2021 Palatine Invitational Meet of Championship Preview

The return to Deer Grove East after a one-year absence could produce one of the best ever in the meet’s history

By Michael Newman

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The year away from Deer Grove East Forest Preserve on the western edge of Palatine due to the COVID-19 pandemic could be the incentive of what could be the making of a great day of cross-country racing this Saturday morning.

MEET INFORMATION INCLUDING BOX ASSIGNMENTS

Both Varsity races are loaded. 21 of the 31 Girls teams in the Championship are ranked according to ILXCTF.com. The Boys Championship race has 23 ranked teams along with strong squads from Kentucky (St. Xavier) and Missouri (St. Louis University.

Conditions should be great on this 3-mile course with dry grounds and temperatures in the low 60’s at race time. It could mean a new record in the Girls race as Josephine Welin of Oak Park-River Forest will chase after the nine-year-old-course record set by Kaylee Flanigan in the 2012 meet of 16:49. Welin ran 16:40 last week at Detweiller Park.

Here is a look at the two varsity races that will take place Saturday morning at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve.

Girls Varsity Race – 10:20 AM CDT

Teams (21 Total Ranked) – (3A-15 Ranked) -  #1 York, #3 Prospect, #5 New Trier, #9 Oak Park-River Forest, #10 Lyons Township, #12 Loyola Academy, #14 Maine South, #15 Barrington, #18 Downers Grove North, #22 Hersey, #23 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #25 Lake Zurich, #27 Oswego, #28 Libertyville, #30 Palatine, Buffalo Grove, Dundee-Crown, Edwardsville, Jones College Prep, Lockport Township, Mundelein (2A-6 Ranked) - #1 Grayslake Central), #2 Vernon Hills, #6 Prairie Ridge, #11 Crystal Lake Central, #23 Lakes Community #28 Cary-Grove, Fenwick, (Out of State)  Assumption KY.

Preview – It is hard to bet against #1 York in this meet after their first three races. The Dukes are the class of this race having run a 40 second split on their top five led by Katherine Klimek and Kaitlyn Winton. Expect Brooke Berger, Maggie Owens, Bria Bennis, and Michaela Quinn to close the gap on their top two in this race. #3 Prospect has finished second behind York the past two weeks and could be the team challenging York even though their top runner Lily Ginsberg is registered to run in the Frosh/Soph race. The Knights are still strong with Hailey Erickson leading the way. #5 New Trier has not raced their top seven since First to the Finish two weeks ago. Newcomer Beatrix Gilson has been a solid top runner for the Trevians and will be up front in this race. New Trier had over a 2-minute split off Gilson and an 85 second 2-5 split at FTTF. Watch for that gap to close in this race.

#9 Oak Park-River Forest had a good race last week in Peoria behind Josephine Welin’s strong race. The team had a 61 second split from second runner Avery Minnis to fifth runner Samantha Duwe. A race similar to that could get this team in the top three. #10 Lyons Township continues to improve behind a strong pack behind their top runner Catherine Sommerfeld. Do not count this team out in the first four squads on Saturday. 2A teams #1 Grayslake Central and #2 Vernon Hills will face each other for the third meet in a row. Watch for both of those squads in the top 10 in this meet.

Runners to Watch (In Alphabetical Order) – Sofia Acuri, Maine South; Bria Bennis, York; Brooke Berger, York; Bella Daley, Fenwick; Bella Domier, Grayslake Central; Hailey Erickson, Prospect; Hadley Ferrero, Crystal Lake Central; Beatrix Gilson, New Trier; Anna Harden, Hersey; Evelyn Hett, Jones Prep; Reina Hill, Vernon Hills; Brooke Johnston, Lake Zurich, Abigail Jordan, Palatine; Katherine Klimek, York; Annie Macabobby, Wheaton-Warrenville South; Morgan Mackie, Loyola Academy; Emily Nuttall, Edwardsville; Jocelyn Onstot, Cary-Grove; Bree Ponchak, Libertyville; Nicole Poglitsch, Wheaton-Warrenville South; Kayla Shea, Lockport Township; Audra Soderlind, Oswego; Catherine Sommerfeld, Lyons Township; Rachel Soukup, Prairie Ridge; Scout Storms, Barrington; Anna Todd, Vernon Hills; Sheila Tucker, Libertyville; Josephine Welin, Oak Park-River Forest; Kaitlyn Winton, York.

Preview – It is hard not to see Josephine Welin winning this race. The Peoria race last week was her first of the season and she ran 16:40 in hot conditions. The temperatures should be great in this race and the conditions of the course could be close to perfect. The course record of 16:49 set by Kaylee Flanagan in 2012 could be threatened in this race.

Beatrix Gilson closed on Lucy Westlake two weeks ago at FTTF and will be a threat to finish in a top three in this race. Brooke Johnston ran 16:59 last week in Peoria and could be a threat in this race to push Welin. Catherine Sommerfeld had a great race last week at Minooka and could be one of the top five runners in this race. Bella Domier is having a strong sophomore season and could shine in this race. Katherine Klimek, Kaitlyn Winton, Hailey Erickson, and Audra Soderlind all have run under 17:25 this season and will push for top five finishes. Anna Harden, Morgan Mackie, Sofia Acuri, Broke Berger, Bria Bennis, Bree Ponchak, Sheila Tucker, and Evelyn Hett could be some of the runners that you could see finish in the top 10.

Boys Varsity Race – 10:50 AM CDT

Teams (23 Total Ranked) – (3A-16 Ranked) - #2 York, #4 New Trier, #5 Hinsdale Central, #10 Palatine, #13 Hersey, #14 Plainfield South, #15 Loyola Academy, #18 Lake Zurich, #19 Plainfield North, #21 Prospect, #22 Edwardsville, #23 Oak Park-River Forest, #25 Jones College Prep, #26 Barrington, #28 Downers Grove South, #29 Oswego East, Maine South, St. Ignatius Prep, Dundee-Crown, Libertyville, Mundelein, Stevenson (2A-7 Ranked) - #5 Grayslake Central, #7 Fenwick, #9 Prairie Ridge, #14 Crystal Lake Central, #21 Cary-Grove, #24 Marmion Academy, #29 Mather (Out of State) St. Louis University MO, St. Xavier KY

Preview – It could come down to four teams that could challenge for the team title in this meet. #2 York looked good last week in Peoria finishing second behind strong front running from Ethan Summer. Jeff Luka could be among the top 10 in this race. The team had a 55 second split last week but was with their #1 runner at Joliet Eric Rutherford the team’s fifth runner. Getting Rutherford within the 2-5 pack could get this team closer to a win in this meet, #4 New Trier won at FTTF two weeks ago and has a runner that could win this race in Nick Falk. The team had a 63 second split off Falk, but only a 17 second split from two to five. Getting their second runner in before York’s third runner could be a difference runner in this meet. #5 Hinsdale Central was 10 points behind New Trier in Peoria led by race individual winner Daniel Watcke. The key for the Red Devils this Saturday is the gap between Watcke and a strong pack. The split between Watcke and the pack in Peoria 49 seconds with a 9 second split from 2 to 5. The week before on their home course it was 30 and 14. A similar split race like their first meet come help the Red Devils win here.

St. Xavier KY runs good in this meet. We could see another good race from them on Saturday. The Tigers finished 2nd last Saturday at the Trinity / Valkyre Invitational led by a top 10 finish from Sami Hattab. The team had a 73 second split off Hattab with a 47 second split between their second and fifth runners. The splits need to come down to challenge for a top three finish. #10 Palatine had solid pack running last week in Peoria led by Mukal Verma and Mason Krieg. The top five split was 37 seconds, but it started with Verma in 34th place. The Pirates will be on their home course and will need to move the pack up in this race. #13 Hersey continues to improve and could be in the top five in this race led by Sean Safford. #15 Loyola looks to better last weeks performance with Aidan Simon and Spencer Werner leading the way.

This is the first meet this season where we will see #22 Edwardsville at full strength. Ryan Watts will be one of the individual favorites in this race. We could even see Geordan Patrylak in the top 10. Their split on their first four runners and then their fifth runner will be something to watch for in this race. #14 Plainfield South may not be at full strength with some of their top sophomore runners registered in the Sophomore race. #19 Plainfield North does not appear that they will be running their top seven runners in this race. They are not registered as well as their top runner Oliver Burns. St. Louis University MO was well ahead of Edwardsville in their first race at the beginning of the month in Granite City. U-High finished fourth at Forest Park led by Baker Pashea in the top 10 with a 65 second split on their top five runners.

Runners to Watch (In Alphabetical Order) – Ian Barnes, Cary-Grove; Danny Burns, Lake Zurich; Oliver Burns, Plainfield North; Alex Das, Oswego East; Nick Falk, New Trier; Joey Furlong, Barrington; TJ Garland, Prospect; Will Gelon, Prairie Ridge; Justin Glass, St. Louis University MO, Daniel Hamill, Crystal Lake Central; Sami Hattab, St. Xavier KY; Karson Hollander, Crystal Lake Central; Jeff Luka, York; Mason Krieg, Palatine; Tim Neumann, Downers Grove South; Parker Nold, Oswego East; Baker Pashea, St. Louis University MO, Geordan Patrylak, Edwardsville; Grayden Rill, Fenwick; Sean Safford, Hersey, Trey Sato, Grayslake Central; Aidan Simon, Loyola Academy; Ethan Summer, York; Daniel Watcke, Hinsdale Central; Ryan Watts, Edwardsville; Spencer Werner, Loyola Academy.

Preview – This should be a great individual race. It will be interesting to see if the race is run under Josh Methner’s 14:32 course record from the 2018 meet. Ryan Watts has not gone all-out this fall after missing most of last track season due to an injury. He did run 9:13 for 2-miles indoors last March. He was third last November at the ShaZam meet last November. Let’s see how fast he runs on Saturday.

Daniel Watcke and Nick Falk were separated by less than a second two weeks ago at Peoria with Watcke winning. The two runners will be pushing the lead in the front. Ethan Summer ran 14:42 last week in Peoria and could surprise for the win in this race. Parker Nold and Alex Das have been with the front runners most of the season including just behind Watcke at Hinsdale. Nold was in the top 10 last week in Peoria. Das had an off meet and will look to rebound on Saturday. The same holds true for Spencer Werner and Tim Neumann who did not have their best races last week. They could be near the front in this race. Aidan Simon will be near the front as will Joey Furlong, Will Gelon, and Jeff Luka.