Although boys XC may not have advanced any runners to State this year, a young team means that bright things lie ahead.

At the Hoffman Estates Sectional on Saturday Oct. 29, Evanston’s highest finisher was sophomore Sam Froum, who came in just under the 16-minute-mark with a 15:59.62, good for 57th place. Not far behind Froum was junior Henry O’Malley, who finished 60th with a 16:02.21. Senior Torin Ravi was next, 70th in 16:11.72, and just about a half second behind him was sophomore Arber Bombaci, who took 72nd in 16:12.10. Rounding out the top five for Evanston was senior David Choldin, 77th with a 16:16.87.

 In cross country, runners earn points equal to the position they finish in. Lowest score wins. After adjusting for runners who weren’t competing in the team category, Evanston ended up with 314 points, good for 11th place and ahead of Warren but behind Highland Park. It took 213 points or less in order to qualify for State as a team.

On an individual level, Froum and O’Malley both ran times faster than last year’s sole State qualifier Essay Tolosa, who ran a 16:06.0 to take 30th at the 2021 Sectional. With both runners returning next year as well as Bombaci, boys XC is definitely a team to keep an eye on.