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ILXCTF Illinois Distance Digest - January 20, 2023

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ILXCTF - Mike Newman   Jan 20th 2023, 1:27pm
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3 - In Class 3A, it is Schrager and Ince

 

By Michael Newman

 

There are a number of storylines to keep an eye on in Class 3A Girls distances this spring with two athletes standing out.

 

The sophomore season of Allison Ince of Normal Community seemed to be a learning year discovering what and what may not work. It was still a successful season for her again winning

two individual state championships.

 

It was just not what she planned.

 

She did decide last April that she wanted to run the 800 and 1600 last year. It was a surprise that Ince wanted to run in the 400 Meter Dash. She would come back and run for her team at the end of the day in the 4x400m Relay.

 

It did not turned out as she had planned. Ince easily made it in the 800 Meter Run where she was the defending champion. She had the third fastest time in the prelims of the 400 Meter Dash. It was evident in her prelim heat of the 1600 Meter Run that she had nothing left and she shut down her pace not making it to the finals. She did anchor her team to fifth in the prelims of the 4x4 to make it to the finals.

 

She has developed into one of the top middle distance Girls’ athletes that we have ever seen in the state, and she still has two more seasons in high school. Ince had the fastest times in the state last year in the 400, 800, and 1600. She will enter this year’s state meet as the defending champion in the 800 and the 400 in Class 3A.

 

With Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker graduated and at Stanford, Ince moves as the #2 returning runner nationally in the 800 Meter Run. She is the two time defending champion at Brooks PR. Allison also finished second last year at Nike Outdoor Nationals in the 800 and fourth indoors at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

 

Her presence will be big on the national stage this season. It will be the same as last year in Illinois with every Girls runner chasing after her. She missed Courtney Clayton’s state meet record by six hundredth of a second in 2021. Maybe this is the year that she takes that.

 

The big thing to keep an eye on is what she learned from her experiences in last year’s state meet and more importantly how she will prepare for that moment this May in Charleston. Ince starts her 2023 track season at the University of Michigan High School Invitational on Sunday.

 

Schager taking another step forward

The one thing that Grace Schager of Glenbard North is as a runner that she is just learning more and more what this sport is all about. She did not run at all as a freshman. She picked up running as a sophomore because this person wanted a sport of her own, not volleyball and basketball like her family is involved in.

 

Schager made running her own especially in 2022 first in track and then last fall in cross country. She ended 2021 by finishing fourth in the 3A race at the IHSA State Cross Country Meet. She did not enter the two national qualifiers.

 

She discovered how good she was in the last year. She also discovered that within her own terms that Schager and her coach Eric Day produced. She went undefeated in the seven indoor races she competed in including winning the Illinois Top Times 3200 Meter Run.

 

Schager had a decision to make after the Lake Park Sectional last May where she won the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run against a tough field. Would she double at state or choose one of those events.

 

The Glenbard North runner chose the 3200 Meter Run to run in Charleston. This was not about running three races in 24 hours. It was about making the right choice.

 

She did that pulling away from the field to win the 3200 Meter Run. Her confidence grew from there heading into the Cross-Country season.

 

Schager had a memorable senior season in cross country going undefeated in the nine races she was in. Four of those races were under 16:10. No other can runner in Illinois history could profess that. She had another choice after she dominated again the IHSA 3A State Meet at Detweiller Park. Schager was unsure if that was her final race of the season. Consultation with Day moved her to race at Lavern Gibson National Course and the NXR Midwest Regional. She finished second on that day but did make the trip out to Portland and the Nike Cross Nationals. Schager found out how good she was by finishing fifth overall.

 

What will the 2023 bring to Schager as she runs her senior high school season before heading to the University of Notre Dame next fall?

 

Her experience last fall should pay off in a big way when she starts to race indoors. Will we see her in national races? Perhaps. Her season will be determined in the next months with the road she chooses to travel.

 

It worked out well for Grace Schager last year. The races she is in could produce bigger results like we saw in 2022.

 

The Unhealthy ready for Good Luck

There are three runners that had an unhealthy streak during the fall cross-country season. Their luck should change as we enter this 2023 track season.

 

Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central experienced a spell of injuries during 2022 with hopes that 2023 will let her senior track season end the way that she wishes. A foot injury slowed her down during last year’s track season to the point where she had to choose to compete in one event in the IHSA State Meet. McCabe did find success in Charleston finishing second behind Allison Ince in the 3A 800 Meter Run. The Indiana University signee looked for a fast mile after the state meet. She did run 4:59.49 to win the High School Division at Magis Miles in June.

 

Her cross-country season did not go as planned last fall. McCabe’s first completed race did not come until she finished fifth at the 3A Hinsdale Central Regional in late October. She followed up that effort by finishing second at the ever tough Waubonsie Valley Sectional. McCabe earned all-state honors by finishing 11 in the slop at Detweiller Park in the 3A State Meet.

 

McCabe started out strong in 2023 running a national top 10 best of 2:14.25 to win the 800 Meter Run at the Morolake Akinosun Invitational in Chicago on January 15. Her fortunes look good as she travels the next five months to the state meet. Knock on wood that the injury bug stays away from the Hinsdale senior runner.

 

The one runner that might have challenged Grace Schager for the state title last November was Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich. Johnston, a senior who will attend UCLA this fall, missed an opportunity to run at Detweiller Park when she came down sick after she had run a spectacular race in winning the Hoffman Estates Sectional. That illness forced her to with from that state race.

 

Her success at the end of last year’s track season should carry over for Johnston in her final semester of high school track in 2023. Johnston left Charleston with two all-state medals last May. She bettered her personal best by 13 seconds in running 10:26.67 to finish third in the 3A 3200 Meter Run on the big blue oval. Johnston came back to run 4:57.41 to finish fourth in the 1600 Meter for her second all-state medal of the day.

 

That would be a good way to end a season.

 

Not for Johnston who set some higher goals for herself. She lowered her 1600 Meter Run personal best running 4:49.06 on her way to running 4:50.55 to finish fourth in the Elite race at Magis Miles. That confidence in that  race showed the following week when she ran 10:19.70 to claim the championship in the Girls 2 Mile Run at the adidas Outdoor Nationals.

 

Her time of 10:16.89 for 3200-meters on her way to the win at adidas gives her the fastest returning time in the state for this track season just ahead of Schager. The two seniors could push each other to some fast times by the time we get to May.

 

A runner that seemed to be “snake-bitten” in the past year Scout Storms of Barrington. Her freshman season on the track did not end like she wanted it to. A foot injury during the prelims of the 3A State 1600 Meter Run did not allow her to advance to the finals of that event. It also forced her to withdraw from the 3200 Meter Run in Charleston.

 

The injury forced her to start her training later than expected heading into the cross country season. She did start her season out well win winning the 3A race at First to the Finish Invitational. Storms finished either first or second in six races before she finished fourth at the Hoffman Estates Sectional. Illness forced her from running at Detweiller Park in the state meet. Storms rebounded by finishing 25th at the RunningLane XC Championships in December.

 

Storms did run some great outdoor races in her freshman season. She traveled out to Raleigh, North Carolina during spring break in March to run a personal best of 10:27.31 to finish second at the adidas Raleigh Relays. A month later, Storms ran 4:50.85 to finish second behind Allison Ince in the 1600 Meter Run at Distance Night in Palatine.

 

Her sophomore season started on January 15 when she won the 1600 Meter Run at the Morolake Akinosun Invitational with a 5:03.70 time. That’s a good way to start the season. The best is yet to come for Storms in this 2023 track season.

 

Class 3A Notes / Thoughts

If there is one runner to keep an eye on during this track season it should be Glenbrook North’s Juliet Frum. Her freshman season ended by her finishing 12 in the prelims of the IHSA 3A State Meet in the 1600 Meter Run. She followed that up 24 hours later by running a personal best of 5:09.60 to finish 11th in the finals.

 

Her past fall topped that she developed into one of the top runners in the state. The sophomore ended her regular season by finishing second in her regional, sectional, and state races. She got the attention of observers in the Midwest by just missing making it to Portland by finishing sixth at the NXR Midwest Regionals. She got the nation’s attention in December by finishing third at the RunningLane XC Championships.

 

Frum splits up her time between running and swimming. She does not compete for her school but does compete during the winter and summer for Glenbrook Swim Club. Frum did not run the 3200 Meter Run during her freshman season. It will be interesting to see if she does this coming season and the time she produces.

 

Brooke Johnston is the top returning runner from last year’s state meet in the 1600 Meter Run. Frum is one of those runners in this event. Rachel Soukup of Prairie Ridge is one of those runners to keep an eye on after finishing second last fall in the 2A State Cross-Country Meet. Mia Pasha of Warren Township is on the road to some fast times this spring.

 

Carissa Hamilton of Neuqua Valley started off cross country strong. An injury at the end of September ended her season early. Hamilton finished seventh in last year’s 1600 State finals and could be someone to watch for if she returns 100% healthy.

 

Four all-state runners are back in the 3200 Meter Run led by Johnston and defending 3A State champion Grace Schager. Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township had a remarkable end of season last year after missing most of her junior year due to injury. She finished seventh in this event as well as making the finals in the 1600 Meter Run. Audra Soderlind of Oswego finished ninth last year and will look to finish higher in May. Evelyn Hett of Jones Prep finished second in the first section of this event at state. Hett came back strong on the course ending by finishing tenth at Detweiller Park.

 

Bria Bennis of York had a great season last fall ending by finishing third at Detweiller Park. Anna Harden of Hersey finished just behind Bennis and sets herself up also for a great track season.

 

The 800 Meter Run could be the toughest event of the three in this classification. Five of the top six runners are back led by defending champion Allison Ince and Catie McCabe. Bella Domier of Grayslake Central was just one hundredth of a second behind McCabe in the state finals. Brooke Berger of York (4th overall) and Lily Ginsberg of Prospect (6th overall) helped their teams to success in the 4x800m Relay with Ginsberg on her second straight state champion relay team. Both runners will be difference makers if these choose to compete in this event. Berger has a crazy kick at the end of races that if closer to the front could change outcomes in races.

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