Nike Cross Nationals: Let's Meet The Neuqua Valley Boys

Neuqua Valley has been a dominant team all season long... why stop now?


High School Name: Neuqua Valley

Club Name: Naperville South 

High School Head Coach: Paul Vandersteen

School enrollment: 23764

Regular season finish: 3A State Champions

Entry To NXN: Won NXN Midwest Regional

NXN Midwest Regional Post race interview

Jackson Jett

I'm Jackson Jett. I main Genji in overwatch and I am a feared intramural basketball player.

My nickname is simply The Jett or in rare cases "Kicking Bird." My 400m PR from last spring is a surreal 61.9 seconds.

I am an advocate of Shrek 2 over Shrek because I feel as though the action at the end with the giant gingerbread man puts the sequel over the top of the original. To be completely honest those two films and Citizen Kane have to be in my top three films. I couldn't pick the order.

My favorite dish is the Gourmet Mac and Cheese at Bob Evans even though it is Kraft Box Mac and Cheese with a fancier bowl. I main Villager in Smash 4 unless the DLC is available. Then I pick Corrin.

My arch nemesis is Josh Mollway. I have led 864 insurrections against his tyrannical rule of General Secretary of the team. He was anointed 4 months ago.

My favorite song is "Gasolina" by Daddy Yankee. My special talent is my ability to leap from skyscrapers and land unharmed provided I land on floor I was originally on. Also I can find the area of any shape under 4 sides with my trusty formula sheet.

Matt Milostan

My nickname is Mongoose. I got it on a run Freshman year, and it stuck. I don't know why I got it though. Maybe since people think mongooses are docile and passive, but really they are wicked fast and eat cobras for breakfast. Or it just sounds cool, who knows?

My favorite food is steak. A nice, juicy, medium-rare, tender, perfectly marbled, dry-aged-to-perfection, grass-fed, expertly seared, lightly seasoned, melt-in-your-mouth, bone-in porterhouse.

Some of my PR's are 14:47 3-mile and 1:58 800m, but my favorite is undoubtedly my official 3200m PR of a blistering 9:53,  so you better look out this spring.

Some unique abilities I have are that I can touch my thumb to my forearm, and rub my stomach in a circle while patting my head.
I am more of a Shrek fan over Shrek 2 because although the relationship between a donkey and cat is inventive and hilarious, you always have to pick the original that started it all.

My main in smash is definitely Toon Link.

My favorite song is anything from Twenty One Pilots because they just get me.  

My "arch nemesis" is Jett. I put quotations because it is too one-sided to be worthwhile.

My unique ancestry is from Germany, Poland, Austria, England, Wales, and China.


Josh Mollway

I am Josh Mollway, the tallest on the squad and fastest-closer we have to offer (Quoted from Paul Vandersteen himself: I have a lot of foot speed). Speaking of Paul, I am still featured on his Twitter cover photo. I am frequently referred to as "Cap," "Mollway," "Mosh," "Top 12," or "Sub 2."

Though I am often given grief about it, I take pleasure in pointing out my teammates frequent flaws because a good captain knows that tough love is the only way to lead his team to victory.

My favorite dish would definitely be a fresh caesar salad from Noodles and Company, paired with a large bowl of Mac & Cheese with High C on the side.

When it comes to the age-old question of Shrek vs Shrek 2, I am for sure in the Shrek 2 boat. The reason for this is simply that Donkey is sexy as a horse.

My good friends know that I am an avid CS:GOer with an astonishing rank of Gold Nova III. Let's just say I strike before my opponents have the chance to counter-strike.

I would choose Ike as my main Smash character obviously because of his dashing good looks, brute strength, charm, and grace under pressure as his fans lovingly cry out "We like Ike! We like Ike!"

Those close to me would understand how my favorite musical piece is unsurprisingly Mahler's Second Symphony in C minor, also known as the Resurrection Symphony. Its lighthearted melodies and blissful, rhythmic chord progressions convey messages regarding humanity too powerful to speak further of.

If I were to pick a least favorite teammate it would have to be Zach Kinne because the kid really holds us back from holding mature conversations whilst running.

Lastly, to know the real Josh Mollway you must know that I am dangerously skillful at catching pieces of food in my mouth with deadly accuracy from long range.

Jake Mac

I am Jake, and I by far own the most shoes on the team. My  favorite Pre Race song is either Fergalicious or Sandstorm, they really get me vibin to perform my best. My nickname is the Aerobic Monster, or the Grind Father. But most people call me "Mac" Short for Macuhnerney.

I am the guy in Super Smash Bros that will Kirby down B all day long and have no ragrets whatsoever, though my true forte comes in Mario Super Strikers. My Yoshi/Birdo combo is nearly deadly.

I have to say that my favorite meal is a burrito from "Burrito Parilla Mexicana" on Route 59. I order the Chicken Burrito dinner (which comes with rice and beans) and then I make sure to let them know that I prefer black beans to refried beans both inside and outside of the burrito.

As some of you may know, I like to participate in Milk Miles. I am not good at them but they are still fun. I also enjoy long walks on the beach, or a nice pair of slacks.

Lastly, I would definitely watch Shrek 1 over Shrek 2. The way he and Fiona fall in love is just incredibly relatable, plus Lord Farquad is not very nice.


Zach Kinne

I'm the only sophomore/non-senior on the team, commonly known as 'Baby-Face' to others on the team. I run because I love feeling excruciating pain for long periods of time! Also, to beat other noobs. I'm extremely competitive in nature, and will do anything to win ANY activity I am doing.
I am the gamer on the team, basically the best at all phone games, console games, and anything else you can find. A new trending game has come out? I'll double your high score with a week of training. It truly shows my extreme dedication to everything I do in life. My Sm4sh main is Zero-Suit Sammus, and I'd love to have some actual competition soon. Plus, playing games with the team helps BOND us together for better chemistry on the course.

My favorite food has to be the $5.99 pasta from Avanti's the night before any Detweiler meet. Being able to taste that $5.99 the next day during the race fuels me more than anything. I'm also known to be the fastest milk miler, with a blistering PR of 7:57. Looking forward to the next one to maybe go sub-7. My favorite song has to be "Easy Street" by The Collapsable Hearts Club, especially when played for an hour straight on The Walking Dead, my favorite TV show. Lastly, my favorite movie is The Bee Movie. Berry Benson is the sole inspiration of my political opinion.

My least favorite member of this this is Mongoose. That kid will not be quiet about how smart he is with his GPA and everything. He constantly rubs it in our faces, bringing it up randomly for no reason but to put us down. Being self-conscious about my being bad at knowing stuff, it really cuts deep. He's a backstabber if I've ever seen one! 

A top notch character kid who was beset with some serious injuries. Anderson was able to rebound at the end of the 2015 season and run 14:55 for three miles. He also competed in the NXN championship as well. This season Anderson was knocked out early with another injury. He debuted at the Naperville Twilight Invite and it has been all roses since. The state's top 6th man ran 14:55 again to add critical depth for the Wildcats.

Jeremy Hayhurst

The state's fastest runner #7 clocked 15:04!! Hayhurst was a former hockey player who ran 20:11 as a freshman! It's hard to believe he ran 16:07 coming into this season!