The Pack TFCC Welcomes Fox Valley Pack and McHenry Track and Field Camp

In accordance with its mission to build communities for young cross country and track and field athletes, The Pack TFCC is pleased to announce our newest affiliates: Fox Valley Pack TFCC and the McHenry Track and Field Camp.

Fox Valley Pack TFCC

Fox Valley Pack TFCC will launch in early June with its home base at West Aurora High School and provide service to those in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, Oswego, Naperville, St. Charles, Wheaton, and nearby suburbs. 

The opening summer session offers the majority of track and field events, including the turbo javelin, and will consist of two separate camps. The Fox Valley TFCC Competition club will focus its efforts on incoming 6th-12th grade athletes while the Youth Track and Field camp will focus on incoming 1st-5th grade athletes. Information and Registration are now available for both camps.

The basis for this new affiliate is deep friendship and love of sport. The partnership began with conversations between high school friends and college teammates Kevin Rafferty and Brenden Mariano. They ran together at Schaumburg High School and North Central College, and their participation in both sports was deeply influenced by Illinois coaching legends Jim Macnider and Al Carius. It is within Carius’s emphasis that all athletes should “run for fun and personal bests” that this new affiliate takes shape.

Executive Director Brenden Mariano brings a wealth of experience to his new role. First and foremost, he has used his extensive network of friends and coaching colleagues to build a formidable staff with expertise across all event areas. Brenden also has a deep resume of success as a coach himself, including state and NCAA national trophies during his stops at Schaumburg High School and North Central College. He currently works as an assistant coach at North Central with a focus on middle-distance athletes.

Speaking about the upcoming summer session, Mariano states, “We’re excited to offer an amazing experience and opportunities for young athletes to achieve their personal best.  The energy has been building for some time, and I look forward to the fun we will have throughout the session." 

Lead Coach Michelle Wicyk is the current girls cross country coach at Waubonsie Valley High School and has experience coaching kids of all ages. She just celebrated a season that saw the Waubonsie Valley girls qualify to the IHSA State cross country meet for the first time. She also has run the District 204 summer track and field camp for young athletes for the past two years. 

To read about the rest of our inaugural staff, please see the Fox Valley Pack main page. Many thanks are due to the cross country/track and field staff at West Aurora for securing our partnership with the school. We would like to thank Tony Rizzo, John Gibbs, and Courtney Lamb for their advocacy on our behalf as well as athletic director Jason Buckley for allowing access to their facility.

All inquiries can be directed to Brenden Mariano at foxvalley@thepacktfcc.com. 

McHenry Track and Field Camp

Camp Director Dean Roehrborn first brought the idea to join the Pack organization to executive director Chris Quick a year ago. Now a relationship that began with Roehrborn running as an athlete for Quick evolves into a partnership focused on growing the cross country and track and field community in a different section of the Fox Valley. This camp provides primary service to those in McHenry, Woodstock, Crystal Lake, Cary, Round Lake, and nearby suburbs.

In its first summer, the camp will focus on athletes in 5th-12th grades while offering coaching in all events except throws and pole vault. The athletes will also have access to all meets in The Pack TFCC summer schedule. Information and Registration are now available.

Dean Roehrborn teaches social studies at McHenry High School where he has served as an assistant coach for the cross country and girls track and field programs since 2021. His primary focus is working with distance athletes, though he has experience coaching sprints and field events. Dean developed his passion for running as a member of the cross country and track and field teams at Palatine High School under coaches Chris Quick and Alex Soto. He went on to attend Southeast Missouri State University, where he earned his degree in Social Studies Education before returning to the Chicagoland area to pursue both teaching and coaching.

Roehrborn writes of the new venture, “Cross country and track have shaped so much of who I am today, and I’m so excited to help contribute to the growth of the sport I love and provide younger athletes the opportunity to find that same passion!”

Many thanks are due to McHenry High School athletic director Chris Madson for his ongoing support of track and field and for his willingness to rent the track and field facility this summer. 

All inquiries about the camp can be directed to Dean Roehrborn at mchenry@thepacktfcc.com.