CSL Conference Championships 2023
FULL RESULTS: VARSITY | JV | SOPH | FROSH
EXCELLING IN THE MUD: WARRIORS PLACE SECOND IN CSL SOUTH AND WERE SHOCKINGLY CLOSE TO FIRST, SOPHOMORES WIN
If there was any question about the toughest team in the CSL, it has been answered. Mother Nature threw everything she could at this year’s CSL Cross Country Championships. The course at Vernon Hills was absolutely destroyed. After several hundred racing spikes struck the soft, soaked ground in the early races, any remaining grass on the course became ankle-deep mud puddles without traction for the later races. There wasn’t even any spectator space available without ankle-deep water. And with cold rain falling and 20 mile-per-hour wind gusts, it was a day normal people would fold or stay inside entirely. But the Deerfield Warriors were grinning at the opportunity. It was clear that the weather affected every runner, but it seemed to have a smaller impact on Deerfield as the they moved ahead relatively and outperformed their expectations at every level.
The expectation before the meet was that 7th- ranked New Trier would dominate the CSL South while Deerfield fought Maine South and Evanston for second place. That expectation was abandoned in the first mile as Deerfield was already too far ahead of Maine South and Evanston to worry about them. Instead, Deerfield found themselves within reach of New Trier. Dylan Cohen and Jamie Chandler grinded through the mud near the front of the race. They clearly got the message that New Trier was within reach and ran aggressively in the second mile. In the final mile a few runners passed them, but they held on for fifth and sixth place. Jon Wool and Eric Hogenkamp ran a similar race a few places back and held on for 10th and 11th place. Cohen, Chandler, Wool, and Hogenkamp earned All-Conference honors for their top-14 finishes. Dane Brown had a rough start and battled to hold on for the team. He got passed by Ben Freedman in the final kick, and the pair finished in 18th and 19th place. New Trier did win in the end, but Deerfield was only 13 points back and 44 points ahead of third place. The combined results showed another impressive feat for Deerfield. Since the CSL North competition occurs in the same race, the meet is also scored as one big 12-team conference just for kicks. And when you score the meet that way, Deerfield was only one point behind CSL North team Highland Park who is ranked 12th in the state. Thinking about how Deerfield was grouped with Maine South and Evanston instead of New Trier, plus Highland Park, demonstrates that either Deerfield was underestimated or the weather really played into their favor. Most likely, it’s both.
CSL South competition is much more difficult than the CSL North competition Deerfield faced prior to this season. CSL divisions are aligned to usher the six schools with the best athletics into the CSL South. However, Deerfield’s CSL South result this year matched their CSL North result from last year with a second place finish and four All-Conference runners. A very impressive feat for the CSL South newcomers.
Following the girls and boys varsity races, the previously green course turned into a brown swamp for the lower level races. Arguably, that played into Deerfield’s favor even more.
The JV race in the CSL South is historically dominated by New Trier. Last year, New Trier placed first through seventh. This year, Deerfield infiltrated. With a come-from-behind strategy, Andrew Firestone ran down all but two New Trier runners to finish third. Matt Solovy had a strong race to finish in sixth. Ryan Jones lost his shoe in the first mile and had one bare foot for most of the race and still managed to finish in ninth. Danny Kriegel finished in 11th, and Zach Bolon had an incredible race to finish 12th. New Trier still won, but not nearly as perfect as expected, and once again Deerfield was closer to New Trier than to the third place team. The first twelve runners included six from New Trier, five Deerfield, one Glenbrook South, and no Glenbrook North, Evanston, or Maine South runners. In the lower level races, the top fourteen are awarded ribbons that unofficially signify “All-Conference” at that level, and Deerfield runners secured five of the 14 JV ribbons. Besides for New Trier, which is nearly three times the size of Deerfield, the Warriors’ depth is unmatched in the CSL. It’s a testament to how the Deerfield JV runners approach their running careers with the same level of dedications as the varsity runners.
The sophomore race was supposed to be a close matchup between New Trier and Deerfield for the title. The expectation was that winning would be challenging, especially because New Trier kept their varsity sophomore in the sophomore race while Deerfield pulled Jamie Chandler up to the varsity race. However, the Warriors came out blazing. Scott Harvey and Hugo Albrecht-Buehler went straight to the front pack. Albrecht-Buehler tends to start aggressively and finish inconsistently, but he had his best finish at the right time to place second. Harvey had been dealing with an injury and faded a bit, but he held on strong for fourth place. Sam Chaban used his trademark fast last mile to finish in sixth, and Will Lambert ran a strong race for eighth. Next came Charlie Marks, Jay Noren, and Jon Weissmuller in 11th, 12th, and 13th. With seven of the fourteen ribbon winners, the supposed close battle between New Trier and Deerfield was not so close. Deerfield won with 31 points over New Trier’s 47, and Glenbrook South was third with 68. This victory was Deerfield’s first ever CSL South title at any level, possibly in any sport.
The final race of the day was the freshmen race. Andrew Calderon was once again the top Warrior in the chute in fifth place, followed by Logan Luo in seventh. Both Calderon and Luo won top 14 ribbons. Shocking everyone from the start, Edward Minev, got out much faster than usual. Having finished as the seventh to ninth freshman for most of the season, Minev was running up in the third position. After the fast start, many believed it was only a matter of time before he would hit a wall and fall back, but that never came. Minev finished in 16th place in what was by far his best race of the season. Eli Duncan was the Warrior’s fourth runner in 22nd place. Then another shocking finish came from Lucas Bryan. Typically much farther back, he came roaring in his final kick up to 25th place as the team’s fifth runner. He was quickly followed into the chute by Ethan Reich and Cooper Baum in 26th and 27th. The Warrior freshmen finished in fourth place in the CSL South, but the scores were very close and without any dominant team. Maine South won with 53 points, followed by Glenbrook South with 65, and then came New Trier, Deerfield, and Glenbrook North with 73, 75, and 78, respectively. It will be exciting to see what is in store for this class given how closely matched the teams in the conference are.
In all, Deerfield’s debut conference meet in the CSL South was a wild, muddy success. A school as small as Deerfield should have every right to finish sixth out of six against such large schools, but they finished second on varsity and first, second, and fourth in the lower levels. They collected four of the fourteen All-Conference medals and one-third of the individual awards on the lower levels. Deerfield is one of the strongest cross country programs in the CSL, definitely the strongest pound-for-pound, and clearly the toughest in rough conditions.
