On November 1 the boys cross country team won the Division 2 State Championship at The Ridges Golf Course. They competed against 15 other schools for the trophy and came out on top, scoring only 66 points. The points are totalled among the top five runners on a team, with the lowest score winning. Ryan Lien, senior, finished 9th overall, landing a place on the podium with a time of 16 minutes and 9 seconds.
“It was pretty awesome. Pretty emotional win. It’s our 10th state title that I’ve been a part of,” said Dominic Newman, head coach and physical education teacher at Lake Bluff. “[We are] so super excited to have two trophies [this year], and 12 trophies in cross country in the years I’ve been coaching and teaching here.”
The team has been working towards winning, despite being impacted by competitive balancing, a process in which they are moved up a division as a result of performance. This has primarily affected Shorewood in the form of
moving up to D1. This can negatively impact the team’s placement in state competitions.
“We accomplished our big pie in the sky goal, and that was to win the state after being in competitive balance,” Newman said. “They called it a promotion in D1 last year. We were 12th in D1, [but I’m] pretty confident we would have won D2 if we would have stayed, if the competitive balance or promotion wasn’t there.”
Despite the overall win, the team had a few goals that they were unable to meet. Many factors such as weather and course had a big impact on performance.
“I was hoping to have two athletes on the podium […] Ryan Lien was ninth overall, and Nolan [Johnson] was 13th overall, top 10 makes the podium,” Newman said. “So we just missed that. We wanted to try to have one of the lowest point totals in team history. We missed out on that, but scoring 66 points is still pretty low in the scheme of things for cross country.”
Ryan Optekar, senior, was the third runner and placed 28th overall in the event, running the course in 16 minutes and 41 seconds. He has been part of the SHS cross country team since 2022.
“Even though it wasn’t my best race, it was so nice to win, and it was great to bring that trophy home,” Optekar said.
The team still is working to keep improving and training for the next season. Next year, four of the team’s top seven runners are graduating, and the team is likely being moved up to D1 due to competitive balancing.
“A lot of younger guys are gonna have to step up next year, with some of us leaving, but they really shined this year and I think they can put in the work they need to,” Optekar said.
The team’s training and hard work are often not realized by the average spectator.
“A spectator doesn’t know all the hard work that everyone on the team puts in just to race in this last race,” said Kingston Nelson, sophomore.
Nelson was the fifth runner and placed 62nd. He finished the race in 17 minutes and 26 seconds.
Many factors go into races, not just the runners and their speed, but the families and community around the program.
“I’m thankful for our community enthusiasm,” Newman said. “Very thankful for our alumni that have been there to support the program, either on site like at the state meet. Of course, that was pretty heartwarming and touching for me to see many there.”