Boys cross country: Rivals Plainfield North, Plainfield South celebrate state success together

Plainfield North sophomore Thomas Czerwinski is constantly motivated by wanting to be better than the team across town.

The Tigers and Plainfield South have built two of the top cross country programs in the state and there is no doubt a rivalry between them. But there also are friendships.

“Every race, we’re pushing each other,” Czerwinski said. “Really every day at practice, I’m thinking about beating them. But after the races, I always go up and talk to them and say, ‘Good job,’ and stuff like that. We have a lot of respect for each other.”

That respect was on full display Saturday in Peoria. Plainfield North finished as the state runner-up in Class 3A behind Downers Grove North, winning the program’s first state trophy. Plainfield South – which won its first state championship in 2022 – brought home another trophy with a third-place finish.

The rivals shared the podium at state. Then they posed for photos together and celebrated their town’s success together.

After battling each other all season, was there hatred between the Tigers and Cougars? Hardly.

“We hate losing to them,” Plainfield South coach Jason Crowe said. “They hate losing to us. But at the same time, it’s really cool to see the runners respect each other for all the work they put in. They push us to get better. I hope we push them to get better.

“You don’t have to hate each other to be rivals. It’s become a good, healthy rivalry.”

Czerwinski finished fifth to lead a young Plainfield North team to second place. Junior Quinn Davis (22nd), senior Owen Stahl (25th), sophomore Aidan Connors (40th) and sophomore James Maso (62nd) rounded out the Tigers’ scorers.

“I’m super proud of them,” Plainfield North coach Andy Derks said. “I know they wanted to win, but we knew Downers Grove North was a really good team. They were ready to go and ran a great race. I thought we executed really well on the biggest stage and ran our best race on the biggest day, so you have to be proud about that.

“Getting our first-ever trophy, I felt excited not just for our team, but the alumni and the parents and everyone who has helped build this over the last 10-plus years.”

Derks has seen the way the Tigers and Cougars have pushed each other.

“We have a rivalry,” Derks said. “We absolutely want to beat each other and we make no bones about that. But it’s in a way that’s respectful. Every meet, we wish them good luck, we fist bump them before the race. We were really proud of them when they won last year. I clearly think they’ve made us better, and I hope we’ve made them better, as well.

“It hasn’t always been a friendly rivalry. Fifteen years ago, there were a lot of hard feelings. We’ve built a mutual respect and friendship with them and the fact that we’re both able to have success on a big stage has been really special.”

Plainfield South was led by senior Camyn Viger, a New Mexico recruit who finished as the state runner-up behind Hinsdale Central’s Aden Bandukwala.

“I went for it,” Viger said. “I caught up to him, but when I caught up, he took off. I tried my hardest, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Junior Dylan Maloney (eighth), senior Joaquin DeAlba (51st), junior Riley Fink (52nd) and freshman Alex Bautista (55th) rounded out the scorers for the Cougars.

Like Czerwinski, Viger was motivated by the crosstown rivalry all season.

“We obviously always want to beat them and they tell us the exact same thing,” Viger said. “When you have two schools so near each other, it’s awesome to see us both having success and battling each other. Having two of the top three teams in the state in the same town, it’s kind of crazy to think about.

“We see them literally all season long and they always give us great competition. They’re a great group of kids, as well, not just in running.”

Knowing they both had strong teams, Crowe and Derks earlier in the fall discussed the possibility of a scene playing out at state just the way it did Saturday.

“We talked about it earlier in the year and we agreed that we wanted to see two Plainfield teams up on that podium,” Crowe said. “So it was really cool to see us reach that goal.”