1. York
The Dukes have plenty of motivation. First, there is last year’s devastating second-place finish to Lockport at the state meet. Early results showed York was the state champion, but official scoring gave Lockport the title by one point. “It was just heartbreaking,” said York coach Joe Newton, who is in his 45th year of coaching. Moreover, York hasn’t won a state championship the last three years. The last time the Dukes went four straight years without a title was in the mid-1970s. “We are determined to straighten that out,” Newton said. “That’s a lot of internal motivation.” Lastly, Newton wants to win his 20th state title before he retires in June 2000. Behind 1997 state runner-up Donald Sage, Pete Cioni, Jim Mallaney, John Janulis and Tom Moore, title No. 20 could arrive in November.
2. Wheeling
The Wildcats’ Jorge Torres will try to become the first boy in Illinois to win three individual state titles, but one of his toughest competitors will be his twin brother, Ed, who was eighth in the state meet last year. At the state track finals in the spring, Ed Torres finished second in the 3,200-meter run; Jorge Torres was fifth. The duo also will be deciding which college they will attend together next year. Colorado, Oregon, Stanford and Montana are high on the list. In the meantime, they are hoping returning state qualifiers Bryan Moon (81st last year), Erik Schroll (100th), Peter Schroll (182nd) and Frank Velasquez (190th) will help the team improve on last year’s third-place finish. To win a state title, Moon and the Schroll brothers “will have to come down in the area of 31st place, and I’m confident they will,” Wheeling coach Mark Saylor said.
3. Lockport
The two-time defending state champion Porters will rely on the front-running of seniors Greg Targosz and Nick Setta and a pack that may include Jay Johnson, Geoff Rudziewicz, Steve Annen, Craig Shepard and Dan Renz. Targosz was the Porters’ top finisher in the ’97 state meet at 15th place. Setta, fifth in the state meet as a sophomore and 19th last year, spends half of his practice time with the football team as a place-kicker. The All-State kicker holds the state record for the longest field goal with a 59-yarder. Last year, Setta drove to Peoria for the state meet the morning of the race after playing in a state playoff football game the previous night. “He is a top-10 runner if he didn’t have the added duty,” Lockport coach Larry Thompson said. “He’s just as good as (York’s Donald) Sage and (Wheeling’s Jorge) Torres.”
4. Naperville Central
For the first time since 1975, the Redhawks return two all-state runners in Andy Janssen and Ryan Teising. Janssen placed 16th in the state finals while Teising (24th), a junior, finished seventh in the 3,200 in the state track meet and gave up summer basketball and swimming to devote himself to running. Senior Andy Welborn, who was 87th last year, and Jeff Byers, who missed the second half of the ’97 season with an injury, also are back. Others who could make the lineup are Mike Pawlik, Ben Ziegler, Matt Roefer and Gary Parquette. Pawlik is a 51-second 400-meter runner, and Parquette ran 1,000 miles this summer.
5. Fenton
Coach John Kurtz could have six seniors in his lineup, the most for the Bison since 1989, when they finished third in the state meet. Seniors Chris Siemers (13th), Alex Gonzalez (51st), Robert Olsen (110th) and Joe Pontrelli (169th) are returning state qualifiers and likely will be joined by Allen Giacchetti, Roy Selvik and Raul Ramos. Kurtz said he notices a major difference in this year’s team from the ’97 squad, which finished sixth last year. “So far, no one is hurt,” he said. “Last year at this time we already had injuries.” Kurtz is relying on Siemers’ and Gonzalez’s experience to guide his team. Siemers is a three-time state qualifier; Gonzalez is a two-time qualifier.
Best of the rest
Schaumburg, Downers Grove North, Hoffman Estates, Morton, Andrew, Palatine, Evanston.
TOP BOYS RUNNERS
Brad Bennett, sr., Hoffman Estates; Pete Cioni, jr., York; Mike Cropper, sr., Conant; Mark Cumbee, sr., Lincoln-Way; Alex Gonzalez, sr., Fenton; Rob Hohnsen, sr., Downers Grove North; Andy Janssen, sr., Naperville Central; Curtis Judice, sr., Schaumburg; Graig Kocher, sr., Schaumburg; P.J. Leffelman, sr., Libertyville.
Jim Mallaney, sr., York; Joseph Marren, sr., Mt. Carmel; Tim Moran, sr., Andrew; Donny Nieto, sr., Elgin; Juan Ortega, sr., Morton; Eric Ott, sr., Naperville North; Todd Quednau, jr., Downers North; Bob Patchak, sr., Sandburg; Donald Sage, jr., York; Nick Setta, sr., Lockport.
Chris Siemers, sr., Fenton; Greg Targosz, jr., Lockport; Ryan Teising, jr., Naperville Central; Ed Torres, sr., Wheeling; Jorge Torres, sr., Wheeling; Domingo Villarreal, sr., Rich East.
