Week Nine Freshman Boys mileage leaders (July 19 - July 25) (Top 12 Freshman Boys Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Nine: ) (1) Palwinder Sodhi, (2) Calving Gang, (3) Alex Bologna, (4) Brian Glatter, (5) Brendan Kelly, (6) Nick Parker, (7) Javier Mulero, (8) Nick Hill, (9) Alex Kritikos, (10) Ify Ndukwu, (11) Ben Mauk O'Connor, and (12) Jonathan Soto. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #10?  

Week Nine Varsity Women mileage leaders (July 19 - July 25) (TOP 12 Women, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Nine: ) (1) Sophomore Karly Raber, (2) Freshman Mihaela Pop, (3) Freshman Taylor Provax, (4) Captain Su Yang, (5) Sophomore Hannah Lea Doruelo, (6) Senior Weronika Zuczek, (7) Freshman Hikari Sugisaki, (8) Junior Lindsey Shallberg, (9) Junior Nina Coomes, (10) Freshman Meaghan McGowan, (11) Captain Karlyn Gehring, and (12) Captain Bessie Nolan. Who will be among the Top 12 Mileage leaders in week #10?

Week Nine Freshman Girls mileage leaders (July 19 - July 25) (Top 12 Freshman Girls Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Nine: ) (1) Mihaela Pop, (2) Taylor Provax, (3) Hikari Sugisaki, (4) Meaghan McGowan, (5) Alaina Stacey, (6) Hyunji Ward, (7) Anna Pezanoski-Cohen, (8) Eva Stoops, (9) Semiah McGill, (10) Sylvia Lobo, (11) Priscilla Vasquez, and (12) Grisel Hernandez. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #10?   

Friendly reminder, Champions document their training. Please email all weekly mileage updates by Saturday, August 1, 2009 to Jongordon9@aol.com. Thanks.      

On Saturday, July 18, 2009, while most of the State was sleeping, over 30 members of the Northside Cross Country Team were up at dawn to train to bring Northside a State Title in 2009!

At 6:30 am, the Mustangs gathered in front of the main entrance of Northside College Prep. Northside Team Captains Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, Charlie Mesimore, Wesley Laytham, Cooper Eben and Su Yang led the TEAM on a 1.0 mile warm-up in Legion Park, and through extensive stretching.

The TEAM was then divided into two training groups, Group One ran 7.0 Miles to IHOP, followed by strides. Northside Incoming Freshman Palwinder Sodhi became the first Northside Freshman to complete a 7.0 Miles run with the Varsity Men all the way to IHOP. Northside Incoming Freshman Taylor Provax became the first Northside Freshman to complete a 7.0 Miles run with the Varsity Women all the way to IHOP. Group Two ran a 3.0 Miles route to IHOP, and finished the run very strong. Group Two was led by Sophomore Pedro Juarez. Pedro Juarez ran at a very impressive pace, and finished the run over a minute ahead of the Team. ALL Athletes were rewarded with a FREE Breakfast for completing their assigned route.

Upon arrival, the Northside Cross Country Team filled half of IHOP, and IHOP had to call in the manager for additional help to handle the overflow crowd. A special thanks to IHOP for doing an amazing job and for providing the Mustangs with their best breakfast run of the year.

Another special thanks to Northside Assistant Coach Joseph Hetland for all of his help with the IHOP run, and to Northside Assistant Coach Jose Nebrida, for running trailer, and for donating 50% of the funds for the Breakfast run. THANKS.

After breakfast, the Mustangs celebrated the conclusion of the most successful Summer training camp in the history of Northside.

Varsity Cross Country try-outs will start on Wednesday, August 12, 2009.  

The following is a list of the Top 12 Mileage leaders for Week #8 (July 12 - July 18):

 On Saturday, July 11, 2009, the Northside Freshman and Sophomores took on the Juniors and Seniors in an intense game of Capture the Flag on a field that was an entire Mile! Sophomores and Freshman defended a flag that was placed on Peterson Ave, and the Seniors and Juniors defended a flag that was placed a mile away on Foster Ave! Brwyn Mawr was used as the safety zone, and the goal line for both squads. Athletes that were tagged, had to run all the way back to Brwyn Mawr and touch the water cooler before they could re-enter the game. After hours of endless running in Legion park, Northside Freshman Alex Bologna captured the flag and after running nearly 800m untouched, Juniors Jonathan Kriston and Su Yang made game saving tags 40 yards from the goal line. The Seniors and Juniors made an impressive goal line stand, while the Sophomores and Freshman continued to play Iron curtain defense 800m away on Peterson Ave. After an ambush approach by the Freshman and Sophomores, Northside Sophomore Pedro Juarez re-captured the flag and outkicked everyone to the goal line to Upset the Juniors and Seniors with a Victory! 

 In the first game of the day, Northside Captain Cooper Eben broke a scoreless tie with an assist from Senior Andrew Czyszczon, by running with the flag untouched from Peterson Ave to Brwyn Mawr. Athletes ran an estimated six to ten miles playing the game. All athletes were given freeze-pops and bottled water at the conclusion of the game.

 The following is a list of the Top 12 Mileage leaders for Week #7 (July 5 - July 11):

Coming Soon: Northside Top 12 Weekly Mileage Leaders (July 5 - July 11)

 On Tuesday, July 7, 2009, the Northside Mustangs were assembled at Northside College Prep at 6:30 am. After a Team warm-up and stretching, the Mustangs divided up into multiple training groups.

Northside Captain Charlie Mesimore and Captain Wesley Laytham led a training group on an eight miles run from Chicago to Evanston to James Park, and back to Chicago. All athletes were rewarded with Gatorade upon completion of the run and morning weight training.

Northside Freshman Taylor Provax led a second training group on a five miles run throughout Legion Park. All athletes were rewarded with Sunny Delight Citrus Punch upon completion of the run and morning weight training.

The following is a list of the Top 12 Mileage leaders for Week #6 (June 28 - July 4). It is highly competitive to make the Top 12 Mileage leaderboards. Keep pushing the distance. :  

Week Six Varsity Men mileage leaders (June 28 - July 4) (TOP 12 Men, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Six: ) (1) Captain Cooper Eben, (2) Captain Charlie Mesimore, (3) Junior Fahad Sarvari, (4) Senior Jiasong Yang, (5) Captain Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (6) Junior Erik Zuehlke, (7) Sophomore Jusuf Skelic, (8) Senior Andrew Czyszczon, (9) Incoming Freshman Alex Bologna, (10) Incoming Freshman Brendan Kelly, (11) Sophomore Pedro Juarz, and (12)  Incoming Freshman Palwinder Sodhi. Who will be among the Top 12 Varsity Mileage leaders in week #7?

Week Six Freshman Boys mileage leaders (June 28 - July 4) (Top 12 Freshman Boys Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Six: ) (1) Alex Bologna, (2) Brendan Kelly, (3) Palwinder Sodhi, (4) Alex Kritikos, (5) Javier Mulero, (6) Nick Hill, (7) Nick Parker, (8) Brian Glatter, (9) Ify Ndukwu, (10) Ben Mauk O'Connor, (11) Jonathan Soto, and (12) Calvin Gang. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #7?  

Week Six Varsity Women mileage leaders (June 28 - July 4) (TOP 12 Women, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Six: ) (1) Sophomore Karly Raber, (2) Incoming Freshman Taylor Provax, (3) Captain Su Yang, (4) Incoming Freshman Mihaela Pop, (5) Senior Weronika Zuczek, (6) Incoming Freshman Hikari Sugisaki, (7) Sophomore Hannah Lea Doruelo, (8) Junior Nina Coomes, (9) Junior Lindsey Shallberg, (10) Incoming Freshman Meaghan McGowan, (11) Incoming Freshman Alaina Stacey, and (12) Captain Bessie Nolan. Who will be among the Top 12 Mileage leaders in week #7?

Week Six Freshman Girls mileage leaders (June 28 - July 4) (Top 12 Freshman Girls Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week Six: ) (1) Taylor Provax, (2) Mihaela Pop, (3) Hikari Sugisaki, (4) Meaghan McGowan, (5) Alaina Stacey, (6) Hyunji Ward, (7) Grisel Hernandez, (8) Anna Pezanoski-Cohen, (9) Semiah McGill, (10) Sylvia Lobo, (11) Priscilla Vasquez, and (12) Saisneha Koppakal. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #7?   

Friendly reminder, email all weekly mileage updates to Jongordon9@aol.com. Thanks.

On Friday, July 3, 2009, while most of the State was sleeping, over 40 members of the Northside Cross Country Team were up at dawn to train to bring Northside a State Title in 2009!

At 7:00 am, the Mustangs gathered in front of the main entrance of Northside College Prep. Northside Team Captains Cooper Eben and Charlie Mesimore led the TEAM on a mile warm-up in Legion Park, and through extensive stretching.

The Northside Seniors, Juniors and Sophomores then ran 6.5 Miles to IHOP, followed by strides, while the Northside Freshman ran a 3.0 Miles route to IHOP. Athletes were rewarded with a FREE Breakfast for completing their assigned route.

Upon arrival, the Northside Cross Country Team filled both sections of IHOP, and IHOP had to call in the manager for additional help to handle the overflow crowd. A special thanks to IHOP for doing an amazing job and for providing the Mustangs with their best breakfast run of the year.

Another special thanks to Northside Assistant Coach Joseph Hetland for all of his help with the IHOP run, and to Northside Assistant Coach Jose Nebrida, for running trailer, and for donating 50% of the funds for the Breakfast run. THANKS.

The following is a list of upcoming Summer Group runs:

Monday, July 6, 2009   6:30 am Morning run / Weight Training
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 6:30 am Morning run / Weight Training
Wednesday,July 8, 2009 6:30 am Morning run / Weight Training
Thursday, July 9, 2009 6:30 am Tempo run on the Track / Weight Training

Saturday, July 11, 2009, 7:00 am - Capture the Flag on a Mile course!   

ALL athletes attending Summer Training Camp this week, will receive a FREE Northside Cross Country Water Bottle!!! All Summer Training Camp activities are FREE and start at the main entrance to Northside College Prep.

Coming Soon: Northside Top 12 Weekly Mileage Leaders (June 28 - July 4)

 On Wednesday, July 1, 2009, the Northside Mustangs were visited for the second time this summer by Chris Siemers, a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifer, three time NCAA Cross Country All-American, a member of two NCAA National Championship Cross Country Teams, and a former Footlocker High School Cross Country All American.

 After a Team warm-up, and stretching, Chris Siemers addressed the Mustangs at River Park Track.

 Chris Siemers gave a motivational speech about his collegiate career, including going from tenth man in a workout to 5th in the Nation, and being part of a Team that put 9 athletes in front of the University of Colorado's fifth runner, one year after the University of Colorado won the NCAA Division I National Championship in Cross Country.

 To help us reach our goal of a roster of 200 athletes this fall, any athlete that brings someone new to a summer group run will receive a free bottle of Gatorade!!! All members of the Cross Country Team will also receive a free Northside Cross Country water bottle to help you with your summer training.

 On Saturday June 27, 2009, the Northside Freshman took on the Northside Sophomores and Juniors in a game of Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate Frisbee requires athletes to run non-stop as they attempt to score by passing a Frisbee to a teammate in the endzone. If the Frisbee touches the ground, it immediately becomes possession of the oppossing Team, and every athlete on the field has to be covered with athletes running at full speed, to prevent someone from scoring in the opposite endzone. 

Northside Sophomore Chris Ceisel and Junior Su Yang led the Sophomores and Juniors to a 4-1 lead, and it looked like the Northside Freshman had no chance against the upper classmen. However, the Northside Freshman showed a lot of determination, and perservance, and rallied to tie the game 4-4!!! The game was then called at 4-4 as the clock expired. 

 After the game, all members of the Northside Cross Country Team enjoyed Freeze pops before morning weight training.  

Week Five Varsity Men mileage leaders (June 21 - June 27) (TOP 12 Men, Listed in order of most miles ran in week five: ) (1) Captain Charlie Mesimore, (2) Senior Jiasong Yang, (3) Captain Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (4) Captain Cooper Eben, (5) Junior Erik Zuehlke, (6) Junior Fahad Sarvari, (7) Sophomore Jusuf Skelic, (8) Sophomore Luis Mesa, (9) Incoming Freshman Palwinder Sodhi, (10) Sophomore Pat Duffy, (11) Sophomore Pedro Juarez, and (12) Incoming Freshman Calvin Gang. All of the above are off to very impressive starts to their summer training. Who will be among the Top 12 Varsity Mileage leaders in week #6?

Week Five Freshman Boys mileage leaders (June 21 - June 27) (Top 12 Freshman Boys Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week five: ) (1) Palwinder Sodhi, (2) Calvin Gang, (3) Alex Bologna, (4) Nick Hill, (5) Brian Glatter, (6) Alex Kritikos, (7) Nick Parker, (8) Brendan Kelly, (9) Javier Mulero, (10) Ify Ndukwu (11) Ben Mauk O'Connor, and (12) Jonathan Soto. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #6?  

Week Five Varsity Women mileage leaders (June 21 - June 27) (TOP 12 Women, Listed in order of most miles ran in week five: ) (1) Incoming Freshman Taylor Provax,  (2) Captain Su Yang, (3) Senior Merita Bushi, (4) Incoming Freshman Mihaela Pop, (5) Sophomore Hannah Lea Doruelo, (6) Junior Nina Coomes, (7) Junior Lindsey Shallberg, (8) Incoming Freshman Meaghan McGowan, (9) Incoming Freshman Alaina Stacey, (10) Incoming Freshman Hyunji Ward,(11) Incoming Freshman Hikari Sugisaki, and (12) Captain Bessie Nolan. All of the above are off to very impressive starts to their summer training. Who will be among the Top 12 Mileage leaders in week #6?

Week Five Freshman Girls mileage leaders (June 21 - June 27) (Top 12 Freshman Girls Mileage Honor Roll, Listed in order of most miles ran in week five: ) (1) Taylor Provax, (2) Mihaela Pop, (3) Meaghan McGowan, (4) Alaina Stacey, (5) Hyunji Ward, (6) Hikari Sugisaki, (7) Anna Pezanoski-Cohen, (8) Sylvia Lobo, (9) Priscilla Vasquez, (10) Saisneha Koppaka, (11) Grisel Hernandez, and (12) Semiah McGill. Who will be among the Top 12 Freshman Mileage leaders in week #6?   

Friendly reminder, email all weekly mileage updates to Jongordon9@aol.com. Thanks.

 Chris Siemers has accomplished a lot during his athletic career, and continues to reach new milestones every year, and was asked by Northside Head Coach Jon Gordon to talk about his Junior year of high school (1997).

Chris Siemers gave a motivational speech about having a positive attitude towards training and the season, even when setbacks occur, and the importance of doing the little things right, including nutrition, sleep, strength training, and recovery days. 

 In 1996, Chris Siemers was on a Fenton High School team, that put four runners in front of York's #1 Man, on their way to finishing second in the State Championships.

 In 1997, when Chris Siemers purchased running shoes to start training for his Junior year of Cross Country at Fenton High School, he wrote "Footlocker" on them.  

 During Chris Siemers Junior year of high school (1997), he was unfortunate to get injuried during his summer training, and fell back to 11th man on his high school Cross Country Team, after his first duel meet of the season.  

 On Saturday, June 20, 2009, the Northside Mustangs celebrated the birthdays of Northside Senior Captain Cooper Eben, Junior Nina Coomes, and Incoming Freshman Meaghan McGowan with an intense game of Capture the Flag on a Mile course! With over 40 athletes in attendance, it was the largest game of Capture the Flag in Northside history! The Sophomores and Freshman defended a flag that was placed on Peterson Ave, and the Seniors and Juniors defended a flag that was placed a mile away on Foster Ave! Brwyn Mawr was used as the safety zone, and dividing line for both squads. Athletes that were tagged, had to run all the way back to Brwyn Mawr and touch the water cooler before they could re-enter the game. After hours of endless running in Legion park, Northside Captain Charlie Mesimore broke the scoreless tie with an assist from Senior Andrew Czyszczon, by running with the flag untouched from Peterson Ave to Brwyn Mawr. Charlie Mesimore returned the favor in game two, by helping Andrew Czyszczon score the second point of the game for the Northside Seniors and Juniors. The Seniors and Juniors held off an impressive Sophomore and Freshman squad to WIN 2-0! All athletes were given freeze-pops and bottled water at the conclusion of the game.       

 Week four mileage leaders (June 14 - June 20) (TOP 12 Men, Listed in order of most miles ran in week four: ) (1) Captain Cooper Eben, (2) Captain Charlie Mesimore, (3) Junior Erik Zuehlke, (4) Junior Fahad Sarvari, (5) Captain Cuitlahuac Pineda Youniss, (6) Senior Andrew Czyszczon, (7) Sophomore Jusuf Skelic, (8) Sophomore Juan Ringor, (9) Sophomore Pedro Juarez, (10) Incoming Freshman Palwinder Sodhi (11) Sophomore Luis Mesa, and (12) Incoming Freshman Calvin Gang. All of the above are off to very impressive starts to their summer training. Who will be among the Top 12 Mileage leaders in week #5?

 Week four mileage leaders (June 14 - June 20) (TOP 12 Women, Listed in order of most miles ran in week four: ) (1) Senior Merita Bushi, (2) Captain Bessie Nolan, (3) Captain Su Yang, (4) Incoming Freshman Taylor Provax, (5) Incoming Freshman Sylvia Lobo, (6) Incoming Freshman Mihaela Pop, (7) Incoming Freshman Hikari Sugisaki, (8) Incoming Freshman Meaghan McGowan, (9) Incoming Freshman Alaina Stacey (10) Incoming Freshman Hyunji Ward, (11) Incoming Freshman Anna Pezanoski-Cohen, and (12) Incoming Freshman Priscilla Vasquez. All of the above are off to very impressive starts to their summer training. Who will be among the Top 12 Mileage leaders in week #5?             

 Friendly reminder, email all weekly mileage updates to Jongordon9@aol.com. Thanks.

 Throughout the Summer, the Northside College Prep Cross Country Team will be visited by a different elite athlete every Wednesday morning at 6:30 am, to train with the highly motivated Mustangs and share their athletic experience with the TEAM.

 On Wednesday, June 24, 2009, Chris Siemers will visit the Northside Mustangs. Chris Siemers is a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier, Three-Time NCAA All-American in Cross Country, a member of two NCAA II National Champion Cross Country Teams at Western State College of Colorado, and a High School Footlocker All-American.

 In one season (1997), Chris Siemers went from 11th man on his high school Cross Country Team to 13th in the Illinois State Championships to 10th in the Nation at the Footlocker National Cross Country Championships! 

 In 1997, when Chris Siemers purchased running shoes to start training for his Junior year of Cross Country at Fenton High School, he wrote "Footlocker" on them.

 Footlocker hosts the National High School Cross Country Championships in California or Florida every year. To make it to the National meet, an athlete has to place in the top 8 of their regional. The Footlocker Midwest Cross Country Regional consists of the best athletes from several states throughout the Midwest, and takes place every November in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Athletes that qualify for Nationals receive an all expense paid trip to the National Championships, and the accomodations include staying in a deluxe resort. 

 When Chris Siemers ran in his first duel meet in 1997, he was 11th man on his high school Varsity Cross Country Team. In one season, Siemers went from 11th man on his high school team to 13th overall in the Illinois Cross Country State Championships!!!

 Even with a 13th place finish in the Illinois State Championships, Siemers was still an underdog going into the Footlocker Midwest Regional, which consists of the best athletes from multiple states, and only the top 8 finishers go to Nationals. Chris Siemers qualified for National by placing fourth in the Midwest Regional, and earned Footlocker All American honors by placing 10th at Nationals.

 Chris Siemers Footlocker experience was amazing, and it changed him as a person. Chris Siemers is looking forward to meeting the Mustangs, running with the Team, and sharing his Footlocker athletic experience with the TEAM on Wednesday, June 24, 2009. 

 On February 26, 2009, 360 Incoming Northside Freshman attended Cross Country Open House. The incoming Freshman were greeted by current Northside parents, and were treated to an assortment of refreshments, including lemonade and a wide variety of cookies. A special thanks to all of the Northside parents for welcoming the Class of 2013 to Northside. 

 The Northside Cross Country Coaching staff enjoyed meeting everyone, including several brothers and sisters of former Northside Cross Country athletes that competed at the collegiate level. The Northside Coaching staff was very impressed with the incoming Freshman, and is looking forward to having them in practice this summer.

  Cross Country is the largest fall sport at Northside College Prep. The Team has Pasta Parties the night before meets for the athletes and Tailgate parties after several races for both athletes and parents. Olympic athletes that have appeared at Team Pasta Parties include Gold Medalist Billy Mills and American Record Holder Todd Williams.

  The Northside Mustangs will begin Summer conditioning on Monday, June 15, 2009, at 6:30 am. Summer activities include:  morning runs, weight training, Team breakfast runs to IHOP, Ultimate Frisbee, and Capture the Flag.

  We will meet in front of the main entrance of the school during pre-season training. As an incoming Freshman, preseason Team activities prior to the start of school give you a major advantage on the first day of classes (September 2, 2009). By joining the Cross Country Team, you will already know over 100 people before classes begin, which makes the adjustment to High School much easier because you will already be a part of a team where your teammates care about you and depend on you.  

  Incoming Freshman will complete final registration on April 18, 2009. Additional information for incoming Freshman athletes is available on this website under "Team Handouts".

  Welcome to Northside! Please feel free to contact Northside Head Coach Jon Gordon at Jongordon9@aol.com or 773-935-1617, at anytime.