Monday Morning Finish Line

July 10, 2023

 

The Distance We Have Traveled

 

By Michael Newman

 

It has been a while since I have written an MMFL article. To be precise, September 12, 2022. I touched a nerve on something I wrote. It seems I am always touching a nerve. It affected me so much; I dropped this journalistic probe to find myself again. I am told that you have to be tough skinned to be in this business.

 

When I got to the end of the track season, I look back at what stood out to me during the season.

 

There was a lot in the 2023 season. When we look back at this spring, we will say that this is was the best track season for distance events. That is without a question. It is not an opinion but a fact.

 

Three Girls Individual All-Time Distance Records were broken. Two Boys All Time Records were smashed.

 

It was not just records that were being broken. It was the exciting races that were produced during the season. We did not have horrible weather like we do in April and May. It was one of the most pleasant ones in a number of years we have seen. Not that cold. Not that hot. It was exactly right.

 

Let’s travel down these roads and reflect on some of the things that we saw.

 

Water skiing is not her thing; breaking records was for Tatum David

School was basically over for Tatum David at Richland County High School. She would race a few more times during the post season. She just had to take care of going after some big goals at the IHSA State Meet in a couple of days.

 

Hanging out with her friends was the thing that she wanted to do to stay loose for the upcoming weekend. As she left her home to be with her friends, her parents told her “Don’t do anything stupid.”

 

In the process of that afternoon with friends, they decided to go water skiing. It was her first time doing this activity. “It was wake surfing. It was not super dangerous,” David said after her race at HOKA Festival of Miles. “I knew I would not get hurt or anything like that. It was fun.”

 

She did not tell her parents immediately after she got home. David waited to tell them after she broke the IHSA State Meet Record in the 2A Girls 3200 Meter Run race.

 

It would be super dangerous to follow some of the paces that David set out to do during the 2023 season. It was fun because of everything that she achieved in her final high school track season.

 

Katelynne Hart at the beginning of the year held the record for 1600 Meters / 1 Mile for all time Illinois best as 4:39.57 for 1 Mile and 4:37.95 for 1600-meters both at Magis Miles in 2019.

 

David had her sights on big things this season after winning the 2A State Cross Country title last fall and finishing eighth at the Nike Cross Nationals. She was close to stepping into the national spotlight entering indoor track season. She did just that in Boston on February 4 when she ran 4:40.86 to just miss Hart’s record. She did come back the next month to break the Illinois record running 4:38.80 to finish second at the New Balance Indoor Nationals.

 

David broke her own record two more times. 10 days after the state race, she ran the professional race at HOKA Festival of Miles in St. Louis. David finished sixth in that race but ran 4:37.79 (4:36.14 for 1600m) to surpass the record. She came back almost two weeks later at the Brooks PR Invitational where she was passed by Utah’s Judy Hedengren in the final meters of the race but still ran 4:35.87 (4:34.30 for 1600m) to finish second still lowering her state record.

 

It was a shock on April 24 when I received a text from her father Rob. “Tatum just ran 9:48.94 at Herrin” was the only thing that he needed to say. He went on to say that she had a long weekend to visit the University of Virginia, her future school, and drove all the way back on Sunday to run in this meet at Herrin on Monday.

 

She won the race by over three minutes doing all the work herself. That was common most of this season. There were 11 runners in the race meaning she ran most of the race in Lane 2 and 3 for some of the race. It meant she ran more than 3200-meters. Can you imagine if she was in the first lane the entire way?

 

There was a mystery heading into the 2A Rantoul as David entered in all three distance events. Her chief competition in the 800 Meter Run would come from Becca Heitzig from Lincoln. David settled back and easily won the 3200 Meter Run at Rantoul. The race in the 800 was exciting. David ran close to six second personal best of 2:05.29. Heitzig ran 2:08.04, a personal best of 2:08.04.

 

David had a decision to make if she would run all three distance events. She left the 800 out of her state meet schedule. Heitzig went on to easily defend her 2A title and re-set her IHSA State Meet Record of 2:08.48. David said after her state meet “I found out what I could do in that distance. There was nothing else to prove.”

 

David ended up defending her state titles in the 3200 and 1600 running 9:53.96 to set the 2A record. She had her eyes set on the 1600 record but had nothing left in her legs in that race after the 3200.

 

Tatum David ended up with the fastest time ever for an Illinois Girl for 2-miles/3200 meters. Her 800 time at sectionals puts her #2 runner all-time trailing only Ali Ince. We know what she has done in the 1600/ 1 Mile Run where she has the three fastest Illinois times ever.

 

There will be a long debate on who is the top Girls Distance runner ever in this state. Hart is the most decorated Girls distance runner with 11 state titles. Her high school career was cut short due to the season lost from COVID. David missed two seasons due to moving to Florida and from injury. The last 10 years in this state have showed the emergence of the female athlete. I hope we see it continue to grow.

 

The one thing we can say is that Tatum David will have the legacy of certainly the best season ever for an Illinois Girls Distance runner has ever had.

 

Best is yet to come for Dan Watcke

The first time that I got to watch Dan Watcke run was in 2019 Magis Miles in the Boys Middle School Race. He waited for the right moment to makes his move and he did winning the title. His winning time in this race was 4:37.14. I interviewed this wide-eyed middle schooler afterwards. He knew what the pace was, but he thought he was running slower.

 

It did not matter. He would learn all about that the next four years at Hinsdale Centra. The one thing that you could see was the overwhelming desire to just win.

 

I got to see Dan win four state titles and win some races at first that he had no way in winning and by the time he graduated you knew he would be in the front. It was never about him for Watcke when I would get a chance to talk to him. It was a matter of what his teammates and him could do.

 

“I knew my teammates would get me the baton near the front,” he said after Hinsdale Central won their first national championship in the 4x800m Relay at the 2022 Nike Outdoor Nationals. “I just had to get the baton home for them”

 

Watcke was the leader of this team when ever he stepped onto the track. There was joy on his face when he won the 800 Meter Run and anchored the team the win in the 4x400m Relay in the same meet.

 

The tables turned in his junior year where everything did not go right for him. He was the defending champion in the 800 Meter Run when he got down to Charleston. He finished second in that state final. The same happened in the 4x400m Relay where again the team finished second.

 

The one quality that Watcke has when he runs this fall at Oregon is learning about himself in the low moments. He was one of the top runners for his team last fall that finished second by just one point at the IHSA State XC Meet. The following week, Hinsdale Central came back to win the NXR Midwest Regional and qualify for the Nike Cross Nationals.

 

He did not go undefeated this spring. When the money was on the line, he was there. In the relays for the Red Devils, he was the victory cigar. Give him the baton, his team would win as they did in both the indoor and outdoor Nike nationals. All three wins he crossed the line with a smile and a raised baton.

 

He did have one desire and that was to run fast in the 800 Meter Run. Real fast.

 

Watcke gave us an indication of what he had in store in the 2023 New Balance Indoor Nationals when he ran 1:49.59 to finish third in that race. His focus after state was on getting some fast times in the 800 Meter Run. There was the showdown between the top two 800 runners in Illinois at HOKA Festival of Miles five days after the IHSA State Meet between Watcke and the 2A State Meet Record holder Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic. The race went down to the end before Watcke ran 1:48.59 for the win just ahead of Hilby (1:48.81).

 

Watcke after the St Louis race showed that he really wanted the state best of 1:47.95 set by Sean Torpy in 2016. “At least I can get it at Brooks PR,” Watcke said looking ahead to the race in two weeks. The pace did not go out as fast as planned but Watcke had the lead with 50-meters left in the race. Nathan Cumberbatch from Wisconsin out-leaned Watcke to win in 1:48.20 to 1:48.24 of Watcke.

 

Watcke had planned to run the U-20 Championships at the beginning of July. He decided to tune up running with professional runners in the Rose City Mile two weeks before the U-20 race. Watcke got the record running 1:47.70 to finish second in his race. It became the 12th fastest time ever run by a high school runner along with the best Illinois time.

 

His final high school race came on the Hayward Field track in the U-20 800 Meter race. Again, he was outleaned this time by future teammate Simeon Birnbaum. Watcke for the second year in a row finished in third-place in this race. His time was faster this time at 1:47.99.

 

Watcke will get the TEAM USA kit soon. Maybe not this year, but soon. His perseverance in the races during his high school career showed that. Watcke was the first Illinois runner to run under 1:48 twice and will be known as one of the top distance runners all-time in this state. History will again repeat for Watcke like it has making himself that much better.

 

How many times for Ali Ince

Ali Ince of Normal Community was coming down the final 100-meters of the U-20 Women’s 800 Meter Run at last Saturday’s finals race inside Hayward Field. A smile came across her face just before the finish line. She was in second but knew she would be on the United States team that would be heading to the Pan-Am Games in Puerto Rico at the beginning of August.

 

It seems that Ince runs for herself but does a lot more surrounding her including her teammates. The IHSA State Meet record is 2:07.06 set by Courtney Clayton in 2013. She has not broken that record at the state meet (yet). She has run multiple races in the state meets over her three years but has never broken the record.

 

Ince took the baton in last place in last year’s finals of the 4x800m Relay at the State Meet. There was the opportunity to just put herself in curse control to get herself ready for the final three races of the meet. She instead ran a 2:08.35 split to move her team from last to seventh to earn her team all-state honors. When asked about that after the meet, Ince said: “I wanted my teammates to get all-state medals too and feel what that experience is like.”

 

Normal Community scored 33 points at the state meet with Ince a part of all of those points.

 

Ince’s all time state best time went down this spring to 2:03.17 at Arcadia in April. She ran under Courtney’s state time seven more times in 2023, won the Brooks PR Invitational for the third year in a row, and won the NBNI 800.

 

All together in her high school career, Ince has run under 2:07.05 in 13 races. I hope she gets the State Meet record in her final time in Charleston, She has earned that moment.

 

The Come From Behind

There were so many great mile races in the state this season. There are six races that stand out in my mind. Two runners commanded my thoughts with the come from behind win.

 

Anna Harden produced three unbelievable kicks in her senior season at Hersey High School. The first came in the Illinois Top Times Class 3A race on March 25. Grace Schager and Annika Swan were challenging for the win in the final 100-meters of the race. Harden came charging off the curve in third wanting more. She got by Schager just before the line with a 4:52.83 win. Schager (4:53.08) and Swan (4:53,82) finished second and third. Harden participated in another epic finish this time at Distance Night in Palatine on April 22. Scout Storms of Barrington looked like she would win when she took the lead with a lap to go as well as coming off the final curve. Juliet Frum of Glenbrook North closed the gap on Storms as did Harden. Storms held on to run 4:56.95 for the win. Frum and Harden dove for the line with Frum at 4:57.28 edging Harden 4:57.33 for second.

 

The lasting legacy for Harden came in her final high school race inside O’Brien Field in Charleston. She would be doubling in the 3200 Meter Run and in the 1600 Meter Run on this Saturday afternoon that was perfect for distance running. Harden did not have her best race in the 3200 Meter Run. She stayed with leaders Grace Schager of Glenbard North and Rachel Soukup of Prairie Ridge but started to fade in the second half of the race. Bria Bennis passed Harden in the final two laps where she ended up finishing fourth. There were doubts she would be back for the 1600 Meter Run later in the day especially the way she walked off the track.

 

The saving grace for Harden in the 1600 Meter Run was the pace. It seemed that none of the 12 runners in the field wanted to take the lead. The first three laps of the race were run at 75 seconds first led by Schager, then by Annika Swan of St. Ignatius Prep, and then by Storms and Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central entering the final lap. It looked like it would be those two runners who would challenge for the win. Then lightning struck twice for Harden who was in fifth entering the final lap. Harden caught the two runners with 50 meters left in the race. McCabe stayed with the Harden move but seemed to stumble in the final 10 meters. Harden crossed the line with the win. McCabe was eighteen hundredth of a second behind to claim second.

 

Harden just stood at the finish line after the finish with her hand over her mouth in disbelief looking at the scoreboard seeing her name first. It was not a fast time. Harden had run faster than the 4:53.12 at Illinois Top Times or a record. It was a race where dreams are made and in this case for Harden grasped.

 

The one runner that jumped into the spotlight during the 2022-2023 seasons was Aden Bandukwala of Hinsdale Central. He had not won a race last fall during the cross country season with a fourth-place finish his best. The state meet race in the mud at Detweiller Park was the coming out party for the Hinsdale junior. Bandukwala edged Liam Newhart of Oak Park-River Forest to win the state title. When asked if he would be interviewed as a state champion after the race, he replied: “Yes. But I thought it would be next year.”

 

In a span of two weeks at the end of the track season, Bandukwala ran in two of the most dramatic finishes that I have ever seen. We all have seen the finish of the state race. Bandukwala, like Harden the week before in the Girls Meet, had run in the 3200 Meter Run earlier in the meet. He ran a personal best of 9:10.42 to finish third. He was exhausted afterwards still having to run the 1600.

 

I watched the race on the infield. Bandukwala was struggling in the back of the pack. Marcellus Mines of Joliet West had a four second lead on him with two laps to go. That lead grew to close to seven seconds on the bell lap. An official that was standing close to me said “That’s too bad” as he watched Bandukwala struggle. The boost that he got was from his teammates that were sitting in the front row by the finish line yelling at him. “That gave me a boost,” Bandukwala said. I walked towards the track muttering “just wait.”

 

We know what happened after that. His 54.8 second final lap caught Mines and Camyn Viger of Plainfield South with 50-meters left in the race. Bandukwala 4:10.39; Viger 4:11.75; Mines 4:12.47. The junior crossed the line in amazement, not believing what he had just done. Neither did anyone else at O’Brien Field on this day.

 

A week later at Magis Miles, Viger and Bandukwala produced a great finish on a windy night at the St. Ignatius Prep Track. The pace went out slow at about 2:10 for the first two laps. Bandukwala was fresh in this race and took the lead. Viger was not going to let him go and took the lead with 300-meters left in the race. Bandukwala would not let Viger go.

 

At 1600-meters, Viger was ahead by eight hundredth of a second (4:09.34 to 4:09.42). At the finish, Bandukwala ran through the line as Viger leaned. Bandukwala 4:10.74; Viger 4:10.75.

 

That should only be the beginning for these two runners. Both return in 2024. The 1600 should be powerful. Eight of the top 10 fastest runners in the 1600 Meter Run all return.

 

Memorable Moments of 2023

We have mentioned a few moments that caught our eye. Here are a few more.

 

One runner that was overshadowed by the exploits of Tatum David and Ali Ince was Grace Schager of Glenbard North. There was nobody that could touch her during the cross-country season as she easily won every race on her way to the IHSA 3A State title. She finished fifth in December at Nike Cross Nationals.

 

Schager was tough to stop in the 3200 Meter Run especially during the outdoor season. She was challenged by Rachel Soukup but won her second straight state title at that distance. Schager tested herself in two out of state meets. Schager in that race ran a 13 second personal best of 10:03.27. Tatum David ran 10:00.71 two weeks before she ran 9:48.

 

It was a last minute acceptance by Schager into the Brooks PR Invitational that gave her the last high school race that she would run. It was a great effort by the future University of Notre Dame student/athlete. Schager stayed with the front pack the entire race finishing fifth running under 10-minutes for the first time (9:59.93). Her time at 9:56.43 places her #3 all-time among Illinois Girls runners.

 

That is saying so much since she did not start tor un until her sophomore season.

 

Three schools distinguished themselves in the 4x800m Relay this season. Hinsdale Central’s record breaking performance at the Nike Outdoor Nationals. Bandukwala, Michael Skora, Grant Miller, and Watcke ran 7:29.20 to win their third straight national title (2 outdoors, 1 indoors). Their time was the second fastest all time, #1 in the nation, and in Illinois, and the fastest all-time in Illinois. Seriously, it is going to be extremely hard for anyone to get that time in a while.

 

Prospect’s Girls team was the team to shoot for this spring in this relay. The quartet of Cameron Kalaway, Hailey Erickson, Meg Peterson, and Lily Ginsberg ran the fastest time ever indoors for an Illinois squad indoors of 9:04.68 on March 6 at the DGS Mustang Relays. The same quartet came back at the end of April at New Trier to run 9:01.47 to win in that invitational. It was the #3 all-time performance by an Illinois school closing to under three seconds of Wheaton-Warrenville’s time of 8:59.03. Prospect moved some of their top runners out of the relay at the state meet opting to go after a team trophy. Samantha Patterson was put in the finals lineup along with Kalaway, Erickson, and Ginsberg ran 9:07.46 to claim their third straight state title in that event. The Knights also became the first Girls team to run under 9:10 three times in one season. Three runners graduate from that state team. They do have the talent to win their fourth straight state title in 2024.

 

Winnebago’s Girls quartet won their third straight Class 1A team title this past May. The trio of Marissa Roggensack, Kaylee Woolery, and Grace Erb had run on the two previous state winning teams. They were joined by freshman Morgan Capriola to run 9:22.77 to claim the third straight Class 1A title.

 

Juniors of note

We have plenty of juniors that will or have already stepped to the head of the pack that will lead us into the 2023-24 season.

 

Ryan Eddington of Downers Grove North ran in one of the top mile races of the year with Dan Watcke. The WSC-Silver Meet was held on a Saturday just four days before IHSA Sectional meets were to take place forcing coaches not to put athletes in multiple events. Eddington took the lead from the start. There were a number of moments in the race where Watcke would try to pass the junior. Eddington would not let Watcke by him winning the race in then a state leading 4:07.91 ahead of the 4:09.67 time run by Watcke. Eddington went on to finish second anchoring his team in the 4x800m Relay and finish second in the 800 Meter Run both finishing behind Watcke.

 

One of the top runners to emerge in the Illinois spotlight has been Ethan Hogan from Columbia. He experienced one of the top track seasons that will transfer into a memorable senior year. You have remember that last November he finished sixth in the Class 1A State Meet in a driving downpour.

 

He shocked national followers at the New Balance Indoor Nationals where he had the fastest time in the 1 Mile Run after the third section of the event. He held that lead to the seventh of eight section. His time of 4:09.92 placed him 11th overall. That was just the beginning. He broke the 2A meet record at Illinois Tomes coming back to win the 1600 Meter Run in that meet. He demolished his personal best by running 8:49.61 at the Arcadia Invitational two weeks later.

 

Hogan set the 2A State Meet record running 9:02.22 for the win. He came back to finish second in the 1600 Meter Run. Five days later at HOKA Festival of Miles, Hogan took the lead in the final 300-meters of the 1 Mile Run to win the race in 4:08.36. He passed 1600-meters in 4:06.62, the fastest time in the state. He will return for the 2024 track season with the fifth fastest returning time nationally in the 1600 Meter Run. It should be fun to watch Hogan, defending Class 2A champion Dylon Nalley of Marion, and Dale Johnson of Sterling.

 

Defending 1A State XC champion Gavin Genisio of Benton took a chance in the prelims of the 1600 Meter Run at the 2A State Meet. The race set up for Genisio is that he would run after the state 2A record set by Wilson Georges the year before. He was by himself at the start going past 800 meters in 2:02 and then slowing after that. He ran 4:12.60 to easily qualify for the finals.

 

Genisio had more than 24 hours to get ready for the 2A state finals. He shocked the rest of the field passing 400-meters in 58.63 almost two seconds ahead of Hogan. He went through 800-meters in a shocking 1:59.89 starting to gap the rest of the field. He was seven second up on Hogan entering the final lap. Genisio missed the 2A record by a tenth of a second running 4:08.68. He should get Georges state record when he steps on that track in 2024. That race showed him how it feels going past 800-meters in under two-minutes. That will help him when he is put in a race where he will run in under four minutes.

 

It could be possible that Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic could break Watcke’s all-time best for the 800 Meter Run. The summer of 2022 was the first full summer that Hilby had run with his focus on just running. He had in the two previous season was also getting ready for the football season. Hilby’s dedication in running showed in this past track season. Hilby was dominant in Class 2A. He ran a Class 2A state meet record of 1:50.49 to win his first state title. He challenged Watcke until the end of the race at the HOKA Festival of Miles 800 Meter Run as he finished second running a personal best of almost two seconds (1:48.81). He earned All-American honors by running 1:48.87 to finish fourth, Hilby’s time at FOM makes him the fifth fastest Illinois runner all-time. He’s only going to get faster in 2024.

 

It seems that Becca Heitzig of Lincoln is always on the move playing Volleyball and running Cross-Country in the fall, playing basketball during the winter, and then lacing up her spikes again for track. Her times this past season indicate she is on the move to become one of the top 800-meter runners in the nation. Heitzig ran under 2:10 five times during this season. Her best came when she ran 2:08.01 to finish second in the Rantoul Sectional behind Tatum David. Heitzig reset her Class 2A State Meet Record running 2:08.48 to win the state title. Heitzig also won the Festival of Miles 800 Meter Run (2:09.51). She is currently the eight fastest runner all-time in the event. Heitzig will enter the 2024 season with the 12 fastest time returning nationally in the event.