Boys cross country preview

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

New-look league: The North Shore was already a quality league, but realignment has pushed it to another level. The conference lost Germantown and Milwaukee Lutheran but gained the West Bend schools, Slinger and Hartford. That means standouts such as Homestead’s Drew Bosley and West Bend West’s Luke Guttormson are guaranteed another opportunity to race each other.

Woodland race: Shorewood and Wisconsin Lutheran have had a friendly rivalry over the years. Now those battles will have some added spice with both teams competing for the Woodland Conference title as well. Figure in some of the runners New Berlin Eisenhower and Pewaukee return and this another league that got a boost due to realignment.

RELATED:Girls cross country preview

Charging Chargers: Sussex Hamilton could make a big splash this year. The Chargers, who won the Greater Metro title last season, finished seven points out of a second-place finish at the sectional and missed a state berth. The team returns all of its runners, including returning state qualifiers Michael Swope, a senior, and Evan Selin, a junior.

RUNNERS TO WATCH

Michael Axtman, sr., Living Word Lutheran: The defending Midwest Classic champion is one of the state’s top returners in Division 3. He took 12th last year at state finishing the 5,000-meter course in 16 minute 58.7 seconds, A week earlier he posted his best time of 2016 (16:42.0) at the sectional at UW-Parkside.

Drew Bosley, jr., Homestead: The reigning area runner of the year already has two top-10 finishes at state. He took seventh as a freshman and second last year in 15:38.76. His fastest time of the season came in his lowest finish, a third-place showing in 15:33.5 on a fast course at the Midwest Invitational in Janesville.

Danny Brown, sr., New Berlin Eisenhower: Brown made big strides last season when he jumped from 47th in the Woodland as a sophomore to third last year. He also made his first state appearance and finished 38th in 16:35.06

Ansel Fellman, sr., Kenosha Bradford: The Southeast Conference champion had a late-season run of first-place finishes at four meets before taking 59th in 16:50.16 at state. It was his second state appearance. He also qualified as a freshman.

Luke Guttormson, sr., West Bend West: Back-to-back top-20 finishes at state made Guttormson one of the area’s most accomplished performers. He took seventh last season in 16:02.68, the third-best showing of any area runner. He was 15th as a sophomore in 16:26.12.

Nick Holmes, soph., Nicolet: It’s not easy to make waves as a freshman in boys cross country, but Holmes was an exception. He won the Whitefish Bay Invite and had a number of other top-10 finishes. He qualified for state as an individual and took 47th in 16:40.52.

Jordan Janusiak, sr., South Milwaukee: The defending Woodland champion has a chance to be a rare four-time state qualifier. He has climbed the ladder in Division 1, going from 54th as a freshman to 16th as a sophomore to eighth in 16:04.46 last season. His best time of 15:52.0 came at the Midwest Invitational in Janesville.

Ian Nadolski, sr., Mukwonago: The Classic 8’s top returning performer finished second in the league last season. He ran his best time of the year that day (16:08.9) and then reached state as an individual qualifier. He took 64th in 16:52.19.

Gable Schmidt, sr., Kenosha Tremper: Schmidt posted top-three showings at the Kenosha County, Southeast Conference and sectional meets before taking 34th (16:32.97) in his first state appearance.

Michael Swope, sr., Sussex Hamilton: Swope is poised for a big season after winning the Greater Metro Conference title last season and taking 40th in his second state meet (16:36.52).

EVENTS TO WATCH

Milwaukee River Invitational, 5:15 p.m. Thursday at Lincoln Park: The inaugural meet hosted by Shorewood and Milwaukee King will feature 27 teams, including Whitefish Bay, Wauwatosa East, Marquette, Homestead and Cedarburg.

Highlander Invite, 6 p.m. Sept. 1 at Tendick Park: Homestead standout Drew Bosley will open the season against a field that includes runners from Sussex Hamilton, Wauwatosa East, Shorewood and Wisconsin Lutheran.

Arrowhead Invitational, 6 p.m. Sept. 7: The Warhawks' meet always brings together some of southern Wisconsin’s top runners and puts them on a fast course.