Every new season starts with optimism and hope. A new team of runners - ready to take on the challenge. A new set of teams to compete against. Another chance to add to the history of Sandburg cross country.
We wrapped up another track season in May. On the surface, it might not have measured up to some of our past accomplishments. We managed a 9th place finish in the 4 x 800 meter relay. That was our 8th consecutive All-State finish in the event. Starting from 2012, our 4 x 800 meter State teams have finished 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 - 1 - 2 - 1 - 9. Coach O'Malley wrote a great article detailing our 2019 All-State journey.
http://trackfootballconsortium.com/sandburg-4x8-2019/
Podium performances aside, the track season was very important in setting up our 2019 cross country season. Both Will Giblin (9:27.27) and Ben Giblin (9:27.37) qualified for the State Meet in the 3200 meter run. Numerous other returners made great improvements in their 1600 and 3200 meter times. Plenty of reasons to be optimistic in 2019.
Many of the preseason articles are out now. It looks like this season is going to be a great one for Illinois boys high school cross country. Lots of teams contending for the State title - with Sandburg right in the mix. And the Illinois teams also look to be a factor in the Nike NXN competition.
Mike Newman has his detailed annual preseason preview out. He has the Eagles picked as his number 7 team. You can read all about it here:
https://www.runnerspace.com/profile.php?member_id=42240&do=news&news_id=582680
You can follow Mike on Twitter @ILXCTC
Tony Jones and MileSplit just released their Preseason rankings. Tony has Sandburg picked for 8th place this year.
https://il.milesplit.com/articles/265964-3a-boys-preview-1-york-will-be-hard-to-defeat
You can follow Tony on Twitter @MileSplitIL
IL XC Speed Ratings rankings has a website devoted to evaluating and projecting Illinois cross country race results. You can learn all about them on their website: ilscspeedratings.com. Their 2019 3A Preseason ratings have the Eagles in at 6th.
https://www.ilxcspeedratings.com/projections-and-analysis/boys-weekly-top-25-team-projections/2019-boys-weekly-top-25-team-projections/3a-boys-pre-season
You can also read about some of the national rankings at these links:
https://www.runnerspace.com/gprofile.php?mgroup_id=46052&do=news&news_id=582450
https://twitter.com/hsharrier/status/1164151868471357440?s=21
Finally, two of the best high school coaches in Illinois, Tony Holler and John O'Malley have written companion articles that are interesting and thought-provoking. We are lucking to have Coach O'Malley at Sandburg to lead our team. Tony would be welcome to join us at any time!
http://trackfootballconsortium.com/the-20000-hour-journey/
http://trackfootballconsortium.com/20000-hours/
I can't wait to get these meets rolling this year. Our first meet is at Lockport on Tuesday, August 27th. You can find our complete schedule here:
https://sandburgrunners.weebly.com/upcoming-races.html