Meet the Staff

Charlie Kern

Director

Coach Kern is a teacher and coach at York High School. He wanted to share his knowledge of running with people of the community; thus, CK Running was born. Coach Kern ran at the University of Kentucky where he met his wife Lynne. He was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to race in Europe, where in 2009, he won a World Masters (over 40) Championship in the 1500m run.

Lynne Kern

Director of Jr CTA, Assistant to the Director of CTA

Lynne has been married to Coach Kern for the past 28 years. They met at the University of Kentucky, where Lynne was part of the NCAA championship team for cross country.

Dawn Calcagno

High School Leader

Dawn is the Girls Cross Country Coach at ICCP, and this is her seventh year with CK Running. All 5 of her kids, ages 7-15, participate at CTA every summer.

Charlie Kern Jr.

High School and 5th Grade Counselor

Charlie is a sophomore at the University of Missouri, and this is his 5th year with CK Running. He ran at Nike Cross Nationals and was a two time All-American at New Balance Nationals. He can also wiggle his ears!

TJ Stevenson

High School and 3rd Grade Counselor

TJ is a sophomore at Illinois State University. This is his second year with CK Running. He was part of an All-American 4xMile team at New Balance Nationals.
Did you know? TJ's full name is Timothy Jimothy.

Mark Talbot

8th Grade Leader

Mark is a counselor at Stagg High School and a track coach at York High School. This is his 5th year with CK Running. His favorite event to run was the 800, but his favorite event to coach is the 400. When he was in high school, he was part of two All-State 4x800 teams. He just got married in July!

Kameron Stearns

8th Grade Counelor

Kam is a senior at York High School. This is his second year with CK Running. His favorite track memory is winning the Indoor Conference meet as a team, and coming in second in the triple jump. He can also memorize any song after listening to it only three times.

Thomas Braun

8th Grade Counselor

Thomas is a junior at York High School. This is his first year with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. His favorite event is the 1600, and he has been playing the piano since he was four years old.

Victoria Palma

8th and 4th Grade Counselor

Victoria is a freshman at the University of Illinois where she is studying Mechanical Engineering. This is her second year at CK Running. She's qualified for the State Meet in the 1600, which is her favorite event, but she would love to try the Steeplechase one day. She was born in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to the United States when she was 6th months old.

Michael Moriarty

8th Grade Counselor

Michael is a senior at York High School. This is his first year with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. He was part of an All-State 4x800 team, and he competed at New Balance Nationals in the Distance Medley Relay. He is also a triplet!

Brian Pratt

8th Grade Counelor

Brian is a senior at York High School, and this is his third year with CK Running. He ran a personal best of 15:09 at the State Cross Country Meet his junior year. He has also raced hovercrafts with his dad since he was in 4th grade!

Colin Hill

8th Grade Counselor

Colin is a junior at York High School. This is his first year working with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. His favorite event is either the 1600 or 3200, and he claims he is "the best Minecraft player ever."

Sean Leonard

8th Grade Counselor

Sean is a sophomore at Miami University where he is studying finance. This is his fourth year with CK Running. He loves the 4x400 and 4x200, and when he was younger he accidentally swallowed a toothbrush.

Reed Sundberg

7th Grade Leader

Reed is a math teacher and cross country and track coach at York High School. This is his sixth year with CK Running. One of his favorite accomplishments is getting the job as a sprint coach at York. His favorite color is orange, and his favorite food is cottage cheese.

Ethan Kern

7th Grade Counselor

Ethan is a senior at York High School. This is his fifth year with CK Running. He qualified for Nike Cross Nationals and was a finalist at the Foot Locker National meet his junior year. His favorite event is the 1600 and his favorite food is pasta.

Harrison Kennedy

7th Grade Counselor

Harry is a junior at North Central College, and this is his third year with CK Running. His favorite events are the 10k and 8k in cross country, and he is left handed.

Johnny Brennan

7th Grade Counselor

Johnny is a senior at York High School. This is his first year working with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. His favorite even in the 4x800, and his favorite food is a cheeseburger from Five Guys.

Eric Sylvester

7th Grade Counselor

Eric is a senior at York High School, and this is his second year with CK Running. He was the Sectional Champ in the 400m Dash his junior year, and he is a big fan of the band Twenty One Pilots.

Lydia Hickey

7th Grade Counselor

Lydia is a senior at York High School. This is her second year with CK Running. She was part of an All-State 4x800 team, but her favorite event in the 4x400. She is also color blind!

Max Lupo

7th Grade Counselor

Max is a senior at York High School. This is his first year with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. He was All-Conference in the 4x800, and his hero is LaVar Ball.

Ben Sharko

6th Grade Leader

Ben is an English teacher and track coach at York High School, and this is his 5th year with CK Running. He ran cross country and track at York and at Augustana. This is his ninth year coaching cross country and track, and he loves to read, write, teach, and run.

Emma Kern

6th Grade Counselor, Director of Technology

Emma is a senior at York High School, and this is her 5th year working with CK Running. She manages all things digital. Emma was part of an All-State 4x800 team at York and wants to study Animal Behavior in college.

Colleen Grogan

6th and 3rd Grade Counselor

Colleen is a freshman at Tulane University in New Orleans. This is her second year with CK Running, and she works with 3rd and 6th graders. Her favorite event is the 400m hurdles. She qualified for the State Meet in the 300m hurdles all four years of high school, and competed at the Junior Olympics in the 400m hurdles twice. She has an unhealthy obsession with peanut butter.

Mickey Vreeland

6th Grade Counselor

Mickey is a junior at York High School. This is his first year with CK Running, but he attended as a camper. He now works with 6th graders. His favorite event is the mile, and he was part of an All-State 4x800 team. He also has two mini Golden Retrievers named Duncan and Jasper.

Mark Morgan

6th Grade Counselor

Mark Morgan is a sophomore at Loras College, and this is his second year with CK Running. He was part of an All-State 4x800 team at York High School, and he is a distant relative of the Wright Brothers.

Daniel Klysh

6th Grade Counselor

Daniel is a senior at York High School, and this is his 3rd year with CK Running. He was part of 2 All-State 4x800 teams, and ran at New Balance Nationals twice. He can speak English, Spanish, and Ukrainian. His favorite animal is a flamingo and his favorite food is ice cream.

Katie Bryk

5th and 2nd Grade Leader

Katie is a reading interventionist at Madison School in Lombard. She has been with CK Running for 4 years. Katie has completed 45 marathons and coaches endurance programs for adults at Fleet Feet. She loves spending her summers running with kids!

Sarah May

5th Grade Counselor

Sarah is a freshman at Grand Valley State University, where she is majoring in Exercise Science and running Cross Country and Track. This is her third year with CK Running, and she works with 5th graders in both CTA and Jr CTA. She was a two time All-State athlete for York High School and her favorite event is the 1600.

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Nick Bartuch

5th and 4th Grade Counselor

Nick is a senior at Illinois State University where he is studying biology. This is his 4th year with CK Running. His favorite event is the 1600 and he is a very distant relative of Mrs Kern's adoptive mom, who was from the same small village in Italy as Nick's ancestors.

Adam Parat

5th and 3rd Grade Counselor

Adam is a freshman at Concordia University in Wisconsin. This is his first year with CK Running. He is an animal lover, a baseball player, and his favorite Coach Kern quote is “it's nice to be great, but it's far greater to be nice!”

Karly Keating

2nd Grade Counselor

Karly is a junior at Benet Academy. This is her first year with CK Running, but she attended as a camper. She qualified for the Cross Country State Meet her freshman and sophomore years, and her team placed 11th at the Cross Country State Meet her freshman year. She also plays Lacrosse at Benet.

Anneliese Bartuch

3rd Grade Counselor

Anneliese is a freshman at Illinois State University. This is her first year with CK Running, but she attended as a camper. She wasn't a runner until she did CTA her freshman year, and she has been doing cross country and track ever since!

Jack Devine

4th Grade Counselor

JD is a senior at York High School. This is his second year with CK Running, and he ran track for the first time as a junior He volunteers a lot with the Brookfield Zoo, and is going to Florida in July to study dolphins!