Runners showing the grit of cross country at last year's Hoffman Estates Invite (Itai Epstein photo)
Oswego (East)
2015 Finish: 12th at 3A Aurora (West Aurora) Sectional
Coach: James Milner
Key returners:
Dylan Zangri (Sr.) 15:12
Bradley Thornton (Sr.) 16:21
Jake Klancir (Sr.) 15:59
Sean Fitzpatrick (Sr.) 16:12
Thomas White (Jr.) 16:32
Matt Blanco (Jr.) 16:04
Daniel King (Jr.) 16:26
Ray's Take: Oswego East may have finished a distant 12th at West Aurora but they return NINETEEN of their top 20 runners from last year! East's frosh soph team won the Southwest Prairie Conference, and the bullk of this team joins 2015 state qualifier Dylan Zangri to help the Wolves qualify for state and win the SPC. Those two items are the goals for East, says coach James Milner. The Southwest Prairie Conference is a rising power conference and the young, deep Oswego East team is a big reason why. Watch for Zangri to race for a top 5 spot in the sectional and for the Wolves to be competitive in a deep and congested sectional field
Oswego (H.S.)
2015 Finish: 9th at 3A Aurora (West Aurora) Sectional
Coach: Daniel Whipple
Key returners:
Collin Boone (Sr.) 15:34
Mitch Bradford (Jr.) 15:47
Joe Fioresi (Jr.) 16:35
David Gaytan (Sr.) 15:49
Erik Kivela (Sr.) 16:54
Bradley Osuch (Jr.) 16:51
Bennett Peterson (Sr.) 15:09
Ray's Take: Oswego has a lot of potential and all of the ingredients for a state qualifier in 2016-a good front runner, solid 2-4 candidates, and a handful of runners in shape ready to contribute to the depth of the team. Bennett Peterson is the #1 and a sub-15:00 type runner in his senior year, and David Gaytan, Mtich Bradford, and Collin Boone have all finished under 16 minutes for 3 miles in the last year. Oswego is a big reason the Southwest Prairie Conference is one of the up and coming conferences in the Western regions of Chicagoland.
Coach Whipple: "We have only one objective and one focus and that is to break through the qualifying barrier and get a team to the state meet. All else is secondary. What happens on that road is a week to week process to see that objective through to the end."
Palatine (H.S.)
2015 Finish: 15th at 3A Schaumburg Sectional
Coach: Chris Quick
Key returners:
Brian Leonard (Sr.) 15:09
Nate Izewski (Sr.) 16:03
Curt Kontney (Sr.) 16:11
Ben Kontney (Sr.) 15:46
Jorge Corona (So.) 16:03
Henry Lechowicz (Jr.) 16:17
Joe Ahlgrim (So.) 16:42
Ray's Take: After more than a decade of top 10 finishes at state, Palatine has gone two years without making it through their sectional. But if senior leader Brian Leonard has anything to say about it, this may be the year that Palatine snaps another streak, this time for the better. Leonard returns in full health after a tumultuous junior campaign and is one of the best runners in the MSL. Their pack is determined by a handful of seniors and joined by younger runners, including Jorge Corona, one of the top sophomores in 3A.
Two down years has not changed the mindset for the Pirates, says coach Chris Quick. "We always keep the same goals - win the MSL and qualify to state and finish in the Top 10. We have missed qualifying for state the last two years so the guys have trained hard with that mission in mind. Our seniors have a lot of pride in the program and want to be the ones to get our boys back to the state meet."
Palos Heights (Shepard)
2015 Finish: 8th at 3A Hinsdale (Central) Sectional
Coach: Troy Walker
Key returners:
Caleb Washington (Sr.) 14:48
Paul Milkus (Sr.) 15:24
Kevin Callahan (Sr.) 16:53
Brian Hauser (Jr.) 17:06
Joey Iaquinta (Sr.) 17:23
Giovanni Cisneros (Jr.) 17:32
Matt Stout (Jr.) 17:46
Matt Gibson (Sr.) 17:24
Josh McGrath (Jr.
Dominic Cantore (Jr.)
Dalvin Humphrey (So.)
Brian Maty (Sr.)
Ray's Take: Shepard was a solid, consistent yet unheralded team all year long and could silently be a dangerous team for the southwest suburban powerhouses come the end of the year. Caleb Washington is one of the most superb runners in Illinois and is extremely motivated this year after a 26th place finish invidually at state. Paul Milkus is a great #2 as well and could break 15 minutes himself. The pack has a while to go before they are close enough to the front 2 for state qualifying but they are deep and capable.
Coach Troy Walker: "We always have multiple goals. One is to win our conference meet, we have finished either 1st or 2nd for the past 11 years so we are very proud of that accomplishment and want to continue that success. We expect to qualify for the IHSA Sectional meet but although we are in a highly competitive sectional we are hoping to put ourselves in a position to surprise some other teams and compete for one of those top 5 qualifying positions and possibly make it to the IHSA State meet for the first time in our schools history."
Plainfield (North)
2015 Finish: 18th place at 3A State
Coach: Andrew Derks
Key returners:
Ben Otstott (Jr) 15:40
Omar Paramo (Jr) 15:37
Ethan Prior (Jr) 15:40
James Suchy (Sr) 15:40
Walker Wells (Sr) 16:00
Gabe Nkpe (Sr.) 16:30
Spencer Brandt (Jr.) 16:31
Ray's Take: The Tigers have no true front runner yet but have been training all summer with a deep pack and an array of young runners not on their varsity list from last year looking to make an impact for varsity this year. Coach Derks is optimistic about how the pack's training has gone: "These 5 are all healthy and putting in a great summer of training together. Ben in particular appears to be ready to be a lead-pack runner in just about any meet we go to, which will be important after losing 2016 senior's Jack Sebok and Brenden McGath to graduation." Some other names to look for include Gabe Nkpe, Spencer Brandt, Sam Horvath, and Jack Anderson.
Coach Derks thoughts: "Our goal is to return to the state meet and improve on our 18th place from last year. If we stay healthy and our key guys are able to make a nice jump this year, we think we can be a top-10 team. We also want to win our conference meet, the SPC, a goal that has eluded us thus far."
St. Charles (East)
2015 Finish: 11th at 3A State
Coach: Chris Bosworth
Key returners:
Jake Beno (Sr.) 15:48
Anthony Zilla (Sr.) 15:25
Charles Murphy (So.) (16:00 5k, Louisiana transfer)
Cole Adesso (Jr.) 16:00
Rohan Patel (Jr.) 16:00
Dan Werner (Sr.) 16:04
JB Sundland (Sr.) 15:55
Campbell Koch (Jr.) 15:44
Ray's Take: An interesting story for the Saints will be the addition of Louisiana native Charles Murphy, a sophomore. "He comes from a running family," says coach Bosworth. "Keep an eye on him this year, he could be a big factor for the us." Murphy joins a team typically characterized by solid pack running and depth increasing every year. Anthony Zilla, JB Sundland, Campbell Koch and Jack Beno are the state championship returners from last year. "Last year was our best year since the 1992 team that won a trophy," reflects Bosworth. "We lost 4 out of 7 from last years state team, but we're lucky to bring back a great deal of our top 12. That being said, our goals have remained the same: Be at our best (whole team) when it counts (Conference, Regionals, Sectionals, and State)."
Wheaton (North)
2015 Finish: 24th at 3A State
Coach: Nathan Roe
Key returners:
Justin Ostrem (Jr.) 15:28
TJ Watson (Sr.) 15:58
Kevin Riley (Jr.) 16:43
Alexander Daigle (Sr.) 16:33
Aidan Johnson (Sr.) 16:28
Josh Scharpenberg (Jr.) 16:48
Alex Michalak (Jr) 17:31
Kevin Boehm (So.) 16:51
Nick Garza (So.) 16:03
Connor Zydek (So.) 16:36
Ray's Take: The Falcons of Wheaton North were one of the surprise teams on Halloween in 2015. After being thrown into the Lake Park sectional, the Falcons overcame the terrible conditions and finished 5th to qualify for state. Although they will have to pack up behind Justin Ostrem and TJ Watson, they will not fly under the radar in the same manner this year.
Coach Roe's analysis details how the puzzle pieces of his deep team will come together: "We will be relatively young this year, as we graduated 4 outstanding seniors from our top-7. We had 2 sophomores up most of last season and they performed tremendously in helping us make a return to Detweiller. We will again lean on youthful talent this season, along with some relatively inexperienced juniors and seniors. All that is to say, however, that I believe we will have a solid squad with depth."