2021 Distance Night in Palatine Preview

 

 

All-star fields back again to electrify the Chic Anderson Stadium Track

 

By Michael Newman

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Distance Night in Palatine is back like it had never left. The 2020 edition of the meet was cancelled like all other Illinois track meets due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 

The fifth year of this meet should be its best of the five meets held especially with high school athletes longing for the fast time of the distance race. It is something that they have waited a year for.

 

The Arcadia Invitational in California is happening on the same night as this meet. Travel restrictions are making that meet a California athlete only meet. Some of the top athletes entered in Saturday night’s meet had planned to make the trip to the Los Angeles area. Instead, they get to feel the electricity of this meet when they step to the starting line.

 

The Girls three distance events should be lights out with athletes such as national champions Roisin Willis, Ali Ince, and Ava Parekh all entered in the championship races. The Boys three distance events feature the top Illinois high school distance runners including Drew Rogers, Wilson Georges, and Luke Schildmeyer.

 

The weather should be conducive to fast times with temperatures in the low 50’s with no wind or precipitation expected on Saturday evening.

 

The meet format has changed for 2021 due to COVID-19 guidelines with the Under Card races beginning at 5PM and lasting until 7PM. Spectators will be asked to leave after the Under Card so that spectators for the Main Event may enter the stadium. The Main Event is scheduled to begin at 8PM.

 

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Here is a look at each of the six events that will be held on Saturday night.

 

Girls 800 Meter Run – 9:03 PM

 

The championship section of this event could be the top race of this meet. The last time that Roisin Willis of Stevens Point HS WI was in Illinois she was going after the Women’s Olympic Trials Qualifying Standard of 2:02.5 at the Cabin Fever Invitational at Chicago’s Gately Park. She ran 2:04.64 in that race but found afterwards the meet management had placed her on the wrong starting line. She ended up running 815 meters which her time equivalent would have been 2:02.4. Her personal best is 2:03.05 run indoors in 2020.

 

Willis has showed that she is ready for a fast race in this meet. After her race in Chicago in March, the junior won the NSAF Meet of Champions 400 Meter Dash with a 53.87 time. She showed her strength and speed at a small quad meet in Wisconsin running a solo 4:41.46 (US #2) for the 1600 Meter Run and then doubling back to run a fast 25.22 for the 200 Meter Dash.

 

One of the surprises during the indoor season was the win from Ali Ince of Normal Community in the 800 Meter Run at the adidas Indoor Nationals running a 2:09.42 time. The freshman showed that she is ready last Saturday at the Kansas City Trials of Miles Girls race when she won the race covering 1 mile in a personal best of 4:50.49. Two days later at a small quad meet in Champaign, Ince ran the fastest time in the state (56.3 hand-timed) in winning the 400 Meter Dash.

 

While we will be watching in this race to see if Willis goes under the Olympic Qualifying standard, we will also be watching for Ince to see if she establishes a new Illinois best at the distance. The best time ever for an Illinois High School runner was from Courtney Clayton when she ran 2:07.05 in winning the 800 Meter Run at the 2013 IHSA State Track and Field Championships.

 

Marianne Mihas of Latin School has a personal best of 2:10.95 at this distance and will be a factor in the front. Kaylie Politza of Valparaiso HS IN ran a personal best of 2:12.57 at adidas Indoors in February and should be watched for in the front. Katrina Schlenker of Batavia has a 2:15.29 best and could be a surprise in this race along with Ella Hale of Oswego. Schlenker currently has the fastest time in the state. Keep an eye on another freshman Bella Domier of Grayslake Central. She ran a 2:17 split in 30 mph wind conditions at last Saturday’s Prospect Girls Invitational. Domier could be due for an under 2:15 time in this race.

 

Girls 800 Meter Run Sections

 

Central State Eight Conference rivals Becca Heitzig of Lincoln HS and Colleen Zeibert of Rochester HS are the top seeds in Section 3 of this event. Kennedy Calcagno of IC Catholic Prep  won a section race in this meet as a freshman in 2019 and could cross the line first. Elisabeth Camic of Benet Academy is another runner to watch for.

 

Section 2 should be wide open led with Hayley Burk of Lake Zurich HS and Annie Macabobby of Wheaton-Warrenville South HS as the top seeds. Kelly Andrews of Benet Academy and Rebecca Corbett of Oswego are other top runners to watch in this race.

 

Yorkville’s Katie Melzer and Lucy Anderson are the top seeds in Section 1.

 

Boys 800 Meter Run – 9:08 PM

 

The action continues with this championship section of this event. There is no standout favorite in this race. This is a 12-runner field. Any of these 12 runners could end up winning.

 

Nathan Cumberbatch of Shorewood HS WI comes down south from Wisconsin as the top seed in this section. Only a sophomore, Cumberbatch has a 1:53.88 best from an indoor race in Ohio this winter. He also has great finishing speed having run 51.33 for 400-meters and 1:22.14 for 600-meters.

 

Nico Dovalovsky of Neuqua Valley currently has the fastest time in Illinois from a triangular meet last Saturday and ran 1:54.65 at adidas Indoors in February. Niko Schultz of Plainfield South found how good he was at this distance after he ran 1:54.41 during the indoor season. He also had the fastest time in the nation indoors in the 600 Meter Run (1:19.86) run at the Misfits Invitational in February. Both runners have great finishing speed and could challenge Cumberbatch for the win.

 

Vincent Van Eck of Minooka has been running strong outdoors having run a solo 4:24 for the 1600 Meter Run at a quad meet on Tuesday. Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central surprised some by running 1:55.60 at the end of the indoor season and could end up winning in this meet. Ryan Maseman of Plainfield North emerged during the indoor season running some fast times. Don’t overlook him in this race. Ryan Schreiner of Wheaton North could be a surprise in this race. He has a 1:57 personal best run outdoors along with a 50.7 best in the 400 Meter Dash.

 

Boys 800 Meter Run Sections

 

Section 3 in the Main Event portion of the meet could be close to fast as the championship race with all 12 runners in the section within two seconds of each other. Brock Dregenberg of Dixon has the top seed and could dip under 1:56 on Saturday. Chicago ace Lucas Guidone of Taft has the strength and speed to top them all in this race. Jocqael Thorpe of Lyons Township, Matt Cull of Maine South, and Evan Finger of Dodgeland HS WI are three runners also to watch.

 

Aidan Simon of Loyola Academy and Patrick McClanahan of Palatine are the top seeds in Section 2. This will also be close with only one second separating all 12 runners.

 

Close timed sections? Try the first section of this event as less than a second separates all 14 runners. Michael Polizzi of Taft and Nick Rohlwing of Neuqua Valley are the top seeds.

 

Girls 3200 Meter Run – 9:13 PM

 

Lauren Pansegrau of Middleton WI enters this meet with the top seed time of 10:19.05 run at the Sundown Track Series Meet in Arizona at the end of February. This junior will have a full day ahead of her being that this will be her second race of the day.

 

Saturday morning at 10 AM, she will run with her Middleton teammates in Janesville at the Wisconsin Alternative State XC Championships against seven other teams. Pansegrau will have close to 10 hours to recover before this race making her day unique to say the least. She will still be the favorite in this event.

 

Fellow Wisconsin runner Kora Malecek of Onalaska HS WI could be her chief competition when the gun fires. Malecek, who will be attending the University of Illinois this fall with her triplet sisters Lydia and Amalia (who is entered in this race), has won the WIAA State D1 XC title for the last two years. Her seed time of 10:32.38 is from her sophomore season in 2019. Kora opened her track season on April 27 running 2:13.30 for the 800 Meter Run. She should be with Pansegrau in the front.

 

Anna Perry of Eureka is the top Illinois runner in this field. Perry, who won the D1 race at the ShaZam XC Club Championships last fall, has already run 10:45.25 solo at Metamora on April 24. She has a faster time in her legs which we should see on Saturday.

 

Maggie Gamboa and Lucy Westlake of Naperville Central ran under 11-minutes along with Anna Harden of Hersey two weeks ago at Wheaton. All three runners could dip under 10:50 in this race. Lianna Surtz of Rosary is a runner we could find finishing in the top three. The junior won the 2019 IHSA Class 1A title and has a 10:53.42 best run last August in a summer meet in Chicago.

 

Girls 3200 Meter Run Sections

 

Maggie Mason of Cary-Grove enters Section 3 with a 11:18.87 seed time more than seven seconds ahead of the rest of the section. Haley Heiar of Galena (COOP) IL made her XC debut last fall finishing by placing second at the D1 ShaZam XC Club Championships competing for East Dubuque HS. She ran a solo 11:21.8 in a dual meet on Tuesday. Let’s see how fast she will go in this race. A time under 11:10 is quite possible. Lauren Hunecke of Batavia and Carly Manchester of IC Catholic Prep are runners in this section also to watch for.

 

Mia Pasha of Warren Township has the top seed in Section 2 with Yorkville’s Sara Klemm and Brooke Walker of Rock Bridge HS MO runners to also watch.

 

Section 1 features top seeds Grace Spoonhour of Charleston and Anna Todd of Vernon Hills who are close to 10 seconds ahead of the rest of this race. Julia Benes of Jones Prep leads the pack behind these two runners.

 

Boys 3200 Meter Run – 9:28 PM

 

The Girls 800 Meter Run Championship race is perhaps the most anticipated race in this meet. This championship section could surpass that. Nine runners entered in this section have seed times under 9:11. Clayton Mendez’s meet record of 8:59.46 in 2017 should be surpassed Saturday night. A winning time under 8:50 is a strong possibility of happening.

 

It took a final kick from Drew Rogers of Herscher to gain the win over Lucas Guerra of Highland HS IN by .35 hundredths of a second in March at the Cabin Fever Invitational with Rogers running 9:00.21 for the 2-Mile Run win. Both runners worked off each other in that race. You should expect more of the same on Saturday. Rogers ran under 9:06 three times indoors. Guerra won the Franklin Central Flashes Distance Meet 1 Mile Run on April 16 with a 4:09.13 time. Both runners are in shape and ready for a fast time.

 

Luke Wiley of Warren Township has been out of the spotlight since the end of February after running 9:02.65 in winning the 3200 Meter Run at the Misfits Invitational in Chicago. He did not race the rest of the indoor season. He ran 2:04 for 800-meters at an early season meet in April. I am sure he is ready for another fast race.

 

Wilson Georges of Bartonville Limestone is one runner that certainly crack that 8:50 barrier. The junior was undefeated in last fall’s cross-country season. After recovering from COVID-19 during February, Georges came back after his recovery to run two races of 4:15 or under for the mile/1600 Meter Run in March. He has not raced yet outdoors this spring. He does have the potential to be with Rogers in the front pack.

 

Nick Falk of New Trier and Micah Wilson of St. Charles East both have indoor times under 9:09. Falk looked strong in his 1600 Meter Run win at Prospect last Friday. Wilson ran 4:16 in a time trial in April and is ready for a fast race. Both could be under nine-minutes on Saturday. Also keep an eye on Arthur Graham of Naperville Central and Owen Hays of Lyons Township. Both runners could also dip under that nine-minute barrier.

 

Boys 3200 Meter Run Sections

 

A top seed time of 9:24 could be the spotlight race in a normal meet. It gets you the third of four sections at Distance Night in Palatine. It still should be a dynamite section.

 

Joey Furlong of Barrington, who finished second last Friday at Palatine, and Austin Popplewell of Yorkville lead a strong field of 16 runners. Chris Cherry of Taylorville ran 9:25 at a small meet on April 22 and seems ready for a sub 9:20 run. Stephen Barretto of Rolling Meadows, Brandon Kamp of Naperville Central, and Alex Partlow of Carbondale are some of the runners to watch in the front. This will be a tough race. All 16 runners in this section have seed times between 9:24 and 9:30.

 

Caden Simone of Lincoln-Way Central at 9:33.57 has the fastest seed time in Section 2. Layton Hall of Arthur-Lovington is one runner that I would keep an eye on. Also watch for Tucker Poshard of Carbondale, Ryan Mansour of Batavia, and Quinn Born of Hersey in this race.

 

Section 1 is led by the top seed of Hudson Sumerall of Rock Bridge MO. Sawyer Madell of Lyons Township along with David Olmos of HL Richards are some of the runners to watch for in the first Boys 3200 Meter Run of this meet.

 

Girls 1600 Meter Run – 9:41 PM

 

There are no runners in Illinois that have not gone under five minutes yet this season. That should change after this race. Ava Parekh of Latin School has not touched this event early in the outdoor season. She should have her hands all over this race as one of the pre-meet favorites. The junior had a big indoor season including running 4:47.17 in winning the 1 Mile Run at the adidas Indoor Nationals. This was after she had run 10:15 for 2-miles the day before.

 

There are seven runners that are in this field that could challenge Parekh in the front. All of them have personal bests under five-minutes. Campbell Petersen of Naperville North has the Illinois state best time for this distance early in this season. The senior likes to push the pace and should be close to the front. She ran 4:54.65 to finish fourth in this meet in 2019. Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran 4:54.81 to finish fifth as a sophomore in this meet in 2019. The senior has strong speed at the end of races which could cause problems for this field on Saturday.

 

Brooke Stromsland of Lakes Community started her outdoor season running 5:10.9 last Friday. She does have a personal best of 4:57 to her credit. A consummate competitor, Stromsland should be among the top runners in this race. Aly Negovetich of Grant Community showed her fitness level running 10:40 in a home meet on April 23 then 5:03.15 for the 1 Mile Run at the Kansas City Trials of Miles race. She ran 4:59.28 for the mile indoors. This junior should be in the mix for a top three finish.

 

Mary Grace Hegberg of Saint Viator made a huge improvement stride this past indoor season and could be a surprise in this race. Wisconsin runners Kylie Finger of Oconomowoc WI, Lydia Malecek of Onalaska WI, and Elizabeth Schmidt of Merrill all have the talent to be among the top five finishers. Morgan Mackie of Loyola Academy ran 5:12 at Prospect on Saturday in windy conditions. She could be a surprise in this race.

 

Girls 1600 Meter Run Sections

 

Five total sections in this event mean a boat load of talent in each race.

 

Section 4 of this event has runners seeded between 5:10 and 5:16. Mabry Bruhn of Monticello had a near perfect season last fall in cross-country and has the top seed in this section at 5:10. Brooke Johnson of Lake Zurich is one runner that should be watched for. She ran 5:12 last week in 40 mph hour winds at Kaneland. She could get close to a 5:02 or under time on Saturday. Her teammate Kristin Loftus could be a factor in the front along with Prospect duo of Cameron Kalaway and Hailey Erickson as well as Alexi Fogo of Eureka.

 

Maeve Norman of Loyola Academy and Anne Marie Jordan of Palatine lead the field in Section 3. Julia Wolke of Christian Liberty Academy and Kaylee Woolery of Winnebago could be surprise runners to watch near the front.

 

Katie Erb of Winnebago is the top sed in Section 2. Morgan Dieschbourg of Cary-Grove and Kelly Carpenter of Jacobs are some of the runners to watch in the front.

 

17 runners in Section 1 made this one of the largest races in this meet. Freshmen Ella Hwang of St. Ignatius Prep and Sydney Day of Naperville North are the top seeds.

 

Boys 1600 Meter Run – 9:50 PM

 

All eyes should be on Luke Schildmeyer of St. Charles East in the final race of the night. The D3 ShaZam Club XC Champion from last fall has showed his fall improvement already during this outdoor season. He ran a 4:33 final 1600 in running 9:14 at Wheaton two weeks ago. He also has run 4:16 in a team time trial showing that he could run under 4:12 in this race. He has the best kick in this field.

 

Jacob Myers of Lake Zurich ran 4:16.29 at the Cabin Fever Invitational in March and could challenge Schildmeyer in this race. He ran a solo 9:28 for the 3200 Meter Run on his home track showing that he is ready for the challenge. Derek Harlan of Centralia ran 4:20 for the 1 Mile Run in the 2020 indoor season and ran 4:22.41 at the end of March in Chicago. He is one of the runners that could challenge for the win.

 

Gavin Genisio of Benton is one of the top freshmen in the country in 2021. Genisio won the freshman 1 Mile Run at the adidas Indoor Nationals at the end of February. His personal best came a week later in Chicago when he ran 4:18.80. Do we see a sub-4:15 from him in this race? He tuned up by running a solo 1:58.24 in the 800 Meter Run at DuQuoin on Monday.

 

Hunter Krepline of Brillion WI ran 4:26.56 last July at WISCO Mile as a junior. He could be under 4:20 in this race. Zack Loomis of St. Charles East, Eamonn Brady of Maine South, Griffin Pasha of Warren Township, and Justin Mumford of Trenton-Wesclin are some of the runners in this race that you could see going under 4:20.

 

Boys 1600 Meter Run Sections

 

Four other races at this distance are in the meet’s schedule. Section 3 is wide-open with Brock Rice of Sandburg the top seed. Colby Revord of Hinsdale Central, Patrick Jamison of New Trier, Charlie McLawthorn of Lyons Township, and the Latin School duo of Peter Bernhardt and Ryan Hardiman are some of the runners to watch in the front.

 

Section 2 is led by Connor Oiler of Hersey and Michael Schumacher of Saint Viator as the top seeds. Charlie Kistner of Stanford Olympia would be the one runner to keep a close eye on. Ivan Westcott of Yorkville could surprise in winning this section.

 

Ben Whaley of Yorkville is the top runner in Section 1. Dylan Myers of Lake Zurich and Mukal Verma of Palatine follow Whaley.

 

The second race of the meet is the Boys Freshman 1600 Meter Run (5:08 PM). Nate Wehner of Highland Park is seeded at 4:28.38 after winning the Deerfield Rustbuster Meet on April 24. He has the fastest seed time by close to eight seconds. Southwest Prairie Conference rivals Cameron Viger of Plainfield South and Marcellus Mines of Joliet West could be Wehner’s chief competition along with Max Lewis of Barrington.