Class 2A Boys State Championship Preview: Mahomet-Seymour Vs. Normal U High

Hmm.... are anyone out there capable of beating Mahomet-Seymour or Normal U High (Dan Chamness photo)

Let's meet the key teams (match ups by sectionals)

Chicago (University) Sectional-
Deerfield Head Coach: Scott Friedlander
2016 state meet finish: None
Pre-season rank: #24
Final regular season rank: #15
Probable starting line up: 
Matthew Gold (Sr.)215:59
Bradley Brodsky (Jr.)416:18
Josh Puyear (Fr.)1416:48
Henry Shore (Sr.)1916:54
William Dowell (Sr.)2317:04
Matthew Butler (Sr.)3717:23
Jonathan Wallk (Jr.)5217:42
-the lightest of all sectionals in the field by a landslide. However, that does not mean the winner Deerfield is going to lay an egg on Saturday. The Warriors should be in good hands with Matt Gold leading the charge. Perhaps he can land inside the top 50 and the scoring split run about 1:00, then a top 15 is in order.
Arlington Heights (St. Viator) was ranked at various times this season. They ran well just in time to advance to state. Let's see where they stack up now.
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Decatur (MacArthur) Sectional-

Chatham-Glenwood
Head Coach: Mike Garber
2016 state meet finish: 8th
Pre-season rank: #7
Final regular season rank: #3
Probable starting line up: 
Drey Maton (Jr.)515.21
Cooper Peterson (Jr.)615.21
Dathan Maton (Jr.)1315.35
Logan Capps (Sr.)2215.54
Cameron Smith (Fr.)3316.08
Martin Carter (Sr.)4116.14
Thomas Herbst (Fr.)6416.41
-Not really sure where this team stacks up for a trophy challenge but the Titans are a top 5 team for sure. This can't be the team that finished behind Springfield in the CS8 Championship a few weeks ago. It has to be this team dominated sectionals. 4 guys under 16:00 is a good start and maybe the 5th runner will step up a bit more on Saturday.

Springfield
Head Coach: Dan Devlin
2016 state meet finish: 10th
Pre-season rank: #6
Final regular season rank: #5
Probable starting line up
Kyle Boughter (So.)315.02
Will Formea (Jr.)1515.39
Barrett Kurmann (Sr.)1915.45
Ryan Waldinger (Jr.)2815.57
Zach Kinison (Jr.)3016.02
Isaac Becker (So.)4016.14
Jack Flesner (Jr.)5816.36
-Can the Senators elevate into a trophy position? They have had a good season overall and a better run to state so far. Losing to Chatham is not a bad thing since they beat them in the conference championship. Kyle Boughter is one of the better central Illinois runners who is almost assured a top 25 finish. The scoring pack and men through seven looks solid.

Waterloo
Head Coach: Tom Smith
2016 state meet finish: None
Pre-season rank: None
Final regular season rank: #14
Probable starting line up: 
Eli Ward (So.)1715.41
Adam Robson (Sr.)1815.44
Jackson McAlister (So.)2015.50
Cayden Kirkham (Sr.)2615.58
David Lunk (Sr.)4416.21
Matt Dawson (Jr.)9517.29
Sam Kreinberg (Jr.)9717.35
-Not much is known about this team aside from being a solid pack team. There are no superstars on the Bulldogs roster. It is go time and a top 15 position.

Marion
Head Coach: Eli Baker
2016 state meet finish: 7th
Pre-season rank: #4
Final regular season rank: None
Probable starting line up: 
John Bruce (So.)215.00
Michael Rutkowski (Sr.)715.23
Levi Bryant (Sr.)1615.40
Julian McPhail (Sr.)4916.25
Joe Sullins (Jr.)5116.28
Isaac Donaldson (Fr.)10718.00
Tim Surburg (Jr.)11218.12
-Was this team overrated? They did not win or place in the top 3 of any major invitational this season. It appears that outside of John Bruce's exploits and the top 3 runners, the Wildcats have struggled. They have one more race to make good on their pre-season rankings.

Danville
Head Coach: Todd Orvis
2016 state meet finish: 12th
Pre-season rank: #8
Final regular season rank: #12
Probable starting line up
Sincere Williams-Davis (Sr.)1115.33
Lenox Li (Jr.)2715.59
Michael Moreman (So.)3116.04
Brandon Barfell (Jr.)3416.09
Dylan Watson (So.)3716.12
Lukas Burleson (So.)4516.22
Noah Hile (Jr.)5716.33
-Another good team from central Illinois with a chance to be a top 10 team. Michael Moreman has been the team's top runner for most of the season. He will need to move up from the #3 spot that he had at sectionals. Sincere Williams-Davis is running his best cross country right now. But like all other good teams, pack running is key.
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Maple Park (Kaneland) Sectional-


Sycamore
Head Coach: Mike Lambdin
2016 state meet finish: 9th
Pre-season rank: #5
Final regular season rank: #6
Probable starting line up: 
Stephen Poorten (Sr.)415:18
Jake Carani (Sr.)1215:55
Aaron Trier (So.)1416:01
Riley Melton (Sr.)2916:22
Lucas McKay (Jr.)3216:23
David Lerohl (Jr.)4116:29
Paul Ruetten (So.)4616:37
-Not much outside of Sycamore is known except for Stephen Poorten who was an all-state athlete in 2015. He will be seething for a return on the podium after missing out last year. His season best of 14:53 should be good enough. The Spartans as a team has backed up Poorten in the scoring ledger. If they can run under a minute and be up near the chase pack front, then a chance for a top 5 spot is real.
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West Chicago (Wheaton Academy) Sectional-


Riverside-Brookfield
Head Coach: Larry Forberg
2016 state meet finish: 11th
Pre-season rank: #5
Final regular season rank: #4
Probable starting line up: 
Jacob Wardzala (Sr.)416:00
Connor O'Brien (Sr.)916:14
Jack Sagan (Sr.)1116:17
Jason Noel (Sr.)1616:42
Ryan Hahn (Sr.)1716:44
Chris Magno (Jr.)5317:41
David Keen (Jr.)6317:56
-Some pundits have expressed that this team's success has benefitted from weak competition. Hmm. Not exactly. The Bulldogs have faired well when they needed to. In their best performance of the season at the FTTF they beat a number of ranked teams that are now in the post season. They slid past Sycamore at the Sterling Invitational in October. The goal now is running well inside the last mile and holding the scorers under 50 secs like they have much of the season... 

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Normal West Sectional-

Mahomet-Seymour
Head Coach: Neal Garrison
2016 state meet finish: State Champion
Pre-season rank: #1
Final regular season rank: #2
Probable starting line up: 
Mathias Powell (Jr.)115:04
Ryan Hodge (Sr.)215:07
Riley Fortune (Sr.)315:10
Bryson Keeble (Jr.)1715:59
Evan Burge (Sr.)1815:59
Kaelan Davis (Jr.)2616:15
Nate Douglas (Jr.)5216:47
-For some reason other than a graduated runner or two, this is not the same dominant team that ultimately advanced to Portland, Oregon and placed 16th in the country. But let's not make no mistake, the Bulldogs are still a dangerous team. They will leave Peoria with a trophy and it's either going to be Gold or Silver. The wake up call may have came after losing a tough regional race to state rival Normal U High. On the surface Coach Garrison openly praised Normal U High. "U High did a great job winning the regional with their depth," he said last week. Maybe it was a smoke screen cover for his team who did not go all out. It was a much different look at sectionals with a dominant performance highlighted by a 1,2,3 finish by Mathias Powell, Ryan Hodge, and Riley Fortune. The Bulldogs tightened things up at the #5 spot as well. They will be on full alert this Saturday for sure.

Normal (University)
Head Coach: Lester Hampton
2016 state meet finish: 3rd
Pre-season rank: #2
Final regular season rank: #1
Probable starting line up: 
Jared Schuckman (Sr.)415:14
Matt Zacharias (Sr.)615:37
Jackson McClure (Jr.)1215:54
Dane Alexander (Jr.)1916:03
Harris Porter (Sr.)2416:13
Sean Supan (Jr.)4216:37
Tanner Gillam (Sr.)6117:01
-No one truly knows what is going on inside the Pioneers camp except for Coach Hampton and his team. They have played possum before at sectionals only to strike like a Viper at the state meet. Hampton has several state titles when the association was a two-class system. He would love to get another crown against the classification's crown jewel program. He is going to need every ounce of competitiveness from his troops. The #1 ace Jared Schuckman is going to have to sell out to an extent after knowing that Mahomet's top runners were not playing around last weekend. Regardless of what happens, it is going to be a great race.

Some have said that Normal West's course at Maxwell Park runs just like Detweiller. Flat and fast. Now that the course was revised to what meet officials say is 3.0 times and efforts from the corresponding teams look promising on Saturday. Local power Bloomington has been running in the shadows of U High but the Purple Raiders are a good team team. Look for Nick Doud and Austin Bicknell to lead the way... Normal West made a strong charge as had Washington late in the season.