Boys Cross Country: Beecher’s Grant Nykaza ready for next step

From last year’s Class 1A cross country team title to two track championships in the 3,200-meter relay, Grant Nykaza has had plenty of success at state meets.

Saturday, the Beecher junior looks to add one more big award to his trophy case.

Nykaza enters the Class 1A state cross country race at Detweiler Park in Peoria as the favorite, having spent the entire year ranked No. 1 in 1A by dyestat.com.

“When you’re ranked No. 1 there’s definitely going to be pressure,” he said. “But the excitement of a state meet outrules that and the state cross country meet is the biggest and most exciting.”

Nykaza already beat his goal time of 14 minutes, 30 seconds earlier this year. Saturday, he’s not focused on a particular mark.

“Sure, I’d love to get to 14:20 or something like that, but I’m not really thinking about that,” he said. “I’m just trying to win the race. I’ve run confident the whole year and I’ve done well compared to the guys I’ve been running against.

“With all the dedication and hard work I’ve put in, winning the state title would really mean a lot to me.”

The defending state champion Bobcats are young and don’t figure to factor into the chase for the team title, but Nykaza hopes for a Top 10 finish.

“The team’s definitely improved,” he said. “I didn’t know what we’d have this year, but a lot of guys just ran (personal records) at sectionals and if we can do that again, we can maybe pull off Top 10.”

Beecher’s Aaron Borgman finished third at the Lisle Sectional race won by Nykaza. Mike Polzin, Garret Toohey and Patrick Barton also scored for the Bobcats.

Sandburg, in Class 3A, may be the Southland’s best chance for a high team finish. The Eagles, though, have not been at 100 percent all year.

Four of Sandburg’s top five runners have been battling mono and Kevin O’Flaherty, the Eagles’ top runner at times this year, did not compete at sectionals.

“We’re just focused on getting healthy,” Sandburg coach John O’Malley said. “Our team has been resilient all year. If we’re healthy, we have three guys capable of running with the lead pack; that bodes well for a good team finish. We’re just focusing on executing our best possible race.”

Pat McMahon led the Eagles with a sixth-place finish at the Lockport Sectional.

“We’ve hit a couple of bumps on the road this year,” McMahon said. “But we’ll be ready when the time comes (Saturday).

O’Malley hopes McMahon will lead the way.

“I was thrilled with his (sectional) race,” O’Malley said. “Sixth place in such a tough sectional puts you up there with anyone in the state.”

Pat Letz, Jimmy Panozzo, Mike Von Borstel and Derek Hevel also scored for Sandburg at sectionals.

Also in Class 3A, Brother Rice’s Dan Caddigan, Oak Lawn’s Eric Lindelsee and Andrew’s Mike Keller all figure to contend for All-State honors given to the Top 25 finishers.

“I really want to run a sub-15 (minutes) race,” Caddigan said. “I haven’t had many opportunities to try for that. I’m looking to finish somewhere around 15th through 20th.”

Matt Hall and Tony Wondaal lead a strong Illiana Christian squad in Class 2A.

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.