With a long summer of workouts behind them, the Illinois Valley Central cross-country team is ready to hit the track.
“We ran this past summer for three days a week and most of the team was there for all of it,” coach Mike Themas said. “I was pleased with the turnout over the summer as a whole.
“We shoot for a goal of 200 miles per runner during the summer. We had 10 or 11 kids match that, which is good for the summer.”
This year, the team is led by seniors Emily Pence, Caleb Bjerk, Sarah James and Zach
Switzer.
“Emily Pence could definitely be in our top five girls since she’s been running all four years, as has Sarah James,” Themas said. “It’s nice to have the seniors there to lead the younger kids.”
The team is rounded out by juniors Bethany Espinosa and Jessica Owdom.
For the sophomores, Ryan Greskoviak, Joe PowerWayvon and Caleb Magee will be carrying a hefty load.
“This is Caleb’s first year doing cross-country and he has been a nice surprise so far,”
Themas said. “Our top runners will all be sophomores, so that bodes well for the next year or two.”
The youth of the team, while it shows good signs for the future, may be a problem for this season.
“The team is going to be really young and will be competing with the big boys for the first time this year,” Themas said. “They’re going to gain another year of experience at cross-country, so they should be really good and experienced for next year.”
While the experience factor may be a problem for the Ghosts, Themas thinks that it might not be all bad.
“The youth might be a strength because many of them have never ran against the varsity so they might just ignore it and get out there and do their thing,” Themas said.
The Ghosts started the season with the annual “Windy Childs Re-run” Saturday.
The meet is an annual event done in honor of former IVC coach Windy Childs and is open to all IVC students and alumni.
“This is a good meet to begin our season,” Themas said. “I thought we looked pretty good with our team effort.
“Our No. 1 runner for the boys and girls ran well. Ryan Greskoviak and Bethany Espinosa finished No. 1 for IVC.
“Joe Power-Wayvon and Jessica Owdom showed the biggest improvement from last year.
