3A-
Irwin Loud should be on the move again this fall (Itai Epstein photo)
Boys:
One would guess the rankings will bear some of the familiar names at the top of the list. Naperville (Neuqua Valley) is a team that many expect to contend for a state championship. Expect the Wildcats to open the pre-season #1 or #2 followed by Lyons Township, Hinsdale Central, or Lake Zurich. Boys cross country editor Ray Lewis will ultimately display his pre-season preview in the coming days.
Individually, we could see the continued emergence from Soren Knudsen. The Minooka senior came into his own during the track season producing some incredible times. The most impressive of which was the third place finish in the state 1600m to athlete of the year Sean Torpy of Sandburg. The top runner, though, very well could be Charlie Kern Jr. of Elmhurst York. Kern placed second in the championship last fall. He missed the 2016 indoor season and did not race above the mile outdoors. His father Charlie Kern Sr. made it clear that he wanted his son to have great leg speed. Now if the speed matches the endurance we could see Kern on top of the podium. Oak Park-River Forest senior Irwin Loud spent most of his summer in Japan on a school project. "It's going well," said Loud of the great experience. "I'm in a rural area so it's great for running. I've also been able to run on some really nice forest trails." Watch for returning faces in Blake Evertsen (Hinsdale Central), Danny Kilrea (Lyons Twp.), Matt Pereira (Lake Zurich), Clayton Mendez (Chicago Whitney Young), and Warren Blood (New Trier)
Two of Illinois' best: Brooke Wilson (Prospect) and Lindsey Payne (Glenbard West) [Itai Epstein photo]
Girls:
Minooka will be a marked team when the season officially gets underway. The Indians surprised the cross country world with a big state championship upset over Naperville North 132-148. It could be more of the same as both teams return major firepower. Minooka will return six of their top seven that ran in the state title. One would think Minooka would make a run in the post series and bid for NXN. Batavia will be among the elite after only losing Dakota Roman to graduation, Coach Chad Hillman is excited about his team's prospects this season. "It will be a fun
challenge to see if we can develop the necessary chemistry to continue a high level of
performance at the state level." In addition, nine of the top ten teams return at least four starters.
The individual title will be an interesting one now that instant legendary Judy Pendergast has graduated and moved on Harvard University. It is presumably the time for Lindsey Payne of Glenbard West to take over. Payne finished second last year running the third fastest time in state history at 16:15. Payne competed the school year unscathed on the track with a 3200m title. Payne was chased hard in that race by Minooka's Ashley Tutt and Emily Shelton. But the young lady to watch may not be Brooke Wilson but the incoming freshman Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West. Yes, Payne's new teammate has produced incredible numbers on the track that would rate her at the top of all distance races (800/1600/3200) had she been eligible. Hart has not run a high school 3 mile but her 9:52 3000m translate to 10:36 for 2miles. It is about to heat up this fall at a course near you.