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2011 YMSXC Alumni
December 12, 2015
Each year we recognize the graduating Yorkville High School seniors who ran cross country and also participated in Yorkville Middle School's cross country program. We consider these runners to be our All-Time Greats. They committed to run on one of the most competitive teams in the state, and whether they were the fastest runner on the team or the slowest they deserve to be recognized for their commitment. The year listed in the last year they ran cross country at the middle school. While most runners have not committed to run in college at this point, we will always update our All-Time Greats page to indicate athletes who go on to run cross country in college. We’re sure a few will be doing so from this class.
Sydney Beach, YMSXC Class of 2011
Sydney was one of our top runners during her seventh grade year as well as a team captain. She was a part of our first girls State qualifying team and ran a time of 13:17 to finish fourth on the team at the State meet. Unfortunately, she hurt her knee playing basketball the summer before her eighth grade year and had to miss the entire cross country season. As a testament to her character, she came to every cross country practice and meet in eighth grade to cheer on her teammates and help the coaches. She ran a three-mile P.R. of 19:47 in high school, but focused much of her effort on sprint events in track. Sydney was an accomplished three-sport athlete in high school and is a personality who will certainly be missed when she leaves Yorkville.
Nick Carlson, YMSXC Class of 2011
Nick joined cross country a few weeks into the season during his eighth grade year. Despite joining the team late Nick competed for a roster spot on our Sectional team with a P.R. of 13:32. While he just missed out on the roster spot, he worked hard over the summer and came back strong on the high school team where he competed for four years as a cross country and track athlete. Nick has a P.R. of 17:51 in high school for three miles as well as a P.R. of 11:34 in the 3200 and 5:18 in the 1600 in track through his junior year.
Jake Firrantello, YMSXC Class of 2011
In seventh grade Jake ran a P.R. of 13:21 at the Troy Invite. In eighth grade, he ran a P.R. of 12:00 and won a runoff to run as the seventh runner on our Sectional team. In high school, Jake took off, running a P.R. of 15:46 for three miles in cross country and P.R.’s of 10:27 in the 3200 and 4:48 in the 1600 for track through his junior year. Jake was a runner for the past two trophy-winning teams at the high school. He ran 16:10 as the team’s seventh runner on the state championship team in 2014 and ran his P.R. of 15:46 this year as the team’s fifth runner to help lead the team to a third-place trophy.
Thor Hester, YMSXC Class of 2011
Thor was a two-year captain for the middle school team. In seventh grade he became the first seventh grade boy to win the MVP award and also won the Recruiter of the Year award. He also finished fourth on the team at State with a P.R. of 12:20 the first year the boys team qualified for State. In eighth grade Thor ran a P.R. of 11:26, which at the time was the fourth-fastest P.R. ever by a Yorkville Middle School runner. In high school Thor became one of the top runners on the team and ended up running a P.R. of 15:37 for three miles, 10:18 for the 3200, and 4:38 for the 1600 through his junior year of track. Thor also played basketball and was a part of the past three trophy-winning teams, including a 16:01 this past year as the team’s seventh runner and a 16:51 as the team’s seventh runner as a sophomore.
Cody Hornyak, YMSXC Class of 2011
Cody won a runoff in seventh grade to run at State the first time the middle school boys qualified for State. His time of 12:39 was good enough for sixth on the team although Cody had a P.R. of 12:37 that year. In eighth grade Cody established himself as the team’s top runner and qualified for State as an individual with a time of 11:26 at the IESA Sectional at Hammel Woods. Cody, a two-time team captain, seemed disappointed when he was receiving his All-Sectional award as he knew his team hadn’t qualified. That is the testament to the character Cody shows in everything he does. In eighth grade Cody also won the MVP award, the Fastest Race Pace award, and ran the most miles on the team while not missing a practice. In high school, Cody ran a P.R. of 15:23 at the 2015 State meet to finish second for the team. Cody also ran as a junior and finished sixth on the team with a time of 15:53.
Becca Jasutis, YMSXC Class of 2011
Becca was a part of the first group of girls to qualify for State in both seventh grade and eighth grade and she had perfect attendance for both of those years. In seventh grade, Becca ran a P.R. of 13:26 at State to finish fifth for the team. In eighth grade, Becca ran 13:00 flat to also finish fifth on the team, which helped secure Yorkville Middle School’s first-ever top ten finish in an IESA sport. Becca ran a P.R. of 18:55 for three miles in high school and while she has not run at the State meet in high school she has a number of medals as an alternate on the past four State championship teams. During the track season, Becca focused on the hurdles and became one of the best hurdlers on the team. Becca has committed to run cross country at the University of Wisconsin Parkside campus.
Erin Reynolds, YMSXC Class of 2011
Erin was one of the leaders on our team during her tenure at Yorkville Middle School, and was a captain in eighth grade. She was consistently one of the top runners on the team, and was also a part of the group of girls who became the first Yorkville athletes to qualify for State two years in a row. She holds three course records that will never be broken since we no longer run on those courses. She holds the records at the old Belvidere Central Invite course with a time of 13:04, our old home course at Harris Park where she ran a 14:34 in seventh grade, and the one-time course we created at Bristol Bay where she ran a 13:22 in eighth grade. Erin won the Fastest Race Pace award in seventh grade as well as the Guts Award, which was the precursor to the Coaches Award we give out now. She was also voted MVP in eighth grade and became the first Yorkville girl to break 12 minutes with her 11:49 run at the Tiger Trails Invite. She was the first finisher for the team at State in seventh grade and eighth grade with a times of 12:52 and 12:26, respectively. In high school, Erin ran a three-mile P.R. of 17:34, a 3200 P.R. of 11:39, and a 1600 P.R. of 5:34 through her junior year. Erin ran at State for the State championship teams in 2012 and 2013 when she earned All-State honors with times of 17:34 and 18:00.
Kevin Schleitwiler, YMSXC Class of 2011
Kevin joined cross country in eighth grade a few weeks into the season and started the year by running 16:51 at our second time trial. By the end of the season he ran a P.R. of 12:27 at conference and was in the running for a spot on our post-season roster. In high school, Kevin ran a three-mile P.R. of 16:12 as well as track P.R.’s of 4:57 for the 1600 and 11:15 for the 3200 through his junior year. Kevin also worked his way to being an alternate on this past season’s trophy-winning team and he was able to run a 16:18 on the State course at Detweiller during the team’s alternate race. Kevin earned the Most Improved Award during his time on the middle school team and he continued to progress as a runner during his time in high school.
Julia Schultz, YMSXC Class of 2011
When Julia joined cross country in seventh grade she was not able to finish the first time trial. She finished the second time trial with a two-mile time of 18:30. By the end of the season Julia had a P.R. of 14:07 and earned a spot as an alternate for our State team as well as the Future Potential Award. During her eighth grade season Julia became one of our team captains and took her leadership role seriously…or as seriously as her personality would let her. Julia never missed a practice in eighth grade, ran the most miles on the team, and earned the Sportsmanship Award at the end of the season. She ran a P.R. of 12:33 and finished third for the girls at the State meet. In high school, Julia stepped up and became one of the essential runners for the girls’ recent string of State championships. As a sophomore, Julia ran a 19:04 three-mile time at State as the fifth runner on the team. Her position sealed the team’s victory in an incredibly close race. Julia pushed her teammates to improve over the next few years while running a lifetime P.R. of 18:27 in the three-mile and 5:22 in the 1600. Julia has had to work hard for everything during her time in Yorkville’s cross country family, and we have all been made better because of her positive outlook on life and running.
Tammy Cox on December 12, 2015
It's been an honor to watch these kids run
