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State champions repeat as Distance Night in Palatine champions

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Distance Night in Palatine   Apr 24th 2022, 10:51pm
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State champions repeat as Distance Night in Palatine champions

 

Ince sets new meet record in Girls 1600m; Watcke repeats in windy Boys 800m; Rogers back in 3200 win; Genisio silences critics in Boys 1600m; Sommerfeld, Heitzig capture Girls main event wins

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

Palatine, Ill. – Warmer weather hit Palatine just at the right after a week of cold and rain. The winds stuck around hampering some of the races Saturday at Distance Night in Palatine.

Results | Interviews

That did not deter the runners that journeyed to Chic Anderson Stadium for the sixth edition of this meet to challenge themselves to win or to run personal bests. Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central, Allison Ince of Normal Community, and Drew Rogers of Herscher were three of last year’s winners at Distance Night and were also a part of 13 defending state championships that made the choice to challenge themselves. All three athletes came away with meet wins.

Allison Ince was the only runner to come away with a new meet record. She did not come to Palatine to defend her 800 title that she won last year in an epic meet record race. She was looking for a meet record at a longer distance. The sophomore accomplished that leading from the gun and winning in a meet record time of 4:46.84.

“I knew the atmosphere would be electric,” Ince said after the meet. “With the wind, I just wanted to run under 4:50, maybe mid 4:40’s.”

Ince controlled the pace from the start passing the first 400-meters in 68.5. The rest of the field fell in line behind Ince led by Scout Storms of Barrington and Elia Ton-That of Northside Prep. Ton That stayed within a second of Ince for the next two laps until 400-meters left in the race where Ince found another gear. That was the difference in this race.

Ince did finish in the mid-40’s crossing the line running the final 400 in 70 seconds.

There were 11 runners in this race that went under five-minutes. Storms had a busy day earlier running 10:41 for 3200-meters at Glenbard West. She came back to finish second Saturday night (4:50.85). Sophia McNerney of Downers Grove South ran a huge personal best of 4:51.14 to set a new school record and to also finish third. Grace Schager of Glenbard North finished fourth (4:53.47) ahead of Aly Negovetich of Grant (4:54.60) and Ton-That (4:55.73).

Daniel Watcke came to his meet to defend his title. He said after the race that he felt sluggish during the week. The wind also helped him to determine his strategy going int the race of staying with the guys.

Everyone followed the Hinsdale juniors lead during the first lap. No one wanted to lead as they approached the 400-meter point. Watcke was in the middle of the lead pack with the 12 runners all within one second of each other passing the 400 in 59 seconds.

It was time for Watcke to make his move using the wind at his back as a propellant. His 26 second third 200 broke himself away from the rest of the field. He crossed the line just missing his meet record running 1:52.91. Consider that this was his first 800 of the season.

The next three runners were within a second of Watcke. Parker Schneider of Durand WI ran 1:53.78 to finish second. Brett Wasick of Bolingbrook continued his strong senior season running a personal best of 1:53.79 to finish almost even with Schneider in third. Garrett Slack of Lincoln also established a new personal best running 1:53.98 to finish fourth. Ryan Schreiner of Wheaton North finished fifth (1:54.97) ahead of a huge personal best of 1:55.35 run by Warren junior Caleb Levy.

Little was know about Drew Rogers heading into this race besides the fact that he had run 9:18 for 3200-meters and then last week run a solo 4:20 for 1600-meters. The defending champion was the mystery considering he missed indoor season due to an injury that he suffered towards the end of the cross-country season.

Rogers pushed the pace the first four laps passing 1600-meters in 4:29. The pace slowed to 71 seconds for the fifth lap as the winds picked up especially down the home straight. Missouri state XC Champion Andrew Hauser took the lead trying to separate himself from the rest of the pack. Rogers was within a second as was Logan Seger of St. Thomas Aquinas KS and George Cahill of New Trier. Hauser kept pushing the pace but was still only at the most two seconds ahead of three runners. Cahill made a move to take the lead with 500-meters left. Rogers followed waiting for the right moment to pass Cahill.

That came with 300-meters left as Rogers used the wind to give him the lead for good. He came onto the straight away by himself. His final 400-meters was 63 seconds as he crossed the line in 9:07.24.

Hauser passed Cahill in the final 100-meters to finish second (9:10.93) ahead of Cahill (9:11.13). Seger held onto fourth (9:12.67) finishing ahead of Joey Furlong of Barrington (9:13.47) and Riley Newport of DeKalb (9:13.78).

Other Main Event Highlights

Gavin Genisio of Benton held his finger over his mouth as he crossed the line to win the 1600 Meter Run. Some have criticized the sophomore that he is just not running as fast as he was not running as fast as his freshman season. The fact is he is figuring out how to race more strategically.

The wind played a big factor in this race as the lead pack passed 400-meters in 63 seconds and then to a pedestrian 68 seconds the second lap passing 800-meters in 2:11.

A fast 1600 was not on the table anymore. It was who would be the runner to make the right move. It was Luke Noren of Naperville Central that moved first on the back stretch with the lead. Noren was running with confidence having run 1:56 the night before at Rock Island. Genisio stayed in second with pre-race favorites Nick Falk of New Trier and Micah Wilson of St. Charles East close.

Noren thought he had the race won with the lead into the final straight. Genisio was not done making his moves passing Noren with 50-meters left. The Benton sophomore ran 61 seconds on the final lap to win in 4:16.78. Noren had a breakthrough race and a personal best of 4:17.31 to finish second. Owen Bosley of Homestead WI moved up the final lap to secure third (4:17.47) ahead of Wilson (4:18.09) and Colby Revord of Hinsdale Central (4:18.50). Falk finished sixth (4:19.12) as the only runner in this race under 4:20.

It did not matter what the wind was like as Becca Heitzig of Lincoln stepped to the line for the Girls 800 Meter Run. The sophomore was caught up with the hype of the race. Her adrenaline pushed her to an opening 60.8 first lap with Bella Domier of Grayslake Central the only runner wo dared to stay close at 62 seconds. The rest of the pack went through in 68 seconds.

Heitzig continued to push the third 200 as Domier continued to drop back. Heitzig was on fumes in the final 100-meters but had the win (2:13.61) ahead of Domier (2:16.77). Isabella Orozco of Aurora Central Catholic (2:17.37) and Grace Erb of Winnebago (2:18.18) finishing third and fourth.

Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township had never run a race at 3200-meters before. The junior fought through injuries during the indoor season to come out good races at meets at Downers Grove South and Downers Grove North in consecutive weeks. She let a race get away from her in that span. Her coach Eric Simon told her before the race to make sure she stayed aggressive not letting anyone get away from her.

The pack of Sommerfeld, Peyton Schieppe of O’Fallon, Delaney Fitzgerald of Normal University, and Lianna Surtz of Rosary thinned out the rest of the field after a swift 5:15 open 1600-meters. The lead kept trading off the next three laps with Surtz, Schieppe, and Fitzgerald trading leading responsibilities. Sommerfeld stayed in that pack within touch of the lead.

Fitzgerald had the lead as she moved away from the other two runners. Sommerfeld waited and waiting until the final 200-meters when she took the lead. In her first 3200 Meter Run of her life, the Lyons Township junior won that first race with a 10:37.74 time. Fitzgerald continues to drop down her time in this race this time running 10:39.87 to finish second. Schieppe (10:44.53) and Surtz (10:47.02) finished third and fourth both running personal bests.

Girls Undercard Highlights

1600m Run – The first four runners in the Fourth section of this event were all within two seconds of each other. Ahry Comer of Pope County traveled almost six hours from her hometown of Golconda to run in this race. The sophomore was in sixth entering the final lap. She passed Louisa Diamond of Benet Academy in the final 10-meters to claim the win with a 5:03.60 personal best. This was only her fifth track meet in her life. Diamond ran 5:04.68 to finish second ahead of Yorkville’s Anna Hunter (5:04.92).

Savannah Fraley of Homestead WI was running her first outdoor meet of the season since Wisconsin’s indoor season ends the second weekend of April. The junior stayed close until sprinting ahead in the final 100-meters to win the Third Section in 5:08.34. Margaret Hunter of Yorkville finished second (5:09.63).

Sophia Lane of Lake Forest had the lead in the Second section of this event entering the home straight. On came Lyons Township freshman Leigh Ferrell to pass Lane in the final 15 meters to run 5:21.43 to edge Lane (5:21.60) and Kari Drage of Barrington (5:21.79) for the win.

Audrey Boles of Minooka opened up the meet by winning the First Section pulling away from Hersey’s Emily Lifka to win with a 5:23.18 personal best. Lifka had a time of 5:25.88 to finish second.

800m Run – It was a 1-2 finish from Mt. Zion in the Third Section. Ashleigh Anderson stayed off the pace letting teammate Sofia Munoz to push a 69.9 opening 400. Anderson ran a negative split race running 68 seconds on the final lap to win (2:18.71) ahead of Munoz (2:19.84).

Kate Melzer of Yorkville burst out of the pack in the Second Section to run a personal best of 2:22.69 to win the race ahead of Madison Perez of Lakes (2:24.70).

The First Section introduced a 64 second opening lap by Cary-Grove’s Julianna Ferrea with Gabrielle Walker of DePaul College Prep three seconds back. Ferrera slowed down the second lap and Walker took advantage of that. The sophomore ran a six second personal best of 2:19.60 to win the race with Hersey’s Natalia Plewa running 2:21.15 to finish second.

3200m Run – The Third Section of this event had a fantastic finish. Jenna Buchanan of Bartlett and Katie Stabb of Oak Park-River Forest had the lead entering the final 100-meters of the race. Sofia Acuri came from behind to nip Buchanan at the line to win by five hundredths of a second. The Maine South freshman ran 11:06.01 for the win. Buchanan ran the second fastest time ever for a Bartlett runner (11:06.06) to finish second. Stabb ran a personal best of 11:07.21 to finish third.

Paige-Elicia Caruth of Lakes held the lead entering the final lap of the Second Section. Anna Todd of Vernon Hills came back to catch and pass Caruth to win (11:27.51) with Caruth a close second-place (11:27.97). Chatham-Glenwood freshman Rachel Behrens ran 11:34.30 to finish third. This is the second year in a row that Todd has won a section race in this meet.

Camile Sabau of St. Charles North is in her first year of running in Illinois after transferring from Pickerington Central OH. The sophomore is normally in the 1600 Meter Run. She stepped up to the 3200 Meter Run in this meet. She ran 11:46.02 for a convincing win in the First Section ahead of Julianne Melby of Lyons Township (12:04.47).

Boys Undercard Highlights

1600m RunNick Kiley of St. Ignatius Prep pushed the pace from the start of the Third Section running 63.3, 2:08.7, and 3:15.4 to lead entering the final lap. The wind took its toll on Kiley on the final lap as Alex Boyden of DeKalb took over the lead. Oswego East’s Parker Nold and Alex Das came from three seconds back in the pack to take the lead just before the finish line. Two hundredths of a second separating the two teammates. Nold took the win (4:21.91) ahead of Das (4:21.93) and Boyden (4:22.65).

Less than a second separated the top three finishers in the Second Section. Theo Cunningham of Fremd came from behind running a 63.7 final lap to win in 4:28.23. Lucas Moskovitz of Deerfield (4:28.59) and David Lara of Warren (4:28.73) finished second and third.

Luke Pravecek of Maine South waited until the final lap to take the lead and the win in the First Section (4:28.69). He won by less than two seconds ahead of Julian Baker of Mt. Zion (4:30.29).

Ben Crane of New Trier led most of the way in the Freshman 1600m Run until the final 40-meters. Jacob Barraza of DeKalb took the lead with 50 meters left. Crane tried to retake the lead, but Barraza had too much left in the tank holding off Crane for the win. Barraza ran 4:31.65 for the win just ahead of Crane (4:31.76).

800m RunJulian Aske of Beacon Academy has had a tough road recovering from injuries to slow him down this season. Aske came from behind to run 1:57.95 to win the Third Section with Sam Atkinson of Mt. Zion his close competition finishing second (1:58.54).

Patrick Hilby pushed the race in the Second Section from the start. The Aurora Central Catholic passed the first 400-meters in 56.1 and pulled away to run 1:56.51 for the win. Owen Forberg of Richards (1:57.38) and Jackson Gilbert of Urbana (1:57.79) finished second and third.

Mitchell Dalby of Hampshire ran 1:58.38 to win the First Section of this event ahead of Landis Musser of Riverdale (1:58.65).

3200m RunYusuf Baig of Burlington Central used a strong kick running 62.1 in the final lap to capture the Third Section of this event ahead of Hunter Whitney of Lane Tech (9:18.10) and Colby King of St. Thomas Aquinas KS (9:18.39).

Liam Newhart of Oak Park-River Forest and Dylan Myers of Lake Zurich fought for the Second Section lead all the way down the final stretch. Newhart came away with the win (9:32.23) just ahead of Myers (9:32.29). Brendan Heitzig of Lincoln finished third (9:34.25).

Kieran Subra of Lycee Francais de Chicago came from three seconds down on the final lap to win the First Section (9:44.17) ahead of Michael Michelotti of Oak Park-River Forest (9:46.18) and Mitch Garcia of St. Charles East (9:46.53).

 

 

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