Thomas Czerwinski has a pretty simple reason for why he runs cross country.

“When I was in sixth grade, the only sport my middle school offered for boys in the fall was cross-country,” Czerwinski said. “There was no other option, so I went out for it and fell in love with it from there.”

That love affair bore sweet fruit for the Plainfield North senior. In his first three seasons running with the Tigers, his team finished fourth, second and second again in the Class 3A state meet.

He and the club entered this fall with one goal in mind: A state championship.

Behind Czerwinski’s fourth-place individual finish, the Tigers did just that, and for his contributions, Czerwinski has been selected as the 2025 Herald-News Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year.

“This was a huge year for us,” said Czerwinski, who also runs track and field for the Tigers and will compete in both sports at Purdue University. “We got fourth when I was a freshman, then second the last two years.

“The goal from the start, even in the offseason, was to win a state championship. We train year-round. We get a couple of weeks’ break after each season, but other than that, we train a lot.”

Czerwinski said that during the summer, he averages running 60-65 miles a week, then 50-55 miles a week during the season.

“Every week, it’s a mix of different kinds of runs,” he said. “I’ll do some longer, slower runs, and I will do some shorter, faster ones.”

Czerwinski and his teammates, which included seniors Aiden Connors, James Maso, Gavin Hall, Sean Jansen and Aidan Kyrychenko, as well as junior Dominic Frigo, had some added incentive for their success. They had seen district rival Plainfield South win the state championship in 2022 and wanted to match what the Cougars had done.

“We know a lot of their runners pretty well,” Czerwinski said. “We grew up in the same town and stuff. We also see them a lot during the season. We have dual meets, we have the conference meet, we have regionals and sectionals, and we’re at different invitationals together during the season.

“When I was a freshman, South won the state title. We were very happy to get fourth that year. I saw them win it, and I was happy for them because I knew them, but I also knew that I wanted my team to be the ones winning the title. Their success definitely pushed us.”

Czerwinski noted that cross country is about more than just lining up for a race and running.

“What I like the most about the sport is the discipline,” he said. “You have to drive and push yourself every day. To me, that’s a lot of fun.

“It’s more than just running, though. You have to make sure your sleep schedule is good, that you eat healthy and eat enough. It seems weird to eat a lot as a runner, but you have to keep your body fueled. Also, you have to drink enough water in order to stay hydrated. The most important thing, though, is getting enough sleep. You have to get 8-10 hours a night, which can be difficult during the season with meets and practice and then doing your schoolwork.”

Czerwinski also pointed out that different runners have different strategies for a race. Some, like his teammate Aiden Connors, like to get out in front and set the pace. Czerwinski, meanwhile, prefers to bide his time.

“I like to get out with the lead pack, but hang back toward the back of it for the first two miles or so,” he said. “Then, that last mile, I pick up the pace. It works well because Aiden has usually set a fast pace and kind of tired the rest of the lead pack out. That’s when I make my move.

“Our team packed pretty well this year. Everyone on the team bought into what we wanted to do. Our coaches [head coach Andrew Derks and assistant coach Sam Barranco] did a great job of getting everyone to buy in and have the same goals and aspirations.”

Czerwinski has continued to run after the season, including taking part in the Brooks XC Regional Championships for the Midwest Region hosted by University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha on Nov. 29. There, Czerwinski finished 12th out of 77 runners in the Fleet Foot Boys race that featured runners from Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Colorado, Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Nebraska and Minnesota.

“I would say that my favorite race this season, outside of the state meet, was the Brooks XC race in Wisconsin,” Czerwinski said. “We got to run in the snow, which was pretty cool. It wasn’t real cold, like right around 30, but it was cold enough for there to be snow on the ground. That was something a little different, and I really liked it.”