The boys cross country team is set to compete this weekend at the First to the Finish Invitational. The team started their season strong last week at the Hornet/Red Devil Invitational, where the team finished 7th out of a field of 18 teams, including last year’s IHSA state champions.

Some notable performances included Dhruvil Patel, senior, who finished the three mile course in an impressive time of 15:15.3, earning himself a 9th place finish. Ross Schneider, senior, also ran a strong race with a time of 16:54.5, which is 40 seconds better than his former personal best.

“It was a great way to start the season, and I can’t wait to see where we end up,” said Schneider.

This Saturday, the team will be racing at Detweiler Park, which is also the location of the IHSA state finals cross country meet. Many of the best teams in the state, including 6 of the top 10 ranked cross country teams in Illinois, will be competing.

The course is also well known for being a fast course, which means that there are relatively few hills, few tight turns and wide running paths. Many runners on the team expect to set personal records at this race. Additionally, the weather for the weekend provides nearly ideal racing conditions.

The team here at North has participated in this invitational since 2008. In 2011, the team won the race, which caused them to become a ranked team in the state. Though the team’s ultimate goal is to win their conference championship back from Highland Park and to qualify as a team for the state finals, they are undoubtedly going to set a new benchmark at this race for the rest of the season.