On Saturday, November 15, 2008, the Northside Cross Country Team was honored with a Team Dinner and Awards Banquet at Hackney's in Glenview, Illinois, in the "Old Shillelagh" Banquet room. It was the largest Sports banquet in the history of Northside College Prep with over 111 athletes, parents, and guests in attendance.
The Northside Cross Country awards banquet is one of the most meaningful events of the school year. It represents the official acknowledgement of the athletes accomplishments before the entire Team, administration, parents, and guests.
The following AWARDS were announced at the banquet:
FRESHMAN NUMERALS (Awarded to Freshman Athletes that participated in one or more races and finished the season as a member of the Team. Awarded Numerals in their graduation year).
(1) Loren Piedrasanta, (2) Karly Raber, (3) Chris Ceisel, (4) Patrick Duffy, (5) Taylor Kuehn, (6) Luis Mesa, (7) Edgar Ortega, (8) John Ringor, (9) Matt Sugai, and (10) Honglin Xiao.
FRESHMAN Participants (Freshman athletes that did not earn numerals, but are a member of the Team. No Award given):
(1) Francesca Gelet
2008 FRESHMAN CITY XC RUNNERS-UP TROPHIES (Freshman Athletes that raced in the Freshman division and placed in second in the 2008 Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships).
(1) Patrick Duffy, (2) John Ringor, (3) Chris Ceisel, (4) Honglin Xiao, (5) Matt Sugai, (6) Edgar Ortega, and (7) Luis Mesa.
The following awards were limited to athletes that raced in the Freshman (Boys) or Junior Varsity (Girls) races in the Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships:
2008 FRESHMAN MOST IMPROVED AWARD (Engraved White marble Plaque)
Loren Piedrasanta and Honglin Xiao
2008 FRESHMAN MUSTANG AWARD (Engraved Black marble Plaque with a Mustang logo)
Loren Piedrasanta, John Ringor, and Chris Ceisel.
2008 FRESHMAN MVP AWARD (Engraved Black marble Plaque with a MVP logo)
Karly Raber and Pat Duffy
SOPHOMORE LETTERS (Sophomore athletes that participated in one or more races at the Sophomore level of competition and finished the season as a member of the Team. Awarded a Medium "N").
(1) Alfredo Almarez, (2) Damian Azubuike, (3) Luis Gaytan, (4) Honghe Li, (5) Noel Lopez, (6) Alex Luke, (7) Richard Morales, (8) Rhiday Pandya, (9) Fahad Sarvari, (10) Erik Zuehlke
SOPHOMORE Participants (Sophomore athletes that did not earn a letter, but are members of the Team. No Award).
(1) Miles Austrevich, and (2) Jonathan Kriston
The following award was limited to ALL Sophomore athletes on the Team:
2008 SOPHOMORE ACADEMIC AWARD (Engraved White Marble Plaque)
Karlyn Gehring and Wesley Laytham
The following awards were limited to male athletes that raced in the Sophomore race in the Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships, and ALL Sophomore female athletes on the Team that raced in the Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships:
2008 SOPHOMORE MOST IMPROVED AWARD (Engraved White Marble Plaque)
Su Yang and Alex Luke
2008 SOPHOMORE MUSTANG AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with Mustang logo)
Su Yang and Erik Zuehlke
2008 SOPHOMORE MVP AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with the MVP logo)
Karlyn Gehring, Su Yang, Fahad Sarvari, and Dominic Sieminski
JUNIOR VARSITY LETTERS (Seniors and/or Junior athletes that participated in one or more races at the Junior Varsity level of competition and finished the season as a member of the Team. Awarded a Medium "N").
(1) Dashiell Barkhuss, (2) Katy Ceisel, (3) Jessica Tapia, (4) Maham Haider, (5) Simmone Seymour, (6) Rachel Trenchard, (7) Neal Capapas, (8) Rafael Confino, (9) Forrest Cortes, (10) Andrew Czyszcon, (11) Coleman Gailloreto, (12) Ted Kalaw, (13) John Ko, (14) Norman Lee, (15) Nathan Michaelson, (16) Sam Olver, (17) James Rey, (18) Neibu Tadele, and (19) Peter Wilk.
JUNIOR VARSITY Participants (Junior Varsity athletes that did not earn a letter, but are members of the Team. No Award given.).
(1) Bridget Illing, (2) Anna Jacob, (3) Stephany Moreno, (4) Gayatri Satam, (5) Weronika Zuczek, and (6) Maria Zdunek.
The following awards were limited to athletes that raced in the Junior Varsity race in the Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships:
2008 JUNIOR VARSITY MOST IMPROVED AWARD (Engraved White Marble Plaque)
Mahad Haider, Forrest Cortes, and Spencer Rosenfeld
2008 JUNIOR VARSITY MUSTANG AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with Mustangs Logo)
Jessica Tapia, Ted Kalaw, and Simon Vecchioni
2008 JUNIOR VARSITY MVP AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with MVP logo)
Merita Bushi and Craig Melhuse
VARSITY LETTERS (Senior Captains, and/or Athletes that were among our Top 7 (Top 8 in Wisconsin) in a Varsity race or among our Top 7 times on the day or ran 500 or more miles during the summer or were our Top runner at the Leyden Eagle Invitational. Awarded a Large "N").
(1) Charlie Mesimore, (2) Wesley Laytham, (3) Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (4) Cooper Eben, (5) Jonathan Kittaka, (6) Dominic Sieminski, (7) Taylor Kuehn, (8) Craig Melhuse, (9) Jiasong Yang, (10) Simon Vecchioni, (11) Spencer Rosenfeld, (12) Ani Zotti, (13) Adaora Achufusi, (14) Bessie Nolan, (15) Su Yang, (16) Karlyn Gehring, (17) Anna Parks, (18) Carmen Abelson, (19) Yesenia Valadez, (20) Merita Bushi, and (21) Karly Raber.
2008 VARSITY CITY XC RUNNERS-UP TROPHIES (Varsity Athletes that raced in the Varsity division and placed second in the 2008 Chicago Public School Cross Country Championships).
(1) Charlie Mesimore, (2) Wesley Laytham, (3) Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (4) Cooper Eben, (5) Jonathan Kittaka, (6) Taylor Kuehn, and (7) Jiasong Yang.
2008 IHSA REGIONAL CHAMPION GOLD MEDALS AND PATCHES (Athletes that raced in the Varsity race at the IHSA Regional Championships and won the 2008 IHSA Regional Championship, and athletes that raced in the open race at the IHSA Regional Championships as part of the TEAM).
(1) Charlie Mesimore, (2) Wesley Laytham, (3) Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (4) Cooper Eben, (5) Jonathan Kittaka, (6) Dominic Sieminski, (7) Taylor Kuehn, (8) Craig Melhuse, (9) Jiasong Yang, (10) Erik Zuehlke, (11) Fahad Sarvari, (12) Simon Vecchioni, (13) Luis Gaytan, (14) Andrew Czyszcon, and (15) Spencer Rosenfeld.
2008 VARSITY IHSA SECTIONAL QUALIFER BRONZE STATUES (In 2008, both the Varsity Men and Women Team qualified for IHSA State Sectional Championships. Varsity Athletes that RACED in the Varsity race at the IHSA Sectional Championships or ran a Northside Top 7 Time in the open race were given a bronze IHSA Qualifer Statute).
(1) Charlie Mesimore, (2) Wesley Laytham, (3) Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (4) Cooper Eben, (5) Jonathan Kittaka, (6) Dominic Sieminski, (7) Taylor Kuehn, and (8) Craig Melhuse.
(1) Ani Zotti, (2) Adaora Achufusi, (3) Bessie Nolan, (4) Su Yang, (5) Karlyn Gehring, and (6) Anna Parks.
VARSITY CHINELLE CROSS COUNTRY PIN
Athletes who have earned 2 or more Varsity letters
(1) Jonathan Kittaka 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (2) Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss 2006, 2007, 2008 (3) Jiasong Yang 2006, 2007, 2008 (4) Cooper Eben 2007, 2008 (5) Simon Vecchioni 2007, 2008 (6) Charlie Mesimore 2007, 2008 (7) Wesley Laytham 2007, 2008 (8) Dominic Sieminski 2007, 2008 (9) Ani Zotti 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (10) Anna Parks 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (11) Carmen Abelson 2006, 2007, 2008, (12) Adaora Achufusi 2007, 2008, (13) Su Yang 2007, 2008, (14) Karlyn Gehring 2007, 2008, and (15) Bessie Nolan 2007, 2008.
2008 CAL RIPKEN JR. AWARD (Perfect Attendance at practices and meets):
Simon Vecchioni, Luis Gaytan, and Andrew Czyszczon
2008 CAL RIPKEN JR. AWARD (Best Attendance at practices and meets):
Su Yang
2008 ACADEMIC AWARD (Large Silver Plaque with Academic Award logo and Medal)
Ani Zotti, Jonathan Kittaka, and Simon Vecchioni
The following Awards are open to any Member of the Team, and are voted on by all athletes that earned a Varsity letter in 2008:
2008 SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with Sportsmanship logo)
Su Yang and Joey Paquette
2008 JOEY PAQUETTE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD (Engraved Black Marble Plaque with Sportsmanship logo)
Simon Vecchioni
2008 SENIOR LEADERSHIP AWARD (Large engraved Black Marble Plaque with Leadership logo)
Ani Zotti, Anna Parks, Carmen Abelson, Jonathan Kittaka, and Simon Vecchioni
2008 OUTSTANDING FRESHMAN AWARD (Gold plated plaque with runner logo)
Karly Raber and Taylor Kuehn
2008 ROOKIE HARRIER AWARD (American Flag plated plaque with runner logo)
Yesenia Valadez and Taylor Kuehn
2008 VARSITY MOST IMPROVED AWARD (Large engraved White Marble Plaque)
Adaora Achufusi, Charlie Mesimore, and Wesley Laytham
2008 VARSITY MUSTANG AWARD (Large Silver plated plaque engraved with a Medal)
Carmen Abelson and Cooper Eben
2008 MVP (Large Silver plated plaque engraved with a Medal)
Ani Zotti and Charlie Mesimore
2009 Womens Team Captains (3):
Bessie Nolan, Karlyn Gehring, and Su Yang
2009 Mens Team Captains (4):
Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, Wesley Laytham, Charlie Mesimore, Cooper Eben
After every athlete had been called up to the podium to receive their awards, the Senior Varsity letter blanket ceremony commenced. In 1903, University of Chicago Track Coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, among other things, invented numbers on uniforms, and the Varsity letter, and the first Senior Varsity letter blanket ceremony took place at the International House in Chicago. For over a 100 years, the traditions from the first Varsity letter ceremony have been followed. In 2004, Jon Gordon came from the University of Chicago Track & Field program to take over the Northside Cross Country program, and brought with him the traditions of Amos Alonzo Stagg and the Varsity letter blanket ceremony to Northside College Prep.
The 2009 Team Captains held up the blanket of each Senior athlete who earned a Varsity letter during their high school Cross Country career, and displayed the blanket to the crowd before it was placed on each athlete. The Varsity blankets were custom made, and each one had the athlete's name, Cross Country, and Northside College Prep, embrodied on it, along with a Varsity letter "N", and a Silver Star for each year the athlete earned a Varsity letter in Cross Country, and a Gold Star for each year the athlete was a Team Captain for the Northside Cross Country Team. The Senior Varsity letter blanket ceremony is one of the highlights of the Northside Cross Country banquet. It is the highest honor a Senior athlete on the Cross Country Team can be given at the Banquet. The Northside Cross Country Team is currently the only sport at Northside College Prep that awards Varsity letter blankets. To earn a Varsity letter in Cross Country, a Northside athlete must finish among the Top 7 athletes on the Team in a Varsity Race (in Wisconsin Top 8), or finish as our #1 runner at the Leyden Invitational, or run a minimum of 500 Miles in the summer for an automatic Varsity letter, or be a Senior Captain for an automatic Varsity letter.
VARSITY SENIOR BLANKET
Senior Athletes who have earned 1 or more Varsity letters
The blankets were embroidered with each Athlete’s Name, Northside College Prep Cross Country, a Varsity letter “N”, along with a Silver Star for each Varsity letter earned in Cross Country during their Athletic Career, and a Gold Star for each year as Team Captain
MEN
(1) Jonathan Kittaka 4 Silver, 2 Gold, (2) Simon Vecchioni 2 Silver, 1 Gold (3) Craig Melhuse 1 Silver and (4) Spencer Rosenfeld 1 Silver.
WOMEN
(1) Ani Zotti 4 Silver, 2 Gold, (2) Anna Parks 4 Silver, 1 Gold (3) Carmen Abelson 3 Silver, 1 Gold, and (4) Adaora Achufusi 2 Silver.
Track & Field Winter Training logs
Team Yearbooks, and Track & Field Winter Training logs were distributed at the 2008 Cross Country banquet. If for any reason you did not receive a Team Yearbook, and/or winter training log, or were not called up to the podium during the banquet, please contact Northside Head Coach Jon Gordon at Jongordon9@aol.com Thanks.
THANK YOU
The Northside Coaching staff would like to thank the Team for the very generous gift certificates. We are more proud of this Mens and Womens TEAM than any other Team in our entire coaching career. It has been a privilege to work with each member of the Team. This Team has enriched us immeasurably and we hope that the athletes take as much away from this season as you have given us. Thank you for an amazing season.
-Coach Jon Gordon, Coach Chad Ware, and Coach Jose Nebrida
