Malcolm Taylor heads to a third-place finish at last year's Twin City Meet. Gargoyle photos by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

Buck Walsh builds a lead at last year's Class 1A St. Joseph regional at Kickapoo State Park.

Nathan Smith, left, and Isaac Chambers pick up the pace at the 2007 Twin City Meet.

URBANA — “Big.” That’s the word that head coach Doug Mynatt used to describe the Uni High boys cross country team this year.

After graduating only two varsity runners, the Illineks returned this season with many fresh faces.

“[This is] the biggest boys team I’ve ever had,” declared Mynatt. With 26 high school runners, including key varsity returnees from last year, the Illineks are poised to challenge for a position at the Class 1A state finals in Peoria on Nov. 8.

In fact, the preseason ranking on DyeStat Illinois (formerly known as Illinois Prep Top Times), predicted that the Illineks will finish in ninth place at state this year, right behind their long-time local rival, St. Joseph-Ogden.

Last year, the Uni boys placed ninth out of 18 teams at the Paxton-Buckley-Loda Class 1A sectional, missing qualifying for state by four teams. (Only the top five teams in each sectional advance.)

However, the squad was young and full of potential. In addition, Malcolm Taylor, who qualified individually as a junior and had a 29th-place showing at state (just four spots shy of making all-state), has returned to lead to the team.

The boys are optimistic about their season, which begins Tuesday with the annual Kickapoo Kickoff Classic at Kickapoo State Park in Vermilion County. (With Gov. Rod Blagojevich's recent announcement that the state is closing Kickapoo and 10 other state parks for budgetary reasons, this might be the last Kickapoo Classic for a while.)

“We have a lot of depth, and it’ll be good competition to fill in those last few varsity spots,” said senior Isaac Chambers, one of the returning varsity runners. “The past few years we’ve kind of struggled to get a lead pack that’s really strong, packed up, but this year it should be pretty easy [to do that].”

Taylor also has high hopes: “The team is looking great. We’re deeper than ever before. We definitely have a run at state this year.”

However, the Illineks aren't taking anything for granted, especially not their high rankings on DyeStat.

“[It’s] nice to see our team mentioned, but [the rankings are] probably a little premature,” said Mynatt. “We’ll see how we do at the first few meets.”

Chambers expressed similar sentiments: “I don’t think it means a whole lot, and we still have to put in all the effort. If we do that, maybe we’ll be around ninth. A lot of teams come out of nowhere throughout the season, so I wouldn’t put much weight into the preseason ranking.”

As of now, the Illineks are more concerned about their upcoming contests, especially the Twin City Championship Meet on Sept. 9. Featuring all the teams in Champaign-Urbana, the Twin City event determines the fastest team in the area.

Last year, the Illineks finished in third place, closely behind 2A schools Champaign Central and Centennial. Taylor placed third individually, running the three-mile course in 17 minutes, 32 seconds.

With the record numbers and the blend of veterans and new faces, the Illineks seem to be in for a great season. Their ultimate goal is to make it to the finals as a team for the first time since 1997. With Mynatt’s coaching experience and the squad’s talent and dedication, that seems perfectly realistic.

“[We] will do everything possible and work our hardest to make sure that we get to state,” said Taylor.

“If you work hard and you train right, it pays off,” added Chambers.

When the boys line up for Tuesday's Kickoff Classic, they will be looking to improve on their third-place finish at Kickapoo last year. This meet might just serve as the starting point for a team journey that ends with a November trip to Peoria.