Losses Returners

Kulayfi Haji and Cuit Pineda - 1-2 at last year's city cross country meet- have graduated. Who will fill the void?

It's time to talk Cross Country. Here is a breakdown of the key losses and returnees from the Chicago Public League.

Northside
Losses: Cuit Pineda, Cooper Eben, Jiasong Yang
Returners: Charlie Mesimore, Wesley Laytham, Fahad Savari, Erik Zuehlke, Pat Duffy

Mather
Losses:
Returners: Abe Haji, Juan Mendez, Tarik Estrada (questionable return?), Bana Negash, Abdel Elyousoufi, Corey Liskiewicz, Aidrous Ahmed, Sukrins Shreshta, Victor Maldonado

Lane Tech
Losses: Kulayfi Haji, Victor Terrazas, James Wiatr, Nathan Wade-Scott
Returners: Lucas Beltran, Danny Zimny-Schmitt, Jimmy Orellana, Pedro Medrano, Kevin Perez, Marcelo Burbano, David Timlin, Michael Morin,Matthew Grygo

Jones
Losses: Charlie Obermeyer
Returners: Jamison Dale, Luke O'Connor, Armando Rodriguez, Kirby Lawson, Timothy Warren,  Luke Helliker, Kurt Degillio

Lake View
Losses: Luis Hernandez, Sergio Navas, Michael Tran
Returners: Oscar Medina, Eduardo Chavez, Jorge Almazan

Kenwood
Losses: Wilson Tan
Returners: Joseph Laseter, Omar Tall, Terrel James, Victor Guererro, Dixon Romeo, Yusef Hood

Whitney Young
Losses: Matt Otero
Returners: Matt Sebek, Eric Shan Sam Barder, Joe Platt, Sam Redmond, Liam Burns, Mike Schaible, Taro Salinas, Nathan Beltran

Payton
Losses: Jose Mora, Justin Speller, Jimmy Brown
Returners: Jonathon Kamel, Tommy Komendzinsky

The Rest of the CPS
Losses: Andrew Rodriguez (Gage Park)
Returners: Espoire Habimana (CMSA), Andres Mahmud (Steinmetz), Felix Peralta (Juarez), Andrew Zotti (Lincoln Park), Alex Meza (Kennedy), Aldair Solano (Juarez), Michael Gulan (Von Steuben)

Comments

[meh]

northside should also have dominic sieminski back this year...h eran in teh low 17s as a sophomore before an injury last summer ended his cross country season

I've also seen mather running the past few days...with tarik leading the pack, so i'd assume he'll be back

[predictions]

1. Jones
2. Lane
3. Northside
4. Mather
5. Whitney

[Jones?]

Jones? Really now?

[predictions]

id say between Jones and Lane its a close call but i see Jones pulling off the win

[prediction]

Mather
Whitney
Lane
Jones
Northside

[lt fan]

it will be jones and mather up top. mather is always in the mix in xc next year will be no different.

[J>M]

I think Mather is mire of a stretch than Jones.

[J>M]

I think Mather is mire of a stretch than Jones.

[agafonov]

1. Lane
2. Mather
3. Jones
4. Northside
5. Whitney Young
6. Lake View

Individual Champion: Oscar Medina (Lake View)
Most Improved Individual: Lucas Beltran (Lane)
Most Improved Team: Jones
Biggest Surpise: Eduardo Chavez (Lake View)
Teams with Best Chance to advance to state: Lane and Jones

1. Oscar Medina (Lake View)
2. Jamison Dale (Jones)
3. Abe Haji (Mather)
4. Juan Mendez (Mather)
5. Charlie Messimore (Northside)
6. Eduardo Chavez (Lake View)
7. Luke o'Connor (Jones)

[Jones?]

^
No one from Lane finishing in the top 7? You got to be crazy. The arrow on Lucas Beltran is pointing up. He ran 10:04 this past spring. This kid wasn't even on the radar last year as a freshman

[to Alex]

To Alex Agafonov:

You made a good analysis. I can see your justification on all points.

I like your top 3 of Lane, Mather, and Jones although the order can be switched. Lane and Mather have a proven off season summer program. They have the numbers and the guys to the point where every single year, both teams find 5 guys running under 16:30 every year. Usually a good formula to go in the top 2 at city. Mather has Mendez and Haji that will finish ahead of Lane's #1.

Mather's success depends on how closely packed their top 5 will be. If Bana, Abdel, Tarik (?), and Maldonado stay close to Mendez and Haji, Mather will come out on top. Maldonado, from what I hear is a stud in the making for Mather and has Mendez like emergence ability.

Jones is the darling popular favorite, but until I see what they do over the summer, they will be behind Lane and Mather (and even Northside and WY).

Lake View will be great at the top with Oscar. But they 2 glaring weaknesses. Chavez and sophomore Juan Berumen start on the Lake View soccer team and may not even get a chance to run cross country. With them Lake View will be a top 7 team. Without them, they will fall way back in the pack with the Kennedy's and Kelly's.

[Watch out for Timlin]

Beltran could be a 15:40 type runner for Lane. Or he could be a 16 minute guy.

If he's 16 minutes, finishing out of the top 10 is realistic. Everyone on Agafonov's top 7....

1. Oscar Medina (Lake View)
2. Jamison Dale (Jones)
3. Abe Haji (Mather)
4. Juan Mendez (Mather)
5. Charlie Messimore (Northside)
6. Eduardo Chavez (Lake View)
7. Luke o'Connor (Jones)

....with the exception of Mesimore has their arrow pointing up and could conceivably beat Beltran.

Do not overlook David Timlin of Lane. He went from running 12 minutes as a freshman (2 miles) to 17 minutes as a soph for 3 miles, then a 2:03 half miler. He will be in Lane's top 5 and could be a sub 16 guy by the end of the year.

[Summer]

Not sure I agree with doubt on Jones' summer. How do you think they got where they did last year? We spent a lot of time on path down south last year and saw about 7-10 Jones guys out there all the time

[correction]

^
David Timlin has never run 17 min for 3 miles. He has never even broken 18 min before.

[Summer]

We meaning Whitney. We passed jones a lot out there

[Last]

No we meaning lane.

[Summer]

what the hell are you talking about? I meant regarding my last comment when I said "we spent a lot of time on path down south last year..."

Meaning, we, as in Whitney, would be out running and see Jones. Typical of a Lane comment on here...everything has to be about them even when it doesn't make sense

You're an idiot

[^]

Last isnt from Lane

[thanks last]

thank you "Last" the only people jones finds down on the south side lakefront is Kenwood and occasionally st.ignatius

[meh]

My top 7:
1)dale
2)mesimore
3)medina
4)juan mendez
5)wesley laytham
6)abe haji
7)laseter
8)lucas beltran
9)espoire habimana
10)luke oconnor/armando rodriguez

I honestly believe taht rodriguez could potentially pass up a bunch of his teammates by season's end...he has basically been the 3rd freshman, the least talked about one...i think that should motivate him...so i think he's one too watch for

i think charlie's hungry for some solid times after a disappointing season last year after a stress fracture...look for him to start running times in the range of his sophomore year 15:35, he could potentially pass this up and push the 15:00 minute barrier

haji and mendez finished track strong both running in the mid 9:50s, but they've been inconsistent all year...so im not putting them higher

wesley laytham had an impressive track season...but we mostly saw him in the 800...however he was definitely capable of low 10s if not a sub 10 2-mile, northside's distance run teh same workouts regardless of event so he was definitely in shape...i would put him ahead of charlie at this point, but we'll see after the summer

espoire habimana could factor in more....i just don't know enough about him to make a judgement yet...i think he ran track (at least i thought i saw him at indoor city), but i don't know of any noteworthy performances

we could always see some surprises, like outstanding freshmen (like the jones group, or perhaps an abe haji, bana nagash, charlie, wesley type guy), a new lake view runner(i don't think anybody heard of chavez last year), or maybe we get another guy from another school (habimana-type or maybe rector ends up running cross country( if he does he instantly become a top 5 probability))

i don't know about the top team yet, but i like mather because they don't really lose anybody. however' they need bana to return to his freshman year form and tarik to perform solidly

jones is intrtiguing as they are still young and technically unproven on paper(yeah they made it to state, but ncp, mather, lane all would've done the same in 2A), but i'll compare them to northside's 2008 team, which came back with a group of solid juniors and sophomores (still young) and saw huge improvements off a solid '07 team (16:40-16:50 runners to 15:30-15:50)

lane might be good they might not, a good 800 crew doesn't mean a good 3miler, and i didn't hear much about zimny-shmit and orellana during track (2 solid guys in xc)...so we'll wait and see

ncp...same as lane, they have two proven guys in laytham and mesimore, hopefully we'llsee big improvements from fahad, erik, dominic, and pat duffy, because they seem capable...they also have simon kafka (city cham elementary school) comin in

whitney...eeeehhh...don't lose anyone...but not too impressive in track either

lake view...medina, chavez, anyone else(?)

kenwood...laseter and tall are proven but tall struggled at times in track...yusef hood ran solid 800s, but again that doesn't necessarily mean success in xc

so my top teams:

1)mather
2)jones
3)ncp
4)lane
5)whitney/kenwood
6)kenwood/whitney
7)lake view
8)payton

[rumorville]

allingham is running xc so he could be a wildcard. i hear he will be focusing on 800 training though

[future]

1 Ncp
2 Mather
3 Jones
4 Whitney
5 Lane

Charlie and Wesley have good chances to go 1-2 this year, Fahad Eric and Pat should all make top 15. There might be some more surprises from guys like Dominic and new-comer Simon.

Mather has Abe adn Juan, those 2 can both make a top 10 finish, maybe even top 5 for 1 or both of them. THey have a whole bunch of other guys with potential they can train over summer.

Jones has Dale who could finish top 5, Oconnor can be top 10 and tons of other good returning sophomores to finish in the top 20.

Whitney returns like pretty much all their varsity, Schaible, Salinas, Barder, Redmond, Sebek, Beltran, all those guys. THey almost beat Lane at sectionals and Lane loses their best 2 guys so they can beat Lane this year.

Lane loses Haji and Terrazas and their track guys who are seniors, maybe if they're lucky they can get 1 or maybe 2 guys in the top 10, maybe Beltran or Zimny-Shmitt, they could get a couple of good sophs like Burbano but they wont have enough good seniors, Jimmy might get like top 20. Because they also have to deal with teams like Lakeview and guys like the CMSA dude so their guys won't score low.

[outsider looking in]

alright guys, i know its fun to make predictions before the summer even starts, but lets save that for the week before city. so any runner someone has downtrodden on this thread already need not fear. just run the miles this summer and see what happens. if anyone cares what really happens will save their picks and honestly post them during the heart of the season in the fall. some are just trying to get in other runners' heads before the season even starts. the sad thing is that some of these posters are probably not even in the (hopeful) top seven of any of the teams mentioned.

[New year coming up]

Event 4 Boys 2 Mile Run CC Frosh-Soph
=======================================================================
Name Year School Finals Points
=======================================================================
1 #1485 Schaible, Mike Whitney-Young 11:07.76 1
2 #744 Medrano, Pedro Lane Technical 11:11.29 2
3 #532 Aldair, Solano Juarez 11:20.07
4 #1083 Duffy, Pat Northside 11:23.53 3
5 #1484 Salinas, Taro Whitney-Young 11:25.11 4
6 #1344 Gonzalez, Danny Uic College Prep 11:27.92
7 #752 Perez, Kevin Lane Technical 11:28.24 5
8 #724 Burbano, Marcelo Lane Technical 11:35.83 6
9 #888 Ahned, Aidrous Mather 11:37.73 7
10 #757 Timlin, David Lane Technical 11:40.03 8
11 #747 Morin, Michael Lane Technical 11:43.74 9

** it's kind of funny reading all of these predictions already when there is still plenty of track left. Look at last year's top frosh-soph at city xc. Tell me who do think is going to emerge from this group?

[?]

plenty of track left? Umm...there is one non-IHSA meet left that only Haji is running. What exactly is your definition of "plenty"?

[baby]

The high school track season is officially over. Haji is running in the Midwest Distance Gala not as a representative of Lane any more. It is cross country season baby.

[NANDO]

Actually there are a ton of track meets left that are run at the elite level. The real track season starts in the summer because it is the best time to hit times. Of course those meets are for the elite and the pros so you are kind of right on saying track is basically over for city kids.

I think there is no clear cut favorite for xc. Mather, Jones, NS, Lane, and WY can all make a good case for themselves. Anything can happen over the summer.

[keep dreaming small distance kid (s)]

"The high school track season is officially over. Haji is running in the Midwest Distance Gala not as a representative of Lane any more. It is cross country season baby."

The above statement is why the majority of the city kids will never reach anything measurable above city in distance. The sprinters in the city have gotten better and respected because they have used the post season to get top notch experience and competition under their belt. NANDO is right when he said the real season will begin now for the elite kids. Kulay is very excited about the next level and college, but one of his goals was to either make New Balance Nationals or Gala. Looks like a dream about to come true.

[keep dreaming small distance kid (s)]

By the way. If Haji happens to break the school mile record on Saturday or any record it will count as CPS all time best and Lane school record. Post season records count toward an athletes grade until August or whenever the last post season meet ends

[ignorant]

you are like a running God "keep dreaming!" thanks for all that info for us ignorant folk.

here's a heads up though pal...a lot of distance kids, after running from January thru the end of May are ready for a break, especially considering a long XC season they'll have coming up. Has NOTHING to do with not having their sights aimed high enough. So, get a clue. Not to mention, if you didn't reach the qualifying time, it's irrelevant. And "a dream come true"? Really? The MDG is a dream finally realized? To me, that doesn't seem like "measurable above city in distance". It's the MDG, not the Jim Ryun Miracle Mile.

And, here's another tip, sprints do not equal distance. They are 2 different animals. Sprint competitions throughout the summer, especially when there is no XC season to prepare for, is completely different than a distance runner running competitively all summer and then hopping right in to XC meets in the fall.

You really are a genius though. I think you should write for DyeStat...or do you already Tony?

[idontrunenough]

everyone is going to feel dumb when NCP doesn't suck this year, but i won't say anything. just don't count them out yet

[who]

who said NCP will suck? they have the top 2 returning runners in the city along with more all city runners from both XC and track.I think they are the favorites to repeat this fall.

[and]

And had nobody do anything trackwise in the 2 mile except for Eben, who is leaving.

[who]

false. Laytham obviously had a fantastic season and had the best time in the CPS this season. and Mesimore has the top 3 mile time of 15:36

[and]

Laytham has the best 2 mile time in the CPS this year? false.

And when exactly was Mesimore's 15:36? considering he ran in the 17's at regionals, 16:54 at sectionals and 16:05 at City. And, don't forget a 16:39 at Pat Savage the meet before city on the same sectionals course. Oh, and a 17:22 at Peoria ND..

You're right...SMOKING times.

[Me]

Charlie was coming off of a stress fracture that whole season and using regional and sectional times from last year is just stupid since the courses were all horrible from that point on, you've seen Neilski's video of sectionals, look at that huge puddle and their were more than one.

This year he will be back and ready to run what he should've been doing last year without an injury.

[Even so]

Even so, that means the 15:36 means Jack. He should've been recovered by this past track season and his times were not in line with a 15:36 capability.

[idontrunenough]

and wesley's time isn't the two mile to "and" get your facts straight before you make dumb comments, laytham has only ever raced one two mile in track ever during indoor as a sophomore

[And]

Hahaha. That's really all I can say. I want you to seriously write the date and time of this comment down...in fact, I will. It's gonna be awesome to hear your excuse for why he fails. Start thinking now. Because you know you're not the type to admit anything

[blankzyadigg?]

lonnie washington to run XC. he ran a 4:32 mile at a time trial the other day

[yeah]

oh yeah, just watch when he fails... dumbass. go ahead and count him out. you sure will feel stupid when he starts racing.

[Stop whining you sissies]

St. Ignatius will bend the city schools over and rape them. Game over.

[Wrong facts]

^

Not in the 4x8 or sprints

[Moron Above]

First off, there is no 4x8 or sprints in XC... this isn't a track post, it's an XC post...

Secondly, Saint Ignatius will bend the city schools over and rape them in the 4x8.

[Wrong facts]

To moron above:

state prelims 4x8
8 Chicago (Lane) 8:03.91 Kulayifi Haji (Sr.), David Timlin (So.)

10 Chicago (St. Ignatius College Prep) 8:08.56 Jack Cross (Jr.), Aaron Luna (Sr.) Alcaeos Bolaris (Sr.), Jack Doyle (Jr.)

[ccl is simply better]

that is what lane tech lived and trained for all year and why haji didn't run the 1600 fresh at state. so they can post results on cpsfan.com that reflect they beat st. ignatius for once in anything distance related.

[Moron Above]

Fenwick Sectional

SICP - 7:59.62

Lane - 8:00.00

If Dylan sucks it up and runs at sectionals/state next year, SICP will still beat them. SICP ran a better time at sectionals then Lane or SICP did at state.

[just be quiet]

lol it's pathetic how you're just trying to start something "moron above". you know damn well along with everyone else that's simply rude to say if he "sucked it up". you have no idea the extent of his injury. how do you expect a runner to go even sub 2 for you with a SWOLLEN ankle. Yeah and .5 seconds is really raping a city team...keep riding St. Iggy's dick and have fun. Don't cry when the CPS teams start smoking your snobby school soon.

[iggy love]

i got snobby st iggy 6th in a 6 team meet v lane, young, northside, mather, and jones in 2010. bunch of money is no sub for hard work. go back to to loyola, fenwick, & brother rice smack talkin ... oops cant compete against your own either :(

[Yeah]

For once something all the CPS people on here can be in agreement on...the arrogance and over-hype of St. Ig

[.]

lets see a cross country preview neil!

[ccl rapes cps]

st. ignatius not only destroyed all cps schools in cross country (which this whole article is about) but also produces 10000000000000x better mid distance runners than lane, the "800 machine". ignatius beat the best time of lane in the 4x8 (but hey! lane beat york at prospect!!! lololololololol) and also had someone beat the "cps distance legend" kulayifi haji who, admittedly, is a great runner and kid.

[ccl rapes cps]

st. ignatius not only destroyed all cps schools in cross country (which this whole article is about) but also produces 10000000000000x better mid distance runners than lane, the "800 machine". ignatius beat the best time of lane in the 4x8 (but hey! lane beat york at prospect!!! lololololololol) and also had someone beat the "cps distance legend" kulayifi haji who, admittedly, is a great runner and kid.

[in addition]

what the heck happened to the other legend cuit "the queerbag" pineida?

[ccl rapes cps an idiot]

haha you dont even know what happened so you tack on a stupid nickname. cuit would've been a beast this year if he could've competed.

hey jerk, why don't you stop wasting your time. obviously st ignatious will prove they're better when the season starts, but really what are you accomplishing trying to bash the city schools on a city blog....get a life

[to the ignatius runner]

northside beat ignatius at the niles west sectional in the fall. you did not destroy all cps schools and you probably took it from behind in your conference meet too.

[ignatius is really desperate but im not, i just think you fine]

yeah northside fucked you guys at sectionals which was the last time we met you douches in the season. i think they were too busy getting touched by priests at school to be able to practice a little on the track...better luck next year......fagggs

[Stop it St. Iggy]

"st. ignatius not only destroyed all cps schools in cross country (which this whole article is about) but also produces 10000000000000x better mid distance runners than lane, the "800 machine". ignatius beat the best time of lane in the 4x8 (but hey! lane beat york at prospect!!! lololololololol) and also had someone beat the "cps distance legend" kulayifi haji who, admittedly, is a great runner and kid"

There is no need for this type of comment. Didn't Lane's B+ team (no Dylan or Jon Jackson) beat St. Ig at state? Didn't Lane run the 3rd fastest indoor time loaded? Didnt Lane run 8:00 at sectionals without Dylan? Stop it St. Iggy

[iggy has a point]

Iggy has a point. St. Ignatius is a mid-tier Catholic League team. Yet, they can destroy all but the very top CPS teams. The CPS as a group has to get better.

If we are at the point where a mid-tier Catholic League team can talk trash on this site and actually make some sense then we are in trouble.

Don't blame iggy, the CPS admin, violence, or anyone else but ourselves. Face it 93% of CPS schools Suck a big one.

[F St. Ig]

Fuck St. Iggy. Why spend your time trying to bang against Loyola or Brother rice?

[CPS 4eva]

"Iggy has a point. St. Ignatius is a mid-tier Catholic League team. Yet, they can destroy all but the very top CPS teams. The CPS as a group has to get better."

so a mid- tier catholic league school can beat all of our mid- tier schools? well that makes no sense......

[wat up...St. Iggy got a point]

St. Ignatius, a mid-tier can beat all but the number one team in the CPS in every sport except for basketball and football.

Yes, St. Ignatius may not beat Lane in track but can destroy all the 79 other teams.

Same with tennis, soccer, swimming, cross country, wrestling, softball, baseball, volleyball, etc.

So St. Ignatius an average program compared to Catholic League Standards would finish 1st or 2nd in practically every sport.

By the way St. Ignatius does not have top notch facilities, does not have the highest enrollment, is located in the west side of the city, has lower ACT scores than Whitney Young, Jones, Northside, and Payton, has good but not spectacular coaches, does not pay teachers too much, and has many of the same issues as the CPS. Yet the CPS- all 80 of the high schools, can't put together more than 1 or 2 schools that can compare to St.Ignatius for sports.

[pwnd]

what were cuits pr's? in my recollection they werent anything too special; therefore, you cant argue that he would have been a beast. of course a track scrub would say that lane beat ignatius at state, but we can see from the results that they werent in the same heat; therefore, lane only beat the time. however, by beating that time lane didnt even make it to finals; therefore, lane, in most regards, tied st. ignatius. neither made it to finals and thats what its all about. for the record, igntius would win city almost every year for track not only because their distance squad would rape. and i tacked on the nickname to cuit because hes a jerk in real life. unlike haji whos a nice, sociable, talented kid

[?]

and that didnt even answer WHY he didnt run

[ib harlan]

what have you accomplished "pwnd" kid? nothing....and thats why you go to some jackoff school like ignatius

[ib harlan]

what have you accomplished "pwnd" kid? nothing....and thats why you go to some jackoff school like ignatius

[yea]

ok pwnd = fagboi

[yea]

and before this past track season cuits pr's were:

15:23 3 mile
9:47 2 mile
4:34 mile (relay split, never got to run it fresh after that)
800 2:03

his and haji's pr's are almost identical in the 2 and the 3, and definatley would have been low 4:20's in the mile (ran a 4:39 indoors at niles in february, and a 4:29 time trial indoors in early march)
so please pwnd, shut the fuck up

[cuit]

naw man 4:28. that second is important

[cuit]

jaja

[ccl]

oh yeah northsides got a top notch program, their number 1 guy just leaves the team after the first track meet. and you wanna talk about top cps schools getting better test scores, i guess they allow distributing test answers before a test, towards their schools average scores. number one school in the state, my ass. what a great system, schools that arent filled with retards are filled with cheaters who are also their teams best runner. thumbs up for cps

[Pwnd again]

Well I don't even go to st. Ignatius so there's that I guess. No one has answered why cuit didn't run. And a 4:34 that's impressive seeing as though Ignatius had a freshman go 4:36 at the gala. But yes 4:34 is killer as a junior! That progression def shows how he would be low 4:20. Haji rapes cuit in track. Pwnd. And if he ran a time trial at 4:29 in march why didn't he run sectionals two months later? And why do cps schools run so well at their time trials but do not improve at races (distance only, Jackson is a beast)? The top4 schools in the ccl would win city easily. Ccl ftwzzzzzzz. Ignatius ftwzzzzzzz. Haji ftwzzzzzzz. Cps Ftl.

[laughing]

you make ignatius sound like some lower tier school. st. ignatius has $$ and can take a more diverse group of students than the cps selective enrollment process allows. and as for facilities???? the gym is amazing as is the track and facilities. it is a beautiful school with a lot of alumni support.

[beat that ass]

oh man the CPS is a huge fail...
are u content with proving your point? gtfo and stop making everyone pissed off..leave it for the season. if u fucking beat us then congratulations but for the time being stop wasitng your time and go enjoy your crappy summer.

sad thing is i bet ur a cps member thats sticking up for the ccl...fucking trader. and if not, why are you hyping st iggy if u dont go there. find something better to do then crash a cps track blog buddy.

[Pwnd again and again]

I go to harlan bitchezzzzzz