Scouting 2007 illinois boys cross country teams

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SCOUTING 2008 ILLINOIS BOYS CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS Font Size: Default font size Larger font size
| Friday, September 05, 2008 | No comments posted.
SCOUTING 2008 ILLINOIS BOYS CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS

BEECHER

Athletes to watch: Matt Paarlberg, Sr.; Griffin Nykaza, So.; ZackStluka, So.; Josh Barelli, Jr.; Matt Hensen, So.; Steve Cooper,Jr.; Dan Knuth, Jr.

Outlook : Paarlberg is back to take aim at a state championship afterfinishing fifth in Class A as a junior and 13th as a sophomore. TheBobcats wound up seventh overall at last year's state meet, andwith only Billy Carey missing from the mix, Beecher could be astrong contender for top honors in Peoria. Six runners attended asummer camp in Wisconsin to further hone their skills.

Quote : "It was five days of fantastic motivation (in Wisconsin), andthey got lots and lots of good information. Everybody has to stepit up, but we are looking forward to an exciting season." -- coachPam Deery

BLOOM TWP.

Athlete to watch: Matt Rodriguez, Jr.

Outlook : Defending SICA champion and state qualifier Juan Sanchez hasgraduated, which leaves a big hole in a Blazing Trojans squad thatwill not have especially high roster numbers. Coach Huey Johnsonwas figuring on senior Matt Page to give the team a lift, but Pageintends to focus on the pole vault in preparation for next trackseason.

Quote : "(Rodriguez) ran in the regional and we're looking for big thingsout of him, but we're definitely in the rebuilding stage. I alreadytalked to the football coach and soccer coach, and told them tosend any kids they won't use my way." -- Johnson

CRETE-MONEE

Athletes to watch: Josh Martin, Jr.; Terry Starnes, Sr.; ChristianJorns, Sr.; Stacy Latnie, Jr.; Jamal Yousef, Sr.

Outlook : Third-year coach Brian O'Donnell conducted a summer runningprogram for the first time, and while the turnout wasn't huge, hestill thinks interest in the sport is on the rise. Martin andStarnes are returning sectional qualifiers, although the former isrecovering from a spring hip injury. Jorns was introduced to tracklast spring and excelled, leading him to give cross country a try.

Quote : "We've gone the reverse way a couple times, where we've lost guyswho've gone on to become state qualifiers, so it's nice to go theother way. We got bumped down to (Class) 2A and we'll be a lot morecompetitive there." -- O'Donnell

HOMEWOOD-FLOSSMOOR

Athletes to watch: Brendan Gallagher, Sr.; Emmett Houlihan, Sr.;T.J. Norris, Jr.

Outlook : The SouthWest Suburban Conference in which the Vikings reside isalways filled with quality cross country programs, so H-F will needinput from several athletes to make a measurable impact. CoachBrian McCarthy believes his varsity group is faster and strongeroverall than it was last season, and he is looking for improvementat all levels.

Quote : "The runners are a great group of kids who work very hard, and weshould place higher in all of our invites than we did last year. Weshould have a solid varsity squad." -- McCarthy

ILLIANA CHRISTIAN

Athletes to watch: Tom Van Kley, Sr.; D.J. White, Sr.; LukeKrygsheld, Sr.; Mike Bullock, Sr.; Joe Crevier, Sr.; Tyler Paul,Jr.; Joey Dykstra, So.

Outlook : A fifth-place finish in Class 2A -- the Vikings missed third bytwo points -- highlighted the finest cross country season in schoolhistory. Four of the runners who made that happen are gone,including top-20 guys Nick Kramer (14th) and Jordan Piaskowy(18th). But Illiana has nearly 40 kids out, 10 of whom logged about500 miles over the summer, so the Vikings won't be fading away.

Quote : "We had two all-state runners and those are tough shoes to fill.We're going to have to run in a pack to win, but we have a bunch ofgood kids. They saw what success was like, they want it, andthey're willing to work hard." -- coach Jim Piaskowy

MARIAN CATHOLIC

Athletes to watch: Nate Bodnar, So.; Jonathan Caffarelli, Jr.; DanAnderson, Sr.; James Jackson, Jr.; Adam McDevitt, Jr.

Outlook : The Spartans placed 20th at the East Peoria Sectional in 2007,but coach Tim Sovereign hopes for even more this fall. If Mariantops last season's effort, it'll do so without help from thegraduated duo of Tim Stanis and Ryan Merriman, who were the team's1-2 runners a year ago. Their youth is evident, so the Spartanswill need some underclassmen to step forward.

Quote : "We know it will not be any easier to advance this year, but wewould like to finish better than 20th place. We also hope to staycompetitive in the very challenging East Suburban CatholicConference." -- Sovereign

MT. CARMEL

Athletes to watch: Jim Easterhouse, So.; Dan Carroll, Sr.; SantiagoDelReal, Sr.; John Quinn, Sr.; Matt Lukens, Fr.

Outlook : In 2007, the Caravan failed to advance out of regionals as a teamfor only the second time in the past 12 years. Given thatdevelopment and the fact Mt. Carmel's attendance numbers during thefirst week of preseason practice were small, coach Sean Daly iskeeping goals more individually based. DelReal is a four-year man,Easterhouse has improved and Lukens shows promise.

Quote : "We have a lot of kids (at school) who stand on the (football)sidelines who could be running for us. What I'm hoping is thatanybody's who's coming back from last year can improve on theirtimes." -- Daly

THORNTON TWP.

Athletes to watch: Kunle Daramola, Sr.; Darryl Chavers, Jr.; DavidMitchell, Sr.; Ryan Blackmon, Jr.; Joshua Clanton, So.; O'SheaRichardson, So.

Outlook : Thornton Twp. lost five of the top seven runners off its fourthconsecutive SICA championship team, and coach Vince McAuliffe willbe working with his most inexperienced squad to date. There ispromise, however. Chavers, for example, won last year's frosh-sophconference race, and Daramola has also enjoyed some previoussuccess. Look for Mitchell to be a factor as well.

Quote : "If anybody's ever going to get us, this'll be the year. It's adifferent feel, but I think the kids will step up. There'sdefinitely talent there, and they know what to expect out of us(coaches). We'll wait for some pleasant surprises." -- McAuliffe

T.F. NORTH

Athletes to watch: Brandon Willingham, Sr.; Kyle Cain, Sr.

Outlook : As was the case last fall, a significant share of the Meteors'roster will be comprised of basketball players. That's notsurprising, given hoops coach Tim Bankston's presence as crosscountry boss. But regardless of the reason, T.F. North is in bettershape numbers-wise than it was for a long time. Bankston'swatchword for the season is "progress," from beginning to end.

Quote : "If you're not mentally tough, you can't do this. We try to makeit fun, but I also try to make them so tired that all they can dowhen they go home is eat, read a book and collapse. I just want thekids to compete and give their best effort." -- Bankston

T.F. SOUTH

Athletes to watch: Mario Bovino, Jr.; Matt Crescent, Jr.; RobbieMcGrath, Jr.; Kenny Karrson, So.; Brad Nayman, So.

Outlook : Coach Fred Seibel's roster was slim until seven more runnersclimbed aboard when official practices began in mid-August. Now,the dozen-strong Rebels will have some flexibility once thenewcomers get acclimated to the sport. Seibel hopes the trackexperience Bovino, Karrson and Nayman gained in the spring paysdividends. With just one senior, South is a young team.

Quote : "I've had four or five guys running for two months now, so I'mnot worried about them, but we needed more numbers. That was themain concern. If you have about 14, you get guys to battle forspots." -- Seibel

-- Compiled by Times sportswriter Ken Karrson