After the first five meets of the 2024 boys cross country season, junior A.J. Ince and senior Joey Yaros are proving to be some of each other’s best competition.

The pair have consistently paced Community, pushing the Ironmen to three first-place finishes to open the season and a second-place finish at the Randy Sharer B/N Intercity Meet, where they claimed second place on Sept. 24.

At the Intercity Meet, Ince led Community with a 15:51 time, good for third, just five seconds ahead of Yaros, who clocked in at 15:56, securing fourth for the Iron.

The duo’s performances were instrumental in securing Community’s second-place finish behind U-High, which took first by a 12-point margin.

The 2A Pioneers edged Community with a score of 31 to 43, with five U-High runners posting top 10 finishes. Behind Sean Kaeb’s first overall finish, Pioneer runners crossed the finish line in fifth, seventh, eighth and 10th place.

The tight race showcased the depth of both teams as Caden Nyman took ninth for the Ironmen (16:30) and Drew Patterson finished in 12th (16:43). Nate Witzig rounded out scoring for Community, finishing in 15th (17:01).

Ince credited his race results this season to training and racing with Yaros.

“We push each other and we work together,” Ince said.

That dynamic began at the season-opening NCHS Open on Sept. 6, where the Ironmen swept the top three spots, with Ince finishing first (15:57), Yaros second (16:03) and senior Caden Nyman (16:08) rounding out the top trio.

“We had a great race as we went 1-2-3,” Ince said.

Yaros led the Ironmen to victory at the 56th Lee Halberg/Lanphier Invitational on Sept. 14, winning the race with a time of 15:59.

Ince finished fifth at 16:25, while Nyman cemented his spot as the Iron’s number-three runner, finishing at 16:42.

Witzig took 18th (17:02), and Drew Patterson finished 28th (17:22) to give Community a 15-point win over Quincy High School.

Yaros again led the Iron pack at Sept. 19’s Earl Walters Taylorville Invite, finishing second overall with a time of 15:54.05, while Ince took third place at 15:59.61.

Their 2-3 finish was bolstered by Nyman’s fifth-place finish (16:29), Witzig’s sixth-place finish (16:52.12), the senior’s first sub-17 minute performance of the year, and Patterson’s eighth-place finish (17:14.66).

The team’s depth has been critical to their season’s success.

“We have a solid seven runners,” Ince said.

Junior Colin Heath and senior Logan Siegrist, while finishing outside the points so far this season, have consistently posted mid-17-minute finishes for the Ironmen.

That depth will be crucial if the Iron look to achieve the team’s 2025 goal: “Dominate and hopefully get to State,” Ince said.

To get to the IHSA 3A State meet at Peoria’s Detweiller Park as a team, the Iron will have to be among the top seven placing teams Nov. 2 at Maxwell Park when Community hosts the sectional race.

As individuals, Yaros, Ince and their teammates can qualify for State by finishing among the first 10 finishers on team’s outside the top seven.

That was Yaros’ path to Detweiller last season, setting a school record in the process.