(Photo: Greg Hall)
Varsity Boys White
Teams: Affton Althoff Catholic (IL) Battle Bayless Cardinal Ritter Clayton Cleveland NJROTC Dupo (IL) Farmington Gateway STEM Hancock Jefferson (Festus) Joliet Catholic Academy (IL) KIPP St. Louis Lutheran South Lutheran St. Charles McCluer McCluer North McCluer South Berkeley MICDS Normandy Oak Ridge Orchard Farm Pacific Parkway Central Pekin (IA) Pembroke Hill Providence Classical Christian Academy Ritenour Saint Mary's Smithville St. Charles West St. Dominic St. Louis College Prep Sullivan Troy Buchanan Union University City Zalma
Individuals:
Andrew Chaffin, SR, St. Charles West: Chaffin is a sneaky pick out of St. Charles West this year. After taking 11th here last year, Chaffin went on to run 16:55 at his conference meet. He's already ran a solid race at First Capital this year and, even if he doesn't win, will be a Top 5 finisher this year with his 16:55 capability.
Colten Glosser, SO, Pekin (IA): 66th a year ago as a Freshman, Glosser will return much more experienced and ready to take the tape this year. He owns a 17:12 personal best now and has already run 17:29 this year up in Iowa.
Ethan Line, SR, Battle: Line owns a personal best of 17:02 and comes in after a strong race at Jim Marshall 2 weeks ago. Should he duplicate his low-17 PR, he will be another contender in this race...but that 17:02 came 2 years ago so he will hope the perfect conditions on Saturday can help him get back.
Teams:
Clayton - After finishing 16th in the gold division in 2016, Clayton moves down to the White Division where we see them as the favorite to bring home the team title. Behind Alex Szabo, a Class 3 state qualifier, the Greyhounds have the depth to get the job done. Coach Crowe should be able to whip his boys into shape for Forest Park after a solid opener at First Capital all these things considered.
Pekin (IA) - Pekin has some front-runners and loses some ground with their back-end scorers, but in a light division with not many strong teams through 5, Pekin could be a solid pick for a team title in 2017. Glosser leads the way with Isaac Whittrock and his 17:23 lifetime best just behind.
St. Clair - Last year's champions return a decent squad that should be competitive in 2017, too. Tyler Stark leads the way for the Bulldogs.