Head Coach: John O'Malley
Last Year's Finish: 3A ShaZam XC Championships- 9th place
Key Returners: Declan Tunney (Sr.), Brock Rice (Sr.), Trent Anderson (Jr.), Grant Giblin (So.), Sean Marquardt (Sr.), Ibrahim Tineh (Jr.), Evan Diemling (Jr.)
-For the first time in a few years, the Eagles are ranked as the #1 team in the state in terms of the preseason. The Eagles have an interesting dynamic as they have a star-filled top four. Starting with Declan Tunney who was a very pleasant surprise for their squad. Constantly the #4 or #5 runner for the Eagles last season, Tunney was able to step into the #1 position for his team as their main pieces were sidelined due to a virus exposure at Regionals and Sectionals. Tunney flourished in the position and took it into the track season where he was All-State in the 3200m running 9:19.75.
Brock Rice has improved greatly since last year, running 4:20.62 and 9:28.36 on the track. Rice was part of his team's All-State 4x800m relay as well as the young duo of Trent Anderson and Grant Giblin. Tearing up the FS/SO level for most of last year, these two have taken a bigger role since and will look to help now lead their team to a potential state title come November. As we stand today, rounding out the top 5 for Sandburg looks to be Sean Marquardt who just ran over the 16:00 barrier last season. Ibrahim Tineh may be able to step into that role as well after a good track season. The Eagles need to keep that 1-5 split around :40 seconds this season, maybe even lower. As of this moment, it's hard seeing anyone beating a team with this much experience and this string of a top 4.