Belvidere North is one of the premier programs in the state of Illinois. The Blue Thunder have been rolling over their competition in 2A winning the last three state championships and looking for their fourth in four years. Three seniors will lead the 2012 team including 2010 and 2011 individual runner-up Tyler Yunk. Last year, Yunk finished runner-up to Michael Clevenger in a time of 14:32.00. The Yunk name has been synonomous with Belvidere North cross country over the years. His dad Troy started the program, brother Bruyn graduated in 2011, and brother Eryck will be joining the squad this year as a freshman. The team loses two runners to graduation in number Will Crocker who will run at the University of Missourii, Kaleb Gustafson. and Cole Considine. Good news for the Blue Thunder is that they have arguably the top one-three in any class. Yunk is joined by fellow seniors Paxson Menard and Garrett Lee up front. Menard finished ninth at last year's Illinois State Cross Country Championships, while Lee finished 22nd. In 2010, it was Lee who crossed the line first in fifth with Menard two spots behind in seventh. That team won with a stunning 28 points! Rounding out the roster will be Jesse Laseman who competed well for Belvidere North at the Conference adn Regional, as well as Chase HIll and Jacob Howe who move up from the freshman and sophomore teams. Coach Yunk says despite Chase not running well last year at state he is hopeful he can improve due to being more experienced. He is also hoping Howe who was a member of the team's 4x8 relay in track will run well in the fall.
On the track, Yunk placed fifth at the state meet clocking a time of 9:15.36 for 3200 meters. Garrett Lee finished fifth in the 1600 meters with a time of 4:15.19. Lee went 4:14. 37 indoor while Yunk, who has the second fastest 1600 meter time for 2012, has gone 4:21.02 outdoor and 4:24.17 indoor. Paxon Menard has season bests of 9:45.23 for 3200 meters outdoors and 4:28.84 for 1600 meters indoors. Yunk, Menard, and Lee are going to be key for Belvidere North's quest for a four-peat. Recently the three and six other teammates attended the University of Wisconsin summer camp. This helped prepare them for some more intense August training and what will lie ahead this season. They will see what they are made of early when they head to the Sycamore meet and face off against Chicago Jones.
Coach Yunk Says...
How is the team looking?
Tyler has a lot of experience in some big meets and we hope he is up for the challenge again this year. He ran well at the NTN Regional last year and he is setting his goals for those meets in November. Garrett Lee has recovered well from his abdominal strain that he had at the end of Cross Country last year. Garrett had a great Track season doubling in the 800 and 1600 at most meets. His race at the Midwest Distance Festival in the Mile running 4:12 was a great effort. Paxson Menard was ill for part of the track season and seems to be at full strength. He was the runner up at the Sectional his Sophomore year and we will need him to continue to run well for us to be successful.
Any new additions who may contribute?
One new addition that should help us this Fall is Freshman Eryk Yunk who ran well in Middle School winning the IESA State Meet and running a PR of 4:36 in the 1600 in May. He is pushed by his two older brothers and that keeps him in good shape. When Eryk is moved up to the Varsity we will see how he can handle the 3 mile race distance.
What are the team goals and meets you're keying for this year?
Our early meets will test us from the start. Our first meet at Sycamore with Chicago Jones and several other new teams will be a good test. We run at Lake Park with some good 3A teams and then at the Peoria Notre Dame meet at Detweiller. think we can be in the battle for another State Championship, but the competition will be among three or four teams that could win it. The key for us will be our top three or four guys. They will need to run well and our fifth man cannot be as far back as it was last year. Our goals for now are to prepare as well as we can and be ready for the challenges that we face along the way.
2012 Returner's Top Times
Boys Three Mile Run |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 14:32.00 | Yunk, Tyler | Illinois State Cross Country Championships |
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| 14:45.00 | Menard, Paxson | Richard Springs Invitational |
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| 14:59.00 | Lee, Garrett | Richard Springs Invitational |
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| 15:46.52 | Hill, Chase | Lake Park Lancer Invitational |
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| 16:10.00 | Laseman, Jesse | 2A Sterling Regional |
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Boys 3200 Meter Run (Outdoor) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 9:03.09 | Yunk, Tyler | Arcadia Invitational |
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| 9:45.53 | Menard, Paxson | NIC-10 Boys Conference Meet |
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| 10:24.81 | Hill, Chase | NIC-10 Boys Conference Meet |
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| 10:55.07 | Oldani, Anthony | NIC-10 Boys Conference Meet |
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Boys 3200 Meter Run (Indoor) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 9:16.62 | Yunk, Tyler | Illinois Prep Top Times |
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| 10:10.06 | Hill, Chase | Northern Illinois Conference 10 |
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| 10:31.60 | Menard, Paxson | Joe Scarpino ABC Invitational |
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| 10:57.00 | Laseman, Jesse | Northern Illinois Conference 10 |
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Boys 1600 Meter Run (Outdoor) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 4:15.19 | Lee, Garrett | IHSA Boys State Championship |
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| 4:21.02 | Yunk, Tyler | IHSA 3A Hononegah Boys Sectional |
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| 4:39.77 | Hill, Chase | NIC-10 Boys Conference Meet |
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| 5:04.68 | Graff, Kyle | NIC-10 Boys Conference Meet |
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Boys 1600 Meter Run (Indoor) |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 4:14.37 | Lee, Garrett | Illinois Prep Top Times |
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| 4:24.17 | Yunk, Tyler | Illinois Prep Top Times |
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| 4:28.94 | Menard, Paxson | Byron Indoor Classic |
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| 4:43.27 | Laseman, Jesse | Byron Indoor Classic |
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