Timothy Christian's boys cross country team finished third at the Chicagoland Christian Conference championship Saturday, Oct. 17. The result capped the regular season for the Trojans, who posted nine personal records at Kankakee Community College and head to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) postseason Saturday, Oct. 24.

Five Trojans scored in the conference meet. Sophomore Drew Bemister led the way in 12th place. Senior Josh Kooy finished 16th, sophomore Peter Azzinaro 17th, junior Ryan VanderWal 20th and freshman Jackson Plasman 22nd, according to the school's athletics page.

Nine runners set new personal records in the 3-mile race. Bemister was among them, joined by freshmen Will Miranda, Hans Potoshnick, James Norman and Benet Hoogstra, sophomore Micah Lancer, and juniors Hudson Tseng, Ethan Lindemulder and Jack VanderZee.

The personal-best surge has been building all fall. At the Lisle Mane Invitational earlier in October, Azzinaro, Bemister and sophomore Luke Cudney all broke 17 minutes in the 3-mile for the first time in the 2026 season, according to the school. VanderWal, Kooy, Plasman, VanderZee and Hoogstra also posted personal records that day. On the JV side, Lindemulder ran more than two minutes faster than his previous best. The team finished seventh in a 19-team field.

The improvement arc stretches back further. At a 31-team invitational in September, Kooy beat his prior time by almost 40 seconds, VanderWal dropped his mark by more than two minutes and VanderZee shaved more than a minute and a half off his previous best, the school reported. Azzinaro and Bemister each ran more than 1 minute 20 seconds faster than their times from the year before.

Timothy Christian is assigned to the Class 2A Maple Park (Kaneland) Regional, according to IHSA site assignments. The field includes Glenbard South, Montini, Wheaton St. Francis, Nazareth Academy, Aurora Central Catholic, Marmion Academy, Illinois Math and Science Academy, Dixon, Sterling and host Kaneland.

A top finish at the regional would advance the Trojans to the sectional round of the IHSA state series.