NAPERVILLE - The Carthage men's cross country team has been selected to finish second in the 2025 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Men's Cross Country Pre-Championship Poll, the CCIW announced Thursday. The CCIW Cross Country Championships are scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 1.

POLL RESULTS

1. No. 10 North Central (Ill.) - 64 (8 first-place votes)
2. Carthage - 56 (1 first-place vote)
3. Wheaton (Ill.) - 51
4. Millikin - 39
5. Illinois Wesleyan - 32
6. Augustana (Ill.) - 31
7. Elmhurst - 24
8. Carroll (Wis.) - 19
9. North Park - 8

The Firebirds enter the 2025 CCIW Championships following a third-place finish in 2024 and back-to-back second-place finishes in 2022 and 2023. 

Senior Jacob Curulewski (Downers Grove, Ill.) has led the Firebirds all season long, claiming a pair of victories at the Parkside Vic Godfrey Open and the Wheaton Gil Dodds Invitational. Curulewski's best performance of the season thus far came at the Augustana Interregional Invitational on Oct. 18, where the junior placed eighth with a personal best time of 24:31.5.

Sophomore Harlan Matson (Plainfield, Ill.) and junior Luke Davey (Chicago, Ill.) lead the next group of Firebirds, along with seniors Chad Helmke (Kenosha, Wis.) and Connor Wood (Downers Grove, Ill.) Freshman Luke Adair has surged late in the season, serving as the Firebirds fifth finisher in the last two meets of the regular season

The Firebirds will compete in the CCIW Championships at 12 p.m. on Saturday at the Saukie Golf Course in Rock Island, Ill. For more information, visit athletics.carthage.edu.