Senior Liam O’Connell finished in tenth place at the boys cross country Sectional meet on Saturday, October 29, making him the second North runner to qualify for the State meet this weekend in Peoria.
O’Connell is heading to State for the first time in his high school career.
“The feeling is unreal. I’m unbelieveably happy to be moving onto State,” he said.
The boys cross country team as a whole came in 12th place, in what Coach Matt Zaluckyj described as one of the hardest Sectionals in the state.
At the Regional meet on October 22, the boys cross country team finished fourth, which qualified them for Sectionals.
The boys finished the Conference meet in third place with Liam O’Connell, Cam Detweiler, Marcus Sandroni, and John Mutter earning All-Conference honors. This qualified them for Regionals. The boys who moved on to Regionals included John Mutter, Liam O’Connell, Cameron Detweiler, and Andrew Keaskowski.
“At Conference, I came in fourth, right behind three Grayslake Central kids. The third place beat me by .3 seconds, and he and I are always neck and neck. It was my fastest race all season,” said senior Liam O’Connell.
Preparing for State can be challenging.
“I start looking at tape and getting to know my competiton. I have shot at being in the top-25 All-State; it’s definitely my biggest accomplishment,” O’Connell said.
Both Coach Zaluckyj and Coach Boyd make sure every athlete is at the best of their abilities at the start of the season as well as the end.
“Every practice starts with a dynamic warm-up followed by a long distance run or a workout,” Zaluckyj said.
When the boys team meets are near, the coaches prepare their runners for specific events involving every individual.
“I really enjoy the sportsmanship that every athlete shares and the feeling I get when I race. It’s amazing to feel yourself improving over time as the season progresses,” O’Connell said.
The boys finished the regular season in second, as they have improved as the season goes on after every meet
“Boys tied for second, but we’re looking for a top three place in Conference,” Zaluckyj said.