2025 Cross Country Previews: Middle School Boys Teams
- Carson Vittorio
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
The middle school scene was on fire this past year. We saw potentially the greatest year of IESA XC in history, with so many amazing performances. This year looks to not disappoint as well. So many great teams enter the season, and in this article, we look at the top 25 preseason teams. 2025 Summer Races past the month of July are not looked at in these rankings. This is due to those races potentially containing athletes that are not trying to go all out and make a statement at that point in the season.
Dunlap
Head Coach: Heather Baker
Last Year's Finish: 5th @ IESA 3A State
Key Runners: Max Larson (8th), Nile Kinnick (8th), Brek Leitner (8th), Jimmy Spratt (8th), Dylan Peterson (8th), Ethan Day (8th), Fega Ogbebor (7th)
Tolono Unity
Head Coach: Jeff Kyle
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 3A Sectional
Key Runners: Kyle Roosevelt (8th), Cooper Fairbanks (8th), Cam Schmid (8th), Jace Revell (7th), Odin Evans (7th), Dominic Dees (7th), Jaycob Tatman (8th), Jackson Elam (7th)
Champaign (Franklin)
Head Coach: Eddie Lopez
Last Year's Finish: 20th @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Nasouh Masri (8th), Brandon Myles (8th), Devin Myles (8th), Daniel Lawrence (8th), Zach Buraglio (8th), Jaoquin Garcia (8th), Austin Slack (8th)
Edwardsville (Lincoln)
Head Coach: Mark Tschudy
Last Year's Finish: 16th @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Evan Hernandez (8th), Mattek Irwin (7th), Preston Brown (8th), Evan Becker (8th), Sam Poepsel (8th), Adrian Ferdinand (7th), Devin Sterett (7th), Jace Kicey (7th)
Quincy
Head Coach: Ken MacDonough
Last Year's Finish: 14th @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Hudson Hauk (8th), Peyton Hlubek (8th), Joel McClelland (8th), Declan Tierney (8th), Lincoln Steinkamp (7th), Hayden Hoskins (8th), Luke Bakalyar (7th), Anderson Mewes (8th), George Seaman (8th), Charlie Freiburg (8th)
Springfield (Christian)
Head Coach: David Wallman
Last Year's Finish: 9th @ IESA 1A State
Key Runners: Jackson Elliott (8th), Dayton Gamber (8th), Wyatt Allen (7th), Jacob Wieties (6th), Isaac Stewart (8th), Mosope Adaramola (8th), Ryker Warren (8th), Kevin Noble (7th)
Willowbrook (Westview Hills)
Head Coach: Josh Vance
Last Year's Finish: State Champion @ IESA 3A State
Key Runners: Yebby Diedrich (8th), Emmett Dobbins (8th), Isaac Lopez (8th), Theo Byron (8th), Matthew James Sabugaa (8th), Owen McKinniss (8th), Aayush Aaryakumar (8th), Shashank Vandavasi (8th), Owen McAllister (8th)
Eureka
Head Coach: Stephanie Bishop
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 3A Sectional
Key Runners: Ethan Otto (8th), Fox Taylor (8th), Kal Brown (8th), Drew Sauder (8th), Eli Zehr (8th), Luke Spangler (8th), Clay Stoller (8th), Parker Bishop (8th)
Arlington Heights (Thomas)
Head Coach: Todd Slowinski
Last Year's Finish: 12th @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Ryan Pham (8th), Ewan Smith (8th), Patrick Rieger (8th), Austin Ryter (7th), Brandon Cole (7th), Joel Parisi (7th), Santiago Gonzalez (8th), Barrett Irwin (7th)
Evanston (St. Athanasius)
Head Coach: Nicole Kustok
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 1A Sectional
Key Runners: Nicky Robertson (8th), Wells Kustok (5th), Charlie Harrington (7th), Max Bess (8th), Hayes Kustok (6th), Harrison Landolt (8th), Luke Jankowski (7th), George Newton (6th), Willy Bediz (7th)
Chicago (Old St. Marys)
Head Coach: Phlip Kepler
Last Year's Finish: 2nd @ IESA 2A State
Key Runners: Julien Duque (8th), Benjamin Waller (8th), Aarav Pande (8th), Franco Leal (8th), Joseph Rodriguez (8th), Finley O'Connor (8th), Dylan Smith (7th)
Edwardsville (Liberty)
Head Coach: Katie Dowell-Arnold
Last Year's Finish: 2nd @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Evan Thompson (8th), Gage Gusewelle (8th), Luke Geno (8th), Nolan Litteken (8th), Will Shapiro (7th), Harrison Jackstadt (8th), Matthew Cunningham (8th), Vaughn Gagnon (7th), Miles Riechmann (7th), Henry Grasso (8th)
Minooka
Head Coach: David Michalski
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 4A Sectional
Key Runners: Isaac Hamilton (6th), Colton Traxler (8th), Jaxson Brubaker (6th), Benjamin Blackburn (8th), Charles Mascolino (7th), Vince Brandolino (7th), Bastian Anderson (6th), Niall Blackburn (6th), Ethan Strong (8th), Ben Tucker (6th)
Channahon
Head Coach: Brian Papp
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 3A State
Key Runners: Paul Getsoian (8th), Nolan Bullis (7th), Levi Bruesewitz (6th), Aaron Hodapp (7th), Aaron Getsoian (7th), Brendan Hespell (8th), Logan Pempe (8th)
Danville (Schlarman)
Head Coach: Wesley Brown
Last Year's Finish: 6th @ IESA 1A State
Key Runners: Jaylen Chirayil (8th), Vicente Guerrero (8th), Campbell Wilson (7th), Bentley Morse (8th), Yahir Guerrero (7th), Kyle Moore (8th), Elijah Brown (8th), Cole Bean (8th)
Batavia (Rotolo)
Head Coach: John Arduino
Last Year's Finish: 8th @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Colin Hacker (8th), Gage Enos (8th), Cooper Wiese (8th), Reid Lauffer (8th), Michael Liska (7th), Gus Encina (7th), Blake Downey (8th), Quinton Tesdall (7th), Nathan Baugh (7th)
Champaign (Holy Cross)
Head Coach: Jim Linnenburger
Last Year's Finish: 4th @ IESA 1A State
Key Runners: Braden Ritter (8th), John Fletcher (8th), David Surratt (7th), Colton Stonecipher (8th), Eli Marino (8th), Lincoln Wood (7th), Isaiah Glover-Meade (8th), Aj Benjamin (8th)
Geneva South
Head Coach: Josh Sharko
Last Year's Finish: 2nd @ Fox Valley Conference Meet
Key Runners: Grayson Ott (8th), Ethan Kettlewell (8th), Martynas Samajauskas (7th), Duffy McCullough (7th), Grayson Snider (8th), Aaron Grabowski (8th), Davis Van Kleeck (8th), Carson Koenig (8th), Finley Clemons (8th)
Brimfield
Head Coach: Fran Meyers
Last Year's Finish: 3rd @ IESA 1A State
Key Runners: Jensen Blundy (8th), Brady Zinser (8th), Cael Nelson (8th), Dakoda Wolcott (7th), Lucas Birkel (8th), Jaxon Stamann (8th), Zach Bertsch (7th), Brady Catour (8th)
Belvidere Central
Head Coach: Troy Yunk
Last Year's Finish: 23rd @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: John Noble (8th), Jesus Avila (8th), Marsden Kennedy (8th), Ike Piske (8th), Jacob Ambelang (7th), John Ward (8th), Will Denning (8th), Micah Cork (8th)
Geneva North
Head Coach: Margaret McDonnell
Last Year's Finish: 3rd @ Fox Valley Conference Meet
Key Runners: Jacob Calvario (8th), Daniel Dempsey (8th), Evan McGowan (8th), Briggs Krumtinger (7th), Michael Macon (7th), Gavin Anderson (7th), Evan Best (8th), Wyatt DeBoer (7th), Walter Marucheau (7th)
Morton
Head Coach: Kristen Dalfonso
Last Year's Finish: State Champions @ IESA 4A State
Key Runners: Abe Mischley (8th), Ben Volpert (8th), Rhet Taufer (8th), Layton Kaluza (8th), Zenek Richrath (8th), Hudson Zeller (8th), Clayton Matherney (8th)
Shorewood (Troy)
Head Coach: John Davis
Last Year's Finish: 5th @ IESA 4A Sectional
Key Runners: Ethan Ocampo (8th), Zachary Zupancic (8th), Hudson Howard (8th), Calihan Weber (8th), Jovan Crawford (7th), Griffin Edman (7th), Ian Gonzalez (8th), Jovan Crawford (7th), Dylan Offerman (8th), Maximus Walker (6th)
Washington Central
Head Coach: Eric Dupree
Last Year's Finish: 5th @ IESA 3A Sectional
Key Runners: Reid Lang (8th), Bentlee Link (8th), Landon Sunley (8th), Carter Mott (8th), Charlie Miller (8th), Graham Roxworthy (8th), Nathan Zuehls (8th), Landon Fluegel (7th)
Shelbyville (Moulton)
Head Coach: Jason Palmer
Last Year's Finish: 9th @ IESA 2A State
Key Runners: Jasper Hardy (6th), Tate Shoaff (7th), Kolby Peters (8th), Ike Holt (7th), Liam Pierce (7th), Jackson Palmer (7th), Kaleb Bruns (6th), Carte Galvin (6th)