3200m-
2021 Best: Drew Rogers (Herscher) 8:57.78
3A state champion: Micah Wilson (St. Charles East) 9:11.71
2A state champion: Rogers - 9:17.23
1A state champion: Justin Mumford [Trenton (Wesclin]) 9:18.26
Top returners: Rogers, Wilson, Luke Wiley (Sr., Gurnee [Warren]), Nick Falk (Sr., Winnetka [New Trier]), Wilson Georges (Sr., Bartonville [Limestone]), Alex Partlow (Sr., Carbondale), Ryder James (Sr., Paxton-Buckley-Loda), Gavin Genisio (So., Benton), Declan Tunney (Sr., Orland Park Sandburg), Spencer Werner (Sr., Loyola Academy), Tim Neumann (Sr., Downers Grove South), Miles Sheppard (Sr., West Hancock), Riley Newport (Jr., Dekalb), Roy Llewellyn (Sr., Downers Grove North), Joey Furlong (Sr., Barrington), Ethan Forsell (Sr., Oswego), Jake Phillips (Jr., Chicago Marist), Caden Simone (Sr., Lincoln-Way Central)
Breakdown: At full strength, Drew Rogers has been, and will continue to be, the class of this season's deep class. He dipped under nine minutes for 3200m twice in 2021, both in duel matches with Lucas Guerra of Indiana (one indoors and one outdoors). With multiple cross country titles under his belt, Rogers has the best endurance profile of all male distance runners in Illinois. However, he placed runner-up to future teammate Ryder James at the 2021 XC meet as Rogers nursed a hampered foot. Needless to say, this spring is going to be a barn burner.
Micah Wilson somehow has not garnered the same amount of public respect as Rogers despite winning a loaded Shazam XC title (2020) and the 3A deuce crown last late spring. Wilson is as dangerous as a snake laying on the side of the road. If you play with him it could be a lethal encounter. That sentiment happen"surprised" many naysayers with his first IHSA harrier title in November. If there are to be any sub-9:00 guys this year, you better add Wilson to the mix.
A wildcard in this event is Alex Partlow. The Carbondale Terrier (and U of I commit) was the only undefeated athlete in cross country this season. Partlow ran with purpose in cross country to avenge his faltering at the 2020 ShaZam Championship. He will have a similar mission on the track. Anything less than being the best when the gun goes off would not sit well with Partlow. He ran 9:17 last year and that will certainly be in the rearview mirror.
Additionally, it's hard to say how cross country success will unfold on the track during the spring. One major reason is runners often nurse injuries that last into a big chunk of the outdoor season, coaches view indoor track as not important so the athletes may not have the desire to train as hard as they should, or three miles on grass is vastly different than running two miles on the track. In other words, don't think what happened in the fall will automatically translate in the spring.