The NWN had a chance to sit down with the Boys’ Cross Country team’s Varsity head coach Michael Grossman and discuss the team’s upcoming season, meets, and practices.

NWN: How do you expect your team to perform this year?

Grossman: This is going to be a different year for us.  In years past we have had a very strong senior and junior class, however this year we have a very strong sophomore class. So we are a very large team, but we only have seven seniors. We will definitely see what the season brings us. We have had a very long summer and I definitely think we can have three or four all conference athletes, possibly a couple for state.

NWN: Who do you expect to perform the best on the team this year?

Grossman: Seniors are Sergio Dorado, Kyle Kent, and Matt Henry. Juniors Theo Beck and Alec Tulsky, and sophomores Sammy Iverson and Eli Kent.

NWN: What improvements have you made over the summer?

Grossman: A lot of this summer has been a lot of milage and a lot of time in the weight room. In my last 10 years with the program, the team hasn’t really had a large showing over the summer, but this summer we have had more than 35 guys at the end of our camp, and 50 guys before school starts. Any coach is happy to see a large increase in participation over the summer.

NWN: What are the teams goals?

Grossman: The goals are always to stay healthy, stay positive, win conference, and qualify to state.

NWN: What are practices like?

Grossman: Everyday has its own focus. Mondays we usually go long. Tuesdays we usually have competitions in the conference. Wednesdays are usually our recovery days, and then Saturdays are our big invites.

NWN: Speaking of big invites, what are some of the races coming up?

Grossman: The big meets coming up we go to Harlem, then Rockford on Sept. 5, and the big meets we are holding this year are the Pat Savage Invite, which is the largest high school cross country meet in the country. We are hosting the central suburban league conference championship on Nov. 27 and we are also hosting the IHSA sectional championship.

NWN: What are your specific goals for the races?

Grossman: Win. Every year it’s win conference. We have the home field advantage. Sectionals will be hard, but some of the best teams in the state come out of the sectionals, but when you play against the best you perform your best. We won Pat Savage two years ago in 2011, we took fifth last year, and definitely this year I think we have the talent to win it again.

Come out to cheer on the boys team at one of their several home meets this season!