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Midwest Region Boys Early Season Rankings 2023Published by
Downers Grove (North) Has The Pieces To Win Illinois 3A Title And Return To NXN By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor Boys NXR Midwest Preview Illinois sent three teams to Nike Cross Nationals last year and they finished eighth (Hinsdale Central), 11th (Downers Grove North) and 13th (Plainfield South). The competition tends to be close in Illinois and that contributes to the state's reputation and its success at nationals. This year, Downers Grove North is the preemptive favorite, in the state and in the region, after bringing back four of its runners from the NXN lineup. Those four, and a strong group to back them up, make DGN the deepest team in the state, if not the Midwest. Ryan Eddington, Caden Weber, Grant Schroder and Zach Bender are at the heart of the effort to earn a return trip to Portland. A lot of teams in Illinois have pedigree but none seem as ready and experienced as DGN. As soon as top teams find capable fourths and fifths this season, the rankings will fluctuate. Indiana's Carmel, a perennial state and regional contender, may be every bit as good as the best team in Illinois, even after losing a national individual champion, Kole Mathison, to graduation. Carmel faltered a bit at the NXR Midwest regional and that sting remains with the runners who return, a group that includes seniors Anthony Provenzano, Thomas Biltmier and Kyle Grove. Noblesville, Fishers, Hamilton Southeastern and Zionsville Community all will give chase this fall and put pressure on Carmel in its bid to repeat as state champion. There was so much parity in Ohio last year that Mason won the Division 1 title with 128 points and only had one runner finish in the top 30. The Comets will try to win for the third straight year with a lineup that includes three of its top five: Max Liao, Brendan Roe and Jerry Xu. Connell Alford of Chelsea MI, who was sixth at the NXR Midwest regional last year, was the only non-senior in the top nine. If Alford chooses to compete in the meet again, he'll face competition from Hinsdale Central's Aden Bandukwala, Liberty North MO's Sage Wilde, Provenzano and Westerville North OH's Ben Gabelman. 1. Downers Grove (North) IL. Right out of the gate, the Trojans showed what they are capable of in a 29-point performance at the EIU Showdown at Neuqua Valley, where the team's top seven all fit between 14:38 and 15:20 on the 2.9-mile course. Seniors Eddington and Weber and junior Schroder give the team three excellent runners up front. The next wave includes sophomore Philip Cupial, junior John Courtney, sophomore Will Surratt and senior Isaac Moss. Another senior, Bender, was the team's seventh man at state last year. 2. Carmel IN. The Greyhounds remain a power in the region in spite of the graduation of Champs Sports (Foot Locker, again, in 2023) champion Mathison. Seniors Anthony Provenzano and Kyle Grove will aim to fill the leadership void and steer Carmel toward another state title. Last year, even with a 1-2 finish for Mathison and Provenzano, the Greyhounds barely beat Zionsville, 103 to 106. Indiana remains competitive. But Provenzano, Grove and Biltmier, sophomore Carter Buhr and junior Kiefer Jay may be even a bit deeper and stronger than last year's team. 3. Arlington Heights (Hersey) IL. The pack is all back. A year after placing a somewhat disappointing 17th place at the Illinois state meet, all seven varsity runners are back and motivated to flip the script. Seniors Liam Naughton, Zach Frayder, Rob Geissenberger, Cameron Donner and AJ Svienty, and junior Jon Choi and sophomore Mateus Salomao. Those seven give this team valuable experience. If they can continue to hold each other accountable, the Huskies should be able to move way up the standings this year in Illinois. 4. Hinsdale (Central) IL. Last year's eighth place team at NXN graduated three important members of the team, including Dan Watcke, so expectations remain tempered. One great building block that is back, senior Aden Bandukwala, is the reigning Illinois Class 3A champion. Bandukwala added a second state title this spring in the 1,600 meters and stands to be one of the premier individuals in the country. The Dale will attempt to reload behind him and will rely on senior Max Lowe, sophomore Michael Gamboa, junior Cooper Revord, senior Evan Kurimay, junior Nikita Kamenev and sophomore Justin Bilyar to step up. 5. Noblesville IN. The Millers opened the season by splitting 34 seconds on its top five in a strong performance at the Hamilton County meet last Saturday, finishing behind Carmel. Senior Sam Rinker ran 15:50 for fifth place and teammates Ronnie Neal (15:59), a junior, and Caden Click (16:03), a senior, finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Sophomore John Libs and junior Jack Strong rounded out the top five. Five of the top seven are back from the team that finished fifth at the Indiana state meet in 2022. Click, who was 14th in that race, is sixth on the list of returning individuals from last year's meet. WATCHLIST |
