GCHS Cross Country Team Headed to State

All the hard work and the long runs paid off for the Grayslake Central boys Cross Country team. For the first time ever, the team qualified for the state meet at noon Saturday, Nov. 5 in Detweiller Park in Peoria.

“We have had individuals qualify before but never a full team,” said coach Jim Centella. “It shows the depth of our program. It is a culmination of the three years of work since I took over. I’ve said we have to get better and have to run year-round. Most of my juniors and seniors have been running in the winter in the cold and running in the summer in the heat. It’s not an accident that we have achieved this success. Hopefully, we are establishing something where this is not just a one-time thing.”

Centella said one of the team’s best runners, Luke Zygmunt, recently was plagued by shin problems.

“He was second in state in the mile last year, but he started getting shin problems on and off,” Centella said. “We had to sit him. So that put a lot of pressure on everyone else.”

Team members stepped up last weekend to qualify for state. They include Will Brewster, Kevin Boyle, Kevin Orozco, Tommy Zygmunt, Kirk Dickson, Daniel Glenn, Brent Rische and Brett Seaholm.

“They are such a great group of kids,” Centella said. “They just want the team to advance. They are such hard workers.”

He said Will Brewster is one of the best runners in Class 2A.

“Will is shooting for a top five finish at the state meet,” Centella said.

Centella praised all the seniors for being the “the heart and soul of the team. They have proven to be awesome leaders. They inspired the others to not take any shortcuts. They’ve shown that hard work and consistency pays off.”

The cross country program at Grayslake Central has 33 boys and 23 girls in the program. In 2008 when Centella took over, there were 24 boys and eight girls.

Athletic director Tom Kim praised Centella for building a solid program.

“In three years, he has not only been able to increase participation in our program, he has been able to do that with great success,” Kim said.

“One of the things that makes coach Centella such a great leader is that he has such an even keel about him, along with such a passion for the sport,” said Kim. “He teaches the kids the rationale behind what they do in training and the purpose of it. He is organized, has lots of energy and tries new ideas with the program. The kids have responded to all of that.”

Kim added that cross country is a unique sport.

“It requires pure running,” Kim said. “It takes a special kind of kid to come out for this sport, and a special coach to motivate the athletes. Coach Centella has done a really good job in lighting a fire in the kids to want to come out and do this.”

Centella, a 2002 graduate of Grayslake Central High School, knows the sport from the inside out. He ran track and cross country with coach Joel Peebles. Centella then went on to Washington University in St. Louis, a Division 3 school.

“I was hurt a lot,” Centella said of his college years. “I was often on the sidelines, so I was always picking my coach’s brain. I started looking at things from the perspective of a coach instead of an athlete.”

That has all culminated in a trip downstate this year. Centella said the team members’ parents have been a terrific support.

“I have to thank the parents,” he said. “They have been great. They’ve organized team pasta dinners, donated snacks and Gatorade and more. They have done lots of things behind the scenes that make a big difference.”

Kim said Centella deserves much of the praise himself.

“Jimmy is just a great guy!” Kim said. “He’s genuine and an all-around good person. People like that and respond to that. He knows how to motivate his athletes and push them, but he does it in a good way.”