Cyclones reload: Veterans and fresh faces power Moraine Valley’s next chapter

The Moraine Valley Community College men’s cross country team aims to continue the success of its storied program with the help of old and new runners.

Last season, the Cyclones earned their fifth consecutive Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference championship and four runners qualified to compete at the national championship. Three runners from the championship squad are back and ready to lead Moraine Valley to additional victories.

Brennan Rudolph (Andrew) and Jacob Madera (Shepard) pushed each other in every race last season, yielding individual All-Conference honors for both. Josue Trujillo (Reavis) also returns stronger after a season riddled with injury.

“Brennan will be a vocal leader and a hype guy. Jacob can get into the top five runners. He had his best summer of training leading into our season, and I’m looking forward to seeing him run. Josue put in a lot of work in the offseason, and I think he’ll have a big PR jump from last season to this,” said Head Coach Dimitri Dimizas, starting his 10th season leading the program.

Joining the sophomores this year are Matthew Busch (Stagg), Angelo Esparza (Argo), Andrew Leon (Oak Lawn), Juan Macias (Oak Lawn), Gavin Rybicki (Oak Lawn), David Santiago (Bremen) and Jacob Silva (Argo).

The jump from the 5K distance in high school to the 8K in college always is a challenge for the incoming freshmen, who must maintain a quick pace for two more miles. However, the runners trained for the adjustment during preseason and are looking to start strong.

“One exciting thing about this season is I don’t know who the top one or two runners will be. The top five are very interchangeable,” Dimizas explained. “In a race, we don’t know who will step up. It’s really a good mix of runners who were the best at their high schools plus others who are competitive enough to battle for top spots. It’ll be friendly competition, which we need.”

One change this season is the elimination of conference competition. Over the last few years, some Skyway colleges have been unable to form teams. Instead, the Cyclones will focus their energy on placing well at the NJCAA Region 4 race and qualifying for nationals.

“It’s disappointing that the conference racing is not happening, so everything we’re doing now is focused on Oct. 25 – regionals,” Dimizas commented.

In terms of training, Dimizas altered the timing, types and locations of workouts in an attempt to avoid injuries his runners tend to suffer during the season. He hopes these changes will lessen the impact on the runners’ joints while maintaining their speed, leading to another accolade-filled year.

“We’ll have a lot of growth because of so many freshmen, but it’s exciting and will be full of surprises,” Dimizas said.

The Cyclones open their season on Friday, Aug. 29, 6 p.m., at the Saints Twilight Invitational in Channahon, IL. For updates on Cyclones Athletics, visit mvcyclones.com.