By Michael Newman

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Honestly, some of the 15 regional 3A meets that will take place will be a formality of choosing the six qualifying teams to next week’s sectional meet.

For this weekend’s preview, we look at the top five interesting regional meets (one from each sectional) and the storylines that you should watch for on Saturday.

Wheaton-Warrenville South vs. York vs. Glenbard West at Lake Park Boys Regional race

Three of the top five 3A Boys teams will face each other in what could be a preview for the state meet in two weeks. Wheaton-Warrenville South, York, and Glenbard West should make it out of the Niles West Sectional next Saturday. Who wins the team title on Lake Park’s East Campus course is another question.

York and Wheaton-Warrenville South raced each other at the Richard Spring Invitational a month ago. However, this is not the same York team that the Tigers faced at that meet. The Dukes are running with momentum coming off a convincing win last Saturday at the WSC-Silver Championships. Glenbard West finished second behind York and will be hungry to switch places in this race. Wheaton-Warrenville South raced on this course last week in winning the DuKane Championships. The Tigers had a 26 second split on the top five in that race and will look for another close pack on Saturday.

South will need five runners in the top 10 to win this race led by DuKane Conference Champion Billy Hauenstein, senior brothers Scott and Sean Maison, and junior Jacob Kluckhohn. York has the power up front with WSCS champion Ethan Kern, Daniel Klysh, and Colin Hill finishing in the top five last week. They will just need to repeat that on Saturday as well as getting their top five runners in the first 13. Rory Cavan was hit by illness last week but should be back to his old self in this race. Getting Cavan and Stephen Moody in the top five will be a must for the Hilltoppers. Glenbard West will need their pack all in the top 15 to get close for the win.

The course might be sloppy considering the chance of rain expected for Friday evening. Cavan, Kern, and Hauenstein all have the talent to win this individual race.

The Girls race at 1PM before the Boys showcases Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West. The junior should run away with the individual title, but her margin of victory will not be as big as last Saturday when she won by more than a minute. Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South and Katie Hohe of Glenbard West should be leading the “chase” pack. Wheaton-Warrenville South won the DuKane Championship last week and should repeat that win in this regional. Glenbard West will look to bounce back from their third-place finish at WSC-Silver last week. The Hilltoppers should be 15 points or closer to the Lady Tigers. York, led by Sarah May, puts York in a solid third position.

The way of the pack at Oswego East

The earliest start of the weekend in the 3A Regionals is on the campus of Oswego East with the first race starting at 9 AM with the Girls race. 3A Top ranked Naperville North should roll to the win in this race if they run all of their top runners in this race. Five runners in the top eight is possible from this team led by Alex Morris and Campbell Petersen. Oswego should be a solid second led by Isabelle Christiansen and Becca Corbett. Then it will be the pack with six teams in this nine-team field challenging for the final four sectional qualifying spots. Oswego East is coming off a solid race last week at the Southwest Prairie Conference led by freshman Madison Zarembski. Naperville Central will need to keep their top five split under 35 seconds to advance led by Kayla Zimmer. Benet Academy has a nice pack and should battle and should advance.   Neuqua Valley, Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley and West Aurora could be within 10 points of each other with only one team from that group making it to next week’s sectional at Waubonsie Valley.

There are 10 teams in the Boys race with nine with a good chance to make it to next week. There are tight turns on this course, so anything could happen with wet conditions. Host Oswego East ran strong last week at the Southwest Prairie Conference Meet winning the team title with only a 20 second split. Neuqua Valley rolled to their 13^th straight DuPage Valley Conference title with a 36 second split on their top five. The Wildcats will need to cut their split close to 30 seconds with Michael Madiol and Chris Keeley among the top five. Oswego East needs to keep their split near or under 30 seconds with Luke Wentz among the top five. They will need all their top five in before 22^nd place to capture the win.

After that, it could be up for grabs. Naperville Central will have individual race favorite Thomas Shilgalis but will need a tight pack from their second through fourth runners. Naperville North could have Nicholas Trattner and Jake Allen in the top 10 but will need to have the rest of their top five in before 30^th.  Waubonsie Valley could advance to their home course but will need a 30 second split behind Wes Beitler. Marmion, West Aurora, East Aurora, and Oswego all have the talent to make it into the top six.

Yorkville and Minooka Girls teams face-off at Normal’s Maxwell Park

The 3A session of this Maxwell Park Regional should come down to two of the top four 3A Girls teams in the state. Yorkville cruised to an easy win at last week’s NIB 12 Conference Meet. The Lady Foxes will be the favorite in this meet with Emily Eberhart, Helena Kleronomos, and Kailey Fox possibilities of sweeping the top three spots. Yorkville could score 25 points or under. Minooka moved up to #4 in the 3A rankings after a tight win at last week’s Southwest Prairie Championships. Vivian Van Eck should finish among the top five. Getting their top five in the first 12 places could get them closer to Yorkville. Normal West, Normal Community, and Pekin are solid bets to advance to next week’s Quincy Sectional.

Normal University and Minooka will challenge for the Boys Regional title. U-High is coming off a strong performance to win at the Central State Eight title over 2A top ranked Chatham-Glenwood.  The Pioneers will need their top three of Jackson McClure, Dane Alexander, and Cooper Wilken to finish in the top 10 with their top five in the first 20. Minooka finished second last week in their conference meet even with an “off-race” from one of their top runners Jason Hoffman. The junior should be in the top ten along with Vincent Van Eck. The Indians could win this team title but will need a split under 27 seconds with their top five in the first 15. Charlie Wetzel of Normal West ran 14:34 last month at Detweiller Park and is coming off a win at the Big 12 Championships will be runner up front to watch.

Keeping your feet dry at the Legge Creek

Katherine Legge Memorial Park will be busy on Saturday with Hinsdale Central hosting a 3A regional in the morning and then the 2A Regional after that hosted by Hinsdale South. The question will be if we see full lineups in the Boys race.

There are four Boys ranked teams in this race led by Downers Grove South. The Mustangs had an easy time in winning the WSC-Gold title. Five runners in the top 15 as well as keeping their split under 35 seconds led by Eddie Siuda could get them to the regional title. Lyons Township did not have their best race of the season finishing third last week at the WSC-Silver Meet. The Lions ran only a 16 split last week but will need Ryan Bonfiglio and Jack Ehlert in the top five to surpass Downers Grove South.

Jack Roberts is ready to race, but Downers Grove North Coach John Sipple remembers what happened to Sandburg star Dylan Jacobs on the creek crossing in 2015. If caused Jacobs to miss the rest of the season. Don’t expect to see Roberts on the starting line Saturday morning. Downers Grove North will advance to the Marist Sectional led by Matt Moravec who finished fourth last week at WSC-Silver.

Hinsdale Central, Morton Township, and Fenwick are solid bets to also advance to the sectional meet.

Third ranked Downers Grove South will get a challenge in the Girls race from Lyons Township who won last week at the WSC-Silver Championships. South, led by individual favorite Brenna Cohoon, could get their top seven within the first 13 places scoring under 30 points. Lyons Township, with Kate Dickman challenging Cohoon for the individual win, will pack it up with their top five possibly in the first 15.  Hinsdale Central should be a solid third led by top five runner McKenna Revord. Fenwick and Downers Grove North should also to advance with Morton Township and Argo challenging for the final qualifying spot.

Hersey Boys, Prospect Girls ready to tune up at Busse Woods

Mid Suburban League champions Hersey and Prospect will be the teams to watch Saturday morning at the Hoffman Estates Regional. Hersey did not have their strongest race in their win last week at Prospect. Josh Methner is the individual favorite and could lead five Hersey runners in the top 11 in this race. Watch for Max Svienty and Ryan Buch to be closer together in this race. They were separated by 19 seconds in last week’s meet.

Rolling Meadows and Glenbrook South are the two teams that could get close to Hersey. Rolling Meadows is having a great season with their sights on a state meet appearance. Eddie Lennon could challenge Methner for the individual win. The Mustangs will also need Stephen Barretto in the top 10 with five runners in the first 14 to get close to the top spot. Glenbrook South could have Will Kelly and Will Houser in the top ten. The Titans should advance back to Busse Woods for the sectional meet and could pass by Rolling Meadows if they can get their top five runners in before Rolling Meadows’ fourth runner crosses the line.

Prospect was impressive in winning the Girls league title placing seven runners in the top 15. The Lady Knights could repeat that feat again on Saturday with Julia O’Grady leading a Prospect pack that could have their five scorers in the top 10. Fremd, Hersey, and Hoffman Estates should follow in the next three spots. Glenbrook South’s Kate Jortberg and Natalie Sandlow of Glenbrook North will challenge O’Grady for the individual title.