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Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Kaneland Rises to 4th In Class 2A State Finals, Nosek and Valkanov All State, Fastest Team Time in KHS History

 On a day created for sensational cross country racing, the Kaneland Knights toed the starting line for the final time this season. Fresh off a second place finish in Woodstock the week prior, the Knights were blessed with good health and great mindsets when the gun fired to start the race.

Twenty weeks of their “comeback” season in the books, dating back to fall of 2022 when three of the Top 7 were struck with illness in the final ten days of their season. These young men were centered on the phrase: “MegaStrong,” coined on the courage and comeback spirit of young West Aurora alum Megan Sporny who passed to cancer in June. A high-caliber runner, Megan’s cancer took the opportunity to really compete again as a harrier, so she found a new path to train and compete in the wheelchair division of the IHSA State Series. A state champion and all state competitor, Megan’s example lives on and is cherished. Sporny’s connections to some of the runners on our roster were important and meaningful; still evidenced in the Cal’s Angels bands worn on the forearms of the young men.

Junior Evan Nosek was first off the line and headed right to the front, joined by the elite runners in the 2A field. Racing with his golden Cal’s Angels bands on through the first mile marker in 4:39, Evan held his ground in the Top 6 and remained in that fight all the way to the finish line. He brilliantly stuck to the race plan of not engaging with those runners who were chasing their own history of the 14:00 mark, and rode the waves of very fast times with top notch runners. Nosek’s time of 14:47 was a :10 career PR and earned him sixth place, which tied him with Matt Richtman for the most All State medals in this sport for Kaneland. Evan’s time was also the third fastest mark ever recorded for a Knight at the State Finals. 

Not far behind, David Valkanov was making history of his own. The senior runner has been putting up vital points for his team scoring with single digits all season long. The heavily senior laden field of competitors pushed the pace hard on this gorgeous weather day. Valkanov ran through the mile mark at 4:46, and moved from 19th place up to 9th at the end of the three miles. Valkanov broke 15:00 also, completing the run at 14:53 (bettered his career PR by :35) to earn his first All State medal in the sport. Like Nosek, Valkanov earned All State status last spring in the 3200m. Valkanov was overswept with emotion following the race, experiencing the true joy that comes when good things happen because you sacrificed so much to attain them. David leaves his three year career at Kaneland with two appearances at the State Finals, and ranks #3 all time on our Top 50 list.

Evan Whildin’s sustained excellence did not take a break at all in his first ever State Finals appearance. The talented sophomore found himself on the heels of Valkanov for much of the season. As the first 200m of the race unfolded, a wave of runners squished a gap between himself and David. Frustrated but sticking to his instincts, he never panicked or tried to do too much in the first 800m of the race to try and find Valkanov. Rolling through the mile mark in 58th place, Whildin went to work on passing the field of important scoring runners. He moved up into the high 30s and crossed the line in 36th place, which came with a sparkling 15:16 time. Evan ran an :18 career best mark today. Most every other year, that time is good for All State (top 25) status. The heavy number of seniors competing this fall made for such a fast meet. Whildin’s 15:16 time is the sixth fastest time at the State Finals for a Knight.

Junior Zachary Murdock has been on a tremendous trajectory in the month of October, and he sustained it into the month of December. Our secret ingredient to the program potentially reaching the 2A Top 10 in Illinois, Murdock understood that his points were critical to team success. Zachary turned a corner when we went to the hills of Antioch on September 30th and has been on a roll ever since. Starting out near 100th place at the mile mark of the State Finals, Murdock progressively picked off runners ahead of him and kept climbing his way up to 80th at the finish. His 15:42 was a :36 PR effort that ranks him in the top 20, all time at the State Finals for Kaneland.

No cross country team is going to have high success without a solid performance from the fifth runner who is the final component to scoring. Junior Liam Lentz has stepped up to fulfill the role. Lentz had a career best time of 16:58 heading into the State Meet. He got out to a solid start in the large mass of 236 runners, and settled in around 145th place. He held strong throughout and kept grinding all the way to a 143rd place effort. Lentz ran a remarkable 16:16 to close our scoring at 220 points, and landing a fourth place team finish. Liam had the biggest PR of the meet for the Knights at :42. Liam’s time was also tied for the 50th best in program history.

Collin Reutimann has spent his senior year dedicating himself to getting this team down to Peoria. He ran into some injury and illness struggles, but refused to allow them to take him out of the lineup. On Saturday he was finally feeling closer to full strength and had his sights set on racing closer to Liam and that #5 slot. Reutimann stood tall through the first mile and then started pouring it on. Moving up from 176th place at the mile, he kept pushing himself closer and closer to Lentz. In the final mile he had found Liam and they were close throughout the last 1200 meters. Collin completed the day at 148th place, and set his career best time of 16:19 (an improvement of :24). Collin’s leadership and grit will be missed next fall.

Freshman Joey Schuch was our final performer in the meet. Just the fifth Kaneland freshman to ever pull on the jersey and lace up spikes for a State Finals race, Schuch embraced the opportunity with his trademark smile. Without the burden of pressure in a scoring roll, Schuch was able to traverse the course in PR time, finishing the race in 222nd, a complete three miles at 17:28. It will be great to have Joey competing with us in track this spring and bring him back for three more years in the sport.

Since 2018, the Knights have finished fourth in 2A a total of three times. This Kaneland squad, the 24th to qualify for State and the 23rd to get to race it (COVID halted the Finals in 2020) wrote a memorable finish to their chapter. The program record for total team time (cumulative time of the top five scoring runners) stood at 77:17, recorded by the 2019 State Champions. This year, these Knights bettered that mark by :20, to set a new standard of 76:57 for the Knights.

Some may consider Saturday’s finish an improbable effort from the Kaneland squad. Projected to finish 11th and 13th by analysts who understand the sport well and use data to support their work, these Knights were aggressive in their approach yet consistent in how they performed. Taking advantage of an excellent day’s weather and receiving the graces of good health, this offseason will be full of smiles and more hard work. They earned every bit of their success. We are most grateful for the blessings of the 2023 season, and appreciate the support of our Kaneland families and those who have been behind us, all year long. 


Knights Take 2nd at Woodstock Sectional, 3 in Top 10, Advance to State Finals

 For the 24th time since 1986, the Kaneland Knights will send a boys team to the IHSA State Finals. Running on one of the toughest courses in the State, the team advanced behind stellar front-running from their top 3, a sensational effort from the fourth runner, a tremendous race from the 5th, and gritty performances from the pushers.

Evan Nosek had his nose in the front pack throughout the first two and half miles of the rolling hills at Emricson Park. Racing with some of the best senior runners in Illinois, Nosek took third overall in a time of 15:41. Video lost at the finish line had his time slower, but he battled hard throughout to net a top 3 finish. 

David Valkanov ran like a senior, pushing his way up to 6th overall. Much of his race was run solo; and he is excited to have a second run in the State Finals (where he ran as a sophomore in 2021). Valkanov ran 15:57 on the course that basically had 80m of flat ground.

Using the course and his proximity to his teammate as an advantage, sophomore Evan Whildin raced to a 9th place finish in the Sectional. Challenging all day, Whildin raced to 16:10 and punching his ticket to State. With the top ten automatically qualifying, it was only a matter of time in knowing if his teammates would be joining him.

Junior Zachary Murdock rose throughout the race, pushing himself up into the top 30 runners to finish 27th overall (16:38). Zachary has been doing a terrific job of closing the gap on the front three, making a huge difference in team scoring. Murdock will make his first appearance at the State Finals with his team, because of his important impact on the final scores.

Kaneland has been working to shrink the scoring runner split to 90 seconds or less. Junior Liam Lentz has been tasked with this job as the fifth runner, and at the Sectional he smiled all the way to the finish. Lentz pushed with other important scoring runners from competing teams, racing to 64th (17:14). Liam fell with 60m to go, but jumped right back into action and capped the 1-5 split at 1:33. 

Senior Collin Reutimann leads this team with his grit and passion for the sport. Continuing to push past runners, all the way to the finish. He took 80th with a time of 17:31, a tremendous effort on the prevalent uphills at Woodstock. Reutimann earns his first trip to the IHSA Finals in the Top 7.

Freshman Joey Schuch continued his season with another solid effort in the varsity. Only his second meet in the Top 7, he broke 18, running 17:50. These are exciting and important days for Schuch to learn the ropes on this level. Getting to run in the State Finals as a freshman is rare for Kaneland runners. Schuch will be only the fifth Knight to compete at State as a freshman.


Kaneland Claims 2nd in Home Regional, Opens State Series

 Kicking off the State Series at home was a great blessing for the team. The Knights demonstrated both strong firepower up front as well as great personal grit in racing to multiple personal record times.

Evan Nosek spent another week of taking control of the race early and charging forward to an individual win in a time of 15:24. This was Evan’s third consecutive invitational championship. He is definitely looking forward to the many big challenges ahead.

David Valkanov is starting to heat up, racing to a ten second PR on the home course while notching a 2nd place effort at 15:36. He has been working at race consistency in the third mile, and appears to be getting back to form. 

Evan Whildin has been such a solid performer for the team all season long. This week, he posted a :29 career best time on the home course and surged to sixth overall. Whildin ran 15:52, and was joined at the finish line by his uncle, Michael, who ran for the Knights back in 2005. It was a special day to come home.

Zachary Murdock has been turning heads of other coaches lately with his progress and surging up toward his teammates. This week, he was able to land in the Top 15, racing to 16:18. Murdock’s time was a :33 improvement on the home course, and his points were an important tally in the final score.

Liam Lentz found his training from the week to feel exceptionally good in the first mile of the race. Liam pushed himself through the next two miles to complete the three miles in a PR time of 16:58. Lentz was 26th overall in the race, helping secure 48 points for second overall.

Collin Reutimann shook off some early rust on his gait and was able to push ahead of scorers from seven of the Regional field teams. Collin’s time of 17:23 net him 40th overall in the meet. He will look forward to leading his team and  running in his second Sectional, next weekend at Woodstock.

Joey Schuch got his first taste of running at the Varsity level. The freshman settled in early with Reutimann, then came up with a cramp midway through the race. He finished strong and his ever-present smile was rewarded with a :28 home course PR. He is eager to get back to work with his teammates and try to help them advance to State.


Knights Take Interstate 8 Conference Titles, Nosek Repeats as Conference Champion

 The course conditions were more fun than fast, but the Knights splashed their way to a team title in both the varsity and frosh soph divisions of the Interstate 8 Conference Championships. Led by Evan Nosek’s third conference championship in the sport, Kaneland placed four in the top 8 to net 31 points for the win. A smaller field made for an exciting race with some great times by all competitors on a slippery course that included about 3/4 of a mile on wet mud and leaves, as well as four crossings of a water filled ditch that made for some trouble.

Nosek took the early lead and then extended his efforts (15:33) to win by about 20 seconds. David Valkanov came off a finish of the week with an illness to take fourth in a solid time on the sloppy course at 16:00. In close proximity the whole way was teammate Evan Whildin who took 5th at 16:06. Zachary Murdock was the next Knight to the finish mats, running a very strong 16:36 for 8th overall. All of these points would be crucial in holding off strong team efforts from Sycamore and Morris.

In a difference making run, Liam Lentz hung close to important scorers to run the team tally to 31 points. Lentz ran 17:23 to finish 14th overall. Collin Reutimann built momentum in the second half of the race and ran 18th overall with a time of 17:56, which was a :45 course PR. Devon Kowalczyk joined his varsity teammates in celebrating a strong team effort. Kowalczyk was vying for the dirtiest uniform in the race when he fell in the water-filled ditch. Washed virtually clean, he got out to finish 26th overall at 18:56.

The frosh soph squad was next to Box 2, and they put up a strong team effort to take first with 28 points. Joey Schuch was the first Knight to the stripe, earning a runner-up finish with a career best time of 17:31. At Morris, they have a bell mounted to a post for any athlete to ring when they race to a personal record. It was a timely race to drop his career best below 18 minutes, and ring the bell. Jessub Hardy overcame a painful foot strike in the depths of the ditch that rocked his knee. Hardy kept his momentum moving forward depsite the discomfort and held on for fifth overall (18:36). Hardy finished just ahead of his hard charging teammate, Nathan Kowalczyk who finished with an identical time at 6th. Ricky Anderson had one of his best individual performances of the season, racing to 9th (19:12).

Jack Nevenhoven took some time to get into the scoring mix, but when he did, he kept charging right to an 11th place – ribbon earning – finish. Jack closed the scoring for the team at 28 points, just narrowly defeating a talented Sycamore squad by 5 points. Sahel Torres pushed to 14th overall, breaking 20 minutes at 19:55. Elijah Fiedler also put up a top time at 20:41, for 19th in the race.

The boys who raced in the Open were hungry for their chance to perform. The rains came back to make the finale something fun to see. Senior Ben Broz lost one shoe in the first mile, ditched the other, and raced to second overall at 18:58. Jack Polloway joined him in the chute, :26 later to finish 3rd overall. Sean Meagher took a different approach to racing today, and jumped out with the eventual winner from Sycamore. This strong start got him in a great position to challenge himself and ultimately led to a ringing of the PR bell. Meagher ran 19:34 and took 4th. Lucas Fiedler was our final competitor to cross the mats at the finish, and did so in dramatic fashion by ringing the same PR bell at 20:15, a career best.


Kaneland Varsity Boys Win Antioch's Pat Harland Invite

 Kaneland took the long bus ride north into Burlington, Wisconsin to run the hills of Fox River Park. The 3.09 mile course was the challenge needed to prepare for a hilly Sectional course in just four weeks at Woodstock. The Knights placed 4 in the top 11 and took a narrow win over Libertyville, while also seeing some of the tough 2A competitors of the northern portion of our Sectional complex.

Junior Evan Nosek raced to :37 course PR to earn the win on the winding and hilly course. Nosek posted a 15:59 on the day. Senior David Valkanov took third for the second week in a row, this time bettering his course PR by :50 to run 16:25. Sophomore Evan Whildin took his first lap of the Fox River course in 16:33 to earn 4th overall, and more small points for the team.

Junior Zachary Murdock roared back into his fourth position in the lineup by surging into the top 11, bettering his course best time by :49 for 17:20. It’s good to see Zachary moving back to a position we need to see him reaching for each week. Senior Collin Reutimann also notched a big course PR, running :58 better than his best here, and completing the race in 17:52 which was good for 22nd overall. Junior Liam Lentz had the biggest time drop for a varsity runnner, when he crossed the finish in 18:23, which was a 2:20 course best time (32nd overall).

Next up, the Frosh Soph Knights raced against the JV competitors of other programs and took 3rd overall in this event. Joey Schuch took 7th in 18:42 with his best mile pace of the season. Jessub Hardy was next to cross at 19:06 (12th), followed by Nathan Kowalczyk (19th, 19:52). Jack Nevenhoven took the last ribbon in the event at 20:10 (30th), with Sahel Torres close behind in season best mile pace (32nd, 20:13) and Ricky Anderson a few clicks later in 20:16 (36th). Elijah Fiedler had another strong effort for the team, racing to 53rd at 21:22.

The Boys Open saw five Knights in the top 13 to score 27 points as a unit. Senior Devon Kowalczyk hung tough for the 3.09 miles and took individual honors at 19:52. This was a course best time for Devon by :05. Jack Polloway was second for Kaneland, running 19:57. Senior Ben Broz took a :14 course PR home with a third place ribbon in the event. Junior Sean Meagher in his first season in the sport raced to 21:19 and was 9th overall out of 92 competitors. Junior Lucas Fiedler shaved more than 6 minutes off his previous best to take 13th at 21:43. Brayden Cattero battled the entire route of dust, dirt, hills, and heat to complete our strong team day with a 25:15 effort at 66th.

The Knights come home to host the Twilight Handicap Run with East Aurora and Morris on Tuesday evening for our Senior Night.


Valkanov, Reutimann Lead Way to Sterling Rock River Title

 There’s an old adage that “seniors get the job done.” Kaneland seniors David Valkanov and Collin Reutimann each posted solid efforts to lead the team to the 2023 Rock River Run boys varsity title.

David Valkanov shook off morning car trouble to push out to a top 5 spot in the race and found himself with no company and cruised to :15 meet PR for third (15:57). Evan Nosek and Evan Whildin took a team approach to the day and worked at pacing teammates through the first two miles, then used a progression run to blitz the field on the last mile. Nosek (12th, 16:30) and Whildin (16th, 16:41) each put up crucial points in the scoring.

Collin Reutimann is starting to build some momentum to his season. Today the senior finished 21st in 16:51 on a course that was slowed by mud in the woods. Reutimann still managed a :34 course best time. Junior Liam Lentz rode an early wave of motivation to a 17:10 overall time to complete the Knights scoring in the 29th position. Next to the chute was Zachary Murdock, running 17:21 for 33rd overall, and the final pusher for the race scoring was Jack Polloway, who finished the run in 18:49 (94th overall).

Ben Broz (98th, 18:57), Devon Kowalczyk (104th, 19:10), Johnny Neville (107th, 19:13) got in on team win as well. Sean Meagher (146th, 20:34) set a course best mark for himself and Lucas Fiedler (162nd, 21:15) ran a :41 meet best time to round out the day for varsity.

The Frosh Soph team had another stellar pack split day, running :53 apart, to place 3rd in the field. Joey Schuch led all Knight competitors with a 17th place finish at 18:26, followed by Jack Nevenhoven (21st, 18:46) and his :83 course PR. Jessub Hardy (24th, 18:47), Nathan Kowalczyk (26th, 18:54) and Ricky Anderson (37th, 19:19) all set their new course best times. Sahel Torres (48th, 19:55) had a blistering kick to hold his spot at the finish, and Elijah Fiedler (62nd, 20:31) ran a :85 course best time.

The Knights head to Antioch next weekend for the Pat Harland Invitational.


Saturday, September 9, 2023

Knights Race to 8th in 2A Race at First to the Finish, Nosek Sub 15:00

This meet never disappoints with the level of competition we get to see. First to the Finish is a high octane, ranked team rich field of performers. Our Knights rose to the occasion, coming off a very challenging week of rigorous workouts. Junior Evan Nosek wasted little time moving out to the lead pack of runners, and surged to a strong career best performance of 14:57. Nosek is only the second runner in program history to crack the 15:00 barrier for three miles. David Valkanov was the next Knight to the finish mats, setting a :48 course best and :11 career PR (15:28, 17th). Sophomore Evan Whildin could see Valkanov the whole way and surged to his new :43 career PR of 15:34, good for 24th overall. Only meet champion Glenbard South had more firepower from their front three.

Partnering up all week, Collin Reutimann and Zachary Murdock wove through the thick and dusty field of competitors to have great runs. Reutimann smashed a :30 career PR, running 16:43, good for 123rd overall. Murdock had a :06 meet PR, which is exactly what we have been focusing on; one PR meet at a time. Rounding out our top 7 on the day, senior Devon Kowalczyk raced to a new career best time of 18:09 (:10 PR). Newcomer Joey Schuch (fr.) put up a :55 improvement to set his new career best time of 18:15 (309th).

More PR racing for the varsity Knights included Johnny Neville, who ran a course best time of 18:34 (:04 improvement, and freshman teammate Nathan Kowalczyk, who dropped :24 for a young career best time of 18:50.

The Open included an enormous field of 1,023 competitors, pulling more Knights to meet and career best times. Junior Jack Polloway capped off a meet best time of 18:35, which was a :28 course PR. Ricky Anderson (fr.) sped to a new career best time of 18:47, with a :41 improvement on his 2023 time. Jack Nevenhoven continues to build his own momentum, this time running a :37 career best time on the Detweiller course (18:55, 252nd).Ben Broz (sr) took the fourth spot in our Open lineup, running a meet best time of 19:30, a :75 course best. Nolan Reutimann (fr.) took his first race of the season with gusto, starting and finishing fast, with a time of 19:42. Our Open pack split was just :67.

Jessub Hardy was in the ballpark of his season’s best time, finishing Detweiller in 19:58 (408th). Fellow freshman teammate Sahel Torres came to the stripe :27 seconds later (20:25), closing strong at the end. Lucas Fiedler felt he was going to have a big day and didn’t leave without a new career best (:14 CPR) at 21:05. His brother was next in the chute, when Elijah polished off a 3:14 meet PR, running 21:27 (631st). Eli was shadowed by new KXC runner Sean Meagher who ran an impressive 7:10 mile pace for his first career race longer than 200m on the track. Meagher ran 21:28 (633rd). Brayden Cattero was also near his course best time, this despite losing a shoe in the first half mile of the race. Brayden ended the day for Kaneland running a solid individual effort of 22:35 (783rd).

The meet featured 13 of the Top 20 Class 2A teams.