kaplan. "If this group can stay healthy and learn from each other each meet week-to-week, we should have a great season. This group has been together for awhile now and the team chemistry continues to be a strength for our group." Kaplan said both Crystal Lake schools and McHenry are ones to keep an eye on in the FVC.
Jacobs Golden EaglesCoach: Kevin Christian
2014 finish: Fifth place Fox Valley Conference
Top returning runners: Seniors Kyle Ross, Cole Schwarz, Austin Albrecht, James Hennessy, Austin Nguyen, Will Taylor, Danny Madoch, junior Garret Brenizer
Key newcomers: Sophomore Jackson Gehr, freshmen Cam Reedy, Zach Albrecht
Outlook: Jacobs returns three runners who finished in the Top 25 in the FVC in Ross (13th), Brenizer (24th) and Schwarz (25th). "Our strength will be our depth as usual," said Christian. "We have 10 boys who could be varsity contributors and solid runners. We have two front-runners (Ross and Reedy) who will probably be the best Top 2 we've had. Cam ran a 15:28 already this summer at the Detweiller at Dark race and Kyle is right with him." Christian noted Austin Albrecht had a strong summer, while returning all-conference runners Schwarz and Brenizer are coming of track injuries, but should be back to form and help to round out the Golden Eagles' Top 5. Christian has 55 runners in the program. In terms of the FVC landscape, "McHenry should be hard for anyone to compete with, but Huntley should be right behind them and Crystal Lake South returns a solid team," said Christian.
Larkin RoyalsCoach: Nathan Williams
Top returning runners: Eduardo Baltazar, Evan Powers, Jon Panzer, Sebastian Alvarado, Zach Fifer
Key newcomers: Keith Carver, Alex Mercado
Outlook: Williams takes over the program from longtime former coach Eric Hill. Williams, also the school's boys' track coach, was impressed with last year's "emergence of freshmen and sophomores as leaders of the team." Williams is looking to continue to expand the relationship of the two programs (cross-country and track and field) "We are looking to build off some of the recent track and field success," he said. "In order for us to develop into a competitive program, we will need an infusion of talent from the middle school and student leadership from its returning runners. We're building an entire culture of running between both programs, establishing relationships with all the Larkin athletic programs to use Larkin running as a training ground for all sports."
St. Edward Green WaveCoach: Katie Beckett
Top runner: Junior Trevor Odeggard
Outlook: Odeggard is the only current runner in the program. "Trevor was very successful last season and still has room to grow as a runner," said Beckett. Expanding the team roster continues to be a top priority. "We're trying on a daily basis to get more boys to join," she said.
Streamwood SabresCoach: Weert Goldenstein
2014 finish: Sixth place UEC River
Top returning runners: Seniors Alan Douglas, Jose Diaz, Justin Payne, Carlos Sanchez, Francisco Vega, Dylan Munoz, Jarod Adaya, junior Caleb Inorio
Key newcomers: Seniors John Ramirez, Bradley Sajirane, freshmen Andrew Stallings, Nobuyoshi Masore, Marcos Villarreal
Outlook: Gaining experience will be of chief importance for the Sabres this season. "We have a lot of new guys on the team who have no cross-country experience and not only need to be taught about running, but need to learn what it means to come together and work as a team," said Goldenstein, now in his 10th season. "Our main weakness is probably the number of inexperienced runners we have on the team. I love adding new faces to the team, but it takes some time to bring them up to speed. I'm fortunate to have some solid upperclassmen who can help with this process." The Sabres are looking to see that improvement peak during the latter juncture of the season. "We want to improve our team place at conference and our presence in the state series," said Goldenstein.
South Elgin StormCoach: Kari Turcan
2014 finish: 7th place UEC Valley
Top returning runners: Senior Michael Mikhail, junior Jake Harris, sophomore Brady Tolva
Key newcomers: Sophomore Owen Sirridge, freshman Jace Warrick
Outlook: Turcan noted the team has a lot of potential at the lower levels, which bodes well both in the short-term and long-term. "We have a lot of talent on our frosh-soph team and hope to really hook these young guys into running so they will peak junior and senior years," she said. Turcan added the team has been hard at work since fall practices started. "Self-motivation is something we are really working on improving," she said. "Many of our athletes did not put in the kind of work over the summer to really put our team in a strong position at this point of the season. But, I know they will come through in the end." Freshman Warrick will provide immediate help for the Storm. "Jace was our top finisher at our intrasquad mock meet-time trial," Turcan noted. "He finished under 18 minutes on a hot day with no competition. He will be a force." Turcan would like to see her team move up in the Valley standings and get back at the sectional meet this season. "With the Valley schools (Metea, Neuqua and Waubonsie) out of the conference, we are looking to improve our standings," she said. "We would like to do well at regionals again. Last year we took third and qualified for sectionals as a team."
Westminster Christian WarriorsCoach: Adriana Armstrong
Top returning runners: Junior Tom Danner, sophomore Jason Yaccino
Key newcomer: Sophomore Nathan Horesch
Outlook: Danner was an all-Northeastern Athletic Conference pick and a sectional qualifier a year ago, while Yaccino also qualified for the sectional. "The boys have good team leaders," said Armstrong. "Instead of just one or two strong runners, the pack of four front-runners helps guide and lead the rest of the team. We're working on race strategy. They boys are committed to working hard in practice, so learning to race is key. The team looks strong. The returning members of the team are committed to working with the newer members. I anticipate our front leaders to do well at competitions and move onto postseason competitions." Armstrong is looking for even bigger things from Danner and Yaccino. "Tom has had his eyes on competing at state since freshman year," she said. "He's determined to get there. Jason is a strong runner who worked hard all summer building a strong running base to launch from this season. He finished well at sectionals last year and will improve on that performance."