Neuqua Valley boys have won the team title for three consecutive years and look to keep their winning streak this weekend. Even though they are missing all-star senior and last year's individual champion Zach Kinne, due to him moving to Pennsylvania, Neuqua Valley is still a standout team. Wheaton Warrenville South proved to be their closest competition last year scoring 37 points compared to the winning 34. Now they are out of the picture, so the path looks to be clear for Neuqua Valley. Naperville Central has the best chance of defeating the Wildcats. However, at the Naperville Twilight meet last week, Neuqua Valley won with a score of 71 while Naperville Central placed 5th overall with 183 points. While there were many great teams at this meet, the results prove the Naperville Central surely has their work cut out for them if they want to catch Neuqua Valley. Crosstown rival Naperville North was only 4 points behind Central, so they cannot be counted out. Metea Valley had a great season last year but will struggle to repeat as they lost key members of their squad.
The individual race for first will be an interesting one, as there are several runners who could take the title. Senior Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central threw down a monster 14:11 at the Peoria Invite on September 29th. Besides that, his season has been a roller coaster thus far. Chris Keeley of Neuqua Valley could pull ahead of Shilgalis, especially if he has the team title on his mind. When Keeley and Shilgalis went head to head at the Naperville Twilight, it was Keeley reigning supreme. Statistically, Shilgalis has the times on his side. Keeley's lifetime 3-mile PR is a 14:59.5, which he ran last year. He has yet to break 15 this year. Keeley also must compete with fellow teammate Michael Madiol, who has beaten Keeley at a number of races this year or finished shortly behind him. The real underdog picks include the likes of senior Nicholas Trattner and junior Jake Allen of Naperville North. These two have been an excellent duo and are a significant reason Naperville North is in the hunt. The two finished only 20 seconds behind Keeley, Shilgaliis, and Madiol at the Naperville Twilight meet and could easily pull off an upset if the timing is right.