The 2018 cross country season is here! Everyone seems to be talking about who will be in our top 25 teams and as there are so many great teams this year! Sadly some great teams are left out of our top 25. The purpose of this article is to show some love to our teams that just missed out. If you are confused why your team is not in this article, we worked very diligently to input the info that coaches gave us. So talk to your coach if confused.
Head Coach: Todd Schneider
Last year's finish: 8th- Eureka Regional
Projected top 7: Guimond, Kovich, Stevenson, Shane Myszka (Sr), David Knipp (So), Brandon Green (Jr), Noah Stengel (Sr)
Carson's outlook: Tri-Valley will be lead by Drew Guimond as he looks to be their clear front-runner. Tri-Valley's 1- 5 split looks to be around 1:50 minutes so they don't have a tight pack. Guimond is a returning state qualifier in track for the 3200m and will look to bring a team down to state this year.
24. Tuscola
Head Coach: Dustin Dees
Last year's finish: 8th- Carlinville Sectional
Projected top 7: Barrett, Woods, Middleton, Mason Day (Jr), Nicholas Woods (Jr), Jake Dyer (So), Aiden Beechy (So)
Coach Dees' Outlook: Summer training has gone well! Our athletes have been putting in quality miles, having fun with running and building a strong family bond. We will definitely miss runners Michael Holmes and Bradley Kramer but I think that we have a lot of potential coming into this year, especially with many "program runners" returning. It is going to be exciting to see how our boys respond this year after having a solid season in 2017. We have what I call an "open opportunity roster" this year. We have some runners that aren't on the returning list above that have the potential to crack the top seven. This level playing field within our program will hopefully make our practices and meets fun and competitive for all. These boys have come a long way in the last few years. It's always our goal to compete at the best of our ability and to be running our very best at the end of the season.
23. Winnebago
Head Coach (s): Joe Erb, Janet Erb
Last year's finish: 8th- Oregon Sectional
Projected top 7: Tervelt, Hendrickson, Upmann, Davy Lyons (So), Brady Doyle (Jr), Tony Dierks (So), Ethan Hendrickson (So), Andrew McGee (Jr)
Carson's Outlook: The Indians are a team that is mixed with both some older members and younger members. They will be lead by their three main runners: Devin Tervelt, Tyler Hendrickson, and Chase Upmann. They will have a big 1-5 split as it looks to be around 1:45 minutes. One of the main problems with Winnebago is they do not have a 5th runner. If they are able to develop a better closer they may move up the rankings, but if they can't, don't be surprised if they drop from the top 25.
22. St. Joseph-Ogden
Head Coach: Jason Retz
Last year's finish: 6th- State
Projected top 7: McCune, Mattsey, Harshbarger, Cailer Kellenberger (So), Taddy Pettit (Jr), Eric Poe (Jr), Lukas Hutcherson (So)
New Additions: Poe, Hutcherson
Coach Retz's Outlook: We will be extremely young this season. Our summer work ethic has been good. The ones we need to count on are getting it done. We will have the addition of a few freshmen that may step in and be a part of our top 7 by year's end. It will be a competitive group that will be hungry to compete. We will be young, but I do not anticipate the group you see early in August will reflect the group you will see in late November.
Head Coach: Eric Zeller
Last year's finish: 10th- Carlinville Sectional
Projected top 7: Dust, Kennan, Noah, Wiedman Ty (So), Drew Dust (So), Austin Faber (So), Ollie Kingery (Sr), Caleb Schwing (So)
Carson's Outlook: This is an incredibly young team as the top five that are returning are Sophomores. Watch for their split from their first to the fifth runner to be around one minute. Brian Dust is the clear front-runner of this team after a good freshman campaign last year. The rest of St. Anthony's pack will be chasing him.
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Head Coach: Pat Warkins
Last Year Finish: State- 12th
Projected Top 7: Spencer Mauch, Shay Hafner, Ben Sheats, Noah Welty, rest is up for grabs.
Newcomers: Connor Simpson, John Craft, Griffin Moran, Cade Welty
Thoughts on Team: Spencer and Shay will be strong contenders for the top 25 in the state. Ben and Noah will be capable at 3 and 4, will rely heavily on the incoming freshman to fill out the top 7. So far we have had a pretty strong summer of training. Shay is coming in with an 11th place finish in the 3200 from track and looks really strong. Spencer finished 18th in Detweiller at Dark with a time close to his finish at last years state meet. I will need to avoid injuries as we will not be very deep, but with our small enrollment that is always the case. The team success this year will be based on how well the incoming freshman perform. I have high hopes that we can again return to state as a team.
Head Coach/coaches: Ryan Bruns/Hunter Queen
Last year's finish: State- 24th
Projected top 7: Oliver, Conner, Garavaglia, Steven Hierte, James Robb, Trent Morgenstern, Reid Keene Coach's thoughts on the team: We have had a fun summer. We will need several people to step up on both sides to get back to Peoria.