Scouting DuPage County boys cross country
Top teams: Neuqua Valley, York, Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove North, Glenbard West, Wheaton North, Naperville North, Naperville Central, St. Francis, Wheaton Academy.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Alexander Banuelos, sr., Demetrio Cervantes, sr.; Tony Diaz, sr.; Benet: Patrick Engels, jr., William Engels, so., Connor O'Keefe, so., Michael Welsh, sr.; Downers Grove North: Ryan Birkmeier, jr., Nick Chudzik, jr., Alec Danner, sr., Matt Moravec, jr., Jacob Ridderhoff, jr.; Downers Grove South: Akhil Ghosh, jr., Luke Lalonde, jr., Stephen Pipilas, jr., Eddie Siuda, so.; Fenton: Harry Contreras, sr., Christian Sanchez, jr., Jose Vasquez-Perez, sr., Anye Whyte, sr.; Justin Corrigan, sr., David Crosland, jr., Aidan Ihms, fr.; Glenbard North: Noah Baran, sr., Tommy Becker, sr., Ryan Czaja, jr., Mike Deegan, jr.; Glenbard South: Payton Allen, sr., Andrew Fearn, sr., Ethan Sowl, sr., Joey Wood, sr.; Glenbard West: Cameron Benes, jr., Rory Cavan, so., Collin Griffin, sr., Ian Repking, so.; Hinsdale Central: Jacob Belgrad, sr., Ryan Doorhy, sr., Blake Evertsen, sr., Sean O'Connell, sr., Ethan Planson, sr.; Hinsdale South: Trevor Gaytan, sr., Brett Haffner, jr., Chris Joseph, sr., Trevor Schauer, jr.; IC Catholic Prep: Nico Gaudino, jr., Tony Gaudino, sr., Eric James, sr., Casey Kristie, jr.; Lake Park: Eric Bayer, jr., Alex Cains, jr., William Dover, sr., Jason Joda, sr., Colin Kirkham, jr.; Lisle: Joe Chan, so., Zach DeCraene, sr., Cole Faulstich, sr., Nick Janitch, sr., Kevin Lee, sr.; Metea Valley: Ralph Papa, jr., Shrey Patel, jr., Ben Piotrowski, jr., Michael Varzino, so.; Montini: Jayden Gertsen, so., Jacob Mondschean, jr., Nick Skalski, sr., Justin Stauder, sr.; Naperville Central: Adam Balutowski, jr., Nicholas Bobb, sr., Tommy Chavez, sr., Thomas Shilgalis, so.; Naperville North: Aiden Blecke, sr., Matt Boelke, sr., Emerson King, sr., Michael Schnell, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Scott Anderson, sr., Jackson Jett, sr., Jake McEneaney, sr., Matt Milostan, sr., Dan Winek, jr.; St. Francis: Jon Aquino, so., Nick Brouch, sr., Alex Hernandez, jr., David Keifer, sr.; Timothy Christian: Matt Fox, sr., Xavier Ross, jr., William Terpstra, jr.; Waubonsie Valley: Christian Freitag, sr., Matt Klaus, sr., Austin Rader, sr., Wes York, jr.; West Chicago: Dan McComb, sr.; Westmont: Connor Alessi, so., Sam Asa, sr., Jake Dooley, so., Jacob Nader, sr.; Wheaton Academy: Jonah Jones, sr., Jeffrey Ridge, jr., Jimmy Ridge, sr., Sam Ruff, sr., Ryan Wittstock, jr.; Wheaton North: Aidan Johnson, sr., Justin Ostrem, jr., Kevin Riley, jr., T.J. Watson, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: John Franke, sr., Joe Kratz, sr., Sean Maison, so., Scott Maison, so., Kyle Thompson, sr.; Willowbrook: Matt Caron, so., Jacob Christiansen, sr., Michael Isaacson, jr., Casey King, sr.; York: Jackson Bode, jr., Liam Hill, sr., Charlie Kern, jr., Sean McGregor, jr.
Scouting report: Paul Vandersteen has been the only boys cross country coach in the 19-year history of Neuqua Valley. In less than two decades Neuqua Valley has been an unquestioned area barometer with multiple conference and postseason titles, including a pair of state championships. The Wildcats captured their fifth trophy since 2007 last fall with a decisive third-place tiebreaker over storied York. The symmetry between Neuqua Valley and York could not be more stark as the season kicks off in earnest this weekend. The Wildcats are not only the consensus top-ranked team in the state in Class 3A but also rated top three in the nation in three polls. "I have them No. 2," said Mike Newman, editor of dyestat.com.
The fall will also mark the final coaching stint for incomparable York coach Joe Newton. Dwight Eisenhower was president in the fall of 1960 when Newton took over the coaching reins at the Elmhurst school. In the last half-century plus, York has an astonishing 27 state championships in the sport. The Dukes have not missed a state meet since 1961 as a team. During the historic span York has three separate runs of state titles of five or more. Newton is already in semi-retirement as Charlie Kern assumes day-to-day operations of the program - except for the week of the state finals in November. "By Mr. Newton's request, he wanted to be a coach for one last year," Kern said.
"I think it is the biggest story of the year," Waubonsie Valley coach Kevin Rafferty added. "I am very happy for Charlie. I have been trying to get him in our district for years. I would gladly give him my (coaching) job and work with the sprinters (in track)."
"I live in Elmhurst," said Kern. "I don't want to move."
Vandersteen was more than ambivalent after Jett defeated his York sixth-runner counterpart in the tiebreaker by 30 places to deny Newton yet more state hardware last fall. "I actually felt bad for York," Vandersteen said. "You never want to see someone go home empty-handed when you get one of those top-three spots." Vandersteen and his athletes are downplaying the Wildcats' lofty national status. "I don't pay much attention to the rankings," said Anderson, who will anchor the Neuqua Valley ambitions this fall with fellow seniors McEneaney and Milostan. "I see them as to where teams are at the end of the season. What really matters is the state meet. The final result is what we're looking for."
"At the end of the day, (national rankings) mean nothing," McEneaney said. "The biggest priority for us is to make sure we are ready and focused for the state meet."
Vandersteen is far more concerned with parochial issues than a national agenda. "(Cross county) in the state of Illinois is so good," Vandersteen said. "If (preseason No. 2) Lake Zurich finds a fifth man, we're all in trouble."
As the flagship member of the West Suburban Silver, York is one of four division members ranked in the top seven to start the year. The inclusion of Glenbard West and Oak Park-River Forest translates into six league members in the top 19. "You could be third in the conference and be a state champion," Kern said. "It's entirely possible." Glenbard West coach Kyle Nugent was a member of the Class AA Glenbard South state-championship unit in 2002. "Mr. Newton was one of the first people to shake our hands," Nugent said. "When I got the job at West, it was intimidating to coach against him. There is just an aura about him that makes cross country in Illinois special. I think everyone in the state wants to beat York." Silver athletes Kern (York, second), Evertsen (Hinsdale Central, fourth) and Danner (Downers North, 19th) are the only local all-state returnees in Class 3A.
"The thing I like about my peers (in the Silver) is they don't complain about how good a team is," Rafferty said. "They say, 'Hey, this is the standard - let's match it.'" Entering the season, reigning state runner-up Lyons Twp. is third ranked; York, Hinsdale Central and Downers North are fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively. Glenbard West edged out OPRF by a spot for No. 18. "The teams and the coaches embrace the challenge," Downers North coach John Sipple said. "You have a lot of experienced coaches who know what they're doing."
Neuqua Valley will be an overwhelming favorite to defend its DuPage Valley Conference championship. "I have removed Neuqua from my thought process," Glenbard North coach Mark Karwowski said. But Naperville Central has Chavez, Balutowski and Shilgalis back in the fold for another state run. Ostrem leads three state returnees for Wheaton North. Returning individual state qualifier King from Naperville North would like some company in November for the Huskies. Lake Park is on the state rankings cusp behind Kirkham. Chris Kuntz is the new man in charge at WW South. Hinsdale South, St. Francis and Wheaton Academy represent the area hopes at the Class 2A level this year. Hinsdale South narrowly missed a trophy last fall in settling for fourth place, but heavy graduation losses at the top of the lineup mean newfound challenges for the Darien program.
St. Francis' Scott Nelson is nearing three decades at the helm. "This is my 29th year coaching," Nelson said. "Between boys and girls, I have had an individual or team qualifier in all but one year." The Spartans' boys squad has more than 20 state appearances during the Nelson tenure. Jones, the undisputed leader for Wheaton Academy, is the top-returning athlete among Class 2A runners. Fenton senior Vazquez-Perez captured both postseason preliminaries last fall for the Bison. Glenbard South failed to crack the dyestatil.com top 25, but Wood, Allen and Sowl were members of the Raiders' 21st-place contingent last fall. In Class 1A, Westmont and Timothy Christian are seeking to punch their tickets back to Detweiller Park in Peoria the first Saturday in November.
Key dates: Sept. 3, Fenton Early Bird Classic; Sept. 3, Red Devil-Hornet Invitational; Sept. 3, St. Charles East Leavy Invite; Sept. 10: DePaul Prep Invitational; Sept. 10: Peoria Central First to the Finish; Sept. 16, Riverside-Brookfield Invitational; Sept. 17, Kaneland Eddington Invitational; Sept. 17, Peoria Notre Dame Invitational; Sept. 23, Naperville Invite; Oct. 1, St. Charles North Invite; Oct. 5, Naperville Twilight Invite; Oct. 8, West Aurora Blackhawk Stampede; Oct. 14-15, Conference championships.
- Kevin McGavin