Welcome to Kaneland Cross Country!

The purpose of this blog site is to allow full access to the team, practices, history, and future events. Please check back with this blog throughout the summer and fall for new updates on the team. Feel free to share it with friends and family who follow the program!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Deep NIB XII Conference Field Pushes Knights to Fifth Place Finish


The landscape of Illinois XC has never been deeper in our conference than it is this year. Yorkville had never lost a NIB XII team title in the conference’s existence, and today was beaten by #6 Sycamore and #7 Sterling. Throw in a vastly improved DeKalb team, and #24 L-P, and we’ve got our hands full.

Matt Richtman became our first individual conference champion since 1999, when Henry Norris won the Suburban Prairie Conference crown at Elburn Woods. He was knotted up with two elite All State athletes, and surged to victory in the final 125 meters, just like he practices on Fridays. He became a sprinter.

Occhipinti joined our varsity lineup and immediately made his presence felt by surging into all conference contention. At the finish, he was on PR pace at 16:24 and 22nd overall.  Webster tried chasing that white jersey throughout and completed his run 12 seconds later for 29th place. Kantola raced to the chute four places later at 16:51, and Henry Nosek was 36th as our last scoring runner in 17:03 following an adjusted week of practices due to injury. Peyton Heiser kept Nosek in his sights the whole way and ended the day with a career PR in 17:11. Purcell earned another spot start in the varsity race and finished 61st overall in this loaded field of teams. Thanks, Ben for stepping in.

In the frosh soph race, Lodwig made good on a new PR at 17:30 which locked down 4th overall. Drake Nemec was the other award winner on the day in this level, earning 16th with a PR effort of 18:07. The next pack of checkerboarded Knights finished in a flash, with Petrik at 18:24, Seth Nosek right after at 18:26, and then Orczykowski at 18:30. The pack was able to manage a :60 split on the day, a season’s best. Klingensmith ran a :15 PR on the three mile course, and Riedel raced to 33rd overall, despite being under the weather.

When the Open took charge a few minutes following, we had new award winners and PR breakers on the course. Abruzzo and teammates settled into a pack through the first mile and demonstrated exactly what we needed to see from the whole team on the day. Feeding off of the energy of those they raced with then passed, Tony kept charging forward to a 7th place ribbon, and a 1:44 PR from Eddington.

Girolamo made a great push toward the front and net a 9th place ribbon. Finn was just two places behind for a ribbon and a new three mile PR at 18:48. Scotty Dunne also raced ahead from the pack and earned a 1:19 PR. Messina and Konrad pushed into the top half of all open runners, in 22nd and 23rd place. Good to have Kyle in the lineup again! Jablonski was able to break his previous best, running 20:52. Giant improvements from Eddington times came from Holder (2:51 PR), Patrick (2:29 PR) and Woods (1:06 PR). 

When you are actively racing those around you, surging and passing, then great things happen and times drop. (more team details will be shared 


Thursday, October 6, 2016

Old School Cross Country Finishes Teach Team Valuable Lesson at Byron

There are lessons learned in every race, if you look for them. Byron’s handicap race allowed for our team depth to shine, and taught us how every place and split second matters.

Fresh off a team trophy performance in Freeport which was won by our sixth runner, we were narrowly beaten by Rock Falls. History repeated itself tonight, as RF got past us by a single point again, with exciting finishes making the difference in team tally.  The narrow "old school" chute opening between padded posts was used, instead of the 15 foot wide line, and it made for some exciting finishes.

Richtman sped to a new Kaneland best on the 2.87 mile course when he ran 14:45. This was 29 seconds faster than our previous best of 15:14 by All Stater Matt Reusche in 2009.

Orczykowski held his ground after a :20 delay to earn 8th. He was on the heels of a Richmond-Burton pack of seniors who earned the team title with five in the Top 10, and a :21 split for the day.  Occhipinti found the chute as our third runner, finishing 11th after being delayed 2:40 at the start.
Things started to get exciting a few runners later when senior Anthony Messina made a Rock Falls runner his “hunted” and was relentless to the chute, crashing into pads and earning a hard fought medal and 1 point edge at 14th.  Next, Wielgos chased in a pack of three scoring RF Rockets and with .6 seconds the difference between he and their #5 at 18th place. (52-53, RF)

RF wasn’t done, as they avenged the close finish by Messina in taking back a pad crashing place. Purcell was surprised at the chute by another aggressive Rocket runner who came charging past in the very last second. Bodies spilled on the grass in this fun, old-school finish. Ben earned 21st place overall, and showed great fortitude in the process. 

Our next set of finishers all made great use of the pack mentality we try to bring to our races. Patrick Riedel nabbed a 24th place medal in 19:03. He kept Petrik close to him on the course by putting up “targets” and encouragement. Petrik came in one second later to earn the final Varsity medal of the day. Lodwig joined them at the chute in 19:06, and raced 2:00 faster for his overall time (17:06). Sophomore Drake Nemec battled hard despite not feeling well, and defeated half of the talented field for 31st place overall.

When the tallies for scores are complete in the remaining races we will run, it will come down to a scant few points. It doesn’t matter if you are the #1 or the #6, you’re going to have to beat every last man within two seconds of you for the chance to advance. We practice finishes for a reason, boys. We need to take every advantage of points left at the chute so that we can move forward. We earned a trophy in Freeport. We learned a lesson in Byron. Never get beat at the chute. Never give up.

Klingensmith picked up where he left off in ’15. He set a :74 PR on the course and won the Open. Abruzzo had a blistering kick to the line :06 later for 2nd overall. Seth Nosek enjoyed some help from his brother during the race to net 3rd in 17:52, and Finn was right on his heels for 4th at 17:54. Just :14 separated our front four in this race.

Girolamo completed our pack scoring and split at :41 when he crossed the line in 7th. Scotty Dunne also looked strong (and smiling) as he raced through the finish in 9th for a medal. Jablonski took home the final medal of the day in 15th with a 2:40 PR on the hilly course.  Holder was next in at 16th and 20:37, stringing consecutive strong finishes together.  Arty Patrick used the RF runner for motivation through the final mile of the course to run 18th in 21:31.

Our remaining pack rallied with Woods to bring home our final five runners in :02 for 21st to 25th place. That Varsity pack will need to continue to pick up steam in the remaining races, and finish in a similar manner. While we work to close the gap between 1-2, our greatest strength will be the small spacing between our 2-7. This crew must work it’s way up to run with the #3s, 4s and 5s of those teams we are trying to catch.

Just like the “goose” lessons on our sheets from earlier in the year, there will be a great need to “fly” together. Every single point will count at the end.


Sunday, October 2, 2016

Knights Steal Second Off Efforts of Our Sixth

Saturday’s meet in Freeport was very exciting, led by the gritty efforts of our seniors. In the closest team finish in meet history, Rock Falls narrowly beat the Knights by just a point (60-61). However, Kaneland tied Belvidere for second, and took home the hardware on the efforts of our sixth runner.

Andrew Kantola had a break-out performance to lead the Knights with a 6th place PR run. Henry Nosek was just :12 back in 16:26, and a course PR. Webster surged through the final mile to finish 14th, and Heiser was just :04 back as our #4.

Senior Noah Duffey fought stomach issues and hip pain to grind out a top 30 finish, which would be just enough to catch Belvidere. Ben Purcell came back to the lineup from injury to set a course PR and finished four places ahead of the Belvidere #6, which earned us the trophy for XC’s only tie-breaking rule.

Anthony Messina continues to lead by example on and off the course, and he was able to notch an inspired 52nd place in 18:39. In CJ Girolamo’s first race back to the lineup, he raced to 56th. Both of these young men demonstrate courage and perseverance daily. Kyle Konrad also got back from injury to compete on the Freeport course for the first time, running 6:30 mile pace. While the health of the varsity group has been shaky at best, their tremendous will to compete made carrying the team trophy home that much more sweet.

On the frosh soph side, the team was looking for its first team title of 2016. They more than earned it with three pretzels and four in the Top 10.  Daniel Occhipinti burned up the course with a 16:12, our fastest team time of the day. Wielgos gave great chase throughout, taking second in 16:18, a :49 improvement from ‘15. Lodwig earned the last pretzel in 5th, besting his 2015 time by 1:21. Nemec is on a roll and feeling good, today earning a 10th place finish while practicing what we preach in races by keeping Petrik close throughout.  Petrik willed himself to an ACC/Freeport PR time of 17:38 as our #5.

Riedel earned an individual medal in 17th, and Seth Nosek took home one of his own with a grueling and inspired 18:02 PR. Watching Seth compete and push his own limits is worth the price of admission. Abruzzo smashed his ACC time by :56 for 21st overall. Orczykowski (-:45) and Klingensmith (-1:21) each set course PRs.

Finn and Dunne both beat their ACC times on this longer, hillier course. Each runner continues to develop and grow as we race more.  Jablonski beat his 2015 time by 1:11 to finish 44th. Holder and Patrick were within a few seconds of their ACC times, and they continue to show both the mental and physical toughness which this sport requires. Woods capped another great day by surging often through final two miles to run just one second off his ACC PR pace.

While we have some work to do, and some bodies to get healthy, this was a very positive day for our program.


Sunday, September 25, 2016

Nosek Leads Charge at Charger Classic


The will to compete is growing infectious. There’s beginning to be a little more life in our packs, and in our approach to this season. Led by an inspiring effort from the frosh soph team, the rest of the races included some very promising results to build upon.

Our frosh soph team started the day by packing up, and placing all seven runners in the top 43. Occhipinti nearly broke into the 15s with a stellar 16:02 to net 4th overall. Wielgos joined him in the chute just 5 places later for a PR effort. Lodwig improved 1:35 from ’15 to move up to 15th overall.  Nemec had one of the strongest efforts of the day, capturing 32nd and a 1:29 improvement. Petrik and Riedel sprinted into the chute together with matching 17:44s. Orczykowski completed our day ahead of 106 other runners, and a 1:41 improvement to earn 43rd place.  In team scoring, we narrowly beat Burlington Central, who also ran their young guns down, by a 93-98 margin. This was our highest finish for FS at the Charger Classic.

The Varsity took to the course next, and despite many aches and pains from a very tough “peak week,” the team notched multiple PR performances.

Richtman raced to the fastest time ever by a Knight on this course when he crossed the line at 14:44. His Top 10 finished bettered his time from ‘15 by :25. Also improving were Henry Nosek and Sam Webster, each clocking their first ever times in the 15s. Nosek sprinted to 15:51, and Webster at 15:58 to finish in the Top 50 of an elite field. Kantola improved by :71 from last fall, and set a new course best. Heiser rounded out our scoring runners on the heels of BC’s #4 with a new :41 PR on the course.

Duffey was able to compete on the ACC course for the first time and is continuing to improve, inching closer to old form. Messina and Crimmins each had their PR mile paces for the season today, each with strong finishes into the chute.

Our Open crew did a phenomenal job in the largest field of the day. The top 5 scoring runners were just :71 apart, and smashed the 2015’s Open team time by 1:55.  Klingensmith improved by 1:46 from last year to finish 37th. Seth Nosek came to the chute at 18:17 with a PR mile pace. Blake Finn arrived :10 later, good for 49th overall. 

Abruzzo also set a season’s best for mile pace, crossing at 19:04. Dunne completed scoring by outleaning Jablonski at the line, good for 19:20. Holder and Patrick improved mile paces by more than :20 this week, longing stronger by the week. Woods smashed his mile pace by :53 and is making huge gains each week. Great day of PRs!


Sunday, September 18, 2016

Richtman Makes History, as Varsity Runs 11th and Frosh Soph take 3rd

For the first time in the 47 year history of the Kaneland/Eddington Invitational, we had an individual champion. Matt Richtman used his second surge to overtake the lead and went on to win by :07 and set a personal best on the KHS course. This was Matt's second invitational win of the season.

Webster started the next wave of 2-5 scoring Knights who ran just 33 seconds apart. Sam’s course best 16:49 was followed ten places later by Nosek, with a course :12 PR. Heiser plugged in a career best 17:19 for three miles, just ahead of Kantola, who ran a :15 PR at KHS.  Duffey and Purcell also established new KHS course bests, with Ben’s time a full 2:39 better than his previous best at home.

The Frosh Soph crew backed up a strong effort at HCA by bringing home a third place trophy as a squad. Occhipinti broke into the 16’s for the first time on three miles with a 6th place start. Jacob Wielgos set a course PR and took 12th overall with a very tough 17:14, our fifth fastest team performance on the day. Aidan Lodwig set a career best time, and improved by 2:48 from the Silver Bone last October. 

Drake Nemec crushed his career three mile best by :53, serving as our fourth scorer. Petrik and Riedel were next in the chute, with Petrik setting a :17 career PR and Riedel :34 better as our #6.

Kyle Orczykowski and Dalton Klingensmith continue to feed off of one another in racing. Kyle Or with a 1:10 drop from ‘15 and Dalton dropping :56; both career PR’s. Seth Nosek surged and surged some more, running to a grueling :43 PR over three miles. Blake Finn also improved on his career best for this distance by shaving off :45.

The remaining frosh soph runners established new career bests for three miles. Abruzzo knocked off :16 and beat 104 other runners. Scotty Dunne crushed his PR by 1:44, while Jablonski was :03 faster than his career best.  Arty Patrick showed tremendous toughness, just like in practice this past week and smashed his previous PR by 2:42!  Holder ran to a season’s best by :03, and Garrett Woods annihilated his Peoria time by a full 9:12!

Our Open was not what we anticipated. CJ Girolamo was pushing for a Top 35 finish when he suffered a seizure at the 1.5 mile mark. Teammate and close friend, Kyle Konrad, stopped in his tracks to help support CJ until the EMS arrived. Thankfully, Kyle’s support and that of Girolamo's parents kept CJ safe. Teammates passing by this scene twice were impacted by the confusion and knew that a race was not the primary objective. That being said, Messina and Wells finished with a flurry, and Crimmins managed a career best time of 21:23. Cole Rutter raced for the first time in 2016, and despite the pain in his legs, he clocked in a fast finish of his own at 30:28 to put an exclamation point on our great day.


Sunday, September 11, 2016

Knights Notch 7th at Muddy First to the Finish Invite in Peoria

The Knights raced very well despite the muddy conditions to earn 7th place overall in a field of 58 teams and more than 800 Class 2A runners.  Matt Richtman earned a 5th place medal, by clocking in at 15:44. It is estimated that the course ran about 30-40 seconds slower than normal due to the deep mud and sloppy conditions of the torn up Detweiller Park course.

Team scoring was completed 1:41 later, when four Knights finished within 10 seconds of one another. Junior Sam Webster led freshman Daniel Occhipinti around the 3 mile course to place 74th and 78th, and senior Andrew Kantola paired with junior Henry Nosek to finish our total with 87th and 88th places respectively.  Sophomores Jacob Wielgos and Aidan Lodwig also tightened their gaps to place 2 seconds apart, and in the top 150. Peyton Heiser finished the day just two seconds off his personal best on the State Championship course, and Noah Duffey put in a strong comeback performance as he returned to our lineup for the first time in a year.

Ben Purcell and Jacob Petrik finished in a dead heat after three miles, at 19:03. Drake Nemec and Patrick Riedel both set personal bests for a full varsity race, despite the sloppy conditions, which is quite a feat.  Kyle Orczykowski chipped in a terrific race, and finished in the top half of all competitors. CJ Girolamo and Dalton Klingensmith demonstrated good pack running by pairing up to start a run of Knights into the chute. CJ started the surge at 19:57, followed by Dalton at 20:01, who was shortly trailed by senior Anthony Messina at 20:07, and then freshman Seth Nosek who rocked a 20:13.

Freshman Blake Finn broke 21:00 in his second three mile race of his young career, and David Babula did the same at 20:57. Kyle Wells battled through injury in order to run on the famed Detweiller course, and finished the day with a solid 565th place despiate the pain. Tony Abruzzo was right on Kyle's heels, finishing in 21:05.  Kevin Jablonski set a personal best time at Detweiller when he finished in 22:01.  Freshman Scotty Dunne also running in his second three mile race has shown great heart and commitment, today running sub 8:00 at 7:41 pace.  Ryan Crimmins also committed to racing despite foot pain, and completed his day at 23:20. Gutsy leadership like this goes a long way in the eyes of younger runners that see you can push through some aches and pains in racing.

Jack Holder was near PR mile pace on the day, in the slop and mud. Senior Cole Rutter was able to race for the first time this season and continues to fight through adversity while giving his very best. We are very proud of Cole, and his new freshman teammate Garrett Woods, who learned how grueling and tough the sport of cross country is when the easy way out is to stop, but the hardest part is overcoming that urge to quit.

In a loaded field of ranked teams, the Knights did some very good things today. Having a single digit performance up front was clearly helpful in team scoring. Having the rest of the scoring pack just :10 apart was another positive sign.  Getting some runners back to health and in the lineup will continue to be a boost for the group, as we try to surge forward, close our gap between 1 and 2, and strive for bigger things at the end of the season.
Special thanks to our KXC Families for hosting a delicious picnic following the meet. We loved it!

Sunday, September 4, 2016

Cross Country Tweet-Gate: Truth Revealed

Saturday's invitational at Harvest Christian Academy was a learning experience for us all. The varsity fought hard, and attempted to come from behind against a very talented HCA team that placed 5 runners in the Top 10 of their home meet.

Following the Varsity race, Coach Clarey sent this text message to Mr. Goff, for an update on the team performance, as he was out of town:



Later, Mr. Goff's tweet about the team included details on Matt's record breaking performance, and two Top 12 finishes from Webster and Nosek. What 140 characters didn't reveal, and later were viewed with negativity, were the remarks about how our #4 runner was grabbed by the front of his jersey and thrown to the ground.  Andrew Kantola raced to the top of the hill on mile 1, and was grabbed by the front of his jersey and thrown to the ground. His teammates reported a runner in a black jersey doing it, but we could not verify who it was.  Clearly this is not part of what cross country is supposed to be, and in this instance with the "eeesh" part to the personal text  which Mr. Goff received was in regard to such an awful act by an opposing runner.

What would continue to be highlights for the meet, which he later shared, were the places of our top 5 runners: which included a sub 18 performance by Heiser (season's best, and one of his best career races) and a career PR effort from Purcell, who placed in our Varsity's top 5 for the first time in his career.

Truth #1:  The text message that went on Twitter included 140 characters that looked to demean the Varsity. But with the details above, should clarify the fact that a heinous act by an opposing runner is the origin of the "eeesh" that some on Twitter and Facebook may have taken offense to this weekend.

Truth #2:  Mr. Goff, while on vacation with his family, had every good intention to share the great news about all of his Kaneland programs. At the time he posted, he received three different messages from coaches, and copied text to tweet, but was limited in 140 characters.  Thus the truth was cut out of his message, and looked like the rest of the varsity did poorly.  If you've paid attention to any and all of his previous thousands of tweets, you'd know that this would never be the case.

As soon as he learned that the post included the front end of details about the varsity race ("eeesh"), but that the rest of the text about the incident was not included, he removed the tweet and replaced it with individual finishes for the scoring runners of the varsity team.

Truth #3:  EVERYONE can learn a valuable lesson from this instance where when we post any details or information, photos, video, or experiences, there is a HUGE network of people that are connected to your submissions online.  The tweet was removed as soon as the error was found, but even Facebook picks up tweets from Mr. Goff, and spread the word further.

On behalf of myself, and my Athletic Director, the events of this "Tweet-Gate" of sorts probably caused frustration, angst, bitterness and confusion for those who read the original tweet. The reality is that all did not know the FULL story. If any runner, parent, fan, or administrator should care to speak with Coach Clarey directly about this, feel free. The best of intentions are always there to promote our team and sport. In this instance, a portion of text looked questionable. The truth is, every one of us can and should continue to both support our Kaneland Knights with the positive nature that Mr. Goff brings to his posts, and that we must all take a vigilant look at what we post before we hit "send."

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Webster Leads White to 2016 Scrimmage Win

The true goal of today was not only to see you finally compete on a cross country course. We also wanted to begin to demonstrate that each and every runner makes an impact in our season; and we will go as far as the team is willing to push one another.
Tight battles throughout the race proved to make big impacts on first impressions, and huge improvements from 2015.  

This year’s pack split for 1-5 shrank to just :55 among our first finishers. Matt Richtman kicked off his campaign with a 13:40 victory. Sam Webster and Daniel Occhipinti raced well in tandem through the first mile and into the chute, with Webster 2nd and netting a :45 PR from ‘15. Henry Nosek rolled in next, with a :03 PR, and Kantola put two Black team runners in the Top 5.

Wielgos looked tough as White team’s #2, and was seven seconds ahead of Orange’s Heiser who set a :38 PR. Lodwig and Purcell each put up valuable team points for Silver, and Petrik cracked the Top 10 in 16:05. Nemec was right on his heels, and looked very strong! 

Best finish of the day came with Orczykowski outleaning freshman Patrick Riedel at 16:19. Kyle Or was White team’s #4 runner at 12th overall. Girolamo charged in next, and was nearly identical in time from 2015.  Klingensmith made a run at Most Improved for the meet in a stellar 16:45. Kyle Wells smashed his 2015 effort, and finished a second behind Dalton.

White team’s scoring was completed when Seth Nosek crossed the line in 16:53, giving them scoring runners in 2, 6, 10, 12, 17. 
Orange finished off their scoring next when Tony Abruzzo and Anthony Messina piled into the chute next. Orange was clearly the best dressed team of the day, and took home second overall as a team.

Scotty Dunne went from Orange to White in last night’s lineup adjustment. Missed warming up with White, so he was graciously picked up by Silver ahead of the start. He was later “special requested” by Black to complete their scoring when he finished a very strong 20th. Excellent effort and flexibility there!

Jablonski and Holder rounded out scoring for the Silver team, and each gained valuable experience ahead of our first meets next week.  Arty Patrick completed his first high school run with the kind of support that we will all give and receive throughout this awesome and memorable season. After all, every man counts in this program.


Saturday, August 27, 2016

Saturday Practice Moved to KHS

Stormy weather sends us to Kaneland HS this morning. Please meet at 7am by the doors to the track.
IF you are interested in purchasing a KXC ball cap ($20), checkerboard jersey ($35), winter headband ($13), or 50th Anniversary T shirt ($15), you can bring extra money. We will be done at 8:40am.

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Loaded Sectional Field Forming in Pre-Season Rankings

It's hard to fathom that 9 of the Top 16 schools running cross country for 2A Boys are going to meet at the Belvidere Sectional this fall.  According to DyeStatIL's POLL, our program ranks 13th to start the season.  In a separate poll on MileSplit IL, we are 17th.  It really doesn't matter where we rank in this mix. There are multiple teams in our corner of the state which are going to be extremely tough to race with come October and November. We must continue to do all the little things to help stay fit, healthy, sharp, prepared, and fast.  When comparing the two polls, neither could agree on the strength of Vernon Hills, who would be a 10th team in the the arguable Top 17 of 2A this year. The great part is, we don't send teams to Detweiler based on polls in August. Those teams who earn it are putting in the work in June and July, pushing through the aches in August and September, then rolling with momentum through October and into the first week of November. One day at a time, boys. But make no mistake, there are MANY who are working hard for their shot at November. Make sure you give your all to this process.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Practice Moved to KHS as Storms Approach

Please plan to meet at KHS this morning for our workout. We will try to run outdoors until the storms come. Any drivers available to take runners over to Elburn and then back to Kuipers for the volunteering activity would be appreciated. Drivers can come to KHS at 8:40. We will leave to drive back to Kuipers at 9:40. Athletes should be picked up at Kuipers Farm at noon or after, depending on the athlete's desire to continue.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

North Steals Inaugural KXC Olympic Title

The Summer Olympic Games in Rio inspired a new brand of competition for our KXC team.  As we took our first weekend practice of the season to a new site, we spent the majority of our morning working on building camaraderie by competing for team accolades.

Team standings were based on five points being awarded for gold, three for silver, and one for bronze. In the event of ties, a playoff was held.

North’s Sam Webster launched himself into the record books with a 77.3 meter toss in the Frisbee Golf Long Distance event. Teammate Kevin Jablonski earned silver, and South’s newcomer Blake Finn earned bronze. Sam won the event by nearly 60 feet.

Using the same implement, but with pinpoint accuracy, South’s Kyle Konrad edged out North’s Kyle Wells in the Frisbee Golf Accuracy contest. Along with Peyton Heiser (South), the three tied in the preliminary round at three makes each. In the finals, Konrad repeated his feat of dropping three in the basket for gold. Wells fell one short to earn silver, while Heiser settled happily for bronze.

Our first team competition was dominated by the South in an undermanned match where they hustled on defense and used precision passing to earn a 6-1 victory, securing five valuable points.

Coach Franklin introduced us to a new game of Dart Shot, using a modified slingshot and rockets. North freshman Jack Holder launched a gold medal winning effort just 7.8 feet from the target. Teammate Drake Nemec earned silver, edging South’s Aidan Lodwig by just 4 inches.

Working on push ups all summer paid off for the three medalists. South’s Anthony Messina used excellent form and sheer strength to earn the gold by outlasting North’s Ben Purcell (silver) and Drake Nemec (bronze).

Transitioning to another team event, the South rose to the occasion again, by outlasting the North in a spirited game that ended with a score of 6-4.

Heading into the final event, the medals and points were tallied and it was revealed that the score stood tied with 23 points each.

The North sent Ben Purcell, Sam Webster, Jacob Petrik, Jacob Weilgos, and Henry Nosek to the Olympic Relay with high hopes for making history.

In the final exchange, Henry Nosek’s bear crawl proved lethal to the South’s chances at a team victory. North claimed the title of Olympic Champion with a 28-23 advantage.
Given the fun and memories made today, we anticipate making these KXC Olympic Games an annual event to build teamwork, friendships, and competitive spirit.


Team Gear On Sale NOW!!

Please consider gearing up for the 2016 cross country season with some new KXC apparel.  Please go directly to BSN TEAM SHOP and use the team code:  KNIGHT9WU

The window for ordering will close on Monday, August 22 at 11:59pm. Please place all orders prior to that time. Unfortunately, there are no exceptions to this deadline.

This year, KXC ballcaps and winter headbands will be sold separately, and can be purchased through Coach Clarey, along with the 50th Anniversary t-shirt which honors Steve Chidester and provides money for a scholarship in his memory.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Practice Moved to KHS

Due to the storms heading in from the southwest (where Silver Springs is located), we will be practicing at KHS from 6 to 8:15am with an indoor workout and other team activities.

Thanks for checking in!

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Registration Portal is Now Open - PLEASE REGISTER!

Use this link to access the online registration for participation in cross country this fall. It is the expectation of the Athletic Department that all registration will be taken care of PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Using the online system is so much better than having a bunch of papers to fill out and file, potentially lose, and do over. We are grateful to the Technology Department and the Athletic Department for generating this system of registration.

LINK TO ATHLETIC REGISTRATION

You will also be able to get many details about the athletic program off of this new site. The link to register is near the top, on the right.

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Cole's Run is Coming Up on July 9th! Come Join Us

The IHSA allows for 25 "contact days" to practice the skill of the sport of cross country. Our 25th day may be the most special of all.

Cole Rutter, a senior on this fall's team, will be leading a fund raising team on Saturday, July 9th at Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve in Geneva.  "Cole's Crew" has a LINK to register for this 5K Walk/Run.  Adults who register will pay $20, and students are $15.  This price includes a shirt, and a lot more fun at the event.  Children, and young children are FREE!

It would be a very awesome start to our July training, if we could have as many team members as possible come and run to support Cole and his family.

If you have any questions, please contact Julie Rutter (Cole's Mom) at 630-347-5118 or Dan Rutter (Cole's Dad) at 630-802-0028.

Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve is just off of Rt. 31 in Geneva, in the back parking lot where many of us pay our tax bills.  The address is 719 S Batavia Ave, Geneva, IL 60134

You can register the day of the event, but using the link above is best.  Plan on arriving at the forest preserve at about 8:20.

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Summer Mileage Logs Going Google

In order for coaches to be able to monitor the progress of athletes while training, athletes can keep us up to date by using the LINK to our new Google Doc Training Log.  Summer runners should open up the Google Doc, go to File - Make a Copy, then add their own name to the top of the document and SHARE it with the coaches.

There will be paper calendars shared with runners to help keep that visual reminder out in the kitchen, bedroom, or wherever your athlete decides to showcase his summer efforts.  We encourage parents to look at the calendars and the subsequent mileage totals, keeping in mind that miles should not increase by more than 10% from one week to the next.

Remember also that "soft miles" of sustained biking or swimming for 15 minutes will count toward a mile on the total.  These are great ways to cross train this summer, and are highly encouraged. Athletes should look to add to their totals DAILY with these opportunities.

The end goal is a well developed base for training when the cross country season begins on August 10th.  As always, if you have questions, please contact your coaches.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Pop Up Storm This Morning - Camp Canceled

There's a pop up thunderstorm heading toward Virgil and Lily Lake where we are to run. It's small in size, however with the lightning accociated with it, we are going to cancel. Families and athletes counting on work near 8am would be impacted as well.  Please get out and run for  40 minutes today, or get soft miles by biking and swimming for an hour.

We will reconvene at KHS on Thursday at 6:00am, with high schoolers doing weights afterward.

Monday, June 13, 2016

How To Connect With Our Camps

The process of getting registered for the summer conditioning camp should be easy.  Finding the links and forms seems to be a bit of a struggle these days, as everything goes electronic.  If you already have online accounts with the school district, please use this LINK to the Summer Recreation page on the high school website to get registered.

Others may like to go "old school," and simply use the paper form.  What you will need for this similar registration, you can find here: CAMPS LIST AND PAPER FORM


Once you have gotten registered, please use the following ways to stay connected to our program for camp details, reminders, weather updates, and team plans:

1.  TEAM TEXTS:  Receive texts from Coach Clarey regarding the details above by doing the following on your cell phones:
2.  FOLLOW COACH ON TWITTER:  After setting up a Twitter account (super easy, and SO valuable!) you can make Coach Clarey your first "follow."  You will search for @coachclarey and then simply click "follow."  You'll get many more team related updates, news, pictures and more with this technical connection. It's well worth your time to add this to your computer's bookmarks or your cellular device. If you're not sure how to get a Twitter account, simply ask your son or daughter to help you. It's similar to signing up for an email account.

3.  KEEP THIS TEAM WEBSITE BOOKMARKED:  As often as possible, but more likely a weekly endeavor (unless it storms), there will be posts, news, and more added to this team blog dedicated to Kaneland Cross Country.

As always, you have access directly to coaches using the other phone numbers provided as well.

Looking forward to a great summer and fall with these Knights!

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Welcome to Summer Running!

The Kaneland Cross Country program begins another historic season, at both middle school and high school levels, this week.  The foundation of our success is built upon a great summer of conditioning. Your coaches will continue to work with all athletes, to help them create the best balance of summer training so that the fall meets your expectations. Every runner working toward a personal best is the simple philosophy of this summer work.

Please talk with your coach about what approach you should take to your miles for the summer. Our goal is to get runners in shape, and to build a base upon which our fall miles will sharpen and allow for peak performances in October and perhaps November.

This summer, please come back to the blog for articles related to running, and also for updates on camp. There could be days that we do not run due to inclement weather. Please consult the blog, or follow Coach Clarey on Twitter:  @coachclarey

Let's start the summer running program with consistency, by making it all four days each week. This is what makes the biggest difference between a good summer and a great one!