3A Boys Preseason Unclassified Preview

The 2018 Bartlett Boys Invitational highlights produced some quality mid-season action

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Mundelein

Head Coach/Coaches: Kurt Rutz/Nathan Sweet

Last Year's Finish: 19th- State Championship

Key Returners: Dillon Blake (Sr.), Carter Schorr (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: Blake, Schorr, Elian Salgado (Jr.), Nathan Clapp (Jr.), Aaron DeLara (Sr.), Andrew Brizzell (Jr.), Jeremy Hernandez (Sr.)

Key Additions: Carter Laureys (Fr.), Tyler Miller (Fr.), Bryce Durlacher (Fr.)

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Rutz's Outlook: With the graduation of a great group of seniors, we may have more questions than answers this year. We should have two low cards in Dillon Blake (9:16/4:23 this past season) and Carter Schorr (1:56.3 anchor of 6th place 4x800 at IHSA 3A State). Carter has followed up a great track season with a solid summer already. Carter just won the USATF JR. Olympics National Title in the 17-18 yr old 2000M Steeplechase in California, and is in the best shape of his career. We have several returnees who have also had strong summers and should help us remain competitive. We also have one of our largest and potentially best freshmen classes coming in, several who could challenge for spots in the top 7. If we continue progressing, we could challenge for a berth at State again this year. Time will tell.


O'Fallon

Head Coach/Coaches: Jon Burnett/Jordan Sanchez

Last Year's Finish: 7th- State Championship

Key Returners: Nick Edwards (Jr.), Christopher Wichlac (Sr.), David Tady (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: Edwards, Wichlac, Tady, Braden Gaab (Sr.), Tristen Fornes (Sr.), Nico Parker (Jr.), Peyton Mueller (So.)

Key Additions: None

Unexpected Losses: Christopher Wichlac has a hernia.  Not sure of the recovery time yet. William Ray transferred to a school in Japan.

Coach Burnett's Outlook: We lost four of our top five again. We are returning a lot of inexperience. We don't have as many high mileage people as we have had in years past. It will be interesting to see how things go this fall. Hopefully, we can compete for a spot at the state meet.


Chicago Lane Tech

Head Coach/Coaches: Kris Roof/Tony Jones

Last Year's Finish: 12th- Niles West Sectional

Key Returners: Jack Burns (Sr), Tommy Donohoe (Sr), Jon Archer (Jr), Theo Canji (Jr), Denys Chelah (Jr), Zach Genin (Jr),  Nick Gloss (Sr), Alex McBride (Sr), Aidan Pacius (Jr), Isaac Blender (Jr), Adam Neale (Jr), Declan Toomey (Jr)

Projected Top 7: Burns, Donohoe, J. Archer, W. Archer, Neale, Canji, Toomey, Gloss; others

Newcomers (Anyone That Can Contribute To Your Top 14 That Didn't Run XC Last Year At Your HS): William Archer (Fr), Hunter Whitney (Fr)

Amount of Attendees at Summer Running: Approx 25

Coach Tony's Outlook Of Team: The guys have been building toward having a spectacular cross country season for three years now. The majority of the team is made up of juniors who were extremely upset about finishing 12th at sectionals last year. The subsequent track season was incredibly fruitful and hopefully, that will lead to continued glory late into the fall.

Look for some rough and tough action throughout the season!
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Plainfield South

Head Coach/Coaches: Jason Crowe/Ryan Thompsen

Last Year's Finish: 6th- Marist Sectional

Key Returners: Jake Schoo (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: Schoo, Ryan Wengler (Sr.), Matthew Graham (Jr.), Matthew Jalcovik (Jr.), Grant Trentz (Jr.), Amari Townsend (Jr.), Scott Crabb (So.)

Key Additions: Trystain Derengowski (Fr.)

Unexpected Losses: Cody Gleim

Coach Crowe's Outlook: As always, I am excited about the Cross Country season. I personally love coaching Cross Country and witnessing the runners improve week in and week out. My goal for our team is to enjoy the journey and challenges of the season. Grow as young men, set weekly goals and achieve them. I really want to set a huge amount of PR's from EVERYONE on our TEAM and see where we end up at the end of the season. #PMA every day from everyone!


Palatine

Head Coach/Coaches: Chris Quick/Mike Nigliaccio            

Last Year's Finish: 13th- Hoffman Estates Sectional

Key Returners: Richard Jacobo (Sr.), Ian Cameron (Sr.), Andrew Duran (Sr.), Andrew Johns (Jr.)

Projected Top 7: Jacobo, Duran, Cameron, Johns, Thomas O'Sullivan (So.), Patrick McClanahan (So.), Andrew Jordan (Fr.)

Key Additions: Andrew Jordan (Fr.), Jack Casaccio (Fr.), Angel Adaya (So.)

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Quick's Outlook: I think we can be really good by the end of the season. We are going to race our F/S guys down for much of the season before moving them up late in the game. We have two freshmen who could make an impact on varsity as well as two sophomores who established some good credentials during track season. The depth lies all in our F/S guys while we have some improving players in the Jr/Sr class without a ton of proven depth. We hope that mix will lead us back to the state meet. We should be headed by Richard Jacobo, who was All-State last year, Andrew Duran (15:52 PB), Ian Cameron (16:04 PB), Andrew Johns (16:20 PB), as well as Patrick McClanahan (2:00/4:37 as a freshman). We will be patient and build for the end of the season.


Lake Forest

Head Coach/Coaches: Matt Jerina/Jacob Buddell, Brad Naughton

Last Year's Finish: 13th- 2A State Championship

Key Returners: Nate Schmitt (Sr.), Ben Rosa (Sr.), Kaleb Whiteside (Jr.), Casey Hippel (Jr.), Nicholas Tegel (Jr.), Ethan Lane (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: Schmitt, Rosa, Whiteside, Hippel, Tegel, Lane, Joshua Lane (Sr.)

Key Additions: None

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Jerina's Outlook: We have many returners from our top 7 last year. The runners have been training very hard throughout track season and the summer, and I expect their discipline and focus to pay off this upcoming season. 


Wilmette (Loyola Academy)

Head Coach/Coaches: Dan Seeberg

Last Year's Finish: 9th- Niles West Sectional

Key Returners: Spencer Dzyacky (Jr.), Spencer Werner (So.), Billy Delaney (Sr.), Alex Owens (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: (tough to name a top 7 - we believe we have about 10 guys

fighting for 7 spots). 

Newcomers: N/A 

Amount of Attendees at Summer Running: 30+ for the six weeks of our camp.

Has Anyone Been Injured During Training?: Spencer Dzyacky's summer training has

been delayed by a minor injury but he has managed to stay in good shape.

What Spot Do You Feel Your Team Should Be Ranked At?: Unknown - even though

our top guys have had a strong summer, we will be a team that will take some time to

come together.

Key Losses (Transfers or People That Quit The Team): none

Coach Seeburg's Outlook On The Team: We are a young team, returning only one senior who ran in

every varsity race last year. Our sophomore and junior classes are talented but have little varsity racing experience outside of Spencer Werner and Spencer Dzyacky. Both will be held back early in the season - Werner because of his USATF summer racing schedule and Dzyacky due to a minor injury suffered early in the summer. We hope to improve as the season progresses and be in contention for a top-five Sectional finish.


Rolling Meadows

Head Coach/Coaches: Frank Schweda

Last Year's Finish: 18th- State Championship

Key Returners: Stephen Barretto (Jr.), Jack Martin (Sr.), Jacob Johnson-Wright (Sr.) 

Projected Top 7: Barretto, Martin, Johnson-Wright, Jose Castillo (Sr.), Nathan Helminski (Sr.), Carter Wachtel (So.), Cole Martin (So.)

Key Additions: Tyler Wengronowitz (Fr.), Danny Quick (Fr.)

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Schweda's Outlook: We will have to have our top 3 run well (which they should) and then have 2-3 other guys step up if we are going to make any noise at the end of the season.  I am excited to see where Stephen Barretto ends up after finishing 71st at state as a sophomore. Jack Martin & Jacob Johnson-Wright should be able to keep close to Barretto and push each other to some nice races. Our 4-7 spots will be filled by guys who will have to run tough and try to keep as close to the top 3 as possible.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a freshman or sophomore or two work their way into the top 7. I am excited to see how things play out. 


Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West)

Head Coach/Coaches: Kyle Nugent

Last Year's Finish: 6th- State Championship

Key Returners: William Hohe (Jr.), Pierce Cousins (Jr.)

Projected Top 7: Hohe, Cousins, Andrew Malek, Colin Hess, Luke Kaslewicz, Tyler Yeager, Ben McGrath

Key Additions: None

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Nugent's Outlook: This season looks to be fun, excited and interesting. We are very young and do not return a lot of varsity experience, which opens the door for many guys who did not get a chance at varsity last year.  With an undecided top 7, we had a great commitment this summer. Attendance was solid and training went mostly uninterrupted. We had great leadership from our captains. We have two returners from last year's state team (Hohe and Cousins), and these two have had a good summer and will lead the varsity squad this season.  After that, we hope to have a strong, deep pack. At this point, there is a group of 10 to 12 guys fighting for a spot in the top 7. By the end of the season, we could have some sophomores entering into the top group. The goal is to continue getting better throughout the summer and season. We want to stay healthy and keep developing as competitors and teammates.  The WSC Silver will be tough again, so we'll have to learn how to compete at a high level as a team. Can't wait to get started!


Yorkville

Head Coach/Coaches: Chris Muth/Lauren Verizen, Tori Gatlin, Kerry Stillmunkes

Last Year's Finish: 6th- Edwardsville sectional

Key Returners: Ivan Westcott (Jr.), Jackson Edwards (Jr.), Jack Stillmunkes (So.), Austin Hunter (Sr.)

Projected Top 7: Westcott, Edwards, Stillmunkes, Hunter, Colin Kahlic (Jr.), Nick Clever (So.)

Key Additions: None

Unexpected Losses: Corey Kramer

Coach Muth's Outlook: Ivan Westcott will be a strong front runner.  Colin, Jackson, Nick, Jack, and Austin will form a tight group that will be finishing the scoring most meets for us.  This group has the potential to develop throughout the season and close the gap on Ivan for a : 40-second split. They have the talent and have put in the miles, just need time to develop and mentally take the next step.


Huntley

Head Coach/Coaches: Matt Kaplan

Last Year's Finish: 17th- State Championship

Key Returners: Ian Geisler (Sr), Jimmy Ozzauto (Sr), Brice Klepfe (Sr), Charlie Kucz, Thomas Patel, Ryan Besch

Projected Top 7: Geisler, Ozzauto, Klepfer, Kucz, Patel, Yops, Besch

Key Additions: Jake Leonard (So.), Anthony Lorenzo (So.)

Unexpected Losses: None

Coach Kaplan's Outlook: Our team will look a lot different from last season. We graduated many runners from our top 8. Very exciting to have a chance for some new faces to step up and fill those top spots. Our team will be led up front by returning All-State runner Ian Geisler. He will look to replicate the success he had last season. Along with seniors Jimmy Ozzauto and Brice Klepfer these 3 will look to push our guys to continue the success we've had for a number of years now. We're going to be a work in progress having graduated so many but we look forward to watching some of the younger guys compete at the varsity level.