By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

The 3A Boys race is always the spotlight race of this weekend. The 2016 edition should be no exception with Neuqua Valley the favorite ahead of a group of six to seven strong teams. The individual race is a bigger toss-up than it was a year ago. There are so many great individual runners. With the conditions being favorable, it would not be surprising to see the winning time being 14:15 or faster.

Here is a look at each of the qualifying teams along with some of the top individuals in the race on Saturday.

Teams 

(Listed in Ranked Order)

Naperville Neuqua Valley

DS IL Final Ranking – 1

Box – 16

Hornet-Red Devil Inv	J.McEneaney	J.Mollway	Z.Kinne	J.Jett	R.Kennedy
1 - 36	15:05	15:19   -14	15:22   -17	15:23   -18	15:37   -32
Richard Spring Inv	J.Mollway	J.Jett	J.McEneaney	Z.Kinne	M.Milostan
1 - 65	14:59	15:02   -3	15:04   -5	15:12   -13	15:21   -22
Peoria Inv	Z.Kinne	J. Hayhurst	R.Kennedy	T.Bombacino	R.Alvarez
4 - 202	14:50	15:14   -24	15:33   -43	15:36   -46	15:49   -59
Locktoberfest	J.McEneaney	J.Jett	J.Mollway	A.Johnson	E.McVittie
1 - 122	16:02	16:24   -22	16:36   -34	17:08   -66	17:28   -86
Naperville Twilight	J.McEneaney	J.Jett	J.Mollway	Z.Kinne	M.Milostan
1 - 24	14:49	14:55   -6	15:00   -11	15:01   -12	15:01   -12
DVC	J.McEneaney	Z.Kinne	J.Jett	M.Milostan	S.Anderson
1 - 16	14:51	14:59   -8	15:00   -9	15:04   -13	15:17   -26
3A Batavia Regional	M.Milostan	Z.Kinne	J.Mollway	R.Kennedy	T.Bomnacino
1 - 24	14:50	14:51   -1	15:11   -21	15:11   -21	15:17   -27
3A W Aurora Sectional	J.Jett	M.Milostan	J.Mollway	S.Anderson	J.Hayhurst
1 - 25	15:12	15:19   -7	15:20   -8	15:30   -18	15:36   -24

Preview – West Aurora Sectional Champion. The pack has been the key for the Wildcats once again this season and is one of the reasons why they will be the favorite in this meet. They have had five different runners that have crossed the line for them. Jake McEneaney leads the team with three times. The senior was leading the sectional race at the halfway point but ended up the team’s seventh runner. It did not matter. Jackson Jett stepped up to win the race. The Wildcats also did not run Zach Kinne in the sectional race. With him back in the lineup, it just gives the Wildcats extra depth. The split on five at the conference meet was 26 seconds and last week at 24 seconds. This team has the ability to have five runners under 15 minutes if they just run their race.

Downers Grove North

DS IL Final Ranking – 2

Box – 35

Leavey Inv	A.Danner	R.Birkmeier	J.Ridderhoff	N.Chudzik	A.Marek
1 - 26	15:35	15:45   -10	15:46   -11	15:48   -13	15:52   -17
FTTF - 3A	A.Danner	J.Ridderhoff	A.Marek	M.Moravec	N.Chudzik
1 - 66	15:25	15:26   -1	15:31   -6	15:39   -14	15:44   -19
Naperville Twilight	M.Moravec	N.Chudzik	J.Ridderhoff	A.Danner	S.McCool
2 - 55	15:02	15:06   -4	15:11   -9	15:12   -10	15:17   -15
WSC-Silver	A.Danner	J.Ridderhoff	A.Marek	N.Chudzik	M.Moravec
1 - 48	15:17	15:22   -5	15:31   -14	15:33   -16	15:34   -17
3A Lockport Reg	A.Danner	J.Ridderhoff	M.Moravec	R.Birkmeier	N.Chudzik
1 - 17	15:51	15:59   -8	16:14   -13	16:14   -13	16:24   -23
3A Marist Sec	A.Danner	J.Ridderhoff	M.Moravec	R.Birkmeier	A.Marek
1 - 54	15:06	15:07   -1	15:17   -11	15:27   -21	15:30   -24

Preview – Marist Sectional Champion. It is definitely possible to see this team winning the state championship. Just like Neuqua Valley, the Trojans live off of strong pack running. They ran against Neuqua Valley in October at the Naperville Twilight meet where they finished second. On that night, the pack of Neuqua was a little better. North is coming on strong especially up front led by Alec Danner and Jacob Ridderhoff. They were only separated by one second in their race at Marist. The split on their top five was 24 seconds last week, 23 seconds in their regional race, and 17 seconds when they won the WSC-Silver. This team has been running with confidence since the beginning of the season. It has been growing as they approach the state meet. To win the state meet, they will have to keep doing what they have been doing: run as a strong and tight pack. Danner and Ridderhoff could finish in the top 20. The rest of the pack, led by Matt Moravec needs to finish between 25th and 35th with a split under 24 seconds. When they finished behind Neuqua a month ago, they probably learned a lesson where they needed to move in the final mile just like Neuqua did. It could end up like a dual meet between the two teams. The Trojans just need to be in a position to capture a state championship moment.

LaGrange Lyons Township

DS IL Final Ranking – 3

Box – 11

Lions Pride	V.Zona	D.Kilrea	D.Palmer	G.Kutchek	A.Tarasuk
1 - 37	14:20	14:24   -4	15:26   -66	15:28   -68	15:32   -72
FTTF - 3A	V.Zona	D.Kilrea	A.Pall	D.Palmer	G.Kutchek
2 - 87	14:59	15:07   -8	15:39   -40	15:57   -58	15:58   -59
Culver Acad IN	D.Kilrea	V.Zona	D.Palmer	G.Kutchek	A.Pall
1 - 36	15:25	15:39   -14	16:11   -46	16:19   -54	16:21   -56
Peoria - 3A	V.Zona	D.Kilrea	D.Palmer	A.Pall	C.Costello
1 - 65	14:22	14:26   -4	15:04   -42	15:12   -50	15:17   -55
Portage MI	V.Zona	D.Kilrea	A.Pall	D.Palmer	G.Kutchek
1 - 67	15:15	15:16   -1	16:07   -52	16:09   -54	16:16   -61
WSC-Silver	D.Kilrea	V.Zona	A.Pall	C.Costello	G.Kutchek
2 - 52	14:45	14:49   -4	15:42   -57	15:43   -58	15:50   -65
3A Hinsdale C Reg	R. Van Tassel	G.Kutchek	C.Harders	A.Lynch	A.Tarasuk
3 - 65	15:34	15:42   -8	15:49   -15	16:00   -16	16:05   -21
3A Marist Sec	D.Kilrea	V.Zona	A.Pall	D.Palmer	C.Harders
2 - 80	14:26	15:00   -34	15:14   -48	15:40   -74	16:03   -97

Preview – Finished second at the Marist sectional. The Lions have not run their best races at the WSC-Silver and the Marist Sectional. This team could just be waiting in the shadows for the big moment. Lyons Township runs their best race of the year in this park. That showed over the past few years especially a year ago when they finished second. If any one team has a chip on their shoulder, it is this one. Danny Kilrea has run strong races the past two meets that he has been in including a second place finish last week. Expect teammate Vince Zona to be close to Kilrea. Last week was the exception when Zona let Kilrea go. The two will be together this week. The key for this team is the pack behind the two. During a big part of the season, between 8 to 10 seconds separated the three other scorers. In last week’s race, that split soared to 49 seconds. Alex Pall and Dan Palmer should be the team’s third/fourth man. They need to be 40 to 43 seconds behind Kilrea/Zona. The split on five was 97 seconds. That kind of split will not win a state championship. If the can get their overall split at 50 to 54 seconds with the pack within 8 seconds of each other, Lyons Township will end up with another trophy. It could be the state championship one.

Lake Zurich

DS IL Final Ranking – 4

Box – 21

Richard Spring	B.Griffith	K.Griffith	M.Pereira	P.Burns	E.Metzger
3 - 206	14:34	15:07   -33	15:22   -48	15:31   -57	16:28   -114
Palatine	B.Griffith	K.Griffith	M.Pereira	P.Burns	E.Metzger
1 - 124	14:36	15:02   -26	15:03   -27	15:18   -42	15:44   -68
Wheeling	M.Pereira	B.Griffith	K.Griffith	P.Burns	E.Metzger
1 - 43	15:09	15:09	15:18   -9	15:37   -28	16:32   -83
NSC	B.Griffith	M.Pereira	K.Griffith	P.Burns	E.Metzger
1 - 21	15:17	15:22   -5	15:31   -14	15:47   -30	16:13   -56
3A Grant Reg	B.Griffith	M.Pereira	K.Griffith	P.Burns	E.Metzger
1 - 31	15:38	15:41   -3	15:50   -12	16:10   -32	16:33   -55
3A Waukegan Sec	B.Griffith	M.Pereira	K.Griffith	P.Burns	J.Bieniek
1 - 79	14:51	15:00   -9	15:14   -23	15:31   -40	16:08   -77

Preview – Waukegan Sectional Champion. At the beginning of the season, other teams were looking at the potential of this team and what they could do on the big stage. Their front pack is so powerful. Brian Griffith has emerged as one of the top runners in the state and should be among the top five runners in this race. Matt Pereira has been anywhere from 5 to 9 seconds behind Griffith in the last four weeks. He definitely has the potential to finish in the top ten. Kyle Griffith will be one of the team’s keys along with Matt Burns. Griffith was 23 seconds behind Brian Griffith while Burns was 40 seconds last Saturday. The split on the first four needs to be under 30 seconds if this team wants to contend for a state championship. Their normal fifth runner Eric Metzger was held out of last week’s race due to a strained glute. He is expected to race on Saturday. With him in the lineup, the split on five could be around 55 seconds. It was 77 seconds without him in the lineup. This is definitely a team that could win a state championship if they can have three all state runners at least and their top five within 52 to 54 seconds of each other.

Arlington Heights Hersey

DS IL Final Ranking – 5

Box – 4 

John Kurtz Earlybird	J.Krupa	R.Buch	J.Methner	R.Theisen	J.Fredian
1 - 43	15:37	15:41   -4**	15:45   -8***	15:47   -10	15:55   -18
Richard Spring	J.Krupa	R.Buch	J.Methner	N.Mayo	J.Fredian
4 - 233	15:18	15:27   -9	15:31   -13	15:57   -39	16:01   -33
Palatine	J.Krupa	S.Svienty	N.Mayo	J.Fredian	Q.Cunningham
4 - 243	14:57	15:36   -39	15:37   -40	15:48   -51	15:48   -51
MSL	J.Krupa	J.Methner	S.Svienty	J.Fredian	Q.Cunningham
1 - 50	15:05	15:12   -7	15:32   -27	15:33   -28	15:40   -35
3A Hoff Est Reg	J.Krupa	S.Svienty	M.Svienty	R.Buch	A.Hyndman
3 - 72	15:15	15:34   -19	15:50   -35	16:03   -48	16:09   -54
3A Waukegan Sec	J.Methner	J.Krupa	N.Mayo	S.Svienty	J.Fredian
3 - 116	15:17	15:19   -2	15:47   -30	15:53   -36	15:59   -42

Preview – Finished third at the Waukegan Sectional. The Huskies are having a great season but stumbled a little last week at Waukegan finishing third. Freshman Josh Methner was the team’s top runner last week with their normal runner Jacob Krupa just two seconds back. Krupa has been the team’s #1 every meet this season except last week. The team finds success if there is a runner within 10 seconds of Krupa. The senior should be in the top 25. If Methner or another runner can stay in that 10 second area of Krupa, this team could be in good shape. The team’s scoring split at Waukegan last week was 42 seconds. Ehen they ran great races at the Richard Spring Invitational and their conference meet, that gap closed to between 33 and 35 seconds. The key is keeping their pack from their third through tenth within 12 seconds of each other. A top five split of under 36 seconds in this meet could put Hersey in the trophy conversation.

Mt. Prospect – Prospect

DS IL Final Ranking – 6

Box – 29

Libertyville	J.O'Donnell	J.Terry	J.Riordan	S.Nicholas	A.Reimann
1 - 31	16:11	16:15   -4	16:21   -10	16:33   -22	16:38   -27
Peoria - 3A	J.Terry	J.O'Donnell	J.Riordan	A.Reimann	J.Hempleman
2 - 150	15:10	15:13   -3	15:22   -12	15:26   -16	15:28   -18
MSL	J.Riordan	J.Terry	J.O'Donnell	S.Nicholas	A.Reimann
2 - 65	15:19	15:20   -1	15:21   -2	15:47   -28	15:49   -30
3A Hof Est Reg	S.Sanaghan	J.Terry	J.O'Donnell	J.Riordan	J.Hempleman
1 - 37	15:17	15:18   -1	15:21   -4	15:29   -12	15:34   -17
3A Waukegan Sec	J.O'Donnell	J.Terry	J.Riordan	S.Sanaghan	N.Cozine
2 - 115	15:26	15:31   -5	15:48   -22	15:50   -24	15:50   -24

Preview – Finished second at the Waukegan Sectional. You won’t see a runner from this school among the first ten that cross the line on Saturday afternoon. You will see a pack of white and blue moving up during the race. The Knights are a patient pack team that knows how to run that type of a race. They will keep their five runners together running in a reasonable pace the first mile, move up during the second mile, and attack in the final portion of the race. Jack Terry, James Riordan, and Jack O’Donnell will be the leaders up front in their pack. This team’s thing to watch is where the pack starts across the finish line. I think we could have a runner between 30th to 35th and then it will go from there. There will be a separation between the first two/three runners and then the other scorers. That gap needs to be minimal. The Knights have run a split under 20 seconds twice during the year including an 18 second top five in October at Detweiller.  That is the kind of split they will need to get into the top five and possibly in position to get a trophy.

Elmhurst York

DS IL Final Ranking – 7

Box – 24

Richard Spring	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	J.Bode	E.Kern	B.Hill
14 - 419	15:04	15:08   -4	15:52   -48	16:13   -69**	16:28   -84**
Palatine	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	J.Bode	D.Castanoli	L.Hill
5 - 261	14:36	15:00   -24	15:28   -52	15:55   -79	16:08   -92*
Peoria - 3A	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	J.Bode	E.Kern	D.Castanoli
5 - 220	14:21	14:55   -34	15:12   -51	15:52   -91	16:15   -114
WSC-Silver	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	E.Kern	J.Bode	L.Hill
3 - 88	15:07	15:10   -3	16:03   -56	16:06   -59	16:13   -66
3A Lake Park Reg	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	J.Bode	L.Hill	E.Kern
1 - 44	15:01	15:10   -9	15:20   -19	15:38   -37	15:40   -39
3A Niles W Sec	C.Kern	S.MacGregor	L.Hill	J.Bode	E.Kern
3 - 118	15:06	15:22   -16	15:54   -48	16:08   -62	16:10   -64

Preview – Finished third at the Niles West Sectional. The Dukes did not run their best race of the year last week but still made it again to Peoria. This is not the same team that we saw in Peoria in the middle of September when they finished 14th at the Richard Spring Invitational. Charlie Kern will be up front challenging for a state championship. Sean MacGregor is one of the most improved runners in the state and could finish in the first fifteen. The improvement for York comes from the pack behind these two runners. The pack did not have a great race last week. Jackson Bode was under the weather and was the team’s fourth runner. Ethan Kern was knocked down but still was the team’s fifth man. Liam Hill has come on strong the last few races and will be a factor for the team this weekend. That threesome needs to stay within 35 seconds behind Kern/MacGregor with a 12 second split on the group. The team is running with a ton of momentum right now. Do not be surprised if this team finishes in the top five with sights on a trophy. York always runs great at state. Saturday’s race could just be another example of that.

Park Ridge Maine South

DS IL Final Ranking – 8

Box – 13

Lions Pride	R.Jordan	B.Christopher	T.Brady	A.Tauber	G.Garino
5 - 83	14:54	15:27   -33	15:52   -58**	16:48   -114**	16:50   -116*
Palatine	R.Jordan	T.Brady	B.Christopher	A.Ortwig	B.Shanahan
6 - 273	14:42	15:21   -39	15:37   -55	15:46   -64	16:15   -93
Peoria - 3A	R.Jordan	T.Brady	B.Christopher	A.Ortwig	G.Voris
6 - 236	14:30	15:09   -39	15:19   -49	15:21   -51	16:48   -138
CSL	R.Jordan	B.Christopher	T.Brady	A.Ortwig	B.Shanahan
1 - 47	14:49	15:16   -27	15:22   -33	15:22   -33	16:03   -74
3A Loyola Acad Reg	R.Jordan	T.Brady	G.Voris	I.Spears	B.Shanahan
4 - 96	15:14	15:47   -33	16:37   -83	16:44   -90	16:49   -95
3A Niles W Sec	R.Jordan	T.Brady	B.Christopher	A.Ortwig	B.Shanahan
2 - 115	15:05	15:34   -29	15:48   -43	15:57   -52	16:19   -74

Preview – Finished second at the Niles West Sectional. Reese Jordan has come on strong the final weeks especially with a win last week ahead of York’s Charlie Kern. He should be among the top runners this Saturday. The key is the pack behind Jordan. It has started usually 28 to 30 seconds after Jordan crosses the finish line. Tommy Brady and Brandon Christopher lead that pack and will need to stay within five seconds of each other. The split at their conference meet and sectional meet was at 74 seconds on the top five. That needs to come down by at least 12 seconds in order for this team to challenge in the top five.

Hinsdale Central

DS IL Final Ranking – 9

Box – 20

Hornet-Red Devil	B.Evertsen	J.Belgrad	N.Cumberland	B.Schneiders	E.Planson
2 - 80	14:48	15:40   -52	15:47   -59	15:48   -60	15:49   -61
FTTF - 3A	B.Evertsen	S.O'Connell	E.Planson	N.Cumberland	B.Schneiders
3 - 162	15:06	15:46   -40	16:05   -59	16:06   -60	16:07   -61
Palatine	B.Evertsen	E.Planson	S.O'Connell	J.Belgrad	N.Cumberland
3 - 205	14:41	15:26   -45	15:35   -54	15:43   -62	15:46   -65
Peoria - 3A	S.O'Connell	N.Cumberland	S.Schiavitti	A.Hill	M.Kusak
12 - 328	15:23	15:33   -10	15:34   -11	16:07   -44	16:09   -46
Naperville Twilight	B.Evertsen	E.Planson	J.Belgrad	R.Doorhy	S.Fathizadeh
3 - 81	14:52	15:16   -24	15:21   -29	15:27   -35	15:33   -41
WSC-Silver	B.Evertsen	S.O'Connell	R.Doorhy	JE. Naess	E.Planson
4 - 93	14:52	15:41   -49	15:57   -65	15:58   -66*	16:01   -69
3A Hinsdale C Reg	R.Doorhy	E.Planson	JE.Naess	N.Cumberland	B.Schneiders
1 - 26	15:22	15:23   -1	15:23   -1	15:34   -12	15:39   -17
3A Marist Sec	B.Evertsen	S.O'Connell	E.Planson	N.Cumberland	JE.Naess
3 - 92	15:11	15:25   -14	15:39   -28	15:41   -30	15:44   -33

Preview – Finished third at the Marist Sectional. The one thing that needed to be solved for this team was getting their two through five pack closer together and closer to their top runner Blake Evertsen. It happened last week when the pack was within 19 seconds of each other and within 14 seconds of Evertsen. I think we can figure that Evertsen will be closer to the front in Saturday’s race and the gap between him and the pack will grow a little. I would not count out this team being in the top five squads. They will need to have Evertsen among the top 10 runners individually and a split between him and the pack at 25 to 28 seconds. If the split on five is under 40 seconds, you could find the Red Devils among the top 5 teams.

Winnetka New Trier

DS IL Final Ranking – 10

Box – 7

Hornet-Red Devil	W.Blood	P.Norrick	M.Burke	C.Woolford	R.Struckman
4 - 193	15:27	15:42   -15	15:53   -26	16:05   -38	16:26   -59
FTTF - 3A	W.Blood	M.Burke	C.Woolford	K.Baakkonen	A.Kogen
11 - 394	15:28	16:21   -53	16:24   -56	16:33   -65	16:37   -69*
Palatine	W.Blood	C.Woolford	M.Burke	P.Norrick	M.Roge
9 - 329	14:55	15:36   -41	15:49   -54	15:57   -62	16:07   -72
St Charles N	P.Norrick	M.Roge	K.Baakkonen	R.Struckman	O.Eskandari
6 - 155	15:34	15:52   -18	16:05   -31	16:10   -36	16:24   -50
CSL	W.Blood	C.Woolford	M.Burke	K.Baakkonen	P.Norrick
2 - 58	14:57	15:32   -35	15:33   -36	15:38   -41	15:39   -42
3A Loyola Acad Reg	W.Blood	P.Norrick	C.Woolford	M.Burke	K.Baakkonen
1 - 38	15:16	15:26   -10	15:50   -34	15:57   -41	16:03   -47
3A Niles W Sec	W.Blood	P.Norrick	M.Burke	C.Woolford	R.Struckman
5 - 119	15:14	15:39   -25	15:56   -42	16:05   -51	16:07   -53

Preview – Finished fifth at the Niles West Sectional. The Trevians did not have their best race of the year last week but it was still enough to get out of the tough Niles West Sectional. Warren Blood has been the top runner all year for this team. He is a runner that you could find in the top 20 in this state race. The pack developing towards the end of the year has been this team’s key. There was only a 7 second split between their second and fifth runner at their conference meet. It was 28 seconds last week. The pack led by Pat Norrick most likely will be between 22 to 26 seconds behind Blood. If the split on the group stays around 12 seconds, watch for this team to challenge for a top 5 finish.

Aurora Marmion Academy

DS IL Final Ranking – 11

Box – 25

Leavey Inv	C.Zimmer	M.Ronzone	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Milder
3 - 105	15:33	16:02   -29	16:21   -48	16:39   -66*	16:48   -75
FTTF - 3A	M.Ronzone	C.Zimmer	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Milder
6 - 310	15:30	15:51   -21	16:09   -39	16:36   -56	16:42   -62
Palatine	C.Zimmer	M.Ronzone	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Harron
10 - 339	15:03	15:12   -9	15:43   -40	16:12   -69	16:12   -69
St Charles North	M.Ronzone	C.Zimmer	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Harron
1 - 85	15:14	15:21   -7	15:33   -19	16:00   -46	16:12   -58
CCL	M.Ronzone	C.Zimmer	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Milder
1 - 45	15:05	15:09   -4	15:24   -19	15:50   -45	16:13   -68
3A Batavia Reg	M.Ronzone	C.Zimmer	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Milder
2 - 72	14:56	15:15   -19	15:25   -29	15:45   -49	15:54   -58
3A W Aurora Sec	C.Zimmer	M.Ronzone	S.Galle	A.Lifka	J.Brewster
2 - 105	15:24	15:34   -10	16:01   -37	16:15   -51	16:22   -58

Preview – Finished second at the West Aurora Sectional. Charlie Zimmer and Michael Ronzone have traded off the top spot for the Cadets most of the season. You could see one or both of them in the top 25 if they can stay within 6 to 8 seconds of each other. The gap between the two runners and the pack was 27 seconds last week. A 15 second split this week puts this team into the top ten. Their team split has been near 60 seconds over the last month. That will need to lower with two all staters to get into the top ten and close to the top five.

Palatine

DS IL Final Ranking – 12

Box – 12

Hornet-Red Devil	B.Leonard	B.Kontney	N.Izewski	E.Eckels	A.Oshinson
6 - 174	15:15	15:52   -37	16:15   -60	16:23   -68	16:36   -81
Richard Spring	B.Leonard	B.Kontney	N.Izewski	R.Jacobo	A.Oshinson
9 - 344	14:55	15:42   -47	16:00   -65	16:14   -79	16:24   -89
Palatine	B.Leonard	B.Kontney	R.Jacobo	N.Izewski	E.Eckels
7 - 301	14:58	15:36   -38	15:48   -50	15:51   -53	15:59   -61
MSL	B.Leonard	R.Jacobo	B.Kontney	N.Izewski	A.Oshinson
3 - 81	14:52	15:38   -46	15:43   -51	15:46   -54	15:54   -62
3A Grant Reg	B.Leonard	B.Kontney	N.Izewski	A.Oshinson	E.Eckels
2 - 75	15:51	16:28   -37	16:30   -39	16:40   -49	16:48   -57
3A Waukegan Sec	B.Leonard	B.Kontney	R.Jacobo	N.Izewski	A.Oshinson
4 - 142	15:01	15:45   -44	15:47   -46	15:58   -57	16:04   -63

Preview – Finished fourth at the Waukegan Sectional. Palatine returns to the state meet as a team since they won the state championship in 2012. Brian Leonard has been on a mission this season and could be in the top ten in this race. The pack behind Leonard has developed nicely led by Ben Kortney. The group has been at or under 20 seconds on their split in their last 3 meets. The Pirates could get into the top ten with a split of 18 seconds on the second through five runners and staying within 35 seconds of Leonard.

Chicago Whitney Young

DS IL Final Ranking – 13

Box – 5

Plainfield C	S.Rivera	C.Nevins	A.Tuman	L.Nelson	K.Rodgers
2 - 106	15:55	16:38   -43	16:49   -54	17:52   -117	17:58   -123
FTTF - 3A	K.Worku	S.Rivera	C.Mendez	E.Radomski	C.Nevins
4 - 225	15:30	15:43   -13	15:47   -17	16:22   -52	16:24   -54
Ziomek	C.Mendez	S.Rivera	C.Nevins	E.Radomski	A.Tuman
1 - 49	15:31	15:50   -19	16:18   -47	16:40   -69	16:41   -70
Niles W	K.Worku	S.Rivera	C.Nevins	A.Tuman	E.Radomski
1 - 81	15:24	15:30   -6	16:01   -37	16:03   -39	16:25   -61
CPS	K.Worku	S.Rivera	C.Mendez	C.Nevins	A.Tuman
1 - 31	15:24	15:44   -20	15:53   -29	15:57   -33	16:15   -51
3A St. Ignatius Reg	K.Worku	S.Rivera	C.Mendez	C.Nevins	A.Tuman
1 - 49	15:21	15:35   -14	15:56   -35	15:59   -38	16:03   -42
3A Niles W Sec	K.Worku	S.Rivera	C.Mendez	C.Nevins	A.Tuman
1 - 98	15:25	15:33   -8	15:40   -15	15:57   -32	16:05   -40

Preview – Niles West Champion. The Dolphins ran their best race of the season last week in winning at Niles West and will try to repeat that effort again on Saturday. The split on Keduse Worku, Sam Rivera, and Clayton Mendez in their two meets previous to sectionals was at 29 and 35 seconds. Last week, it was at only 15 seconds. Mendez is the key for this team this week. If that gap can decrease to 10 seconds with Mendez ahead of Rivera, it could put the Chicago City champions into the top five. Their split on five of 40 seconds last week was a season’s best. That kind of split will help Whitney Young finish high in the team standings.

Wheaton-Warrenville South

DS IL Final Ranking – 14

Box – 31

Hornet-Red Devil	K.Thompson	A.Sorokin	Sc.Maison	Se.Maison	J.Kratz
3 - 96	15:32	15:36   -4	15:37   -5	15:41   -9	16:14   -42
Wauconda	A.Sorokin	K.Thompson	Se.Maison	Sc.Maison	J.Keys
1 - 77	15:46	15:47   -1	15:55   -9	15:56   -10	16:22   -36
Richard Spring	Sc.Maison	K.Thompson	Se.Maison	A.Sorokin	J.Keys
5 - 255	15:33	15:34   -1	15:36   -3	15:38   -5	16:12   -39
St. Charles North	A.Sorokin	Sc.Maison	Se.Maison	J.Keys	K.Thompson
2 - 86	15:25	15:36   -11	15:39   -14	15:51   -26	16:02   -37
DVC	K.Thompson	A.Sorokin	Se.Maison	Sc.Maison	J.Keys
2 - 70	15:24	15:26   -2	15:29   -5	15:30   -6	15:42   -18
3A Lake Park Reg	K.Thompson	A.Sorokin	Se.Maison	Sc.Maison	J.Keys
3 - 54	15:19	15:24   -5	15:26   -7	15:29   -10	15:56   -37
3A Niles West Sec	A.Sorokin	K.Thompson	Sc.Maison	Se.Maison	J.Keys
4 - 119	15:47	15:48   -1	15:51   -4	15:56   -9	16:06   -19

Preview – Finished fourth at the Niles West Sectional. Yes, they finished fourth in their sectional but were only four points out of second in that tight sectional meet. Pack running is a huge asset for the Tigers. They have lived off of staying close to each other all season.  Their top four has stayed within 10 seconds on an average most of the season led by Kyle Thompson and Aleksei Sorokin. It was nine seconds at sectionals. An area of concern during the year was that the split between for their pack and fifth runner has been too big usually between 20 and 27 seconds. It was only ten seconds last week. It is tough to see one of their runners in the top 25 but they will have a great pack close to that. You could see Thompson or Sorokin between 35th and 40th. If they can keep a split of 25 seconds or under on their top five, this team could be a good bet to finish in the top ten.

Orland Park Sandburg

DS IL Final Ranking – 15

Box – 28

Lions Pride	D.Jacobs	M.Skucas	A.Szymanski	T.Marchese	N.Calderon
3 - 102	14:19	15:31   -72	15:47   -88	16:00   -101	16:36   -137
Richard Spring	D.Jacobs	M.Skucas	A.Szymanski	R.Sieczkowski	D.Alvarez
7 - 311	14:36	15:14   -38	15:55   -79	16:13   -97	16:26   -110
Peoria - 3A	D.Jacobs	M.Skucas	N.Calderon	S.Rodriguez	D.Alvarez
7 - 273	14:41	15:02   -21	15:52   -71	15:59   -78	16:00   -79
SWSC-Blue	M.Skucas	A.Szymanski	R.Sieczkowski	D.Alvarez	N.Calderon
2 - 36	16:14	16:56   -42	17:04   -50	17:15   -61	17:16   -62
3A Sandburg Reg	D.Jacobs	M.Skucas	A.Szymanski	N.Calderon	R.Sieczkowski
1 - 30	14:18	15:06   -48	15:30   -72	15:43   -85	15:49   -91
3A Marist Sec	D.Jacobs	M.Skucas	A.Szymanski	R.Sieczkowski	S.Rodriguez
4 - 127	14:25	15:21   -56	15:51   -86	15:57   -92	16:04   -99

Preview – Finished fourth at the Marist Sectional. Dylan Jacobs will be one of the runners up front along with Martin Skucas finishing in the top 25 in this race on Saturday. Those are two good low numbers to start out with. There improvement of the pack behind these two during the season is one of the reasons why the Eagles will challenge for a top ten spot. Skucas finished 56 seconds behind Jacobs last weekend but ran 15:02 earlier in the season at Detweiller. He will be closer this week. The pack behind these two has shrunk to a 13 second split. The split on five was 99 seconds last week but that is okay especially with Jacobs up front. The split lowering to 82 to 86 seconds gets this team into the top ten.

Frankfort Lincoln-Way East

DS IL Final Ranking – 16

Box – 9

TF South	N.Healy	B.Gardner	S.Platek	M.Trost	J.West
1 - 33	15:23	15:35   -12	16:02   -38	16:06   -42	16:28   -64
Royal Cadet	N.Healy	B.Gardner	M.Trost	S.Platek	J.West
1 - 25	16:19	16:22   -3**	16:36   -17	16:39   -20	17:18   -59
Richard Spring	N.Healy	B.Gardner	M.Trost	S.Platek	W.Evans
18 -- 501	15:08	15:32   -24**	15:50   -42	15:55   -47	16:48   -100
Tolfree / Farley	N.Healy	S.Platek	B.Gardner	M.Trost	J.Stajlowski
1 - 37	15:33	15:37   -4	15:55   -22	16:17   -44	16:32   -59
SWSC-Blue	B.Gardner	N.Healy	S.Platek	M.Trost	J.Stajlowski
1 - 28	16:35	16:46   -11	16:52   -17	17:02   -27	17:20   -45
3A Andrew Reg	N.Healy	B.Gardner	S.Platek	M.Trost	W.Evans
1 - 32	15:27	15:45   -18	15:54   -27	16:05   -38	16:38   -71
3A Edwardsville Sec	N.Healy	S.Platek	B.Gardner	M.Trost	W.Evans
4 - 111	16:09	16:27   -18	16:29   -20	17:07   -58	17:34   -85

Preview – Finished fourth at the Edwardsville Sectional. The blending of runners from the closed Lincoln-Way North High School with East has given this team a trip to Detweiller Park. Noah Healy has been the top runner up front and has received help up front with freshman Brett Gardner and Scott Platek. The three were within 20 seconds of each other. Watch for that this Saturday led by Healy finishing among the top thirty. What could hurt the Griffins is that their split on five has grown over the past two weeks. It was 85 seconds on the hills of Edwardsville last Saturday. I expect that to go under 70 seconds this week. That could get this team close to the top ten. If the split stays at their sectional time, it could be tough for this team to get into the top fifteen.

Geneva

DS IL Final Ranking – 18

Box – 32

Leavey Inv	T.Dau	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	C.Montgomery	S.Creger
2 - 99	15:32	15:50   -18	16:19   -47	16:45   -73	17:21   -109
Wauconda	T.Dau	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	C.Montgomery	S.Creger
4 - 156	15:39	15:39	16:14   -35	17:06   -87	17:06   -87
Richard Spring	T.Dau	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	B.Kuehl	C.Montgomery
8 - 336	15:08	15:26   -18	15:48   -40	16:17   -69	16:26   -78
Rock River	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	T.Dau	B.Kuehl	C.Montgomery
1 - 48	15:45	15:56   -11	16:12   -27	16:20   -35	16:34   -49
St Charles North	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	B.Kuehl	T.Dau	S.Creger
3 - 94	15:13	15:29   -16	15:41   -28	15:49   -36	16:22   -69
UEC	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	T.Dau	B.Kuehl	S.Creger
1 - 42	15:20	15:35   -15	15:47   -27	15:49   -29	16:14   -54
3A W Chicago Reg	T.Dau	J.Rodgers	R.Kredell	B.Kuehl	S.Creger
1 - 55	15:07	15:12   -5	15:28   -21	15:38   -31	16:12   -65
3A W Aurora Sec	T.Dau	J.Rodgers	B.Kuehl	R.Kredell	S.Creger
3 - 120	15:26	15:29   -3	16:05   -39	16:10   -44	16:38   -72

Preview – Finished third at the West Aurora Sectional. The Vikings will have Josh Rodgers and Tyler Dau at least 5 seconds close to each other leading this team. I could see one of these runners near the top 25 and both in the first 40. The split at 72 seconds on five last week is tough for this team to get into one of the top 12 teams. A split of under 60 seconds could get them close to those positions.

Minooka

DS IL Final Ranking – 19

Box – 15

Hornet-Red Devil	S.Knudsen	J.Freese	J.Sullivan	M.Dames	M.Mason
8 - 228	15:02	15:41   -39**	16:07   -65	16:26   -84**	16:30   -88
FTTF - 3A	S.Knudsen	J.Freese	M.Dames	J.Sullivan	J.Hoffman
8 - 355	15:01	15:57   -56	16:20   -79	16:41   -100	16:46   -105
Macnider	J.Freese	M.Dames	M.Mason	J.Hoffman	J.Sullivan
2 - 101	15:45	16:07   -22	16:09   -24	16:32   -47	16:36   -51
Naperville Twilight	S.Knudsen	J.Freese	M.Dames	M.Mason	J.Sullivan
4 - 126	14:40	15:22   -42	15:45   -65	15:53   -73	15:55   -75
SPC	S.Knudsen	J.Freese	M.Dames	C.Hoshell	J.Sullivan
2 - 67	14:54	15:51   -57	15:54   -60	16:28   -94	16:33   -99
3A Normal Reg	S.Knudsen	J.Freese	M.Dames	J.Sullivan	M.Mason
1 - 37	14:29	15:39   -70	15:39   -70	16:06   -97	16:13   -106
3A Edwardsville Sec	S.Knudsen	M.Dames	M.Mason	J.Sullivan	C.Hoshell
1 - 89	15:48	16:39   -51	16:45   -57	16:53   -65	17:01   -73

Preview – Edwardsville Sectional Champion. Won the sectional championship despite the fact that their normal second runner Jordan Freese was the team’s seventh runner in this meet. Soren Knudsen will get the team single digit points as he will be one of the favorites in this race. Freese has run within 42 seconds of Knudsen this season. It would help the Indians if their pack starts 45 to 47 seconds behind Knudsen. The split of 22 seconds on the group needs to be repeated just like last week. That could push Minooka into the top fifteen. 

St. Charles East

DS IL Final Ranking – 22

Box – 17

Leavey	J. Beno	C.Adesso	R.Patel	A.Zilla	J.Sandlund
4 - 118	16:20	16:23   -3	16:34   -14	16:41   -21	16:52   -32
Lake Park	J. Beno	C.Adesso	A.Zilla	J.Sandlund	R.Patel
1 - 36	15:26	15:38   -12	15:53   -27	15:54   -28	15:57   -31
Richard Spring	J. Beno	C.Adesso	A.Zilla	A.King	T.Olenek
11 - 389	15:33	15:37   -4	16:06   -33	16:17   -44	16:20   -47
St. Charles North	J. Beno	C.Adesso	A.Zilla	A.King	D.Werner
4 - 115	15:27	15:35   -8	15:50   -23	16:07   -40	16:13   -46*
UEC	J. Beno	C.Adesso	A.King	D.Werner	J.Sandlund
2 - 48	15:23	15:43   -20	15:52    -29	15:55   -32	16:03   -40
3A W Chicago Reg	J.Beno	C.Adesso	D.Werner	A.King	C.Koch
3 - 64	15:17	15:17	15:48   -31	15:50   -33	15:51   -34
3A W Aurora Sec	J.Beno	A.Zilla	A.King	J.Sandlund	C.Adesso
5 - 144	15:37	16:10   -33	16:17   -40	16:19   -42	16:21   -44

Preview – Finished fifth at the West Aurora Sectional. The Saints thrive behind good pack running led by Jake Beno. You could see one runner from this team in the top fifty. The team has been running a split of around 40 seconds on five throughout the season. We could see a lower split on this group on Saturday. Cole Adesso has been the team’s second runner most of the season. He was the team’s fifth man last week. Adesso back in his usual spot gets this team close or into the top fifteen.

O’Fallon

DS IL Final Ranking – 25

Box – 27

Granite City	C.Conrad	K.Dismukes	W.VanAlstine	H.Ybarra	J.Black
1 - 91	15:40	15:45   -5	15:51   -11	16:12   -32	16:15   -35
Forest Park	K.Dismukes	W.VanAlstine	M.Gilster	L.Capistrant	Z.Ward
10 - 319	17:56	18:09   -13	18:19   -23	18:41   -45	18:48   -52*
Richard Spring	J.Black	W.VanAlstine	C.Conrad	M.Glister	L.Capistrant
16 - 452	15:52	16:01   -9	16:05   -13	16:17   -25	16:25   -33
Parkway West	J.Black	W.VanAlstine	C.Conrad	M.Glister	Z.Ward
3 - 84	16:43	16:46   -3	16:58   -15	17:22   -39	17:42   -59
SWC	J.Black	C.Conrad	W.VanAlstine	L.Capistrant	M.Glister
1 - 36	15:42	15:51   -9	15:52   -10	16:24   -42	16:36   -54
3A Quincy Reg	H.Ybarra	G.Blenkush	Z.Ward	J.Whitaker	A.Hess
2 - 70	16:35	16:42   -7	16:45   -10	17:14   -39	17:24   -49
3A Edwardsville Sec	C.Conrad	J.Black	W.VanAlstine	H.Ybarra	M.Glister
2 - 96	16:17	16:25   -8	16:54   -37	16:55   -38	16:56   -39

Preview – Finished second at the Edwardsville Sectional. This team stepped up after they lost one of their top runners Kyle Dismukes for the season due to an injury. Chris Conrad and Joey Black have been the team’s top runners. One of them could be in the top 50 with the other within 6 seconds of the other. The Panthers lowered their split to 39 seconds on their top five last week at Edwardsville with their third, fourth, and fifth runners within two seconds of each other. The same kind of race as last week but moving their pack a little more towards the front could get this team into the top ten.

Edwardsville

DS IL Final Ranking – Not ranked

Box – 34

Granite City	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	M.Hartmann	J.Schoenthal	J.Pifer
4 - 158	15:30	15:52   -22	16:29   -59	16:34   -64	16:45   -75
FTTF - 3A	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	D.Powell	J.Pifer	M.Hartmann
24 - 649	16:17	16:26   -9	16:51   -34	17:07   -50	17:10   -53
Edwardsville	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	J.Pifer	D.Powell	M.Hartmann
1 - 51	16:47	16:59   -12	17:20   -33	17:22   -35	17:24   -37
Locktoberfest	R.Prenzler	F.Romano	D.Powell	J.Pifer	M.Hartmann
4 - 158	16:39	17:04   -25	17:04   -25	17:05   -26	17:13   -34
SWC	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	D.Powell	M.Hartmann	Z.Walters
2 - 36	15:40	15:46   -6	16:06   -26	16:27   -47	16:39   -59
3A Quincy Reg	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	J.Pifer	D.Powell	M.Hartmann
1 - 19	15:52	16:00   -8	16:14   -22	16:16   -24	16:21   -29
3A Edwardsville Sec	F.Romano	R.Prenzler	J.Pifer	D.Powell	M.Hartmann
3 - 103	16:13	16:36   -23	16:47   -34	16:53   -40	17:15   -62

Preview – Finished third at the Edwardsville Sectional. This squad will be one of the top teams in 2017. This race will give them good experience for next season. Franky Romano has stepped up as the team’s top runner and could finish in the top thirty. The pack led by Roland Prenzler was 23 seconds behind Romano last week. That gap could close this weekend. The split on five has been as low as 29 seconds at regionals to as high as 75 seconds at the beginning of the year. Their top five are entirely underclassmen. The Tigers could get into the top 20 with a split on five under 45 seconds. Regardless if they run a good or bad race on Saturday, it will be beneficial in the bigger picture a year from now.

Yorkville

DS IL Final Ranking – Not ranked

Box – 19

Yorkville	A.Nauman	B.Summers	P.Black	E.Nauman	Z.Price
1 - 24	15:56	16:25   -29	16:36   -40	16:46   -50	16:57   -61
FTTF - 3A	B.Summers	A.Nauman	Z.Price	E.Nauman	M.Cox
18 - 550	16:19	16:29   -10	16:34   -15	16:45   -26	17:04   -45
Palatine	B.Summers	Z.Price	A.Nauman	M.Cox	E.Nauman
22 - 469	15:43	15:46   -3	15:52   -9	16:13   -30	16:22   -39
Naperville Twilight	Z.Price	A.Nauman	B.Summers	M.Cox	E.Nauman
6 - 179	15:36	15:38   -2	15:41   -5	16:07   -31	16:12   -36
W Aurora Stampede	B.Summers	Z.Price	A.Nauman	M.Cox	E.Nauman
7 - 178	15:50	15:51   -1	16:11   -21	16:21   -31	16:23   -33
NIB 12	B.Summers	Z.Price	A.Nauman	M.Cox	P.Black
3 - 74	15:46	15:50   -4	16:12   -26	16:28   -42	16:33   -47
3A Normal Reg	B.Summers	Z.Price	A.Nauman	E.Nauman	A.Loos
2 - 48	15:34	15:35   -1	15:48   -14	16:16   -42	16:21   -47
3A Edwardsville Sec	Z.Price	B.Summers	E.Naumann	P.Black	A.Nauman
5 - 129	16:31	16:37   -6	16:57   -26	17:04   -33	17:05   -34

Preview – Finished fifth at the Edwardsville Sectional. In their first season in 3A, the Foxes make it back to Peoria for the state meet. This team will have a strong pack of 34 to 38 seconds with Zach Price or Ben Summers finishing in the first 60. Yorkville usually runs a good race on this course. They will finish among the top 20 teams if that split is around 35 seconds. A close to a top 15 finish could happen if the split goes under 25 seconds on five.

Oak Park-River Forest

DS IL Final Ranking – Not ranked

Box – 3

Fenton	M.Vietzen	E.Mulshine	M.Politis	O.Savoy	P.Halloran
2 - 132	15:46	16:20   -34	16:20   -34	16:48   -62*	17:10   -84
Richard Spring	I.Loud	M.Vietzen	M.Politis	R.George	P.Halloran
12 - 399	14:59	15:43   -44	16:05   -66	16:24   -85	16:35   -96
Palatine	I.Loud	M.Vietzen	R.George	M.Politis	P.Halloran
14 - 398	14:47	15:33   -46	16:01   -74	16:06   -79	16:31   -104
Locktoberfest	I.Loud	M.Vietzen	M.Politis	R.George	P.Halloran
7 - 193	15:57	16:45   -48	16:50   -53	17:25   -88	17:50   -113
WSC-Silver	I.Loud	M.Politis	M.Vietzen	C.Bayles	P.Halloran
5 - 115	15:10	15:51   -41	15:51   -41	16:35   -85	16:56   -106
3A Hinsdale C Reg	I.Loud	M.Politis	M.Vietzen	R.George	C.Bayles
2 - 45	14:47	15:24   -37	15:30   -43	15:56   -69	16:07   -80
3A Marist Sec	I.Loud	M.Politis	M.Vietzen	R.George	C.Bayles
5 - 128	14:55	15:22   -27	15:34   -39	15:57   -62	16:20   -85

Preview – Finished fifth at the Marist Sectional. The Huskies redeemed themselves after last year’s sixth place finish in their sectional race by making it to state. Irwin Loud looked great last week finishing third and should be in the top ten this week. Matthew Politis has been solid as the team’s second runner through the second half of the season. Their split lowered to 85 seconds. It still might be tough to for this team to get into the top twenty with this kind of split. Running in the tough WSC-Silver Conference could be beneficial in getting this team into that first 20 team spot.

Highland Park

DS IL Final Ranking – Not ranked

Box – 23

Lake County	J.Rosenfeld	C.Skurie	A.Glazier	B.Bloom	J.Estela
4 - 125	15:51	15:57   -6	15:58   -7	16:35   -44	16:52   -61
Hornet-Red Devil	F.Laurie	A.Glazier	J.Rosenfeld	J.Reyes	C.Skurie
5 - 173	16:00	16:04   -4	16:04   -4	16:09   -9	16:14   -14
FTTF - 3A	J.Rosenfeld	J.Reyes	F.Laurie	A.Glazier	C.Skurie
7 - 350	16:06	16:15   -9	16:16   -10	16:17   -11	16:40   -34
Wheeling	J.Reyes	N.Amster	J.Rosenfeld	A.Glazier	F.Laurie
2 - 82	15:56	16:02   -6	16:15   -19	16:18   -22	16:22   -26
CSL	J.Rosenfeld	A.Glazier	F.Laurie	J.Reyes	C.Skurie
3 - 96	15:27	15:40   -13	15:45   -18	15:50   -23	15:55   -28
3A Libertyville Reg	J.Rosenfeld	J.Reyes	N.Amster	A.Glazier	M.Casey
2 - 62	15:58	16:00   -2	16:01   -3	16:13   -15	16:20   -22
3A Waukegan Sec	J.Rosenfeld	J.Reyes	M.Casey	N.Amster	A.Glazier
5 - 178	15:42	15:56   -14	15:57   -15	16:00   -18	16:00   -18

Preview – Finished fifth at the Waukegan Sectional. The Giants had a top five split of only 18 seconds which got them to Detweiller Park. Jonathan Rosenfeld has been the team’s top runner in the last three meets. The split could be in the 20’s on Saturday but that could still not be enough to getting team into the first 20. That pack needs move up by at least ten seconds a runner in order to move closer to the first 15 squads.

Naperville North

DS IL Final Ranking – Not ranked

Box – 8

Hornet-Red Devil Inv	M.Boelke	E.King	L.Boelke	N.Trattner	T.Gschwendtner
9 - 280	16:00	16:05   -5	16:38   -38**	16:52   -52	16:54   -54
Richard Spring	M.Boelke	E.King	A.Blecke	N.Trattner	L.Boelke
20 - 540	15:51	16:03   -12	16:06   -15	16:17   -26**	16:30   -39**
Locktoberfest	E.King	M.Boelke	N.Trattner	M.Schnell	J.Allen
6 - 186	16:47	16:57   -10	17:11   -24	17:13   -26	17:17   -30
Naperville Twilight	M.Boelke	E.King	A.Blecke	J.Allen	N.Trattner
5 - 163	15:28	15:37   -9	15:39   -11	15:58   -30	16:03   -35
DVC	M.Boelke	A.Blecke	E.King	M.Schnell	T.Gschwendtner
3 - 117	15:30	15:44   -14	15:46   -16	15:55   -25	16:04   -34
3A W Chicago Reg	M.Boelke	E.King	J.Allen	M.Schnell	A.Blecke
4 - 67	15:28	15:28	15:45   -17	15:47   -19	15:53   -25
3A W Aurora Sec	M.Boelke	E.King	J.Allen	A.Blecke	M.Schnell
4 - 129	15:58	16:03   -5	16:11   -13	16:12   -14	16:19   -21

Preview – Finished fourth at the West Aurora Sectional. This team is coming on strong and could be a surprise this weekend. The Huskies only had a split of 21 seconds on the top five with Matt Boelke and Emerson King leading the way. What was most impressive about their sectional race is they moved from seventh place as a team to their final fourth place finish in the final mile of the race. That pack needs to move up closer in this race in order to be one of the top 20 teams.

Team Summary

The big four teams or Neuqua Valley, Downers Grove North, Lyons Township, and Lake Zurich have been in the spotlight for most of this 2016 season. Top ranked Neuqua Valley has been near the tops of the national rankings all season. They will need to keep their split low with four or five runners to get near or under 15 minutes. It has been all about the pack for Downers Grove North this season. It could come down to individuals for this team especially trying to have their top two runners in front of Neuqua’s first. The Naperville Twilight race was a big learning lesson for the Trojans last month that could be beneficial on Saturday.

Lyons Township did not run their best races in two of the last three weeks but will be a threat. They always bring their “A’ game to this race and will be challenging for the front. Lake Zurich has the runners up front. All they need to do is keep their top five split under 60 seconds in order to contend for the title. Whitney Young ran great in winning at Niles West last week. A repeat performance will be necessary in order for the Dolphins to get close into the top five. Maine South has been hot of late and will be in the mix. So will Prospect and Hersey. York has shown a nice improvement curve over the last month and could get themselves into the top five and perhaps the top three.

Individuals Summary

Last year’s individual race was wide open before the meet and this year could be more of the same on Saturday.  Dylan Jacobs (Sandburg HS, Orland Park) has run 14:18 in his regional race and last week 14:25 to win at Marist. Danny Kilrea (Lyons Township, LaGrange) only finished a second behind Jacobs last week. He is running with more confidence every week and will challenge for the win. Soren Knudsen (Minooka HS) has been waiting for this moment over the last year. His confidence cup is brimming and will be one of the runners forcing the pace up front.

Brian Griffith (Lake Zurich HS) has only one loss to his resume this year but has been in front the rest including a win over Jacobs at the Richard Spring Invitational. Watch for him in the front. His one loss came to Charlie Kern (York HS, Elmhurst) by only two tenths of a second at the Palatine Invitational. Kern, who finished second last year, defeated Kilrea, Jacobs, and Lyons Township’s Vince Zona. Kern made it through his state series races without over exerting himself. His workouts over the past two weeks indicate that he could be ready for this moment on Saturday. Also watch for Zona. He is a tenacious competitor who will be challenging up front. Reese Jordan (Maine South HS, Park Ridge) defeated Kern by a second last week and will be among the runners in the front.

Blake Evertsen (Hinsdale Central HS) has been in the front in most of his races. He will be near the front in this race. The same can be said about Irwin Loud (Oak Park-River Forest HS). I would not count him out in this race.

Other runners to keep an eye on include Matt Pereira (Lake Zurich HS), Brian Leonard (Palatine HS), Evan Mitchell (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox), Warren Blood (New Trier HS, Winnetka), Jack Becker (Crystal Lake South HS), Alec Danner (Downers Grove North HS), Kyle Griffith (Lake Zurich HS), and Neuqua Valley’s Jackson Jett and Jake McEneaney.