| Aurora Central Catholic | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Troy Kerber | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 17th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
| Returnees: | Max Gilbert SR, John Cisneros JR, Dan Kottamp JR, Jimmy Spencer SO, John Jochum JR, | |
| Garrett McCarthy SR, Nolan McCue SO, Brian Rudolph JR, Dan Schlietwiler JR. | | |
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| The Chargers look forward to the upcoming season and on improving on last season’s 17th place sectional finish. |
| Senior Max Gilbert should be the #1 man and Sophomore Jimmy Spencer is vastly improved according to Coach |
| Troy Kerber. Aurora Central was a very young team last year and the experience will help them this season. | |
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| Bartonville Limestone | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Don Merrick | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 11th AA State Meet | | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Joe Barber SR (112, 16:40), Justin Stear SR (160, 17:27), Mark Phan SR, Kyle Reynolds SR, | |
| Shawn Burnes SR, Jon Schwindenhammer SR, Nick Williams JR, Christopher Davis SO, | |
| Clay Burley JR. | | | | | | | |
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| Don Merrick takes over as Coach of the Rockets. Rebuilding could be the name in the game in Bartonsville this fall. |
| AA State Champ Nick Holmes has graduated and is at the University of Iowa. Only 2 runners return from last |
| season’s 11th place state team. Senior Joe Barber is projected to the #1 runner this fall. Seniors Mark Phan and Kyle |
| Reynolds should contribute along with the other state returnee Senior Justin Stear. | | | |
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| Carbondale | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Gray Holda | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 12th AA Centralia Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Lucas Cherry SR (33, 15:37), Anthony Laise SR, Cody Moon JR, Dana Milani JR, | | |
| Ian Kidd SR, David Le JR, Jacob Jackson SO, Calvin Kolar SO. | | | |
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| Gary Holda welcomes back a solid group with the chance of improving on last season’s sectional performance. |
| Lucas Cherry, in his 2nd season of organized cross country, will be the #1 man for the Terriers and has a great shot of |
| being in the top 25. The remaining returnees will have to close their gap from Cherry to under 60 seconds for hope |
| of improvement. | | | | | | | | |
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| Centralia | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: J.J. DeMattei | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 15th AA Centralia Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Derrick Schnake SR, Dylan Neudecker SO, Cory Meyer SR, Kenny Cullem JR, | | |
| Taylor Oberg SO, Shane Campbell JR, Brandon Gebke SR. | | | | |
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| A solid pack will highlight this season’s Centralia cross country squad. Senior Derrick Schnake is projected to be the |
| lead runner for Coach J.J. DeMattei. Improvement will be needed from Sophomores Taylor Oberg and Dylan | |
| Neudecker. | | | | | | | | |
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| Champaign Central | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Argie Johnson | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 17th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Patrick Mazzocco SR, Jordan Fox SR, Adam Thies SR, Jon Picchietti SO, Kyle Hammel SO, | |
| Neil Holding JR, Joshua Clark SR, Gus Maggio SO, Ulysses Bradley SR. | | | |
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| Expectations are high in Champaign for Central High School and Coach Argie Johnson. Last year’s 17th place finish |
| was an aberration in sorts. Their #1 man all season, Patrick Mazzocco, came down with a knee injury after the |
| Conference meet. That injury knocked him out of the rest of the cross season along with all of track. Mazzocco is |
| healthy again and if all goes well, he has a shot of placing in the top 25. The Maroons had a tight 2-5 pack last year |
| before the injury and could be tough this year. Watch for Seniors Jordan Fox and Adam Theis to lead the charge. |
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| Chicago University | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Bud James | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 21st AA State Meet | | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Jarus Singh JR (127, 16:48), Jim Worcester SO (128, 16:49), Max Wagner JR (150, 17:13), | |
| Don Traubert SR (154, 17:18), Kevin Brunke SR (171, 18:15), Ben Buchem-Jurrison SO, | |
| Robert Meyer SO, Thomas Aquino SO, Aaron Buikema SR, Stephen Heinz SR. | | |
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| Last season, Coach Bud James’ team was unknown for most of the season. When the time was right, they peaked |
| at Sectionals to earn a state qualification. This year will be much of the same thing for University High. This is a very |
| young squad that will take a little time to mature. The Maroons return 5 from last year’s state team, but will need a |
| #1 man to emerge. Junior Jarus Singh and Sophomore Jim Worcester appear to be the front runners. After that, |
| there could be up to 6 runners that will challenge for the 3 remaining top 5 spots. We will see how good this team is |
| at the Loyola Lakefront Invite at the end of September. | | | | | |
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| Dunlap | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Joe Wenskus | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 8th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Johnny Crain JR, Mark Gilles JR, Randy Hunsicker SR, Zach Reed JR, Ryan Vahle SO, | |
| Rainer Horton SR, Jonathan Garst SR, Eric Topel SO, Eric Motyl SO, Andrew Holgeson SR. | |
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| Blake Brooks has graduated and a new era will start at Dunlap. Junior Johnny Crain returns to lead a squad as the |
| projected #1 man for Coach Joe Wenskus. Juniors Mark Gilles and Zach Reed along with Senior Randy Hunsicker |
| form a good nucleus to support Crain. This team has the talent to possibly improve on last season’s sectional |
| performance. | | | | | | | | |
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| East Peoria | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Jim Dulin | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 7th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Hugh Gill JR, Matt Morrison SR, Alex Gonzalez SO, Alex Cortez SO, David Blackford SR, | |
| Drew Thomas JR, Brent Watson JR, Zach Dolan SR. | | | | |
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| May be tough to duplicate last year’s sectional results. 4 runners return from last season’s 7th place sectional |
| squad. Junior Hugh Gill is projected to be the front runner on this team and will be pushed by Senior Matt Morrison. |
| The team has 7 runners that are within 60 seconds of each other…Coach Jim Dulin will hope to get one of them as a |
| front runner and hang some low points in the big invites. | | | | | |
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| Freeport | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Alan Greene | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 16th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
| Returnees: | Paul Jungles SR, Geoff Graham SR, Kaldrin Franz SR, Nick Morwood SO, Chris Gabriel JR, | |
| Zach Holloway SR, Damarious Foster SR, Josh Kerr SO, Tyler McAnally SO. | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Coach Alan Greene returns 6 runners who hope to improve on last season’s sectional performance. Senior Paul |
| Jungles returns as the projected #1 man who has a shot of qualifying for state as an individual. | | |
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| Grayslake North | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Brandon Boyd | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 8th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Jimmy Johnson SR, Tyler Vincent SO, Scott Moller SR, Joe Shepherd SR, John Mikrut JR, | |
| Michael Lahera SO, Timothy Borchardt JR, Kyle Kleinschmidt JR, James Landry JR. | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Nick Lane has graduated from the North campus and Coach Brandon Boyd is looking for someone to step up. Last |
| year’s 4th man Jimmy Johnson maybe that runner. 4 return from a squad that will look to get back to sectionals |
| again this year. | | | | | | | | |
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| Highland | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Doug Bradley | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 8th AA Centralia Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Tyler Weis SR, Alex McCloud JR, Eric Stoff SR, Dominic Cipicchio SR, Tim Johnson JR, | |
| Chris Wiedner JR, Challen Bouguss JR, Jared Schmitz SO, Brenton Kastelein SR. | | |
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| Even though they have lost their 1 and 3 runners to graduation, Coach Doug Bradley thinks there is enough depth |
| to improve on last year’s finish at Sectionals. Senior Tyler Weis should be the front runner for a squad that will need |
| to keep their pack less than 70 seconds if they want to qualify for state. | | | | |
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| Jacksonville | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Breck Van Bebber | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 6th AA Centralia Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Matt Newton SO, Levi Haley SO, Ian Cody SR, Jordan Lewis JR, Nathan Kopp SR, | | |
| Ben Weger SR, Elijah Headin SR, Thomas Burton JR, Jon Cody SR. | | | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Jacksonville and Coach Breck Van Bebber took a hit when they found out that State qualifier Tyson Kinsley and his |
| family moved out of district to Sycamore. Never the less, this team still has talent to make some noise in their |
| sectional. Look for Sophomore Matt Newton to step up to lead this team and have a shot of qualifying either as a |
| team or as an individual | | | | | | | |
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| Joliet Catholic Academy | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Jim Holehan | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 19th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Ryan Tully JR, Kyle Judge SR, Brett Rocheleau SR, Brian DePasqua SR, Austin Chalkey SR, | |
| Kevin Lemke JR, Bill Armand SR, Jeff Cole JR, Tyler Pinta SR, Nick Ludwig SR. | | |
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| 6 runners will return from a team that will improve on last season’s Sectional performance. Coach Jim Holehan |
| welcomes back Junior Ryan Tully as the main component to his squad. | | | | |
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| Lake Villa Lakes | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Andrew Schroeder | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 11th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Blake Franson SO, Kyle White JR, Danny McGrath SO, Mike Miller SR, Brian Zialko SR, | |
| Joe Doran JR, Sam Venga JR, Grant Franson JR. | | | | | |
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| Despite losing his top 3 runners to graduation, Coach Andrew Schroeder is welcoming the challenge. A young squad |
| that had the best summer training in school’s history, Sophomore Blake Franson will be looked at to lead this team. |
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| Lemont | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Tim Plotke | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 20th AA State Meet | | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Neal Casey SR (89, 16:18), Tom Hoster SO (110, 16:39), Ethan Wood SR (157, 17:20), | |
| Lee Koepke JR (162, 17:31), Ryan Abernathy SR, Steve DeRenberg SR, Dan Niemic SR. | |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Last season their dream became a reality. Lemont made it to State for the first time in the school’s history. With his |
| 2 front runners back, Coach Tim Plotke will look to duplicate that effort. But, some work will have to be done with |
| the pack. Senior Neal Casey did not run his best race at state last season and looks eager to return to the Detweiller |
| venue to vindicate himself. Tom Hoster, a sophomore, had a great first season and should be on Casey in races. The |
| summer went well for Plotke, and his squad looks to win their first conference title, and then concentrate on state. |
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| Mahomet-Seymour | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Neal Garrison | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 13th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | John Prillaman SO, Jacob Mahaffrey SR, Austin Beck SR, Kent Bucker SR, Zach Rausch JR, | |
| Alex Chartor JR, Joe Nushbaum JR, Alex Williams JR. | | | | |
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| Good talent returns for Coach Neal Garrison. There is a possibility that this school may be shifted to the southern |
| sectional. If this is the case, Garrison and the Bulldogs will have a good shot of making it to Detweiller. 4 runners |
| return from last year’s team led by Sophomore John Prillaman and Senior Jacob Mahaffey. | | |
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| Morton | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Jayne Eisenmann | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 16th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Dave Dominick JR, Jared Marks SR, Nick Piper SO, Joe Zeller SO, Dan Getz JR, | | |
| Eric Meyer JR, Jordan Thomas JR, Andrew Young JR, Chase Smith SR. | | | |
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| Coach Jayne Eisenmann will look to reload as Morton will return to Sectionals again this year, but high will they |
| place? Junior Dave Dominick will lead this team that have some issues with their 1-5 split that will need to be |
| addressed. | | | | | | | | | |
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| Rantoul | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Greg Van Hoorn | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 19th AA Peoria Notre Dame Sectional | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Chris Holmes SR, Chris Collins JR, Connor Millar SR, Zach Palmer JR, Joe Henkelman SR, | |
| Nick Cole SO, Patrick Snyder SR, Christian Rudzinski SO, Dmetri Powell SO, | | |
| Dustin Humphries SO. | | | | | | | |
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| 5 Runners return from a squad wanting to improve on last season’s sectional performance. Senior Chris Holmes |
| should be the front runner for Rantoul. Watch for Senior Connor Millar; he has been hampered by injuries the last |
| year and is reported recovered from them. He has the talent to make it to state. | | | |
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| Riverside-Brookfield | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Larry Forberg | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 11th AA Chicago Jones Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Peter Lyson JR, Erwin Kehrt JR, Dave Melone SR, Charlie Rock JR, Taylor Zoremba JR, | |
| Don McGregor SR, Mike Sitter JR, Kirk Razon JR. | | | | |
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| 4 runners return to hopefully improve on their sectional performance of last season and to add to the rich cross |
| country tradition at Riverside-Brookfield. Coach Larry Forberg has 4 juniors within the first 5, so he will have a |
| season to work with Peter Lyson and company to get their times closer together and closer to the front of the pack. |
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| Rock Island Alleman | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Tony Vandewalle | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 7th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Tim Hird SR (6, 14:56), Ricky Mendez SR, Austin Teel SO, Matt Billingsley SO, | | |
| Marshall Dismer JR, Mike Kaschke SR, John Kerch SO, Ryan Bush SO, John Forrell SO, | |
| Will Olivera JR, Brian Hogan JR. | | | | | | |
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| Alleman was ranked within the first 20 in AA most of last season. Tony Vandewalle’s team did not run their best |
| race and did not make it out of the Belvidere Sectional. Senior Tim Hird is the top returnee in AA and will post very |
| low numbers for Vandewalle. It will be a year of growth for Alleman, as Vandewalle will count on Sophomores to |
| step up and fill top 7 positions. | | | | | | | |
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| Salem | | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Mike Hargis | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 11th AA Centralia Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Jordan Jones SR, Thomas Goff JR, Cory Nix JR, Jacob Kubicki SR, Tyler Hopkins SR, | | |
| Kolin Clark SO. | | | | | | | |
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| Coach Mike Hargis expects some great things from his team this fall. 6 runners return from a squad that will |
| improve on its sectional performance. Senior Jordan Jones and Senior Jacob Kubicki will be the top men for Salem. |
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| Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Ed Gaffigan | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 13th AA State Meet | | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Sean Ryan JR (111, 16:40), Brian McMahon JR (121, 16:45), | | | |
| Michael Ralph SO (153, 17:15), Connor Fanning JR (155, 17:18), Eric Delva SO, | | |
| Chris Ryan JR, Harold Osborn JR, Mason Switzer JR, Joey Showtis JR. | | | |
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| 1-2 and 4 runners are gone from a team that placed 13th at state. There are questions that need to be answered for |
| Coach Ed Gaffigan and his team. Juniors Sean Ryan and Brian McMahon will lead this squad. This will be a season |
| of growth with no seniors projected in the top 7. Should be in the hunt by the time the state series begins. | |
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| Vernon Hills | | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Michael Roberts | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 10th AA Belvidere Sectional | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Max Candocia SR, Nick Garpow SO, Binet Lee SR, Andrew Thompson JR, Thom Flynn SO, | |
| Rick Nathaniel JR, James Beck SO, Stephen Sprieser JR, Bill Lee SO, | | | |
| Spencer Alexander JR. | | | | | | | |
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| Losing All-Stater Moe Bahrani to graduation will hurt this squad this season. But for Senior Max Candocia to fill in |
| that gap, Michael Roberts’ squad and especially 2-5 men will need to step up and get closer to Candocia. | |
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| Wheaton St. Francis | | | | | | | |
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| Coach: Scott Nelson | | | | | | | | |
| 2007 Finish: | 15th AA State Meet | | | | | | |
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| Returnees: | Joe Giamberdino SO (142, 17:03), Joe Germanos SO, Ben Graunke JR, | | | |
| Trevor Holzman SO, Andrew Nelson JR, Steve Reczek SR, Ryan Shulski SO, | | |
| Ben Lewis SR, Felix Ogles SR, Dan Jaeger JR. | | | | | |
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| This will be a year of rebuilding for Coach Scott Nelson and St. Francis. Only one runner returns from last season’s |
| 15th place squad. The top 5 are projected to be all underclassmen, led by Sophomores Joe Giamberdino and Joe |
| Germanos, will create growing pains for this team. Nelson, as always, will get the best out of runners and we could |
| see this team surprise at Sectionals. | | | | | | |
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