Boys cross country: Scouting Fox Valley

Paraphrasing the late Houston Oilers football coach Bum Phillips, "One year ago, we knocked on the door. This year, we beat on the door. Next year, we're going to kick it in."

That next year is here for St. Charles East's boys cross country team.

Two years ago, the Saints placed 13th at the Class 3A state meet in Peoria - their fourth consecutive appearance as a team at Detweiller Park.

Last season, St. Charles East moved up 8 spots from the 2017 campaign, recording a fifth-place state finish in a hotly contested meet won by DuKane Conference rival Wheaton Warrenville South.

Led by all-state runners William Hauenstein (8th), Scott Maison (13th) and Jacob Kluckhohn (15th), the Tigers captured their first state championship with a 5-man total of 116, well ahead of runner-up Hersey (156) and third-place Neuqua Valley (159).

Perennial powerhouse York (185) edged out the Saints, 185-187, for fourth position.

It marked the Saints' best state showing since 1992 when they placed second to legendary coach Joe Newton's York squad.

It also left the Saints yearning for more.

"The year before, we finished 13th in the state so one of our goals last year was to finish in the top 10," said Saints coach Chris Bosworth, who has guided the team to 5 straight state meet appearances. "After the Lake Park meet (last September), I started thinking we might have something here. We were ranked as one of the top two or three teams in the state by the end of September into early October. Managing those expectations and pressure was something completely new for the guys. We learned how to race for a trophy. We're not just happy to be there now."

Despite the graduation departure of all-stater Bennett Melone (24th), the Saints' lineup should pack plenty of punch this season.

"We return five guys from last year's team that ran at state," said Bosworth. "We're ready to go."

As a junior, Aidan King placed 26th in the state while freshman Micah Wilson recorded a 40th-place finish. Both runners return in 2019, as does senior Bob Liking (64th) and junior Zack Loomis (96th).

Liking, one of the Saints' top runners throughout the season, admittedly struggled down the late stretch at Detweiller Park.

"I kind of got caught up in the race," said Liking. "I went out really hard and that was not how I ran during the season. It was pretty sad because I was a big part in us not achieving our goal but it adds fuel to my fire for this year. The memories are still fresh - I'm not going to let it happen again."

"I wouldn't change anything Bob did in that race," said Bosworth. "He was in 14th place at the 2-mile mark. He went out trying to finish in the best possible position for us. He was 17th with a half-mile left and still was around 17th with 400 meters to go. He just ran out of gas."

Seniors Johnny Olenek, Logan Bell, juniors Luke Schildmeyer, Tyler Tobin, Matt Connell, Connor Murphy, and freshmen Lexton Rockwell, Dohsay Wah, and Gabe Im figure to add depth to the Saints' 2019 lineup.

"We're not afraid of anybody," said Bosworth. "We're going to use that (2018 finish) for motivation this year. We know what we have coming back. We're not hiding from the fact that we should have a real good team."

Liking can't wait to get things started.

"I'm really excited," he said. "This is the best team I've seen in my four years here. I'm excited to see what happens."

In Class 2A, Kaneland knows how St. Charles East feels.

A year ago, the Knights placed fourth at the state meet, narrowly missing a 3rd-place trophy by a point to Bloomington, 167-168.

Chatham Glenwood (153) and Springfield (161) placed first and second, respectively.

"Our team ran seven PR races at the state finals and left everything on the course," said Kaneland coach Chad Clarey. "It was the right ending for us last year."

Led by returning senior all-stater Daniel Occhipinti (9th), the Knights have 5 of their top 7 back, including seniors Austin Adams (26th), Ethan Walker (79th), Ethan Neal (108th), and junior Isaiah Dallal (116th).

"It left the group returning hungry," said Clarey. "As we continue to progress through the year, our goal is going to center on our own pack running. We must work on what we do best, and remain healthy by doing all the little things that make teams elite. Like last season, we will go as far as our seniors take us."

Seniors Seth Nosek, Ben Durbala and former soccer player Marcus Ramos are also vying to crack the Knights' top 7.

Burlington Central, which placed 10th at the 2A state meet last season, may pack one of the area's top 1-2 punches in seniors Anthony Farmer and Gio Martinez. Farmer finished third in the state a year ago.

"With Farmer and Martinez up front, we can be a very good team," said Rockets coach Vince Neil. "Now that some of our younger athletes are a year stronger and can handle a larger workout load, we believe that we can improve upon last year's state finish."

Come November, we'll find out.

Fox Valley boys cross country at a glance

Top teams: St. Charles East, Kaneland, Huntley, Burlington Central, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles North, Jacobs, Aurora Central Catholic

Top runners: Austin Adams, Kaneland, sr; Ryan Arnold, St. Charles North, sr; Matt Brown, Crystal Lake South, jr; Angelo Butcher, Larkin, sr; Maxum Caesar, Cary-Grove, sr; Adam Caesar, Cary-Grove, sr; Ben Calusinski, Geneva, jr; Alex Carlson, Marmion, sr; Trevis Clementi, Marmion, sr; Isaiah Dallal, Kaneland, jr; Andrew Doetsch, Jacobs, so; Anthony Farmer, Burlington Central, sr; Ian Geisler, Huntley, sr; Jeret Godinez, Elgin, sr; Aidan Gonzalez, Hampshire, so; Alex Goto, Larkin, jr; Ryan Harvey, South Elgin, sr; Luke Jennes, Bartlett, sr; Sam Jennes, Bartlett, sr; Adam Kennedy, Batavia, sr; Aidan King, St. Charles East, sr; Kaden Kirby, St. Charles North, sr; Brice Klepfer, Huntley, sr; Joe Knanishu, Batavia, sr; Seth Kunio, West Aurora, so; Bob Liking, St. Charles East, sr; Zack Loomis, St. Charles East, jr; Manny Lopez, Elgin, jr; Tony LoPresti, Aurora Central Catholic, sr; Ryan Mansour, Batavia, jr; Gio Martinez, Burlington Central, sr; Isai Morales, Hampshire, jr; Jackson Morrill, West Aurora, sr; Brandon Munoz, Streamwood, sr; Ethan Neal, Kaneland, sr; Patrick Obernesser, St. Charles North, sr; Daniel Occhipinti, Kaneland, sr; Jimmy Ozzauto, Huntley, sr; Eric Palmquist, Geneva, sr; Josh Peterson, Harvest Christian, sr; Alex Picchi, Crystal Lake South, jr; Erik Richter, Harvest Christian, sr; Rohn Ritchie, Aurora Central Catholic, jr; Damian Rodriguez, Batavia, sr; Eamon Samasani, Batavia, sr; Daniel Sanders, Jacobs; Luke Schildmeyer, St. Charles East, jr; Zac Schmidt, Burlington Central, so; Marco Serna, Streamwood, sr; Nathan Sevey, Westminster Christian, fr; Valdis Slokenbergs, Geneva, sr; Jaden Tabak, Elgin Academy, sr; Ethan Walker, Kaneland, sr; Micah Wilson, St. Charles East, so; Max Wizgird, Dundee-Crown, sr; Sam Woody, Aurora Central Catholic, sr; Anthony Zangler, Marmion, sr.

Season skinny: While Burlington Central returns the top state finisher from a year ago in Farmer (3rd in 2A), Kaneland returns 5 runners from its 4th-place team that came within a point of a state trophy. Hampshire and Marmion drop to 2A while Harvest Christian returns to 1A where it placed third in the state 2 years ago. "If our season goes according to plan, we could find ourselves in the top 10, maybe on the podium again," said Harvest coach Steven Bland. Meanwhile, ACC returns 5 of its top 7 from last year's regional championship team. In Class 3A, St. Charles East aims for its first state trophy since 1992. Batavia, Geneva (with new coach Peter Raak), St. Charles North, Huntley and Jacobs also possess hopes of spending the second weekend of November in Peoria.