Two school buses pull into the parking lot at Turtlehead Lake Forest Preserve. Sandburg cross country runners exit for a preseason practice.
They stretch and talk with teammates before they separate into groups for their workout. The setting may seem like just another practice, but it’s all part of the journey for Sandburg.
More Top Picks Best Cordless Drills
Last fall, the Eagles won several invitational titles during the regular season, then claimed regional and sectional championships before finishing second to Hinsdale Central to earn the school’s first-ever state trophy in the sport.
Six of Sandburg’s seven state-meet runners are back this season for another run at the Class 3A state title.
“From everything we’ve seen, we’re the favorites this year, the preseason pick,” Sandburg coach John O’Malley said. “So yeah, there’s pressure with that. The interesting thing is we haven’t won anything and we’ve got pressure.
“I think we do a good job of focusing on what we need to focus on and reminding ourselves the state trophy has been at (two-time defending champ) Hinsdale Central for over 600 days. Until it goes somewhere else, it’s their trophy. When you keep that in mind, you keep the aggressive mentality.”
The top six returnees — Tom Brennan, Chris Torpy, Sean Torpy, Martin Skucas, Max Lehnhardt and Brandon Lukas — welcome a full season ahead.
“Last year was a bit of a disappointment at the state meet,” Sean Torpy said. “We really wanted to win that thing. In a way, that kind of sets us up for this year and getting us motivated and ready to go.
“There’s no real No. 1 runner. We’re all right around each other. One day, our No. 1 could be our No. 7, or our No. 7 in the next meet could be our No. 1. That’s definitely a strength of our team.”
Brennan was Sandburg’s No. 1 finisher at the state meet. He placed 31st in 14:54.
“The competition to be on our top seven is going to be pretty fierce,” Brennan said. “There are quality guys who might end up No. 12 or 13 on the depth chart, probably sub 16:00 runners, 15:30 runners.
“It definitely makes for a great experience, being on a team like this.”
Chris Torpy, Sean’s twin brother, appreciates the level of competition he runs against in every practice.
“It’s nice, definitely, having so many guys to train with every day,” Chris Torpy said. “Some teams, guys have to train on their own. We get to do it with a bunch of guys who are around the same fitness level.”
Skucas is the only junior among the top six returnees, the rest are seniors. He was Sandburg’s No. 5 finisher, its final scorer, at the state meet.
David Gleisner just missed making the state-meet lineup last year. Gleisner, Dylan Jacobs, Dan Laskero and Paul Sieczkowski are contenders to make Sandburg’s top seven.
“One of my biggest fears is to wish our time away, and want to be at the finish line and have that accomplishment at state, and then look back and wish we had appreciated it more and enjoyed it more,” O’Malley said.
“That’s actually one of our pillars for the season: to look up and enjoy what we have here and who we have here.”
Tim Tierney is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.
Top 5 Teams
1. Sandburg: Six of seven individuals are back from an experienced team that took second in the Class 3A state meet last year. Those six runners packed from 31st through 59th, clocking 14:54 to 15:11.
2. Illiana Christian: Vikings are led in 2A by All-Staters Colin DeYoung (5th, 14:49) and Nick Wondaal (9th, 14:54), both seniors. DeYoung’s state time was the best of any Southland runner in any class.
3. Lincoln-Way North: In school’s final year, John Chomiak, Noah Healy, Demetri Panici, Mark Harris, Mike Trost and Ryan Belavich are back from group that earned the Phoenix’s first state berth last season.
4. Lincoln-Way Central: Graduation losses were significant, but returnees Ian Peterson, Zak Hutchinson and Nate Coppens will lead Ryan Barry, Patrick Gabriel, Kevin Nolan and Christian Gabriel.
More Top Picks Best Hiking Pants For Men
5. Shepard: Caleb Washington was 36th in state meet as a sophomore to rank among top Southland runners. Paul Milkus, Garrett White and Kevin Callahan also make Astros a team to watch.
Top Runners (in alphabetical order)
Tom Brennan, Sandburg, senior; John Chomiak, Lincoln-Way North, senior; Colin DeYoung, Illiana Christian, senior; Mitch Feehan, Lincoln-Way West, senior; Noah Healy, Lincoln-Way North, junior; Max Lehnhardt, Sandburg, senior; Brandon Lukas, Sandburg, senior; Evan Mitchell, Lincoln-Way West, junior; Ian Peterson, Lincoln-Way Central, senior; Steve Raybould, Oak Lawn, senior; Martin Skucas, Sandburg, junior; Chris Torpy, Sandburg, senior; Sean Torpy, Sandburg, senior; Caleb Washington, Shepard, junior; Nick Wondaal, Illiana Christian, senior.