Overall Remarks-
Wow! What a race coming up! Parity has been quite the buzz word for the last two seasons that in what we have done with the rankings and it appears to really be no different now. The coaches are all catching on to this fact very well. “Each year, the field gets more and more competitive and it takes that much more to get on top and stay there,” remarks Monticello coach David Remmert. Before the season has even started, the top six teams ranked here have been regarded as trophy candidates that could win it all. That is not to undermine the favorited teams that the coaches know.
“In my opinion I think Unity and Rockford Christian are the teams to beat this,” stated Shelbyville coach Kevin Kramer. And of course I’ve been told “If you don’t have Unity up there, you should….all seven returning varsity runners!” by Remmert. As we see, Unity seems like an undisputed favorite, followed closely by Rockford Christian. What the top six teams have in common is a strong front runner followed by a strong two and three. What the favorited teams have that every other team doesn’t match them at is all-round depth in the top seven. What won last year’s race was mostly a really amazing top four (in the case of Monticello and Elmwood). Likely with the competition this year, state is going to come down to whoever has a better all-around 1-5 on the day of November.
10. Urbana (University)
2014 final placement: 16th place- State
Possible Roster: Marshall Allston-Yeagl (Sr.) 16:25, Justin Wang (Sr.) 16:26, Jack Zeiders (Sr.) 16:52, Grant Allen (So.) 16:53, Isaac Freund (Jr.) 17:28, Timmy Purnell (Jr.) 17:38, Alex Swanson-Linville (Fr.)
Snap Analysis: Uni unexpectedly came through last year at the Decatur Sectional, and at state they more or less replicated their sectional performance. Looking into this year, they only lose their third runner and everyone else is back. The Illiniweks are as worthy a top ten team as any!
9. Freeburg
2014 final placement: 14th place state
Possible Roster: Alex Mack (Jr.) 16:05, Charlie Parrish (So.) 16:14, Jonathan Kraus (Sr.) 16:20, Drew Wilkerson (Jr.) 16:54
Snap Analysis: Given their background, the midgets finding a fifth is not even a concern. The main concern is finding a front top three that can get through the big traffic at Detweiller. The trio of Mack, Parrish, and Kraus should definitely suffice!
8. Pleasant Plains
2014 final placement: 11th place state
Possible Roster: Tyler Johnson (Sr.) 15:16, David Plunkett (Sr.) 16:05, Adam Ely (Sr.) 16:49, Liam Bradley (So.) 17:14, Jordan Verhulst (Sr.) 17:39, Otis Sanders (Fr.), Jack McFadden (Fr.)
Snap Analysis: Led by all-stater Tyler Johnson, this should be yet another big year for the red birds! Unfortunately they lose their three and four who really came through for last year’s 11th placing. But with their fifth and sixth returning, plus maybe a couple incoming freshmen, they will more likely than not find the depth they need to place somewhere in this neighborhood.
7. El-Paso Gridley
2014 final placement: 13th place state
Possible Roster: Hunter Cobbley (Sr.) 15:24, Adam Ludy (Jr.) 15:59, Andy Layden (Jr.) 16:14, Ryan Filkins (Sr.) 17:29, Nathaniel Schug (Sr.) 17:39, Shelby Heffron (Sr.) 17:50, Brendan Loftus (So.) 17:58
Snap Analysis: Anything looks possible for the Titans as they return EVERYONE. They can get away (and have gotten away) with a bit of gaps considering the top three they have, but especially if El-Paso looks to trophy they need some improvement from their 3-6.
2014 final placement: State Runner-Up
Possible Roster: Matt Osmulski (Sr.) 15:18, Derek McCoy (Jr.) 15:41, Kelby Barnewolt (Jr.) 16:31, John Barratt (Jr.) 16:48, Jacob Brown (Fr.), Logan Whitney (Fr.), Jaden Beckwith (Fr.), Charlie McKinty (Fr.)
Snap analysis: Elmwood loses their 2nd, 4th, and 6th runners from last year's great team. The Trojans have an excellent chance to win a second consecutive trophy but there are questions that need to be answered. How will the coaching staff solve the big gap between the first two guys from the rest of the scoring pack? This could be a major problem in big invitationals and in the state championship. Hopefully, the Trojans will get their potential issues solved before going deep into the season.
2014 final placement: State Champions
Possible Roster: Zach Mesplay (Sr.) 15:38, James Kilby (Sr.) 15:41, Alex Helmuth (So.) 16:22, Logan Peters (Sr.) 17:22, Garrett Dixon (Fr.)
Snap analysis: Coach Remmert is much more humble than this introductory ranking suggests. They have four returners who are going to go through some growing pains because of depth and youth. Remmert's thoughts: "I begin each season with a prayer... personally I don't hype things up very much with our team. I talk with them about focusing on our work only and all of the other stuff will take care of itself. One day at a time, one workout at a time, brick by brick... we don't have expectations but we have goals. I have a pretty good idea where we'll be by the end of the season, but whether that is enough to be on the podium or not remains to be seen, for us and a lot of other teams."
2014 final placement: 6th place- state
Possible Roster: Marcus Skinner (Sr.) 15:29, Ryan Skowronski (So.) 15:54, Tyler Pasley (Jr.) 15:56, Jordan Sieger (Jr.) 16:30, Preston Henze (Sr.) 17:04, Luke Foltz (Jr.)
Snap analysis: Shelbyville just has a way of sneaking their way on to the podium when you least expect it (flashback: 2012 season). However, the 1-5 depth contained in these trophy ranked teams are simply unmatched going into the preseason, and Coach Kramer might vouch for this. "We are not as deep as in the past but we have some quality," he states. "We should have a top three in Skinner, Pasley and Skowronski that can run with the good teams." The question lies in their fourth and fifth runners. Coach Kramer adds, "our fate will be determined on how our four and five do. Sieger and Henze along with Foltz will be battling for those spots. All were between 16:30 and 16:45 last year."
2014 final placement: 8th place- State
Possible Roster: Brennan Guido (Sr.) 15:46, Justin Phillips (Jr.) 15:59, Ross Smetzer (Sr.) 16:07, Austin Earp (Sr.) 16:12, Gabe Lyons (Sr.) 16:35, Nate Phillips (Sr.) 16:46, Isiah McCune (Fr.)
Snap analysis: "The boys are ready to make a jump," said Coach Jason Retz. This team has definitely been part of the hype last year and really showcased their potential from each athlete. However, the problem seemed to be that while each athlete ran a personal best but it never seemed to be in unison. The Spartans return six of their top seven guys including Guido and Phillips. Now as a experienced bunch they are certainly within a reach to earn a state trophy with consistency weekend and week out. "We are far ahead of where we were last," added Retz. "Many of them have worked very hard over the last few years to set themselves up for this opportunity. There are a lot of great teams this year shooting for a trophy. I hope we will be one of them."
2014 final placement: 3rd place- State
Possible roster: Nick Monkemeyer (Sr.) 15:10, Ethan Volk (Sr.) 15:54, Noah Wells (Jr.) 15:58, Lukas Marshall (Sr.) 16:23, Josiah Vogel (So.) DNF, Riley Wells (Fr.). Andy Volk (Fr.), Nick Capriola (Fr.), Cal Granite (Fr.), Josh Honkamp (Fr.)
Snap analysis: There was talk of this team moving up to 2A. But guess what? Unlike Decatur St. Teresa and Rockford Alleman, they didn't. So this means the hot pursuit of a state title will remain strong. Plus, the team has tremendous depth to aid their cause. The fact that the Royal Lions were able to trophy last year with a DNF from Vogel shows the depth. Beating Unity will take depth, strength, and front running from Monkemeyer.
2014 final placement: 4th place- state
Possible roster: Getch Eisenmenger (Sr.) 15:39, Dawson Dodds (Sr.) 15:50, Andrew Warnes (Sr.) 15:58, Austin Woodard (Sr.) 16:01, Alex Morris (Sr.) 16:14, Robert Decker (Sr.) 16:21, Nathan Seiler (Jr.) 16:28, Cameron Woodard (Fr.), Kyle Miller (Fr.), David Martin (Fr.)
Snap analysis: "We have all of our main contributors back from a team that took 4th in state last fall. Our top 7 comes back intact. I feel that the top 5 all have shown good improvement over where they were at the time last year. Our summer training has been consistent and I feel that all of our top 5 are at a good fitness level for this time of the year."
This is the message Coach Dike Stirrett sends out about his boys going into the season. "All of these athletes are seniors and they are very experienced as they have been competing at a high level since early in their high school careers," continued Stirrett. An exception was made for Eisenmenger who spent his first two years in high school playing soccer. "Our expectations are high," explains Stirrett. "This will be the final season for most of our top kids and they have placed high goals for themselves. They were a bit disappointed with their fourth place finish at state last year and feel that they want to improve on that very much. Stirrett did win the state track title in the spring but made no mention of it. He finally added, "We will take our season one meet at a time but our goal is to be running at our very best in late October and early November."