
[Editor Note: Carson Vittorio] Thank you to everyone who applied to be an Illinois Running News Intern! Ultimately, we had over 30 applicants apply and selected nine. You will see these enthusiastic journalists throughout the year helping provide the best content imaginable. This program has a special place in my heart as I started my journalism journey as an intern for Milesplit Illinois and that made me into the journalist that i am today thanks to Tony Jones taking a flyer on a high school kid. Don't be afraid to say hello to these interns at a meet if you see them in an Illinois Running News shirt!

Ray Waliewski
Hello, Illinois! My name is Ray Waliewski, and I’m a new intern for Illinois Running News and a current senior at Lyons Township High School in Lagrange. Like everybody else viewing this page, I am bubbling with anticipation for the 2025 track and field season to begin. I’m a runner myself as a sprinter for the LT varsity track team. “The Flyin’ Lions”, if you will. Thankfully, I was honored with the ability to cover the Illinois high school Track & Field season this spring for Illinois Running News, so you may see me at some of the Track & Field meets in the Chicagoland area!
This year, I’ve written for the LT student publication, the LION Newspaper, and have been lucky enough to be named the assistant sports editor in my first year involved with the paper. While I may not have much experience in the newspaper field yet, I would say my passion and knowledge for sports reporting and journalism show through my writing. The first article I ever wrote has now been nominated for a Northern Illinois Student Publication Association award, which I think speaks to my ability as a writer, and for that, I’m extremely honored. Because I’m a sprinter, I have a clear fervor for track and field. It’s a sport that is dear to my heart and a sport that I have a lot of respect for the effort and ability it takes to be great. I’ve only run for a year at the junior varsity level, and the respect I have for varsity runners trumps all because it takes a tremendous amount of self-commitment, dedication, and time to become a great sprinter. But this year, I’m hoping to have developed enough to be considered for a consistent spot on the varsity roster.
Along with the newspaper, I’ve been involved with our school’s student-run radio station for all four years of high school. I’ve been nominated for nine national awards through both the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System and the John Drury Awards for sports play-by-play for our coverage of Lyons Township football and basketball games. Last year, I was named the co-sports director of our station, WLTL, along with my partner-in-crime, my color commentator, and best friend Eric Roemer, who also runs long distance for the LT track team. All things considered, I’m eternally grateful for the experiences I’ve had with the radio station, I’ve been able to call some crucial games, including two regional basketball championships and two 8A quarterfinals in football. This fall—along with being the co-sports director—I was also named the co-podcasting director for the radio station because of a podcast I started last year revolving around LT athletics called “Lion’s Roar”. I’ve also been featured on and have been hosting a weekly sports talk show called the “Tuesday Night Power Hour” on 88.1 FM WLTL since my freshman year.
My love for sports journalism began through both of those mediums, my appreciation for the world of sports media still holds, but I’ve gained an admiration for another medium of sports journalism through photography. First of all, I first gained this “photography fever” through my experience of shooting football games for the LION Newspaper, thanks to our sponsor, Jason Scales. When I’m not up in the press box calling games on the radio for either basketball or football, I’m down on the sidelines or underneath the baseline taking photos of the Lyons basketball or football team. With Scales’s grace, I was allowed to share the photos I captured with a wide audience through my Instagram page, where I’ve gained quite a loyal audience (not really) on @walu.visuals.
Along with running track, I play for our community’s Babe Ruth baseball league and a fall baseball league during the early months of the school year. I’ve also played for our church league since my sophomore year of high school. Baseball was my first love, and I still enjoy playing, going to White Sox games with my dad, and watching games from the comfort of my home.
Since I’ve now introduced myself to you, the readers, I would like to thank Carson Vittorio for giving me the privilege to cover Illinois track and field and share information with a wide audience for the state’s best track and field news source. I would like to thank my dad, Bill Waliewski, for listening to every broadcast, reading every paper, and always taking the time to support my dream. I would like to thank my mom, Jeni Moore, for her constant support, putting food on my plate and clothes on my back, along with putting up with the constant distraction of sports talk and helping me realize my dream. I would like to thank my sponsors, Jason Scales from LION, and Chris Thomas from WLTL, for helping me chase my passion for sports journalism. Finally, I want to thank the readers and followers of my writing and photography for their unbridled support. I can’t wait for the season to start!

Jackson Summy
My name is Jackson Summy, I am a senior in high school at Lakes Community High School and I’m super excited to announce that I’m going to be writing articles for Illinois Running News! I would first like to thank you all for reading this article and I hope you are all as excited as I am for the upcoming track season. I want to take this opportunity to introduce myself to those of you who don’t know me, since most of you probably have no idea who I am.
I am a 4-year varsity cross country and track & field runner, but I haven’t always been a runner. I have spent most of my life as a swimmer, I’ve been swimming since I was 6 years old. I found running in middle school when I went out for the cross country team for the first time. Ever since I found out I was the best runner in my little group of friends, I was hooked. I loved the feeling of racing people, no matter if I won or lost, it was just so much fun for me. Ever since my junior year, I started to put in the work and I’ve seen some big improvement, which has only increased my love for the sport. I’m super passionate about running and I plan on running in college as well.
I have never really thought about myself as a journalist, but I have experience writing about cross country and track. Over the summer, I was bored and I was tired of waiting for publications to release their pre-season previews, so I wrote my own (and they were pretty accurate looking back on them). I have always been a huge nerd about running and when the opportunity came to start writing about it seriously, I took that chance. My goal as an intern is to try and bring as many talented athletes out into the spotlight, so you, as the reader, can learn more about the talent that runs deep in this great state of distance running. I would like to thank Carson Vittorio for offering me this opportunity to write about this sport that I love so much. If you ever want to contact me about my writing, you can email me at jackson.summy859@gmail.com or shoot me a DM through Instagram at @jacksonsummy. I’m super excited to be here and I hope you all have a great track season!

Vivian Lee-Yee
Hi! I’m Vivian Lee-Yee, a junior at the Latin School of Chicago. I have been running track since freshman year and started cross country in my junior year. I primarily run hurdle events and the 4x200m relay. My favorite thing about running is the community–everyone supports one another while maintaining a competitive environment. I have been taking sports photos since last year and look forward to covering more Illinois runners in 2025.
I was motivated to start running by my older sister and twin brother who both ran cross country and always encouraged me to try it out. I initially ran track to get faster for volleyball, my main sport at the time, and heavily prioritized club volleyball over track, only racing six times across all my meets in 2023. During my sophomore fall season, I was placed on JV volleyball with an amazing group of people but rarely found myself playing the position I had trained so hard for. As school season transitioned into club season, I still found myself losing interest in volleyball, and when Track & Field started, I realized I was much happier concentrating only on running. So, I left my club team in April 2024, and from there, I focused my time on training for State. With the help of Latin’s Coach Dan Daly, Coach Keegan Barone, and my amazing teammates, I was able to accomplish my goal of qualifying for State in both the 100mh and 300mh as well as the 4x200. I finished my season at State, setting PRs in all three events as well as a new school record in the relay. However, I knew I could still improve which led me to join cross country. The environment of cross country was a different but welcome experience for me and it pushed me to be a better runner. In my first year, I was lucky enough to run at State alongside 6 incredible teammates and it was extremely rewarding to see my hard work pay off. Now, I’m getting ready for the outdoor season and am excited to get back on the track!
Last spring, I stumbled upon an old camera of mine and was inspired to start taking photos of Latin’s sports. I remembered seeing many photos of other sports but rarely of running and took it upon myself to photograph our conference meet for fun. Unexpectedly, I ended up enjoying the process of running around to get the best shot, editing the photos, and best of all, seeing my teammates excited to finally have photos of themselves. Although I ended up being too busy with training to take more track photos that season, I plan to take many more this year and hopefully of other Latin sports too.
Outside of running, I’m involved in student government at my school as the Social Prefect. I lead our grade representatives and executive board in organizing Homecoming, Winter Ball, and Prom from the theme, to decorations, to food. We just had our Winter Ball on the 24th and I am now looking forward to planning Prom this May.
As I said before, I am very excited to start covering meets with Illinois Running News and to watch the best of Illinois compete. Thank you to Carson Vittorio for allowing me to do so and to you for reading my introduction! If you have any questions or would like to reach out, email me at vleeyee@lsoc.org or message me on Instagram @vvisualsbyviv or @vivianleeyee.

Kennedy Ruff
Hi everyone! My name is Kennedy Ruff, I am a junior at Hinsdale South High School where I am a member of the girl's track and field team. I’m extremely grateful to be able to be an intern for Illinois Running News for this upcoming season! I’m looking forward to being able to interact with a lot of athletes as well as helping create a lot of media for the track community. I love everything about the sport and am excited to be able to get more involved and meet a lot of great athletes!
Running has been a huge part of my life and it’s taught me more than just how to become faster and stronger. I’ve learned resilience, perseverance and so much more from all of the people who have helped get me to where I am today. I love everything about the sport and enjoy being able to have an outlet for both my physical and mental energy. It teaches discipline and hard work as well, which are things I believe will be extremely helpful further on in life. This upcoming season I also look forward to another trip to the IHSA meet with my teammates. I’m hoping to achieve many goals this season with the training I have been doing in the offseason.
Im thrilled to be able to work with a great team of interns with Illinois Running News and the opportunity to be a part of the program. I’m super excited about the upcoming season and can’t wait for what’s to come.
Anyone who wants to contact me can reach me at khruff2008@gmail.com or kennedy.ruff_ on instagram. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read my introduction!

Luis Flores
Hello everyone! My name is Luis Flores, a senior at Saint Laurence High School in Burbank where I attend as a student and athlete for cross country and track/field. I will be assisting Illinois Running News with graphics that cover weekly highlights from across the state, team rankings, and more. I want to thank Carson Vittorio for letting me help with the designs for the platform and the opportunity overall! This is my first step into a wider range of graphic design and I’m excited to make the most out of it. If anyone wants to communicate with me, you can message my account @flo.graphix on Instagram or email me at luisf15207@gmail.com. Thank you!

Marc Mac Cormac
Hello Illinois, my name is Marc W. Mac Cormac. I am a junior and the captain of the Lake Zurich cross country and track and field distance teams. Apart from being a captain, I am also the newest intern for Illinois Running News. I have been running every day for over 850 days and intend on running at college. Throughout my life, I have played many sports such as lacrosse, wrestling, throwing, and of course, distance running. Distance running was never my first choice, actually running was my last choice. Here is my story.
It all started back in eighth grade when I started to enjoy running. I had always been open to running because my siblings had run and I knew it would help me with lacrosse. I had always wanted to play lacrosse in college and wanted to do whatever I could to be able to get there. This is what I thought until the summer of eighth grade when I decided to only do my high school’s running camp to go to our team's end-of-summer camping trip. This was the trip that made me love running. I spent the 3 days meeting my future teammates, getting closer with my coach, and most importantly running. I didn't do particularly well in any of the runs because I had spent most of my summer fishing instead of running. At the end of this trip, I had found a new love and had a new group of people who I wanted to be with. I spent the rest of my summer running mostly on my own and in Minnesota. As the season started, I felt as though I was back to square one in my fitness but I still had teammates who believed in me. This is what had pushed me to succeed at the beginning of the season. I started my season with a conference duel where I ran 18:57, this made me the top freshman and made me fall in love with the sport. The next week I made the choice that would change my life. I decided that I was going to run every day for the next month. This choice was going to be my defining choice. I would then spend the next month chasing one goal: a sub 18 minute 3 mile. This is exactly what happened at Loyola Flight Night. It was the last regular season race I would have and one of my last chances to. I ran this race with all my heart and placed 8th in Fresh Soph and 10th for my team. It was this race where I had decided to not only run for a month but run for 100 days. Over those next 100 days, I ran the best of my life and became the best version of myself. That was how it had been for the next year and a half, I ran every day and my dream had switched. I no longer wanted to play lacrosse in college but instead run. This has motivated me and has made me want to do an internship.
The idea of having a running internship started the Wednesday before Loyola Flight Night this past year. My coach had given our whole team a paper with 3 questions on it. “Where do you want to be at the 1st mile, second, and the finish”? On this paper, I had written that I wanted to be first in the whole race and wanted to win. That is exactly what i did, i went out at Loyola in first and won the race. This is what had caused Carson Vittorio, the Owner/Founder of Illinois Running News, to come up to me. He interviewed me after the race and asked about what I had felt about this race and this season. That interview got me hooked on wanting to hear the different points of view of other runners and to hear their perspectives during their season. I didn't know how I was going to be able to get to hear what other athletes had to say until I saw the post for the internship. This had seemed like the best opportunity for me, I would be able to see how other people saw themselves as athletes and their seasons. I applied for the internship as soon as I could and was ecstatic when I got it. I can't wait for what this internship will bring me and let me experience. Thank you Carson Vittorio for the opportunity that you have given me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and good luck Illinois.

Harley Rizzs
Hi everyone! My name is Harley Rizzs, and I’m a senior at St. Laurence High School. I compete in the 100m, 200m, and 60m dashes as a sprinter for our track & field team, and I also play football as a running back. First and foremost, I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this article. I’m excited to share a little about myself and what led me to join this internship with Illinois Running News.
Both track & field and football have been a huge part of my life, and I wouldn’t trade the experiences they’ve given me for anything. I’m passionate about both sports because of the discipline, growth, and excitement they bring into my life. Track has taught me how to push my limits and focus on the smallest details, while football has instilled in me the importance of teamwork and perseverance. These two sports keep me busy most of the time, and honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Outside of athletics, I’ve discovered another passion: graphic design and photography. I picked them up as hobbies, and they’ve turned into something I truly enjoy doing in my free time. Designing and capturing moments has been such a rewarding creative outlet, and it’s opened my eyes to new possibilities. That’s why I’m so excited to take on this internship opportunity with Carson Vittorio. It’s the perfect blend of my love for sports and creativity.
I’m looking forward to learning and growing in this role in the running community. Thanks again for reading and getting to know a bit more about me I can’t wait to see where this journey takes me!

Noelan Tossing
Hello! My name is Noelan Tossing, a junior at Deerfield High School, where I’m part of the cross country and track & field teams. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone reading this, and I’d like to extend a special thank you to Carson Vittorio for this amazing opportunity. At Illinois Running News, I’ll be doing meet coverage, and I believe great coverage comes from capturing the emotions and significance of an athlete’s performance. I hope this introduction helps you get to know me better as both a person and an athlete.
Running has become a cornerstone of my life. It’s taught me that, though it may seem individual, the sport creates lasting bonds and a sense of family. Through cross country and track & field, I’ve learned the value of consistency, dedication, and hard work. Do all these things and progress will follow. My running journey started in middle school track, just for fun with friends, but in high school, it quickly became a passion, especially thanks to Coach Scott Friedlander (The cross country and distance coach at Deerfield) and the supportive culture of the DFDC (Deerfield Distance Crew). I’ve been hooked ever since.
Growing up with my mom, an actress, I was introduced to film early on. I soon discovered a love for creating videos, starting with stop-motion and iMovie films. As I grew older, I gravitated toward Non-fiction documentary-style projects. In high school, I began recording and editing race footage for my teammates, and I plan to use these skills for quality meet coverage here at Illinois Running News.
Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude. Thank you to my mom for her unwavering support, to the DFDC for fostering such a positive team culture, and to Carson Vittorio for giving me this incredible opportunity. I’m excited to work alongside my fellow interns and have a great track season!
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