2016 Class 3A Boys Pre-Season Relays Preview

2015 State Champion: Orland Park (Sandburg) 7:42.03

Outlook: The 2006 Jacobs 4x800 state record of 7:40.02 looked like it was in jeopardy last year, and although the record remains safe, a bunch of teams came close and could possibly come even closer this year. Projecting the cross country team favorite this year was pretty easy- Sandburg came in a huge national favorite and held serve through the end of the year by winning their first ever state cross country championship. This year, the favorite is just as clear: make way for the Eagles of Sandburg.

Just one finalist from last year's race returns all four runners, and that is defending Champion Sandburg. Seniors Tom Brennan, Brandon Lukas, Sean Torpy and Chris Torpy ran a strong, evenly split race with an average 1:56.01 split to win in 7:42.03. Sandburg finished 4^th in 2012, 3^rd in 2013, 2^nd in 2014 and 1^st in 2015. They will not finish 0^th in 2016 but they have a strong chance to go back-to-back and improve on their strong time. The Eagles pack running has only been more refined over the course of their cross country success and it surely will translate into success on the track.

You may look at last year's results and think you have seen those times somewhere else- well, the same teams finished 1^st and 2^nd. Lyons is our 2^nd returner, and although they graduated Alex Lima and Ben Gawthrop, they return some big guns and very new weapons as well. Connor Madell and Vince Zona are both sub-2:00 athletes and All-State XC finishers. Super sophomore Danny Kilrea is new this time around and can provide a much needed boost for a team that traditionally puts very good 4x800 squads on the track. The Lions will likely then look to Matt Begeman or Alex Pall to seek another podium finish.

Lake Zurich is notable for their junior trio of Matt Pereira, Brian Griffith and Kyle Griffith, all of whom were all-state in cross county and all of whom return from the Bears' 4x800m team last spring. LZ ran a solid 7:51.23, which is good enough for top 5/6 on most years but only yielded them 9^th in 2015. Lake Zurich can be very dangerous if they get solid help from runners such as Matt Milner, Kyle Fitzgerald, or Patrick Burns. It will be interesting to see how Lake Zurich employs their runners, as this team presents a good chance to gather a state championship, but Pereira also would compete well for a 3200m title. Stay tuned and keep a close eye on the progression of Lake Zurich during this track season, especially since their progress will likely be indicative of their potential in the 2016 cross country championship.

Now that Ty Moss and Zac Espinosa have graduated, assistant coach Paul Vandersteen will have to look elsewhere for leadership on the relay team. He likely will find it in Isaiah Robinson, a 49.14 400/1:55.28 800m guy in the same mode as Moss- made a name for himself at the AAU Junior Olympic Games. If a recovering Connor Horn chooses to run this relay as well, the Wildcats can look to their indomitable depth and produce a couple more guys to produce yet another podium finish for an already storied 4x800 team. Scott Anderson, Jack McEneaney and Aidan Livingston are distinct possibilities.

These are surely not the only teams to be competing for the title. Barrington is a recent champion and finished 3^rd last year. York produces 800m runners at rates unmatched in the state of Illinois and could be anchored by Charlie Kern. Oak Park-River Forest returns a plethora of sub-2:00 runners who all ran well in cross country. Prospect's surge at the end of the XC season could be indicative of great things to come, especially for Karsen Lecomte and Sean Sanaghan. Chicago Whitney Young is another extremely young and talented team with a gaggle of good 800m runners. Depending on the trajectory that Clayton Mendez takes (whether 3200 or another event), Whitney Young could be a scary good dark horse in this event.