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ILXCTF Illinois Distance Digest - March 13, 2023

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ILXCTF - Mike Newman   Mar 13th 2023, 4:45pm
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#12 – Illinois Distance Tales in Boston

 

Keegan Gray Photo – Ali Ince winning the 800m Run Saturday afternoon

 

By Michael Newman

 

We can take a deep breath now after an exciting weekend of national championship meets on the East Coast of the United States. Some of the top Illinois High School distance runners headed east preferring the fast track and fast competition held inside the Track at New Balance in Boston.

 

We start the week looking back at what happened in Beantown. Two national champions, a second-place finisher, and two third-place finishers in the distance races make this national weekend one of the most successful meets for Illinois runners in the past decade.

 

I am not going to go through and go from the best performance on down. There were too many significant things that happened inside the TRACK. Let’s see what they were.

 

Ince runs to the top

It was a matter of time before we would see Allison Ince of Normal Community win a national championship in the 800 Meter Run. She just had to wait until high school distance legends Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker graduated from the high school level and went west to Stanford University.

 

Look what those two Cardinal runners did on Saturday when they went 1-2 in the NCAA D1 National Championships with Willis claiming a collegiate national championship.

 

With national list leader Sophia Gorriaran opting to run at the Nike Indoor Nationals, the favorite’s tag was placed on the Normal junior since she had the second fastest time in the nation entering this meet.

 

This was the second 800 of the year for her running a 2:07.13 “Rustbuster” in Chicago on February 18 winning by almost 10 seconds. There would be more competition pushing her in this race.

 

The ninth and final section went out faster than Ince had anticipated. She was hoping for an even paced first 400 of 60 second. The pacer went out in 27 seconds. Ince held back in fifth passing the first 200-meters in 30.53. Layla Haynes of IMG Academy FL held the lead halfway through in 60.6. Ince had moved into position up to third place in 1:01.2. She looked relaxed at that point using the same strategy she has used in the big races making her move just before 400-meters.

 

“I knew I had some closing speed,” Ince said after the race. “The pacer got us to 60 seconds. I wanted to make a move so that gap behind the leader was not too big. I was eager. I was thinking that I could go now. I waited until I got off the curve and then made my move.”

 

Her move came with 350-meters left in the race passing Haynes and taking the lead for good. She ran 31 seconds for the third lap opening up more than a two second lead on Isabelle Conde Frankenberg of Cedar Park TX.

 

Ince had this race won entering the final lap closing in a 32.3 lap. Frankenberg was one half second faster on that final tour of the track but that was not enough to catch the Illinois runner. Ince’s championship time of 2:04.77 reset the Illinois HS all-time indoor best for a female runner. Frankenberg ran 2:06.46 (US #3) to finish second. Both runners are juniors. Amelia Everett of Newton South MA ran 2:08.50 (US #4) to finish third.

 

“It was such a great atmosphere before the race with the lights going off before the start of the race and the lights flashing around the track, Ince added. “I knew great times were going to happen in this meet. I just kept a positive mindset and pushed myself.

 

Ince has become the model of excellence at this distance and doing that with only being a junior. She has set standards that will be hard for anyone to match. She ran the state’s fastest time ever of 2:03.98 in 2021 as a freshman in winning the Brooks PR Invitational. She does not have the IHSA State Meet record of 2:07.06 yet. She should get that in her final two state meet tries. She holds nine of the top times ever in Illinois at that distance.

 

Ince came back on Sunday to run the 1 Mile Run. In her first race of the year at the distance, Ince finished eighth in the final section, eleventh overall with a 4:48.08 time (IL #2). “I have been running more 400’s in the last year,” commented Ince. “ You could see me in more miles outdoors.

 

Her weekend is not yet over. She will compete in the Big 12 Girls Conference Meet Monday evening at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center. She had the same type of schedule running this meet after last year’s nationals. Ince is scheduled to race in the 1600 Meter Run along with the 4x8 and 4x4.

 

Watcke and the Red Devils strike it big

The Hinsdale Central meant business and showed that to the rest of the nation on Monday at the Downers Grove South Mustang Relays. The Red Devils made a statement in that race setting a new meet record of 7:45.73 along with the fastest time in the nation.

 

They had the target of the favorites in Sunday’s Championship 4x800m Relay after winning the Nike Outdoor Championship in this relay last June. Dan Watcke took to the starting line as a “runner to watch” in the 800 Meter Run on Saturday evening according to media commentators. His confidence has grown over the past year. This would be his first open 800 of the year for this senior. He anchored his team to Monday’s relay title gliding to a 1:52.6 split. No competition this indoor season for Watcke? No problem.

 

It seems that this runner lets the race comes from him. No going out in an insane pace. He has confidence in his race plan. He has more than confidence in his finishing speed.

 

Tinoda Matsatsa of St. Andrew’s Episcopal MD took the pace out hard passing the first 200-meters in a quick 26 seconds. Watcke was content to be second to last after the first 200-meters passing that mark in 27.08. He ran around 27 seconds on the second lap passing 400-meters in 54.04. He moved up only one spot in that lap but was still in position still over a second behind Matsatsa.

 

Watcke finished in the top three in this race. It was not that he picked up the pace. He kept that pace steady. It was that the rest of the field was beginning to slow down. He was still in seventh place now two seconds behind the lead. For some reason, you can sense that he was ready to wind up that pace.

 

While the finishers behind him were closing anywhere from 28 to 30 seconds, Watcke was still in the 27 second range that he started in closing with a 27.39 split.

 

Matsatsa ran the fastest time in the country this year with a 1:48.27 to win the national championship. Alex Leath from Vestavia Hills AL closed on the Maryland runner but fell short running 1:48.46 to finish second. Then came the Hinsdale senior passing Milwaukee’s Andrew Reginer in the final 50-meters to run a personal best of 1:49.59 to finish third and earning All-American honors. Reginer was the only runner under 1:50 running 1:49.69 to finish fourth.

 

Watcke’s time is the fastest ever for an Illinois High School Boys runner for the distance. He moves into sixth overall all-time if you include outdoor performances. It was his first time under 1:50.

 

“The pace lights helped. You could feel the energy in this place during the race,” said Watcke. “I knew the lights were paced at 1:48. If I could just stay close to those lights, I could go under 1:50.”

 

This ended part one of Watcke’s weekend. The second part would be even better especially doing it with his teammates.

 

Hinsdale Central was the first team to the starting line for the final section of the 4x800m Relay drawing the pole position.

 

Aden Bandukwala had put his teammates in a good position in Monday’s race leading after the first leg. It was a little different in this meet where he was squeezed into the pole for the first of four laps in his leg. He was in second-place for the first two laps of his leg, then took the lead giving his team the lead for good. His 1:55.42 gave the Red Devils ahead of Episcopal Academy PA and Cinco Ranch TX.

 

The key to Hinsdale Central’s win came in the middle of the relay. Michael Skora and Grant Miller were keys to their team’s success running faster legs than they did six days prior at North Central College where they both were running in near 1:59. Skora seemed to extend the lead running a 1:57.28 leg. Cinco Ranch made the move along Hinsdale Central and stayed in touch within a second of the Illinois team.

 

Miller had the “nervous neck” continuing to check back to see where his competition. At the same time, he was extended the lead. As he got closer to handing the baton off to Watcke, the lead continued to grow. Miller’s 1:57.78 leg kept the lead at over a second ahead of Cinco Ranch. Episcopal Academy jumped back into the fray now less than three seconds behind the lead.

 

It was Watcke’s time to shine as he grabbed the baton from his teammate floating each lap around the track running 56 seconds for the first lap and extending the lead to two seconds as the bell lap sounded.

 

Watcke raised his arm in victory with 20 meters left knowing that this race was his and his teammates. He pulled his jersey out and grabbed the victory tape crossing the line in a 1:53.36 anchor split with Hinsdale Central running the fasted time in the nation this indoor season of 7:43.82.

 

“I saw Aden (Bandukwala) take the lead and I knew I would be in front,” Skora said. “I was just hoping not to blow the lead. I got out great and I am happy with that.” Miller added “I was in a good position after the first two legs. I knew someone was on me at the beginning of my leg. Every time I passed the jumbotron, I took a peek .”

 

“My leg was hard after running the open 800 20 hours before,” Watcke concluded. “I knew that the other teams were coming. I just knew I had enough space. I knew when I got the baton we were in good position to win.”

 

Episcopal Academy ran 7:45.61 to finish second ahead of Cinco Ranch (7:45.89) and Phillips Exeter Academy NH (7:47.45). The race produced the top four times nationally this indoor season.

 

Hinsdale Central’s winning time moved them to second all-time in Illinois. York’s team led by Donald Sage still holds the best time in the state having run 7:42.67 in 2000.

 

David sets the pace for a great Girls Mile

It was hard to judge what was going through Tatum David’s head as the runners were introduced before the start the final section of the Girls Championship 1 Mile Run on Sunday. Two days before in the Girls Championship 2-Mile race, the Richland County senior became more acquainted with the TRACK at New Balance falling after 1.25 miles of the race where she was among the chase pack behind Ellie Shea who ended up winning the race. David was able to finish the race after the fall.

 

“I was certainly nervous before the “bounce back” falling in the 2-mile,” David said about her fall on Friday. “I was not sure if I would be able to run today. I just told myself to go for it today.”

 

David had success on this track a month before in the New Balance Grand Prix Junior Mile where Sadie Englehart of Ventura HS CA and David ran stride for stride establishing the top two-times in the nation for this event.

 

It seemed like déjà vu as soon as the race started for David as she immediately took the lead. Engelhardt knew what she needed to do as she stayed by David’s side passing the first quarter of the race in 68 seconds.

 

You see the determination and focus in David’s eyes with each lap she completed. David was making this race passing 880 yards in 2:20.37 with Englehardt close to her. Ellie Shea of Emerging Elites TC MA was having a big weekend having already won the national championships in the 2-Mile Run and the 5000 Meter Run. She made a surge on the second quarter to get with the front duo.

 

The pace stayed the same for the next quarter as David, Englehardt, and Shea continued to click off 17 to 18 second 100-meter segments. David, Engelhardt, Shea, and now Claire Stegall of Nolensville joining the fun up front. David led the group at 3:32.21 entering the final two laps.

 

The pace picked up considerably as David stretched out the pack with a 34.70 penultimate 200-meter lap. She pulled away on the final lap with Engelhardt the only runner staying close.

 

It was that déjà vu feeling as David and Englehardt came off the final curve sprinting towards the finish. Engelhardt, like she did in the race a month before on this track, passed David. This time it was with only 10-meters left in this epic race.

 

Engelhardt’s winning time was 4:38.65 and a US #2 best for the indoor season. David was just 15 hundredth of a second back running 4:38.60 (US #3) to finish with a hard fought second-place.

 

“My plan today was to go out fast and not get boxed in again and trapped and falling again,” David said after her race. “I just wanted to come out fast and do something great. It means a lot to end my indoor season with a fast time. I hope to run faster this outdoor season.”

 

David’s race on Sunday holds significance in the history of Illinois Girls Distance running. She ran the fastest indoor time ever for a female runner in this state. Her time surpassed the 4:39.57 time that Katelynne Hart ran at Magis Miles in 2019 making her the fastest Girls runner in the state ever.

 

She still has the outdoor season to better this Boston time.

 

Worth the wait for Plainfield South

The 4x1 Mile Relay at the New Balance Nationals Indoor is typically run with the fastest seeded section running first with expectations that the All-American teams would be running in that race. The three other sections that followed are expected to be “fillers” determining who would finish behind the first six championship section teams.

 

No one told Plainfield South that as they waited to run the final section of the event to end the day on Saturday.

 

The Cougars did not run two of their top runners Camyn Viger and Gavin Borger in this relay. Both ran in the Championship 800 Meter Run earlier in the day with Viger running 1:57.20 and Borger running 2:01.63.

 

The IHSA 3A State XC team champions from last fall had fire in their eyes as they stepped onto the track. The Cougars easily won their section of the event but ran 17:40.60 to run the third fastest time in the nation this indoor season as well as earning All-American honors finishing third overall.

 

Dylan Maloney got boxed early in the opening leg of the race. By the time he was done, he had his team in the lead with a 4:25.94 opening leg. The Cougars rolled from there with BJ Sorg running 4:22.19 on the second leg and Jack Wright running 4:32.11 to give Plainfield South a seven second lead after three legs of the race.

 

Ethan Reynoso ran one of the fastest splits in the relay as he took the baton for the anchor leg. Reynoso had the third fastest split out of all four legs with a 4:19.92 personal best giving his team a 13 second win in his section ahead of Danbury CT.

 

Distance Race Notes from the two National Meets

The crowd inside the TRACK at New Balance on Sunday were not expecting a fast time that early in the eight sections of the Boys Championship 1 Mile Run on Sunday. By the time every section was completed, everyone in the facility was acquainted with Ethan Hogan of Columbia and what he had accomplished.

 

Hogan attends Columbia HS located in St. Clair County Illinois just outside of St. Louis. Columbia is a small town with 11,366 residents. The High School itself has an enrollment of 629 students.

 

The junior showed improvement during last fall’s cross-country season where he culminated the season by finishing sixth in the IHSA Class 1A State race at Detweiller Park. He did not make it to state his sophomore season finishing 22nd in his sectional race. He did earn all-state last May in Charleston finishing ninth in the Class 2A 3200 Meter Run.

 

Hogan has made a huge step this winter even though he has run only two races before the national race. He ran 4:15.73 to win the 1 Mile Run at the Louisville Indoor Games on February 4. 20 days later the junior ran a solo 9:13.31 time to easy win at a meet at Principia College.

 

That leads us to Hogan stepping to the line for the third section of the 1 Mile Run. The fastest time in the two section prior to his race was 4:14.96.

 

Hogan surpassed that. His chief competition in the race was Conner Rutherford of Blacksburg VA. The two runners led the pack in the race passing the first quarter in 62 seconds. Hogan wanted it faster passing 880 yards on 2:05.18 putting him a second ahead of Rutherford. The two runners were still close passing 1320 yards in 3:08 with two laps remaining.

 

The Illinois exploded in those final two laps closing in a 61.04 quarter to win the section in 4:09.92 running close to five seconds faster than the previous two sections. Rutherford ran 4:11.99 to finish section in that race, eventually 18th overall.

 

The next three section followed with none of those race winners surpassing what Hogan had run. He had to wait close to an hour before he would know if he had won or where he would finish.

 

Connor Ackley of Hillard Davidson changed the scenario in the seventh section of the event running 4:08.65 to take the section win and the lead in the event. Gavin Genisio of Benton ran a strong race in that section timed in 4:12.50 to finish fifth in the section, 22nd overall.

 

Hogan ended up finishing 11th overall and one of 11 athletes that ran under 4:10. It was an All-American effort. Great things are ahead for this junior.

 

Scout Storms of Barrington ran a strong double that spanned over the final two days of the meet. The sophomore ran an indoor best of 10:34.35 in her section of the 2-Mile Run. Fellow sophomore Mia Kotler of Latin School ran 10:39.20 in that race. Jane Lynch of Loyola Academy also competed in the event and finished with a 10:54.19 time.

 

Storms came back to run the Girls Championship 1-Mile Run on Sunday. She ran in the fifth of seven sections running 4:50.92 (IL #3) to finish fourth overall in her section, 18th overall. She was the third finishing sophomore in the event.

 

Riley Newport of DeKalb ran 9:31.03 in the Boys Championship 2-Mile Run. Mac Kittrell of DePaul College Prep ran 9:34.25 in the same event.

 

At the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City, Julian Aske of Beacon Academy ran 1:56.17 to win the Emerging Elites 800 Meter Run.

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