PEORIA – Paul Vandersteen was incredulous two days after the Neuqua Valley boys cross country team defeated York on a sixth-man tiebreaker to earn the Wildcats’ fifth Class 3A trophy since 2007.
“Usually, the formula is you need at least two all-staters to win a trophy,” Vandersteen said after the Wildcats finished behind only Sandburg and Lyons Twp. “I have never heard of a team getting a trophy with zero all-state guys. Not just an all-stater, but we didn’t even have anyone close to all-state.”
But the Wildcats, a two-time Class 3A champion, claimed third place behind a balanced attack featuring Scott Anderson, Matt Milostan, Caleb Ferguson, Jake McEneaney, Aidan Livingston and sixth runner Jackson Jett.
