By Michael Newman

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The next two weekends are the time that Illinois High School runners gear their focus to during the summer. It is two meets that get you to need to be on your game to get you to Detweiller Park in November and your assigned spot on the starting line for the IHSA State Meet.

The 15 3A regional meets that take place on Saturday, to be honest with you, will not have that much drama. There will be some meets that only a couple of runners will be eliminated after their race of advancing. There will be some meets where it will be tight for the sixth and final qualifying team spot.

In 3A Regional Meets, the first six teams will qualify for next week’s sectional championships. The first five individuals not on a qualifying team will also advance to next Saturday.

Here are five 3A meets to keep an eye on this Saturday.

1 – Wheaton North Regional @ St James Farm, Wheaton

Both team races should be fun to watch with the Girls race starting the day at 9:00 AM. It will the pack running of #4 Wheaton-Warrenville South against the front running of #5 Glenbard West. The two teams met in September at the Richard Spring Invitational in Peoria with South winning on the sixth-runner tiebreaker. It could be just as close in this race. Glenbard West could take home the first three spots with Katelynne Hart, Lindsey Payne, and Katie Hohe leading the way. Wheaton-Warrenville South will need to rely on a tight pack led by Samantha Poglitsch and Maria Rucoba. The key for the Tigers is to get six runners in before West’s fourth runner comes across the line. Glenbard West will need to get one more runner in the top ten besides their big three to secure the win. #20 York could be a spoiler in this race putting runners in between Glenbard’s and Wheaton’s runners led by Sarah May and Emma Kern.

Three 3A top ten teams will take the line at 10:00 AM for the Boys race. #3 Wheaton-Warrenville South ran on this course Monday coming three points short of defending state champion Neuqua Valley. The key for the Tigers is keeping their pack close together. In Monday’s race, they five runners bunched together at the mile only to end up with a still good 33 second split on their top five. Sean and Scott Maison along with William Hauenstein should lead the team up front. #7 York and #8 Glenbard West did not run their best races of the season last Monday at the WSC-Silver Championships with the Dukes finishing fourth and Glenbard West two points behind them. Both teams could finish ahead of the Tigers in this meet. York did not have a tight three-runner pack like they did in Peoria at the end of September led by Sean MacGregor, Tim Stevenson, and Jackson Bode. This could be the meet to work on that pack. The Dukes will need to get 5 runners in the first 18 to secure the win. The Hilltoppers could have Rory Cavan and Stephen Moody in the front and could finish in the top five. The key for Glenbard West is getting either Will O’Brien or Cameron Benes in the first ten as well as getting their fifth runner in before York and Wheaton-Warrenville South’s fifth. #19 Wheaton North is the fourth ranked team in this race and could challenge for one of the top three team spots if Joey Simon or Connor Zydek could finish in the top ten.

2 – Plainfield South Regional @ Hammel Woods, Plainfield

#3 Downers Grove South will be the team to watch in the Girls race starting at 10:00 AM. The Mustangs are coming off their 18^th straight WSC-Gold Conference Championship and should roll in this meet led by one of the individual race favorites Brenna Cohoon. This team has displayed a tight pack all season and should do so in this race. They could put all 7 of their runners in the top 15. It would not surprise me if all their runners are in the top ten. It should be a battle for the second spot with #21 Benet Academy, Plainfield North, and Downers Grove North the teams to watch. Benet Academy has been a surprise this season with six freshmen in their top seven. Plainfield North has Juliana Stogsdill who will challenge for the regional win with Megan Patton possibly in the top five. Downers Grove North has been running better with every meet and could be the surprise in this race led by Ellie Gross.

Top ranked Downers Grove North leads two other ranked teams in the Boys race beginning at 11:00 AM. North put their first 6 runners in the top 14 in winning the WSC-Silver on Monday. Jacob Ridderhoff and Jack Roberts will be the leaders again of this group that could find all top 7 in the first 11. #12 Downers Grove South bounced back to win the WSC-Gold title on Monday and could have 3 runners in the top 6 led by Stephen Pipilas. Getting their five-runner split under 45 seconds could solidify the second spot. #10 Plainfield South won their third straight Southwest Prairie Conference title last Saturday and will use that momentum on their home course. The Cougars will need tight pack running with their five runners in the first 22 to move ahead of Downers Grove South.

3 – Minooka Regional @ Channahon Park, Channahon

The Girls race beginning at 10:00 AM should be the focus of the two races in this meet. #2 Yorkville should be the team to watch in this meet led by Alyssa Edwards and Helena Kleronomos. The Lady Foxes could have their top five in the first 8 spots. Host Minooka will be their chief competition led by Emily Shelton. The pack of Minooka has been getting closer to Shelton in every race that they have run. A spread of 80 seconds or faster could make things interesting. The individual race should be a fun one to watch with Edwards and Shelton the two runners to watch. #14 Lockport did not run their top runners Monday in the SWSC-Blue Division meet instead focusing on the state series. The Lady Porters should have a tight pack somewhere in the teens led by Madison Polinski.

#18 Yorkville, who won the NIB-12 Championship on Monday, should be the favorite in the Boys race. The Foxes ran a 25 second split on their top five led by Ben Summers in that race. Keeping their pack within 30 seconds of each other could give them the regional team win. It could be a close challenge for the second spot with Minooka, Lockport, and Normal Community the teams to watch. Western Big Six Conference Champion Dalton Martin of East Moline United should be the individual to watch in the front.

4 – West Aurora Regional @ Stuart Sports Complex, Montgomery

While #2 Neuqua Valley will be the Boys team favorite (11:00 AM) in this nine team meet, it could be the other 8 teams battling for 5 sectional qualifying spots that might be the attention getter. The Wildcats should have six runners in the top ten led by individual race favorite Zach Kinne. #24 Marmion Academy is coming off their win at the Chicago Catholic Championships and could be one of the teams to qualify led by Michael Ronzone. Upstate Eight Champion #11 Batavia will need to rely on a tight pack on their first five (30 to 35 seconds) to be one of the six teams to make it out. There could be a gap of 15 to 20 points before the rest of the teams come in. Oswego needs a pack of 30 seconds or faster with a runner in the first 15 to solidify a qualifying spot. Waubonsie Valley, led by Cedric McGuire, needs to have their top 5 runners in the first 30 to make one of the first top six squads. Oswego East will have Matthew Blanco among the runners up front, but the Wolves must have their remaining scorers in before 40^th place to run another week.

The Girls race is wide-open both individually and team wise at least for the first four squads. #12 Batavia is coming off an Upstate Eight Conference title and could win their second team title within a week. #23 Neuqua Valley ran their best race of the year so far in finishing third at the DuPage Valley Conference. Oswego, if they are healthy, is a team that could take home a regional title. Cross town rival Oswego East will need some tight pack running to get in a top five spot. Otherwise, Metea Valley could surpass them. It is anybody’s guess who will win the individual title. Ashley Heidenreich of Waubonsie Valley, Mia Gianfrancesco of Batavia, and Grace Pagone of Oswego are some of the runners to watch in the front.

5 – Palatine Regional @ Deer Grove East FP, Palatine

The three regionals are equal is talent and drama, it might be this regional that you might want to watch. Mid Suburban League champions #8 Barrington and #15 Palatine will be the teams to watch in the Girls race. Barrington has the strength up front led by individual race favorite Jocelyn Long and Molly FitzPatrick. The Fillies will need to get all seven of their runners in before Palatine’s fifth runner. The Lady Pirates should have a tight pack led by freshman Anne Marie Jordan that could get four runners in the top ten. The key is getting their four in before Barrington’s third. Fox Valley Champion Cary-Grove will lead 5 other teams fighting for 4 qualifying spots.

It should be a four-way fight to the finish for the Boys regional title. Barrington’s Nick Laning should be the individual favorite and could lead the #22 Broncos to the team title. Dundee-Crown, after a mid-season slump, bounced back in the conference race finishing only nine points behind ranked Huntley. 5 runners in the first 22 could solidify a win for the Chargers. Host Palatine could be a sleeper in this race but could challenge for the win if they can get their first 5 runners in the top 23 led by Richie Jacabo and Evan Eckels. #16 Lake Zurich is running hot at the right time defeating ranked Mundelein twice in the past two weeks including the North Suburban Conference win. Patrick Burns will be among the top five runners. Getting one more runner in the top 15 for the Bears would help.