Raiders Cross Country
2001 IHSA State Champions!
Last update:
November 19, 2001
The 2001 Raiders Cross Country season promises to be an exciting one. The Raiders return several varsity runners including seniors Micah Van Denend, Kevin Kuhlman, Roger Hsieh along with sophomores Eric Mactaggart and Kyle Nugent. John Mulrow, Mike Adduci, Derek Nathan, and Steve Stanish are sophomores that look to make an impact on varsity before the season is over. Great summer training along with a week at the University of Madison camp should pay off for the team.
Rebounding from a loss at St. Charles, the Raiders won the competitive SPC red meet for only the 2nd time in school history! The top five runners had great performances and earned all conference honors. Micah VanDenend competed and led the team with his individual championship. Kevin Kuhlman (6th), Eric Mactaggert (7th), John Mulrow (9th), and Kyle Nugent (11th) helped the team defeat state ranked Fenton and Geneva. Now at full strength, the Raiders look forward to the state series. Glenbard South will host the Regional meet at Village Green, and the Raiders will look to win their first title.
The Raiders continued their winning ways by capturing their first Regional title in school history! Once again, Micah VanDenend led the team with his Regional title. Regional medalists Kevin Kuhlman (4th) and Eric Mactaggert (5th) ran well. John Mulrow (9th) and Kyle Nugent (10th) sealed in the victory with their top ten performances. Beating 2nd place Geneva 29-62, the Raiders looked strong and will run next week at Northside Park. The Wheaton North Sectional should be very competitive with Crystal Lake Central, the number one ranked team in the state.
Winning for the 3rd week in a row, the Raiders took the Wheaton North Sectional title by edging out #1 ranked Crystal Lake Central 58-64. VanDenend continued his dominance by winning the meet in a course record time of 14:59. Kevin Kuhlman stepped up big and finished 3rd, when he had finished 4th the week before in a less competitive meet. Eric Mactaggert also claimed All-Sectional honors with his 9th place finish. John Mulrow had a great race, placing 11th, and he missed the all-sectional team by just one place. Kyle Nugent rounded out the scoring and helped seal in the victory. Qualifying for the state meet as a team for only the 4th time in school history, the Raiders will look to improve upon their 6th place finish in 1999. The team is running very well, and the hard work is definitely paying off.
Capping off a dream season, the Raiders dominated the boys IHSA AA state meet and brought home a state championship! This is not only the first state championship for the school, but the school's first state trophy as well! Micah VanDenend showed that he is the best runner in the state, winning the meet with a blazing time of 14:19. Even after missing nearly a year of training due to a stress fracture, Micah worked hard and brought home the individual title. Kevin Kuhlman had a gutsy performance, running all out and finishing 23rd. Eric Mactaggert was just two seconds behind in 24th, to give the team 3 all-state runners! John Mulrow finished the season with a personal record time of 15:20, placing him 31st in an extremely tough field. He missed all-state by just 5 seconds, and will be the 12th returnee next season. Kyle Nugent ran in the important 5 spot, and helped the Raiders crush second place Geneva by 80 points. Roger Hsieh and Mike Adduci rounded out the Raider's tough state meet line up. The hundreds of summer miles, morning and night runs, tough workouts, and time in the weight room paid off for the team. The Raiders had some bumps during the 2001 season, but their determination and belief in themselves brought them and their coaches what they deserved.
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Coaches Andy Preuss and Terry Artmen
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