Scouting DuPage County boys track
Top local teams: Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, Lake Park, Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley, Wheaton North, Wheaton Warrenville South, York.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Mike Renc (sr., throws); Benet: Matt Hatch (sr., sprints), Devin Petersen (sr., throws); Downers Grove North: Ryan Birkmeier (sr., middle distance), Miles Christensen (sr., distance), Brendan Lockerby (sr., middle distance), Matt Moravec (junior, distance), Jacob Ridderhoff (sr., distance); Downers Grove South: Akhil Ghosh (sr., distance), Jayden Lambert (so., jumps), Shawn Lee (so., throws), Stephen Pipilas (sr., distance), Eddie Siuda (jr., middle distance); Fenton: Jim Deckert (jr., throws), Cristian Sanchez (sr., distance); Glenbard East: Nehemiah Jones (jr., sprints), Peter Steiskal (jr., throws); Glenbard North: Xavier Curtis (so., sprints), Randy Schmitz (sr., high jump); Glenbard South: Stevan Plavsic (jr., hurdles, sprints), Michael Zima (sr., jumps, sprints); Glenbard West: Cam Benes (sr., middle distance), Rory Cavan (jr., distance), Tyquan Cox (jr., sprints), Adam Dau (jr., shot put), Diego Villalobos (jr., triple jump), Joe Zydlo (sr., sprints); Hinsdale Central: Cullen Fitzgerald (sr., jumps), Sean O'Connell (sr., distance), Ethan Ruth (jr., hurdles), Luke Skokna (jr., sprints), Justin Taylor (sr., jumps); Hinsdale South: Brett Haffner (sr., distance), Carmelo Lazzara (sr., hurdles), Kamron Lipscomb (jr., jumps), Jacob Marcus (jr., sprints) Jaylen Plaxico (sr., sprints); IC Catholic: Dan McCann (sr., shot put), Tim McCann (sr., discus); Lake Park: Colin Kirkham (sr., distance), Tom Paprocki (sr., pole vault), Solomon Sangbowale (sr., jumps), Danny Spejcher (sr., hurdles, long jump); Lisle: Jared Hunter (sr., sprints), Cameron Stitt (sr., jumps), Charlie Waldusky (jr., discus); Metea Valley: Mason Bronson (sr., sprints), Pryce Giwa-Osagie (jr., high jump), Rokas Gudinavicius (sr., distance), Temi Osobamiro (jr., jumps, sprints), Ralph Papa (sr., distance); Montini: Nick Fedanzo (jr., sprints), Max May (sr., jumps), Jake Mondschean (sr., distance), Matt Quaglia (sr., sprints); Naperville Central: Brian Armstrong (sr., jumps, sprints), Thomas Codo (jr., sprints), Cade McDonald (jr., hurdles), Omarr Roberts (sr., throws), Thomas Shilgalis (jr., distance); Naperville North: Griffin Blecke (jr., middle distance), Will deBolt (jr., hurdles), Ameir Wilbourn (jr., sprints); Neuqua Valley: Myles Gascon (sr., sprints), Dakota Getty (sr., middle distance), Ryan Kennedy (sr., distance), Zach Kinne (jr., distance), Kai Larson (sr., sprints), Mac Mitchell (sr., triple jump), Ife Oketona (sr., jumps, sprints), Donovan Turner (jr., hurdles); St. Francis: Jon Aquino (jr., middle distance), Alex Hernandez (sr., distance); Timothy Christian: Xavier Ross (sr., sprints, hurdles, jumps); Waubonsie Valley: Damion Curry (sr., sprints, high jump), Connor Forrest (sr., throws), Tre'Von Petty (sr., sprints), Wes York (sr., middle distance); West Chicago: Zenen Cardenas (sr., sprints); Westmont: Kyle Casper (sr., hurdles); Wheaton Academy: Ryan Wittstock (sr., middle distance); Wheaton North: Chris Bucci (sr., hurdles), Charlie Hill (sr., sprints), Tyler Johnson (sr., shot put), Joey Simon (sr., middle distance), Connor Zydek (jr., distance); Wheaton Warrenville South: Scott Maison (jr., distance), Sean Maison (jr., distance), Cedric Rowzee (jr., sprints), Danny Schricker (sr., sprints), Trent Schweitzer (sr., sprints), Joey Zubak (sr., hurdles); Willowbrook: Pat Florey (sr., sprints), Brandon Loth (sr., throws); York: Jackson Bode (sr., middle distance), Brendan Chaltin (sr., sprints), Brendan Hill (jr., pole vault), Deandre Klein (sr., sprints), Daniel Klysh (so., distance), Jonathan Tanner (sr., sprints).
Outlook: Enjoy one final turn into the homestretch.
In the 2018-19 school year restructuring will occur in the Chicago Catholic League and the DuPage Valley, Interstate Eight, Metro Suburban and Upstate Eight conferences. Only the East Suburban Catholic and West Suburban conferences will be spared among those in which DuPage County high schools compete.
Area boys track coaches have feelings about that.
"I will miss it because I think it's been an outstanding conference," Naperville Central coach Steve Wiesbrook said March 16 at the DuPage Valley Conference indoor meet, a few months before Glenbard North, Lake Park, Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South join Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East and St. Charles North to form the DuKane Conference.
With no additions on the horizon that leaves Wiesbrook's Redhawks, Metea Valley, Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley to carry the DVC mantle.
"In track and field I think all of the coaches have always decided that the driving decision is what's best for kids - not what's best for 'my program' necessarily, but what's best for the kids that are involved. If it's best for the kids, then that's the right thing to do," said Wiesbrook, in the Redhawks program for 33 of the DVC's 43 years.
Among elder statesmen separation will cause some anxiety no matter how strong the DuKane turns out to be.
"I'm excited for the new conference, but it's sad to leave," said 26-year Wheaton North coach Don Helberg. "Some of those guys I've known my whole coaching career."
Neuqua Valley aims to close this chapter as it began. Seventh in Class 3A in 2017, the Wildcats won the DVC indoor title each of their three years in the league and aim to duplicate that feat outdoors. Their ultimate goals will be tested at the Class 3A Plainfield South sectional and the 124th state meet in Charleston.
The Wildcats offer traditional distance strength, second last fall behind Downers Grove North in 3A cross country. Zach Kinne is a returning 3,200-meter all-stater whose 2018 indoor times in the 1,600 (4 minutes, 15.47 seconds) and the 3,200 (9:09.74) led all Illinois runners. Senior Tyler Bombacino returns from a 3,200 relay that won its second 3A title in four years.
Sprinter Myles Gascon "brings a little bit of a different angle to our team that people might not expect," coach Mike Kennedy said. A returning 100-meter state qualifier, Gascon owns Neuqua's indoor 60-meter record and set its outdoor mark of 10.64 seconds at the Class 3A Naperville North sectional. (As did Wildcats junior Donovan Turner in the 110 high hurdles.)
Typical large numbers mean a wealth of scorers such as state-qualifying pole vaulter Alex Kiefer, triple jumper McKenzie "Mac" Mitchell and key utility men like Kai Larson, back from last year's third-place 1,600 relay.
"This year we have top performers in nearly every event," said Kennedy, keen on building depth for another assault on the DVC and Class 3A, won last year by Edwardsville.
The WW South Tigers, who won the DVC 12 of 13 seasons from 1995-2007, pack front-line oomph to push Neuqua Valley as they did in a second-place indoor DVC finish. Twins Scott and Sean Maison led a third-place Class 3A cross country team (Sean's winning Batavia Distance Madness 1,600 time of 4:18.98 set the Tigers indoor record). Defending DVC 200 winner Cedric Rowzee has an indoor 55-meter victory to his credit over defending 3A 100-meter champ Declan Rustay of Hoffman Estates.
Hurdler Joey Zubak is "huge leadership-wise," said Tigers coach Chris Arthurs, who aims to improve upon 2017's seven state qualifiers - and score points once there.
Wheaton North shot putter Tyler Johnson is among the county's six returning all-state athletes from individual events. The Falcons' Joey Simon was just off that pace, 10th in the 800. Simon - close behind returners Charlie Kern of York and Wes York of Waubonsie Valley on that day - just set the DVC indoor 800 mark, 1:56.22.
Metea Valley has a solid, well-rounded squad including Illinois Prep Top Times 3,200 relay winners Rokas Gudinavicius, Derek Roberts, Charles Schafer and Mike Varzino. At the DVC indoor meet Naperville Central and Glenbard North showed underclass power that will impact in May.
Naperville North sprinter Ameir Wilbourn is working back from a football leg injury, while Lake Park standouts such as Danny Spejcher and 14-6 pole vaulter Tom Paprocki will vie for titles in this pivotal season.
"The conference has been outstanding really across the board," said Lake Park coach Jay Ivory. "But the way I look at it, the new conference is going to be outstanding, too."
The West Suburban Conference is a model of stability but has its own issues, particularly in the Silver Division.
"It's nice to have the consistency and the rivalry, but it's also tough because our conference is so good in track and cross country, it's so good on a consistent basis that you've really got to fight to keep your head above water," said Glenbard West coach Jon Schweighardt.
Example: York finished 92 points behind Oak Park indoors, sixth in the Silver. Though York has won 28 cross country titles to five in track, and it won the sophomore level by 64 points, that still sounds shocking.
Missouri-bound senior Charlie Kern has battled a mysterious ailment stemming from an infection more than two years ago (sophomore brother Ethan also is overcoming injury) and it's uncertain if he'll join Dukes distance aces Jackson Bode, Daniel Klysh and Sean MacGregor. York's strengths include pole vaulter Brendan Hill, and Jonathan Tanner among a bevy of sprinters.
"He's improving from where he was last fall," York coach Charlie Kern said of his eldest son, "and time will tell how much he'll be able to participate and race."
Last fall five of the top 10 teams in Class 3A cross country came from the WSC Silver, with Downers North No. 1. The Trojans then ran fourth at Nike Cross Nationals and haven't slowed. Brendan Lockerby, Ryan Birkmeier, Jacob Ridderhoff and Miles Christensen set an indoor 3,200 relay program mark of 7:55.79. Others such as Matt Moravec - seventh in the 3A 3,200 last spring - give coach Eric Buhot and distance coach John Sipple plenty of nice lineup problems.
"They're all interchangeable," Buhot said.
Besides Kern's third-place 800 last year in Charleston, Hinsdale Central senior Cullen Fitzgerald returns DuPage County's highest individual state finish, fourth place in 3A high jump at 6 feet, 7 inches. (After widespread adjustments, the only event with a lower qualifying standard in Class 3A than in 2A.)
Fitzgerald and teammates like hurdler Ethan Ruth and sprinter Luke Skokna led the Red Devils to third in the Silver indoor meet, but Glenbard West was second, a 41-point, four-place jump from 2017.
The Hilltoppers have scant holes, mainly in field events, and appear to have the pieces to again qualify all four relays. Sprinters Tyquan Cox, Joe Zydlo and Brady Heller will be joined by Cincinnati football recruit Alec Pierce, while Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody earned all-state nods in a seventh-place 3A cross country finish.
"Hopefully we can get some kids that actually run on Saturday (downstate) and don't just go down for Friday. That's really our goal," said coach Jon Schweighardt, who finally saw his IHSA 300 hurdles record from 1999 broken last season by Freeport's Deion McShane.
Blessed with one of the area's largest rosters, look for Downers Grove South to rule the WSC Gold as it has three straight years and 10 of the last 12. Indoors, the Mustangs got 54 varsity points from sophomores such as thrower Shawn Lee and jumper Jayden Lambert, on top of a sophomore squad whose 205 points more than doubled up second-place Proviso East.
Hinsdale South has stalwarts like hurdler Carmelo Lazzara, sprinter Jacob Marcus and jumper Kamron Lipscomb, but it'll be hard to match Downers South's double-scoring potential particularly in distance, where Stephen Pipilas, Akhil Ghosh and Eddie Suida anchored a 10th-place 3A cross country team.
The West Suburban Conference brings the county's sole coaching changes. Jim Westphal is Hinsdale Central's interim coach in place of Noah Lawrence, father to baby twin girls; James Ziebka succeeds the retired Bruce Kelsay at Addison Trail.
"I really do like the day-to-day activities you have to deal with, as crazy as that sounds," said Ziebka, angling to get Mike Renc downstate in discus after a narrow miss in 2017.
Ken Jakalski has been doing that stuff 32 years at Lisle, the dean of DuPage County boys track coaches by a year over Timothy Christian's John Vander Kamp, two years ahead of St. Francis' Scott Nelson. All three will see tweaks to their conferences.
Lisle and 6-5 high jumper Cam Stitt will bid adieu this fall to defending Interstate Eight champion Seneca, and Westmont's future affiliation remains in limbo. Kyle Casper of Class 1A Westmont, with about a quarter of its male students on the team, qualified in both hurdles events last year. Coach Rainy Kaplan thinks he's got more in him: "We expect him to be all-state in both hurdles," she said.
Timothy Christian's Xavier Ross ran in 2017 Class 1A preliminaries in the 110 and 300 hurdles and in the 200 dash. Finding his best event or events will be key for this six-time qualifier to reach the finals.
Before St. Francis leaves Montini and the Chicago Catholic League to join Fenton, IC Catholic, Timothy and Wheaton Academy in the Metro Suburban Conference, Jon Aquino, Alex Hernandez and Joe Leo will attempt what the Spartans haven't done in awhile - repeat as Class 2A qualifiers. All ran in the 3,200 relay while Aquino and Hernandez made the 800, St. Francis' first qualifiers since 2014.
Like IC Catholic, which graduated 10-time all-stater Jordan Rowell and is retooling with youth - and possibly hurdler Luke Ricobene, inactive since suffering a football injury in September - Montini graduated star sprinter Mitch West. Yet the Broncos return Zach Olson, Nick Fedanzo and Matt Quaglia from a 2A second-place 400 relay, plus Nick Orlando and Jalen Slater from a qualifying 800 relay with all runners back.
Glenbard South dominated the Metro Suburban indoor meet with numbers and a standout performance by Stevan Plavsic, who won two events and finished second in two others. Plavsic and sprinter Jeremy Earnst were among 2017 sophomores who beat Riverside-Brookfield on that level, giving hope to reverse last year's varsity standings before Glenbard South moves to the Upstate Eight.
The Raiders' move will give Glenbard East a built-in rival. Currently, aside from West Aurora, the Upstate Eight boys track strength is in the River Division, but one of the top individuals is West Chicago's Zenen Cardenas. Applying into the Air Force, the Wildcats' two-time MVP won the program's first UEC title March 16, running 400 meters in 51.41 seconds.
"He works hard and is great at pulling people to his level," said West Chicago coach Paul McLeland.
Finally, Benet is happily situated in the stable East Suburban Catholic Conference. Downstate berths proved unattainable for the smallest team in Class 3A in 2017 and may again at the Downers Grove North sectional. But DePauw-bound sprinter Matt Hatch, defending ESCC pole vault champ Ian Smith and the Redwings maintain a huge goal - beat Marist in the ESCC. Last year Benet won by a point. Coach Brian Quick aims to disrupt Marist's habit of winning in even-numbered years.
"Even though it's 2018," he said, "we want to break that streak and win conference every year."
Top meets: April 7: Wheaton North Best 4; April 13: Naperville North Gus Scott Invitational; April 14: Downers South Bud Mohns, Metea Valley Invite; April 20: Downers South Bob Cohoon, Glenbard South Raider Invite, WW South Red Grange; April 27: Hinsdale South Mike Yavorski; April 28: Glenbard West Jim Arnold, Waubonsie Valley Red Ribbon; May 3: Interstate Eight Conference, Seneca; May 4: DuPage County Meet, Naperville Central, Hinsdale Central McCarthy Invite; May 5: Lisle Carlin Nalley, Bolingbrook; May 9: East Suburban Catholic Conference, Notre Dame; May 10: Upstate Eight Conference, Streamwood; West Suburban Gold, Downers South; May 11: DuPage Valley Conference, Lake Park; Metro Suburban Blue, Fenton; Metro Suburban Red, Ridgewood; May 12: Chicago Catholic League, Loyola; West Suburban Silver, Concordia; May 16-18: IHSA sectionals; May 24-26: State Finals, Charleston.
- Dave Oberhelman