North boys cross country a tough team to read
By KEVIN DRULEY – kdruley@kcchronicle.com
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| The St. Charles North boys cross country team prepares for Saturday's 3A state meet in Peoria. (Jon Langham – For The Chronicle) |
ST. CHARLES – St. Charles North junior boys cross country runner Ryan Senci interchanged "wake-up call" and "reality check" four times during a recent two-minute interview.
Senci smiled and said he didn't know why, matching his rationale behind a breakthrough performance at last weekend's IHSA Class 3A St. Charles East Sectional, when he edged the team's top runner, Kyle Zankowski, by one second.
"I sort of woke up and thought, 'I'm going to go run with Kyle,'" Senci said.
Whether Senci returns to that form for Saturday's 3A State Meet in Peoria remains to be seen, as the North Stars have grown used to such question marks during another successful fall.
"It's really, 'Who knows?'" North coach Steve Imig said. "This team has flip-flopped order all year."
Despite battling an achy ankle and hamstring, Zankowski emerged as the team's No. 1 in preseason after the graduation of longtime standouts Max Clink and Steve Miller, who helped North to an eighth-place state finish last year.
Zankowski carried that torch through the fall, finishing second in regionals at the same LeRoy Oakes Course where he took 13th in sectionals. His sectional time of 16:38 was about 15 seconds off the regional pace, but Zankowski was happier to have someone accompanying him at the front of the North Stars' pack.
"Ryan was up there, and it was nice to see," Zankowski said. "I didn't have my best race, but it was good that he had one of his best races. We'll look to put all the pieces together for Saturday."
Imig likes the potential in his team. Zankowski finished 48th in Peoria a year ago, and classmates Brad Wheeler (87th), Will Novolrosky (89th) and Kyle Kuczynski (119th) return with state experience, as well.
Peter Johnson, a 2008 alternate, finished 23rd at LeRoy Oakes last week, while sophomore Billy Clink has shown signs of his older brother's skill.
North improved its split – the finishing time between a team's No. 1 runner and its No. 5 – to 31 seconds at sectionals. It was one of the North Stars' top marks this season, and shaving a few seconds more off the top figures to increase the chances of another top 10 state finish.
North took third in 2005, second in 2006 and sixth in 2007 with groups that were much more top-heavy than this one.
"We realize that for us to have a strong showing at the state meet or any weekend, we rely on each other," Imig said. "We need to be as tight as possible."
Geneva, led by Kevin Sparks and Kevin McDowell, also qualified as a team for the 3A meet.
They hear you: Kaneland and Marmion, set to compete in the 2A boys' race, also live by the pack ethic and will look to bunch up behind its top two runners.
The Knights, who edged the Cadets by four points for fourth place at the Belvidere Sectional,
rely on Trevor Holm and Matt Reusche. Tri-Cities residents Zach Young (Batavia) and Ben Kanute (Geneva) pace the Cadets.
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