At this point, with national meets wrapped up, we've got a pretty solid look at this Fall's podium on the boys side, and it's gonna be a helluva rematch.
1. Downers Grove North
2. Plainfield North
3. Plainfield South
DGN returns an absolutely LOADED roster. The closest metric to a XC 3 mile race in track is the 3200m, and they dominate the state in that category. 8 under 10.
9:13 Cupial (JR) as of Fall '24
9:22 Schroder (SR)
9:24 Surrat (JR)
9:27 Travers (SR)
9:45 Kelly (SR)
9:51 Finn (SR)
9:52 Loftus (SR)
9:58 Courtney (SR)
THEN, 2 more under 10:05! Their top 10 cutoff by November could be 15:15. That's insane depth. That gauntlet of seniors from Travers to Courtney could create the fastest 7th man in state history. This team is potentially historic. And what about the mile? 4 under 4:20 coming back, with 7 more under 4:40. On top of that they just won the 4×8 relay. This team is mid 00s York caliber, on an average day. '99 Dukes can't be beat at this point because the field is such a higher caliber (all state cutoff was 14:43 in '23), but DGN this Fall could go toe to toe on team avg. They're just gonna have company from-
Plainfield North
9:21 Davis (SR)
9:22 Czerwinski (JR)
9:28 Connors (JR)
9:41 Maso (JR)
9:54 Dodson (SO)
10:02 Frigo (SO)
10:07 Hall (JR)
In any other year this squad would probably be a heavy favorite. Czerwinski was top 10 a year ago, plus another All Stater from the Fall in Davis, and a 5th man cutoff at 9:54 coming into the season would usually be a recipe for a score in the 70s-80s. Two or three All Staters was good enough to win in the 80s/90s, but Plainfield North could put 4 in the top 25 and STILL lose. That's just the reality of competing in the deepest era of of IL distance running ever seen. But what makes this year's match up so compelling is that there's a third squad in the mix-
Plainfield South
9:03/4:14 Maloney (SR)
9:35/4:33 Batsala (SO)
9:43/4:40 Fink (SR)
9:49/4:26 Cory (JR)
9:53/4:41 Miller (JR)
9:59/4:32 Buturusis (SO)
10:00/NT Maranowicz (SR)
Once again, run this team in a state meet against the 40+year average for trophy teams and they probably win. That's a team with likely 2 All Staters this Fall but won't have enough firepower to hit the top. When it comes to depth, South is gonna have to hope they pick up the 1 point win from Maloney and have a super tight pack to follow.
2024 4×800m Final
1. DGN 7:39
2. South 7:41
3. North 7:41
This Fall is gonna showcase what could be a better state meet than 08 when Geneva was third, scoring double digit points. If the 4×800m state final was any indicator of South passing North, yet still well shy of DGN, we might see a historic battle between the two Plainfield schools that push them nearer to DGN than will be predicted. And all three will duke out out at First to the Finish in Peoria in early September. That tight of a battle should produce ANOTHER very fast state meet, with cooperative conditions, which could springboard each of those teams to Portland. This will be must-watch XC in November.
After those 3 teams, it's a fairly tight shuffle with Barrington, O'Fallon, New Trier, and Fremd.
Barrington obviously has the seemingly #1 in the state with the reigning 3200m state champ. Bregenzer leads 3 other returners under 10min. Barrington was a better looking team coming out of xc last Fall however vs where they finished track. Scott and Hurtado both broke 15min for 3 miles but only just broke 10 in track. These guys could be going backwards.
O'Fallon was one that plenty of folks probably thought could podium last year. They still return a 14:30 from Thoman, but he doesn't have a 3200m and looked like he focused on the 800m this Spring? They're gonna need a super tight pack from 2-5 to be relevant and they don't really have a 5th.
New Trier is the ever-present threat it seems. A perennial top 10 team, maybe this year they crack the podium? Ben Crane put together what turned out to be a phenomenal junior year. 3x All Stater with some seriously fast times including a sub 9 to cap the season shows that the individual battle this Fall should be as electric as the team one, with him, Maloney, and Bregenzer all duking it out up front. Right now New Trier's #5 will likely be a kid that's yet to break 10. Teams have faced longer odds and still done well, but it's gonna take more than what they put down in track. Garrett, Kreiner, and Papanicholas are gonna need to bring up the next guys to have a chance.
Finally, Fremd out of Palatine may have finally reached maturation. A group loaded with solid returners that have steadily improved may be ready to put it all together this Fall. The 1-2 of Gaan and Jennings will be POTENT for other teams to deal with. These are 2 dudes who should be top 10 each, if not better. With a team score potentially under 20 through 2 guys at state, that might be enough to snag some team hardware. Two more Vikings return under 10, with a very competitive group just over 10min that should push each other to breakthrough performances.
This is gonna be a wild season. Hope it lives up to the potential!