Abbreviations for field events: HJ-high jump, LJ-long jump, TJ-triple jump, PV-pole vault.
Fox Valley Conference
Cary-Grove
Coach: Layne Holter (17th season)
Last year’s finish: Third in FVC
Top returning athletes: Josh Freeman, sr., throws; Max Anderson, sr., sprints; Alex Bussan, jr., sprints; Michael Gleeson, jr., sprints; John Pearl, sr., sprints; Tommy Rohn, sr., sprints; Daniel Sikora, jr., distance; Dustin Throw, jr., distance
Top new athletes: Ryan Adams, jr., middle distance; Ricky Hurley, fr., throws; Ryan Mahoney, jr., sprints; Trevor Ruhland, fr., throws; Michael Saxon, fr., hurdles, sprints
Worth noting: The Trojans lost Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year Anthony Golowach to graduation and will miss his points in big meets. Holter thinks if C-G can pick up points in the jumps, it could be a better team this year with more depth. C-G has some good sprinting depth, which is necessary to score well in the bigger meets.
Crystal Lake Central
Coach: Brian Seaver (12th season)
Last year’s finish: FVC champion
Top returning athletes: Chris Alvarez, sr., distance; Sean Buczek, sr., TJ, HJ; Garrett Davis, sr., sprints, middle distance; Alex Baker, jr., distance; Isaiah Mosher, jr., sprints
Worth noting: Chris Alvarez finished second in the Class 2A 800-meter run at the state last year and recently took fourth in the Class 3A 800 at the Illinois Prep Top Times Indoor Classic. The Tigers are the pick of most coaches to repeat as FVC champs, although they move from 2A to 3A this season.
Crystal Lake South
Coach: Richard Eschman (19th season)
Last year’s finish: Eighth in FVC
Top returning athletes: David Lenzini, so., sprints, middle distance; David Callahan, sr., sprints; Zach Balousek, jr., sprints, LJ; Kyle Madoni, jr., sprints; Brandon Madoni, jr., sprints; Zevin Clark, jr., throws; Brian Roesslein, sr., middle distance; Duncan Henderson, jr., distance; Ian Meador, jr., distance; Alex Allmandinger, sr., sprints; Kevin Komro, sr., discus
Top new athletes: Zane Boettcher, sr., sprints; Lake Larson, jr., sprints; Drew Kopfman, so., middle distance; Gary Sexson, so., hurdles, TJ, HJ; Zac Awrey, sr., middle distance; Ryan Wolf, sr., distance
Worth noting: Eschman says his team will be much improved in the sprints. Boettcher won the 55-meter dash at the FVC Indoor Meet and Balousek also has looked good in the indoor season and workouts.
Dundee-Crown
Coach: Tom Smith (32nd season)
Last year’s finish: Fifth in FVC
Top returning athletes: Ardian Asani, sr., jumps, sprints; Sean Battin, jr., sprints; Ray Griggel, jr., throws
Top new athletes: R.J. Schmidt, jr., HJ, TJ; Chris Hamilton, sr., hurdles; Alex Gray, sr., sprints
Worth noting: This year’s squad was hit by graduation as hard as any team Smith can remember. D-C will lean heavily on Asani and Battin and hope some of the new athletes can assume important roles right away and help make a difference.
Hampshire
Coach: Steve Bruhn (11th season)
Last year’s finish: 12th in Big Northern Conference
Top returning athletes: Jarrett McArdle, sr., throws; Peter Sonnefeldt, sr., jumps; Ross Seaton, jr., distance; Alex Pagan, jr., middle distance; Lucius Armstrong, so., middle distance
Top new athletes: Justin Heath, sr., throws; Max Oury, fr., distance
Worth noting: Bruhn thinks the Whip-Purs will be competitive in jumps. The team is young and making the move to the FVC this season will be tough. Hampshire’s roster is comprised of mainly freshmen and sophomores. “We have a young team that needs time to develop and find themselves on the track,” Bruhn said.
Huntley
Coach: Jim Rolando (seventh season)
Last year’s finish: Ninth in FVC
Top returning athletes: James Davis, sr., sprints; Ryan Sheehan, sr., PV
Worth noting: Huntley has some athletes beginning their third or fourth year on the varsity level, but also has a huge group of athletes new to varsity track. Rolando had 32 freshmen come out for the team, along with 15 others who had not competed in track and field before.
Jacobs
Coach: Jason Borhart (10th season)
Last year’s finish: 10th in FVC
Top returning athletes: William Hennessey, sr., middle distance, distance; Dom Blake, sr., sprints, hurdles; Grayson Meunier, sr., sprints; Nick Matysek, jr., middle distance
Worth noting: Borhart did not specifically mention any newcomers to the team, but said there are several football players out who he thinks can help the Golden Eagles in jumps and sprints. Jacobs may not challenge the top teams in the FVC, but hopes to move up with the depth it has.
Johnsburg
Coach: Chris Setzler (13th season)
Last year’s finish: 13th in FVC
Top returning athletes: Dan Fox, sr., distance; Alex Krebs, sr., distance; Kyle Stelmasek, jr., distance; Sandro Magradze, so., sprints, hurdles; Nika Magradze, so., sprints, hurdles; Caden Pruitt, jr., distance; Drew Talbot, jr., sprints, jumps; Jake Hawk, jr., sprints, PV
Top new athletes: Sam Blankenship, fr., sprints, hurdles; Mark Gora, fr., sprints, middle distance; David Crow, fr., distance
McHenry
Coach: Dave D’Angelo (seventh season)
Last year’s finish: Fourth in FVC
Top Returning Athletes: Urbano Perez, sr., throws; Justin Slack, sr., throws; Devin Friske, sr., jumps; Josh Holm, sr., sprints; Austin Rogers, sr., jumps, sprints; Brian Frapolly, sr., jumps; Cody Wallstrom, sr., distance; Nick Shawler-Clapper, jr., distance; Calvin Quarterman, jr., distance; Gilbert Matias, jr., hurdles, jumps; Nate Richartz, jr., PV
Top new athletes: Will Ford, jr., PV; Joe Schmitt, so., hurdles, sprints; Evan Hying, so., distance; Alec Glauser, fr., sprints
Worth noting: The Warriors lost a big point-scorer in Carey Nolan, but they have experience back and D’Angelo expects they can be a factor in bigger meets. This is longtime assistant coach Jim Wheeler’s last season. Wheeler also is the Warriors’ head cross-country coach.
Prairie Ridge
Coach: Judd Shutt (eighth season)
Last year’s finish: Seventh in FVC
Top returning athletes: Mitch Wilkins, sr., distance; Kerry Kohlbacher, sr., sprints; Nick Nissen, sr., sprints, jumps; Justin Lindahl, sr., hurdles, sprints; Joe Cowlin, jr., distance; Adam Procknow, sr., distance; C.J. Eikum, sr., HJ, TJ; Robert King, jr., sprints
Top new athletes: Josh Behning, so., throws; Brenden Bruhnke, fr., LJ
Worth noting: Wilkins was the area’s top runner in the cross-country season. The Wolves are deep in distance events with Wilkins, Cowlin and Procknow.
Woodstock
Coach: Matt McCulley (second season)
Last year’s finish: Tied for seventh in FVC
Top returning athletes: Donte Arnold, sr., jumps, hurdles; Nate Hams, sr., sprints; Jake Baier, sr., sprints; Keondae Benjamin, sr., sprints; Tyler Parsons, jr., hurdles; Tim Semmen, sr., sprints; Phil Krueger, jr., throws; Mike Walton, jr., sprints, LJ; Eddie Grogg, sr., HJ; Kyle Olesen, jr., HJ, TJ; Alec Martys, sr., middle distance
Top new athletes: JerPatrick Cosper, so., sprints
Worth noting: Parsons, Arnold and Grogg all qualified for state in their respective events last year. Grogg made the Class 2A high jump finals at state.
Woodstock North
Coach: John Fredericks (third season)
Last year’s finish: 12th in FVC
Top returning athletes: Jon Walsh, sr., PV, jumps; Trey Grover, sr., sprints; Jordan Kempf, sr., sprints; Ben Markison, sr., sprints; Adam Haimbaugh, jr., sprints; Sidney Smith, jr., sprints; Cody Kupsik, so., hurdles, jumps; Sergio Rodriguez, so., distance
Top new athletes: Jesse Eames, sr., throws; Brian Loftin, jr., sprints; Dylan Traffton, so., sprints
Worth noting: Senior Jeff Taylor, the Thunder’s top scorer last season, will miss the season with a broken leg. Walsh has cleared 14-6 in the pole vault and the state-qualifying height is 13-3.
Big Northern Conference
Harvard
Coach: Dennis Eisele (12th season)
Last year’s finish: Fifth in BNC
Key returnees: Matt Smith, sr., sprints. LJ; Alex Kick, sr., middle distance; Tyler Kramer, sr., sprints; Jake Wilcox, sr., discus; Tim Wiltshire, sr., distance; Jorge Pichardo, so., distance
Top new athletes: Xavier Alva, sr., middle distance; Nathan Baldwin, sr., hurdles; Joe Skroko, sr., sprints; Victor Saucedo, jr., throws; Christian Kramer, fr., sprints
Worth noting: Smith and Pichardo qualified for the Class 1A state meet last year. Eisele has 67 athletes out for track and most of them also play other sports.
Marengo
Coach: R.J. Meyer (fourth season)
Last year’s finish: Eighth in BNC
Top returning athletes: Torben Hoffmeyer, sr., distance; Mike Zaranski, jr., PV; Cody Bauman, sr., TJ; Jake Hart, sr., middle distance, distance
Top new athletes: Casey Doyle, so., sprints, middle distance; George Herrera, fr., distance; Alex Velasco, so., hurdles; John Bowen, so., distance; Jake Pratt, so., sprints
Worth noting: Hoffmeyer will run at NCAA Division II power Grand Valley State and wants to repeat as a state qualifier in the 1,600. Zaranski could be the Indians’ first state qualifier in the pole vault since Anthony Weber in 2003.
Richmond-Burton
Coach: Paul Zelle (eighth season)
Last year’s finish: Seventh in BNC
Top returning athletes: D.J. Wolfram, jr., distance; Mike Bland, jr., distance; Aaron Spivey, jr., distance; James Kaht, jr., distance; Lance Rammage, sr., sprints, jumps; Jake Pauly, sr., throws
Top new athletes: Luke Brinkman, fr., sprints, jumps
Suburban Christian
Conference
Marian Central
Coach: Jon Lakemacher (first season)
Last year’s finish: 12th in Suburban Christian Conference
Top returning athletes: Brett Olsen, so., TJ, sprints; Sammy Rita, so., sprints, LJ; Matt Yuk, jr., HJ, sprints
Top new athletes: Jordan Niemeyer, fr., TJ, LJ, sprints; Mike Velazquez, fr., sprints; Connor Hull, fr., hurdles, sprints, discus
Worth nothing: The Hurricanes hope their young talent can develop and pull them up in the SCC standings.
NORTHEASTERN
ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Alden-Hebron
Coach: Adam Burmeister (first season)
Last year’s finish: Not available
Top returning athletes: Bryce Lalor, jr., sprints, distance; Justin Gricar, jr., sprints, LJ; Ben McKay, sr., throws; Chip McKay, jr., LJ, sprints; Charlie Gonzalez, sr., sprints, distance
Top new athletes: Tim Kenny, jr., throws; Edwin Gorostiepa, jr., throws