Blake Evertsen and his Hinsdale Central mates will look to be triumph Wednesday evening (Colin Boyle photo)
Boys-
Teams: #3 Naperville (Neuqua Valley), #5 Hinsdale Central, #17 Downers Grove North, 2A #3 Yorkville, Plainfield North, Glenbard West, Naperville North, Naperville Central, Minooka, Metea Valley
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On paper the boys race does not seem as exciting as the girls because of the lack of powerhouse teams. But on the contrary anytime Neuqua Valley and Hinsdale Central hook up it is guaranteed to be a great meet to watch.
Neuqua Valley Head Coach Paul Vandersteen will return his team back into battle after a short week. The Wildcats deployed two teams to meets at Peoria and Lockport just a few days ago, but he feels they need some more seasoning. "Danny Winek and Zach Kinne are running in the frosh-soph race," said Vandersteen indicating that he is lending another varsity opportunity to a few others ahead of his talented young duo. The rest of the group will be tightening up a few screws for the post-season run including seniors Connor Horn and Aiden Livingston. Horn and Livingston did not race last weekend.
Hinsdale Central like Neuqua Valley will be using this opportunity to work on a few race strategy items in advance of the IHSA state series. The two-time defending state champions have run well enough to win each of the three major invitationals they competed in. They ran up against major roadblocks in those contests like the Hornet-Devil Invite with Neuqua Valley, the FTTF against Lyons Township, and most recently the Palatine Invite that saw WSC foe York come alive for a stunning victory in the final mile. So despite what the Hinsdale Central insiders say, they would thoroughly enjoy a victory here. Junior Blake Evertsen will have to lead that charge as he has all season long in the role of the team's true #1 guy. A strong trailing pack led by senior Chris Brenk must drop that 2-5 scoring down a few notches and stay near Neuqua Valley to have a chance to win.
Downers Grove North has lost a lot of firepower over the past two seasons but yet the Trojans still find a way to compete well against the state's best teams. It must be the coaching staff led by John Sipple. But even Coach Sipple will admit that it's the runners who have to get the job done. Junior Alec Danner has stepped up his leadership role and produced a big 14:43 personal best at FTTF. His teammate senior Robby Prescott has improved from 15:53 to 14:59 in one season. The rest of the unit is steadily improving as well.
Yorkville will be sharpening its blades and getting ready for 2A post-season action and another shot at a third state championship in a month. This meet is the perfect opportunity for the Foxes to do that. Look for Thor Hester, Trevor Wills, and Zack Price to lead the way. Although Naperville North and Central are down a bit this season, they will compete hard and make it known they are teams to watch in the next year.
Individually, the boys race should have a little more drama to it than the girls. In other words, this race is wide open. Evertsen ran the state's then #2 time of 14:25 at the FTTF in narrowly losing to Buffalo Grove senior Kevin Salvano. He will battle Horn for the second time this season and it should be a little closer this time. Others to watch for will be Danner, Prescott, and a fleet of Wildcats and Trojans.