Team Spotlight: Rock Falls Cross Country

Rock Falls cross country coach Mark Truesdell talks with
his runners during the first day of practice on August 14.

The runners are out once again at Centennial Park. Cross country season is underway for Rock Falls High School.

August 14 was the official kick-off of the season, with 25 boys and girls gathering near Centennial's Larson Shelter for the first official day of practice.

Running around the park's pond for the duration of the practice session, the kids took in advice and guidance from cross country coach Mark Truesdell – who took to his bicycle to make sure he could meet each runner while they learned the feel of the course.

When it was all over with, newcomers Bailey Smith and Michaela Spreier felt first hand what it was going to take to fit in with a quality program.

“It's different than summer running because there's more people here and you have to push yourself harder,” said Smith, a freshman.

“It's harder than I expected it to be, compared to the summer runs,” said Spreier, a junior. “The competition is harder. There's more people. There's more expectation now that we are in the actual season.”

Despite having separate teams, the boys and girls all practice together. That is how things go in the program, which has seen its girls squad achieve plenty of State Meet success – five State qualifying teams – during the eight years Truesdell and assistant coach Mindy Porter have been in charge.

“I'm looking real forward to training them,” Truesdell said. “Summer is hit-or-miss with the kids because they have a lot of stuff going on. Now that we got them all locked together, we can get an idea of what we have. We got a good mix of young and old.”

Last year, the girls squad placed fourth at the IHSA State Meet at Detweiler Park in Peoria. Katie Anderson led her team with a 32nd place finish at State, and followed not too far behind by Sandra Gomez (58th) and Maklay Velazquez (69th). The trio will look to maintain the success and keep its running pack tight despite losing half of last year's team to graduation.

“Our goal is going to be the top three again,” Gomez said regarding the State Meet. “If we all work real hard during practice and just click during meets, we can reach our goal and perform.”

Needless to say, some of the success rubs off onto the boys in the practice setting.

Goals are high among the Rocket boys, whose team will also look to reload from senior losses.

However, the team has high expectations for Hamblen, who received word from Truesdell on the first day that his pace was already that of typical postseason success.

Pounding the ground on those summer runs with sophomore Seth Williams has helped both runners. Williams racked up about 450 summer miles, with Hamblen running about 200.

“We're pumped,” said Hamblen. “Coach was telling us that we could get in the 15's. That pretty much guarantees us a spot to go to State.”

“He's basically saying that with our talent that we're having right now, and we're pushing each other, me and him are taking the top spots right now,” Williams added. “We're really hoping for State this year.”

Cayden Erickson, a junior, and Kasey Anger, a senior, also return to the Rockets from last year's sectional qualifying team.

“I think this season is going to be very interesting,” Erickson said. “We lost a lot of runners, but we gained a real good one in Brayden. I think he's going to be real good if he's pushing hard. If we push hard together, I think we'll be real good as a team.”

“We got some good runners coming in,” Williams added. “We got some people that left last year, so we got some leftover varsity from last year. Kasey and Cayden are two good runners, and then we're really hoping that our runners that weren't varsity last year that are coming up to varsity now. Hopefully they can step up this year and do better. That's what we're really looking forward to this year.”

The program's first meet of the season is the Rocket Run at Centennial Park on August 27. Eleven meets are on the calendar for this season, in addition to the Big Northern Conference meet at Harvard on Oct. 19. Postseason competition begins on Oct. 26 with regionals.

Of the 11 meets, Williams is looking forward to the Charger Classic hosted by Aurora Central Catholic on Sept. 28.

“I'm looking forward to Aurora,” Williams said. “It's all downhill and is a very fun run. That was my first good meet (last year).”

Gomez is looking forward to the Twin City Meet on September 17 at Hoover Park in Sterling, where the Rockets will race against neighboring rivals Newman and Sterling.

“It's a fun meet and it's real fun to run,” Gomez said.

Cutter: “Next Year”

Not to worry, these girls on last year's Dakota volleyball
squad WILL be back for this year.

One of the most important roles of journalists is to get things right and get facts straight. This means so much more than making sure the rushing yard count is correct.

Somewhere down the line a mistake will slip through the cracks. Even when we don't know of their existences until later down the road.

I would like to bring light to one of the most common high school sports media mistakes that even the most seasoned professionals make. In fact, sports media types alone do not make the mistake. I have also heard coaches and athletes make this same mistake.

This is the belief that a junior, sophomore or a freshman on a particular varsity team “will be back next year.”

For example: “All of the girls on Dakota's volleyball team will be back next year” (as mentioned in 2012).

Do we know this for a fact? Did the girls commit to a multi-year agreement that they will play until the end of their senior year?

As not to pick on one particular team, does any athlete in the area sign a four-year contract before their freshman year stating that they are bound by a particular program until graduating high school? Has this ever happened?. As much as our coaches would like to see every freshman player stay for all four years, we all know that the success rate of that happening is not 100%.

This may seem like semantics for print journalists, but think of it this way: If the not-so-entirely-true phrase of “will be back next year” is put in print, and the newspaper ceases operation, someone looking back through microfilm many years down the road will still be confused. They have put that phrase on record.

With “will be back next year,” journalists have given an indication that these particular athletes are definitely returning for the following year. Readers do hold on to that as a truth. When they do so, they don't give out the fine-print information – you know, the stuff said real fast at the end of a car dealership commercial.

Over 100 years ago, high school yearbook accounts often mentioned the “disbanding” of high school sports teams after the last contest, or after the postseason banquet. We are seeing less and less of this disbanding in today's high school sports environment with strict weight room commitments and the like.

Technically, no high school student can be committed to a particular team for a cycle of one year. This is because, technically, high school students do not belong to a particular high school during the summer vacation (save year-round schooling).

We forget that there is a period of time when all high school students are considered “free agents” in a way. The only way these kids can come back to their school is after they fill out all of the registration paperwork and pay the fees. The only way an athlete can come back to their team is if they fill out all of the participation paperwork and pay the fees.

This is the clause that gives athletes and their families the right to transfer to another high school. No contracts are ever breached when someone transfers. No punishments are handed out and no fines are doled out.

No athlete is any kind of property of a particular team when the season is not taking place, nor is any student any kind of property of a particular school when the school year is not taking place. This also gives students the opportunity to switch sports in a particular season if they do choose.

Speaking of transfers, the number of those taking place in the area are on the rise – for whatever reason. This fact is also a terrific reason why we should never suggest that anyone “is returning” to their team “next year.”

How many among those followers of Winnebago's boys basketball team, in 2011, said that Marcus Posley “is returning next year?” (He went to Auburn, where he was eventually ruled ineligible by the IHSA).

How many among those followers of West Carroll's softball team, in 2009, said that the next two years were going to be really awesome, since Jordan Kasbohm was just a sophomore? (She went to Moline for her next two years, where she helped lead the Maroons to a Class 4A title in 2010 and a third-place finish in 2011).

How many among those followers of Dakota's boys basketball team, in 2012, said that the Indians were going to be the team to beat because Kendall Lawson “is returning next year?” (He went to Rockford Lutheran and helped lead the Crusaders to a 3A regional).

Rather than believe an athlete has pulled a lie on someone, there is a more correct way to address a team's future, without having to elaborate on transfers or writing up fine-print information.

Instead of saying “five of Keith Country Day's six starters will return next year,” we should say “Keith Country Day loses one starter to graduation this year.” The latter statement about the volleyball program is more of a fact. Did we know at the time they won the IHSA Class 1A championship that those non-seniors on the team would definitely be returning for 2013?

On an aside, to suggest that any team would be a “team to beat” because they “will be returning a lot of their starters,” is not an absolute fact. That's another column for another day.

Such varsity starting spots are not automatically reserved for anyone just because they have so many more years of eligibility left. In fact, no athlete practicing today should consider themselves a varsity starter “this year.” They are only that when the first contest arrives.

2013-14 Area Enrollments and Classifications



The Prophetstown Girls Basketball team will move
from 1A to 2A next season.

 The Illinois High School Association on Tuesday released its list of enrollment figures to be used for the 2013-14 school year.

Enrollment figures used were tallied in 2012-13 Fall Housing Report, which tallied school enrollment as of September 30.

With the release of the enrollment data, the IHSA has also announced several classification changes that affect some area teams. Included in such changes were the announcements of multiplier waivers either granted to or eliminated from certain private school teams.

In all, 43 area teams were affected in IHSA playoff classification either through enrollment changes or through waiver status.


Fall Sports

In volleyball, Forreston, Indian Creek, Newman and Rockford Christian Life fall from 2A to 1A. North Boone falls from 3A to 2A, while Ottawa moves up from 3A to 4A.

In both boys and girls cross country, Sandwich falls from 2A to 1A, Alleman moves up from 1A to 2A, DeKalb falls from 3A to 2A, and Rockford East and United Township move up from 2A to 3A.

In boys golf, Byron, Kewanee and Oregon fall from 2A to 1A, while Belvidere North and Boylan fall from 3A to 2A.

In boys soccer, East also moves up from 2A to 3A.


Winter Sports

In both boys and girls basketball, Somonauk falls from 2A to 1A, Prophetstown moves up from 1A to 2A, Stillman Valley falls from 3A to 2A, and Ottawa moves up from 3A to 4A. In only boys basketball, St. Bede moves down from 2A to 1A via the multiplier waiver.

In wrestling, the Polo/Milledgeville/Eastland cooperative falls from 2A to 1A, while East moves up from 2A to 3A.


Spring Sports

In baseball, Belvidere North and Boylan fall from 4A to 3A.

In softball, Belvidere North falls from 4A to 3A, while Boylan moves up from 3A to 4A.

In both boys and girls track, North Boone falls from 2A to 1A and Ottawa moves up from 2A to 3A.

In girls soccer, Marengo moves down from 2A to 1A and Boylan moves down from 3A to 2A.


Enrollment Trends

The combined Northern Illinois Sports Beat area enrollment fell from 57,447 to 56,270.

Of decreases of eight percent or more, Newman's enrollment fell from 262 to 228, Boylan's enrollment fell from 1,151 to 1,055, and Guilford's enrollment fell from 1,950 to 1,769. Of increases of eight percent or more, East's enrollment rose from 1,509 to 1,741.

According to NISB data, enrollment continues to fall at Amboy, Bureau Valley, Byron, Forreston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Orangeville, Princeton and Sandwich - schools with noteable decreases in enrollment in the past six years.

Amboy's enrollment has fallen from 354 in 2007 to 257 in 2012. Bureau Valley has fallen in the same time period from 434 to 335, Byron from 611 to 506, Forreston from 348 to 242, H-BR from 272 to 209, Orangeville from 168 to 119, Princeton from 701 in 2008 to 551, and Sandwich from 832 to 724.

The area's two eastern-most athletic divisions, the Northern Illinois Big 12 East and the Big Northern East, has seen an overall drop in enrollment from last year. The area among both divisions had been growing steadily over the past decade. The NI Big 12 East fell from 7,712 students to 7,670. The BNC East fell from 4,951 to 4,846.

Chief among the BNC East's enrollment decline was Marengo's fall from 821 to 777 this past year. Marengo, located on the southwest corner of McHenry County, has seen its enrollment fall from a high of 908 students in 2007.

Yorkville, the area's fastest-growing school, rose from 1,565 to 1,622, and has grown from a tally of 1,295 in 2007.

(You can view the area's six-year master enrollment chart by visiting this link to NISB's General H.S. Discussion Forum, and downloading the enrollment chart from there.)