Riverside Brookfield cross-country coach Larry Forberg has every reason to feel ecstatic about the Bulldogs’ lofty aspirations this season thanks to their impressive debut at the Elmwood Park Invitational last week.
The Bulldogs took first place with a team score of 56 points, ahead of runner-up Nazareth (74), Luther North and Chicago Latin.
Peter Lyson, Erwin Kehrt, Charlie Rock and Dave Melone-comprising an impressive quartet of sophomores-all performed well during the race, averaging approximately 18 minutes for the three-mile trek.
“Their enthusiasm and desire to do well is a very good thing for our program,” Forberg said about his Fab Four. “Peter and Erwin are strong runners who enjoy pushing one another to become better. Peter even encouraged Charlie to come out for cross country.”
Of course with all this precocious talent, it never hurts to have senior leadership as well. Two-sport star Jason Brondos, who also plays soccer during the Fall, is a vital part of the team along with fellow senior Kevin Kunkel. A hard worker who sets the tone for the Bulldogs, Kunkel has been nursing injuries but is expected back soon to the lineup.
“Kevin is a great team leader,” Forberg said. “We could have ran him [at Elmwood Park], but why risk anything in August when we will ready need him in October.”
The Bulldogs, coming off a second place showing in the Metro Suburban Conference, are focused on taking over the top spot from Fenton this campaign. It’s a challenging but reasonable goal, according to Forberg.
“Fenton is always a strong cross-country program,” Forberg noted. “We’re trying to build a community of runners [at RB] much like they have at Fenton. We feel like we can make some noise this year.”
After participating in the Lyons Invite last weekend, the Bulldogs turn their attention to their upcoming 48th Annual Riverside Brookfield Invitational.
“All of our runners want to qualify out of the regional and into sectional competition,” Forberg said. “Another goal for our runners is to get them clocking in at 16 minutes for three-mile distances. Considering we already posted 18 minutes at Elmwood Park, I’m very happy where we are at this point in the season.