Head Coach - Mike MacLaughlin (first year)

Assistant Coaches - Dave Kerschner, Tim Churetta, JJ Repert, Chuck Groller

District 11 Class - AA

Last Year's Record - 4-7

Key Losses - Matt Naugle, Doug Saks, Joe Kotula, Alex Costello

Key Returnees - Tyler Stelmack (Sr., Distance), Brett Hunsicker (Sr., Jumps), Austin Weiss (Jr., Hurdles), Cole Miller (Jr., Pole Vault), Cam Richardson (So., Sprints), Ryan Cerrone (Jr., Distance), Patrick Strobel (Sr., Distance)

Others To Watch - Alex Partington (Jr., throws), Alex Fixl (Jr., Hurdles), Chet Karpyn (Fr., Throws), Harry Hall (Fr., Sprints), Alex Bobbyn (Jr., Mid-Distance), Frank Dangelo (So., Sprints)

Strengths - Northwestern has a lot of balance this year, with some talent in all disciplines. Stelmack will win many distance events. Stelmack earned second place in two events (3200, 1600) at last year's league meet, while taking second place in the District 11 Class AAA 3200. Hunsicker, Weiss and Partington should also help pull in a lot of team points this season. With Northwestern in Class AA this year, the Tiger boys will have a better chance of getting individuals through districts and on to states this season.

Weaknesses - The Tigers have a lot of newcomers that need to find their niche. Some of last year's top point-scorers graduated. Northwestern might not have enough star power or depth to compete with the league's best boys teams in dual meets.

Quotable - "The opportunity is a lot better [in Class AA]. Now we can compete against schools our size. But there's studs in both divisions. You never know who you run into. I think we're going to be balanced. I don't know that we're going to have anything that's super outstanding other than Stelmack. He's going to be up there with the rest of those guys," Heach coach Mike MacLaughlin