Aurora Central Catholic

Coach: Troy Kerber

Top runners: Ben Bohr, jr.; Jack Swiatek, sr.; John Reinbold, so.; A.J. Viveros, jr.; Bryan Lopez, jr.; Tyler Bracke, fr.; Reece Voller, jr.; Brecken Oester, jr.

Worth noting: The Chargers are coming off another solid season after getting a sixth-place finish at the Class 1A state race. And with five of its top seven returning this year, the team will look to mirror the same success that it had, this time up in Class 2A. Bohr was the top finisher at state, finishing 23rd for All-State honors. He’ll be expected to lead the group of him, Swiatek, Reinbold and Viveros, while Lopez, Bracke and Voller will be expected to round out the crew to help them back to another top 10 finish at Detweiller Park. “By the end of the season, barring anything unforeseen, we should have a strong team by the start of the state series and beyond,” Kerber said.

Batavia

Coach: Bronco Meeks

Top runners: Eddie Polaski, jr.; Will Polaski, jr.; Matt Guiry, jr.; Gavin Warpinski, sr.; Cody Rummel, sr.; Luke Gianfrancesco, sr.; Aaron Kernler, jr.

Worth noting: The Bulldogs are coming off their best finish at the state meet in program history after taking 14th as a team. While it has a big hole to fill in Francesco Benelli, who earned All-State honors last season, Batavia has plenty of firepower to fill in the gaps. Eddie Polaski was the top placing sophomore in the Class 3A state race, finishing in 33rd. Will Polaski, Guiry, Warpinski and Gianfrancesco also return to the lineup from last season’s record-breaking performance at state, but Meeks is confident that as many as 12 guys can compete for a varsity spot. “We have a lot of youth on the team,” Meeks said. “Our senior leaders have been fantastic and have demonstrated daily what needs to be done to be successful in this sport. It will be exciting to watch this team grow throughout the season.”

Burlington Central

Coach: Daniel Morgan

Top runners: Brandon Pflug, jr.; Danny Burke, jr.; Venkata Anantha, so.; Dane Walikonis, so.; Connor Polz, sr.; Caden Murray, so.; Aadi Sheth sr.

Worth noting: Coach Morgan returns to the Rockets after graduating from the program back in 2013. While they did lose some key pieces to graduation like top runner Julian Onayemi, the first-year head coach is hoping to see some improvement from the young crew in his first season. “We are a very young team this season after graduating some notable seniors last year,” Morgan said. “We are looking for a lot of growth from a young core of runners and focused on improving PR’s all season.”

Geneva

Coach: Peter Raak

Top runners: Ian DeGuzman, sr.; Mack Biesk, sr.; Griffin Poterek, so.; Connor McInerney, so.

Worth noting: The Vikings lost six of their top seven runners to graduation from a season ago, with DeGuzman being the only returner. And while Raak knows that there will be plenty of questions about the team early in the season, he hopes that some of the newcomers, especially from the sophomore class, can make that next step come conference and postseason. “After graduating six of our top seven, this year will begin with lots of questions as we look for many new faces to mature quickly and fill some big roles on the team,” Raal said. “We have a great foundation and core to draw from, and we will see who steps up to the challenge.”

Kaneland

Coach: Chad Clarey

Top returners: Carson Kaiser, so.; Nathan Kowalczyk, jr.; Joey Schuch, jr.; Evan Whildin, sr.

Top newcomers: Ricky Anderson, jr.; Drew Gritzner, so.; Jack Nevenhoven, sr.; Nolan Reutimann, jr.; Gavin Schnurstein, so.; Gavin Smith, jr.; Mason Stalcup, so.; Sahel Torres, jr.

Worth noting: Kaiser, who placed sixth in the state last fall, and Whildin, who took 36th at state, are returning to lead the Knights. “We will begin this season with our new lineup and the front two should be solid performers,” Clarey said. “We will be working on building a good scoring pack of 3-7 runners who might be interchangeable over the season. That bodes well for us to not have a set order, and a group of hungry runners trying to vie for the spots remaining.” Kowalczyk and Schuch got state experience last year while fellow junior Smith is new to the sport, but could make an immediate impact.

— Chris Walker

Marmion

Coach: Andrew Lifka

Top runners: Michael Whitacre, sr.; Joseph Dorando, sr.; Jonah Sartain, sr.; Sam Rowe, sr.; Lucas Galindo, sr.

Worth noting: A senior-heavy Cadets squad will be looking to improve on its finish at the Class 2A state meet, making the jump from eighth in 2023 to seventh last season. While they lost two key pieces in John Daffenberg and Matthew Sullivan, the other five runners from last year’s state team are returning. Leading that charge is Whitacre, who is the only runner to have run at state in 2023 and 2024. He’s also coming off earning All-State honors in the 1,600-meter race at the Class 2A track and field state championships in the spring. “Marmion’s five senior leaders have led their team through a strong and healthy summer of training to be ready for racing season,” Lifka said. “These five have their sights set on the 2A state podium and first-place titles at the conference, regional, and sectional levels. High goals from a highly motivated roster of great leaders.”

St. Charles East

Coach: Christopher Bosworth

Top runners: Michael Wilson, sr.; Dominic Strada, so.; Will Komerska, jr.

Worth noting: The Saints bring in a smaller group into 2025 after graduating 12 seniors, including both state qualifiers in Greyson Ellensohn and Ryan Tobin. Wilson is expected to be the top runner for the Saints, coming off a track season where he qualified for state in the 800 to bring a good amount of experience to the relatively young team. “We will be young and inexperienced, but I was happy with the summer the team put in,” Bosworth said. “As always, we want to be at our best when it matters the most.”

St. Charles North

Coach: Kevin Harrington

Top runners: Sam Hill, jr.; Matthew Russell, sr.; Lucas Reed, sr.; Logan Hitchings, jr.; Christian Enger, jr.; Miles Dill, so.; John Tanig, so.

Worth noting: The North Stars return plenty of experience to the roster once again, with all of their top-five runners returning this season. Expected to lead the charge once again is Hill, who ran a program-best 14:47.50 for 41st at the Class 3A state meet last season. Russell, Reed, Hitchings and Enger also return after running sub-16 times a season ago.“We have some talent returning that is exciting to work with,” Harrington said. “Our focus continues to be on the journey to become the best that we can be as athletes and as people. We have set aggressive goals and are learning how to pursue them.”