Ince wins third straight Brooks PR 800 Meter Run title

Close finishes for Watcke and David; Schager takes advantage of invite with personal best in Girls 2 Mile Run

By Michael Newman

The Girls 800 Meter Run at Wednesday’s Brooks PR Invitational did not play out the way that Ali Ince of Normal Community thought it would. The outcome that she envisioned did.

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The regular strategy for Ince would be taking the pace out hard, pushing the third 200-meters of the race, and then daring the rest of the field to come and get her.

In this race at Renton Memorial Stadium outside of Seattle, Ince had to do the chasing in the final portion of the race to catch Isis Grant of Sandy Creek GA at the line for her third win in this meet.

Ince ran 2:04.82 for the win. Grant dove for the tape but finished in 2:04.83 (US #5) to place second.

“I just wanted to go out and compete today. There were so many great runners in that race,” Ince said after her win. “The pace went out a little slow going into the last lap. It was a different way to race it than I wanted it.”

The pace that Ince was looking at would be close to between 59 and 60 seconds. It was slower as the pack led by Ince went through in a 62.7 second first lap. Ince pushed the pace in the third 200 of the race but had looked to run out of steam as she hit the final turn.

Grant took command coming form third passing Ince and Gretchen Farley of Park Tudor IN with 200-meters left in the race.

Grant hit the final straight with a five meter lead and seemed to be pulling away from the two-time champion. Ince found one more gear to catch Grant at the finish. The continuation through the line of Ince and the dive to the finish by Grant defined this race. For Grant, this race was close to a five second personal best and a new Georgia all-time state best for the distance.

“I knew this race would be fast. I was just trying to put myself in the best position to kick,” said Grant. “It was the same strategy at the Georgia State Meet where I went for it with 200-meters left. This time I came so close to winning it. I’m happy with my performance.”

Farley held on to finish third in 2:05.59 less than a second behind her personal best of 2:04.95 she ran at the Indiana State Meet.

“My first thought when she (Grant) passed me was to go with her. It is easier to chase someone from behind and go after her. So, I let her go a little bit and geared up for that final 100-meters,” Ince added. “These meet is so much more than a race. It’s the race but meeting the same people from the year before. It is about the friendships you build coming here. The race is just a small portion of what happens at this meet.”

With this performance, Ince now holds nine of the top ten times ever run at this distance for an Illinois Girls athlete. She will have a couple of chances to better that first this weekend at New Balance Outdoor Nationals and then in July at the USATF U-20 Championships.

The Boys 800 Meter Run that followed mirrored what we saw in the Girls race.

Just like the prior race, this field was loaded with the top three finishers in the New Balance Indoor Nationals Champion led by indoor champion Tinoda Matsatsa of St. Andrew’s Episcopal MD. Matsatsa last race put him under 4-minutes at HOKA Festival of Miles almost two weeks ago. Dan Watcke of Hinsdale Central IL went under 1:49 for the first time in winning the 800 Meter Run in the same meet. He was looking for something faster as well.

The first lap was swift in this race with Nathan Cumberbatch of Shorewood WI leading the pack through 400-meters in 53.75. Watcke, Matsatsa, Andrew Regnier of Waunakee WI, and Aaron Sahlman of Newbury Park CA were close all under 54-seconds.

Regnier took command of the race just before 200-meters left in the race. Matsatsa pulled up on the right shoulder of Regnier and had the advantage entering the final straight. Watcke showed his finish speed but had to pull out to the third lane to take the lead with 40-meters left. It was the mind boggling move from Cumberbatch who had to move to the fourth lane to pass Regnier and Matsatsa at first and then out lean Watcke at the line for the title.

Cumberbatch ran a nation leading 1:48.20 to claim the win. Watcke ran 1:48.24 (US #2) to place second. It was a Midwest finish as Regnier ran 1:48.49 (US #4) to edge Matsatsa (1:48.50, US #5) for third. Carter Cutting of Wilsonville OR made it five runners under 1:49 as he ran 1:48.98 (US #8) to place fifth.

“It was great to be in this meet. This was the best 800 field of the year,” Watcke said afterwards. “I thought I had the race won but Nathan swung around on the outside and got me.”

Watcke’s time of 1:48.24 is the second fastest all-time for an Illinois High School runner for the 800 Meter Run and third all-time for 880 yards and 800 meters behind Sean Torpy and David Ayoub. Watcke will have a chance to lower his time at the USATF U-20 championships in Oregon this July. He will be running with his Hinsdale Central teammates as they defend their title in the 4x800m Relay this weekend at the Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene.

Every time that Tatum David of Richland County IL steps on a track, she wants to run fast. David did so once again in her final high school race running the fastest time ever for an Illinois High School Girls runner in the 1 Mile Run.

David likes a fast pace and likes to run at the front. It was no surprise that she had the lead after the first lap of Wednesday’s race and throughout until the final 30-meters of the race.

The future University of Virginia student/athlete has the lead as she passed heading into the final lap in 3:28.06. She had company as Bethany Michalak of Air Academy CO, Jane Hendengren of Timpview UT, and Karrie Baloga of Cornwall Central NY were all within a second.

David’s lead continued to grow on the final lap. As the runners came off the curve, David accidentally faded into the second lane opening the door for Hendengren who made her move on the inside with 50-meters left in the race. The Utah sophomore captured the win with a nation’s leading 4:35.69 time.

The first four finishers were all within two seconds of each other. David ran 4:35.87 (US #2) to finish second just 18 hundredth of a second back. Then came Michalak in 4:37.39 (US #5) and Baloga in 4:37.52 (US #6) finishing third and fourth.

“The pace was what I wanted it to be. I was locked in. It was like a blur. I just kept pushing because a mile goes by pretty fast,” David said. “I’m super happy to end my season on a high note. I could not ask for a better way to end it. I’m happy I made the decision to move back to Illinois.”

This is the third time this season that David has bettered the Illinois High School Best for 1 Mile / 1600 Meters. She passed Katelynne Hart’s all-time best indoors at the New Balance Grand Prix Meet, then two weeks ago at HOKA Festival of Miles, and then Wednesday afternoon at Brooks PR. Her 1600 Meter Run time of 4:34.30 sets a tough standard for future Illinois runners to pass.

Grace Schager of Glenbard North had just finished winning her second Class 3A 3200 Meter Run and did not know if she would race one more time in High School. Her Coach Eric Day made inquiries about Grace being able to race one more time at Brooks PR.

She received an invitation a week later. That opportunity paid off for the future student/athlete at the University of Notre Dame in the 2 Mile Run Wednesday afternoon. Schager was within the lead for the first seven laps of the race.

Ellie Shea of Emerging Elites MA ran 9:53.36 surging in the final 200-meters for the win. The top five finishers all ran under 10-minutes and ran the fastest five times in the nation this year. Leah Stephens of Our Lady of Good Counsel MD (9:54.34), Emma Stutzman of Pomona CO (9:55.75), and Sophia Kennedy of Park Tudor IN (9:57.09) were next. Schager ran a personal best of 9:59.93 to finish fifth.

“To finally break the (10-minute) barrier, is amazing,” Schager said. “I wish it was faster, but anyone would love to run in this kind of a race. I am thankful to end off my high school career in a race like this.”

Schager’s time of 9:56.43 through 3200-meters places her third all-time for Illinois Girls runners trailing only Tatum David and Katelynne Hart.