Sirois sets new standard at Distance Night in Palatine

 

Mia Sirois sets new Girls 2 Mile Run record; Simon Lane surprise of meet in his Boys 1 Mile Run win; Goranson dominates in Girls 1 Mile win; personal records set on a cool night in Palatine

 

By Michael Newman

 

Results | Interviews | Photos

 

Palatine, Ill – There were expectations that many of the runners competing at Saturday evening’s Distance Night in Palatine would run personal bests. It showed through the electricity on the infield and around the track of each of the 26 high school races that were contested on this night.

 

It was expected that Mia Sirois of Barrington would defend her title in the 2 Mile Run. She did that breaking meet record in the 2 Mile Run which she set last year and the 3200 Meter Run that was contested before the meet was changed to the imperial distance last year.

 

The meet came to a shocking conclusion in the Boys 1 Mile Run, the final race of the evening. Simon Lane of Chicago University was seeded 15th in this 16-runner field. It was not expected that this senior would finish among the top finishers. He did more than that in winning the race.

 

Sirois was the heavy favorite in the Girls 2 Mile Run. Her closest competition would come from St. Ignatius College Prep’s Ali Shutler who had run 10:20 at the end of the indoor season.

 

The first two laps the two runners were next to each other passing 800 meters in 2:30. The lead started to grow passing the next two laps two seconds ahead at 1200 meters and then passing the halfway point in 5:04.39 with Shuttler passing at 5:09.46.

 

The final four laps of this race seemed like a workout for the Barrington sophomore as she clicked the next three laps in 77 seconds each with Shutler keeping her consistency running between 79 and 80 seconds. Sirois had run a 2:21 leg in her team’s 4x8 relay in the morning at the Sue Pariseau Invitational. 11 hours later, she was winning her second straight Distance in Palatine Championship.

 

Sirois time of 10:12.93 also broke the 3200 Meter Run record of 10:13.91 that was set by Lauren Pansegrau of Middletown WI in 20231. Sirois passed 3200-meters at 10:09.56.

 

“My goal was to take both of those records down and at the same time a good training effort also. I would say at this point we are training through this portion, get a good hard effort, and staying positive through it,” Sirois said after the race. “I think I have a hand a lot of mindset shifts, I feel stronger than I did indoors. I’ve had grace in myself battling the elements like I did indoors. All I am doing at this point is staying patient.”

 

This might have been the deepest quality 2 Mile Run we have ever seen in this meet. While Sirois closed in a final lap of 75 second, Shutler ran a 78 final lap to run 10:28.68 in finishing second. Maya Ledesma of Minooka broke the school record running 10:32.69 to place third. Marlie Czarniewski of Plainfield North ran a big personal best of 10:34.75 to place fourth ahead of Prospect’s Veronica Znajda (10:36.35) and Meg Peterson (10:37.55). Zoe Carter of Normal University (10:43.12) and Molly Farrell of Marshall (10:44.91) were next to finish.

 

Lane’s race to end the meet ended in a perfect way showing that anyone that is entered in a race can win. It was evident at the start that no one wanted to lead this race as Ben Crane of New Trier, Remi Strichartz of Indian Trail WI, and Rory Gaan of Fremd led the 16 runners through the opening lap of 65 seconds. The pace lagged the next 200-meters before Gaan decided to take control of the pace passing with two laps to go at 2:09. Lane was almost three seconds behind in 15th place.

 

Gaan had the lead until 300-meters left. Lane had moved up to eighth place at the bell now just two seconds behind but seven runners to pass. Strichartz and Nicholai Martino of Winnebago made their moves for the lead. Lane still in eighth, made his move for the lead as he tool off with 200 meters left. He swung to the outside of the second lane catching the lead with 10 meters left and raising his arms at the finish in the thrill of victory.

 

“This by far is my greatest race ever (so far). I have never been in a field close to that,” an excited Lane said. “The runners that were ahead of me were great runners, but I was not afraid. The race at Arcadia gave me confidence. I can close with anyone (he ran the final lap in 58.5). I had a lot left in my legs. I was in euphoria that I could win.”

 

Lane disclosed after the race he had an injured his knee right after his trip to California and missed five days of training. Yet here he was in Palatine just winning. Lane ran close to a seven personal best of 4:10.70 for the 1600 Meter Run with a final time of 4:12.27 his winning time. Most of the top runners in the final lap ran between 60 and 61 seconds. Strichartz achieved a personal best of 4:12.58 to finish second with Martino running 4:13.13 to place third. Gann finished fourth (4:13.86).

 

Jesse Karmer of Belvidere North ran a huge personal best of 4:14.13 to finish fifth ahead of Gabe McLain of Benton (4:14.71), Crane (4:15.29), and Jameson Tenopir of Cary-Grove (4:15.42).

 

Championship Race Highlights

 

Charlize Trinity-McKenzie of Cedarburg WI was in control of the 800 Meter Run championship race from the start passing the first 400 in 61.5 and then extending that lead entering the backstretch. McKenzie went on to run a season’s best of 2:08.42 (US #15) to win the race. Emily Stecky of DePaul College Prep made a strong move in the final 200-meters to run under 2:10 for the first time with a 2:09.58 to place second. Annika Swan of St. Ignatius College Prep was near the lead all the race as she ran a personal best of 2:11.00 to finish third. Lindsey Wenz of Plainfield North (2:14.14) and Mia Forystek of Lincoln-Way Central (2:14.57) in this race.

 

It was the same situation for defending champion Owen Horeni of Yorkville in the 800 Meter Run. The senior likes to take the race out hard and then the chaos that is situated behind him. He shared his lead with Jay Tally of Homestead WI as they passed the first 400 in a controlled 57.5. He went out faster at Arcadia two weeks before. He learned several things from his California exploits. Horeni negative split his second lap in 56.22 to run 1:53.65 for the overall win. Tra’Monti Williams of Payton Prep came from sixth after the first lap to run 1:54.03 to finish second. Five runners in this race ran under 1:55 in this race, three of the top six runners were from Wisconsin. Tally ran 1:54.28 to place third. Sam Wollak of St. Charles East ran 1:54.57 in placing fourth ahead of Spencer Alf of McFarland WI (1:54.81) and Mason Brosious of Madison West (1:56.02).

 

The Boys 2 Mile Run had a feel of going for a championship instead of runners going after a fast time. Temperatures were in the 50’s with no wind or breeze inside the stadium. The field of 20 runners took their time around the track trading off leaders passing each lap in 70 seconds each with Thomas Czerwinski of Plainfield North passing the halfway point in 4:40. Only three seconds separated the field at that point. The pace picked up on the fifth lap as they broke the monotony of 70 seconds coming up with a 68 second lap. Alex Bendana of St. Louis University took the lead and picked up the pace along with Liam O’Connor of Oak Park-River Forest. O’Connor passed in 8:05 for the final lap with Bendana right on his shoulder ready to move. Both runners ran the final lap in 63 seconds. Bendana’s surge at the end gave him the win in 9:09.31, O’Connor in 9:09.60 to finish second. Joe Bregenzer of Barrington dropped to a season’s best of 9:10.92 to finish third. Quinn Davis of Plainfield North finished fourth (9:12.66) and Greyson Ellensohn of St. Charles East (9:14.73) placing fifth.

 

Just like in the other two Girls Championship races, there would be no doubt that Klarke Goranson of Manteno would win this race. Goranson ran the first lap in 69.1 with Scout Storms of Barrington and Kyla Babb of Westmont were close a second behind. The pack stayed close of the second lap as the freshman controlled the pace passing 800 in 2:25 with the pack now two seconds behind. Goranson kept the same pace on the third lap as her previous lap but had opened a four second gap on the rest of the group with Babb the only running taking a chance staying within two seconds of the lead that Goranson had.

 

The top three runners on the final lap all ran 71 seconds insuring the win for Goranson, her time 4:52.68. Babb came in strong (4:54.53) with Chatham-Glenwood’s Ali Londrigan running 4”57.10 in placing third. Storms ran a good race in finishing fourth (4:57.87) ahead of Brooke Zeibert of Rochester (4:57.87) and Reese Kohnle of Boylan Catholic (4:58.13).

 

Boys 800 Meter Run Race Highlights

 

Section 3 – This was the closest finish of the nice as Declan Slavin of Payton Prep and Drew Patterson of Normal Community came to the finish together leaning across the line at 1:54.78. Slavin ended up winning by three thousandths of a second. Mateus Salomao of Hersey ran 1:55.31 to finish third.

 

Section 2 – Evan White of Rockford Christian was comfortable in tenth place after the first lap of this race at 60 seconds and a second behind race leader of Matthew Miller from Sandburg who was a second ahead. White turned on his leg speed especially the final 200 running a huge personal best of 1:57.64 to capture the race win. Mark McGinn of Barrington ran 1:58.09 to finish second with Lucas Galas of Glenbard South finishing third (1:59.14).

 

Section 1 – Lucas Reed of St. Charles North 2:06 during the win with his personal best jumping down to 1:58.92 at Geneva a week before in this meet. He dropped his personal best of 1:57.91 to win this section. Payton Hudson of Joliet West finished second (1:58.80) finishing ahead of Owen Cyrulik of Lincoln (1:59.21) and Cooper Revord of Hinsdale Central (1:59.48).

 

Girls 800 Meter Run Race Highlights

 

Section 3 – Natalie Nahs of Minooka broke the school record by a hundredth of a second as she held off Kate Delia of Lake Forest Academy for the win running 2:14.29. Delia was close running 2:14.46 to finish second. There were seven other runners in this race that ran under 2:20 led by Polina Krupsky of Lake Zurich running 2:16.72 to place third. Nahs time in this race gave her a fifth-place finish overall when Section 3 and Section 4 were combined.

 

Section 2 – Adeline Dietrich of Fremd came from behind to run 2:19.35 to capture the win in this section. It was a personal best for the sophomore. Ava Pietruszynski of Grayslake Central (2:20.29) and Morgan Dewey of Eau Claire Memorial (2:20.40) to finish second and third.

 

Section 1 – It was a close finish in the opening race at this distance with the top five runners finishing within a second of each other. The top four finishers achieved personal bests. Lily Shields of Rockford Boylan distanced herself from the rest of the pack running 2:220.00 for the win. It was a bit closer after that with Abigail Morrissey of Benet Academy (2:22.38), Lindsey Klaus of Niles North (2:22.43), and Paige Joachim of Minooka (2:22.50) within 12 hundredths of a second of each other.

 

Boys 2 Mile Run Race Highlights

 

Section 3 – The runners in this section took turns leading Liam Bettis of Taylorville claiming the lead in the final kilometer of the race. Issac Ewing of McFarland WI had the final say taking the lead in the final lap as he closed in a 62 second lap to run 9:16.58 to earn the win/ The top five places were within five seconds of each other. Bettis ran 9:18.02 to finish second. Sean Hanrahan of Lincoln-Way East (9:20.09), William Poelker of DeSmet Jesuit MO (9:21.10), and Alex Batsala of Plainfield South (9:21.79) were among the top five.

 

Section 2 – Owen Lencki of Waupaca WI came in with a seasonal best of 9:35 from two weeks ago at the Wisconsin Indoor State Meet. The senior passed the first mile in 4:44 and then ran away the field running a negative split of 4:25 to run 9:20.07 to claim the win by eight seconds ahead of Luke Robinson of Prospect (9:28.91). Riley Wold of Buffalo Grove ran 9:33.65 to finish third.

 

Section 1 – This race came down to three runners within three seconds of each other. Cameron Libby of Lake Zurich ran his final lap in 63 seconds to win this section timed at 9:28.53. Maxwell Carter of Morton ran 9:29.55 to finish second while Nathan Marotta of Hersey ran 9:31.10 to place third.

 

Girls 2 Mile Run Race Highlights

 

Section 3 – Kara Glenn of St. Charles North was the top seed entering this race. She played the pace cool taking the lead in the final kilometer to run 11:02.68 for the win. Ashlyn Chopra of Chatham-Glenwood ran a personal best of 11:07.09 in finishing second. Avery Muhr of Lake Zurich finished third (11:09.31).

 

Section 2 – This was the best of the three other races in the Girls 2 Mile Run with the top three runners finishing under 11-minutes. Emaline Foster of Prairie Ridge missed all last fall’s cross-country due to a stress fracture. She has not run like a freshman during her first high school track season. She improved her 3200 Meter Run time down to close to 30 seconds. Foster was in third entering the final lap. Che ran a 73 second final quarter to run 10:53.48 for the section win. Klaire Eighner of Maroa-Forsyth ran 10:54.61 to finish second. Elena Mamminga of St. Francis (10:56.15) and Victoria Tarara of Barrington (11:02.27) finished third and fourth.

 

Section 1 – Aleah Box of Anna-Jonesboro pulled away in the final lap to run a personal best of 11:29.59 to win the opening section at this distance. Yaremi Ramos of Grayslake North (11:32.92) to finish second with Ellen Anderson of Latin (11:36.15) and Liva Ketkar of Barrington (11:37.10) placing third and fourth.

 

Boys 1 Mile Run Race Highlights

 

Section 3 – The top 10 finishers in this race were separated by just three seconds. Landon Harris of Granite City led the pack through the first 880 in 2:11. Braden Hoff of Lincoln-Way Central had run the night before at Wheaton-Warrenville South in the 4x8 helping his team to the win. He stated his legs were tight on Friday night. They felt better on Saturday. He took the lead just at 1000m and extended it on the final lap running 4:19.20 to win ahead of Dylan Buturusis of Plainfield South (4:20.36), Ryan Severson of Cedarburg WI (4:20.78), Finn Richards of Benet Academy (4:21.04) and Boston Beyer of Morton (4:21.05).

 

Section 2 – Andrew Kurien of Rockford Christian passed Oak Park’s Finn Kelly in the final 15-meters to capture the win in this section. Kurien ran a personal best of 4:22.96 to capture the win. Kelly also achieved a personal best timed at 4:23.34 in finishing second. Matt McKee of Marist finished third (4:25.46)

 

Section 1 – The craziest finish of the meet came in this section. Issac Stowers of Bolingbrook had the lead on the pack passing the bell lap in 3:20. Miguel Orrala of West Aurora was in seventh at the bell. He started to pass runners on the backstretch. He did not realize that he had drifted to the fourth lane coming off the curve. He passed by Stowers just to capture the win (4:24.13). Stowers finished second (4:24.62).

 

Freshmen – It was Abe Martin of Morton that took the lead in the second lap and never gave it up. Martin had almost ahead of York’s Patrick Hill entering the final lap. Martin held on running 62.7 final lap to hold off Hill’s 63.1 finale to win with a 4:25.79 time. Hill finished second (4:26.83) in placing second. Judah Binger of Belvidere North finished third (4:27.66).

 

Girls 1 Mile Run Race Highlights

 

Section 4 – The lead traded places a numerous time in this race. Ireland Wildhart of Prospect came from behind to run 5:08.17 for a personal best and the win. Ruth Dellaria of Lake Park had a big race running 5:08.41 in finishing second. Freshman Kathryn Rohr of Naperville North dipped under 5:10 for the first time running 5:09.95 to finish third.

 

Section 3 – Avery Hacker of Batavia took charge of the lead in this section and then held on to run 5:08.81 to earn the win. Mary Laba of Prospect came from fourth on the final lap to end up finishing second (5:09.99). Molly McGreal of Trinity (5:11.05) and Savanna Franzen of St. Joseph-Ogden (5:12,40) finished third and fourth.

 

Section 2 – Leah Kleckauskas of Minooka was in sixth place as she entered the final lap pf this section more than two seconds behind the lead. The sophomore found another gear in that lap running 73 seconds ending up winning the race in a 5”13.98 time and more than two seconds ahead of the pack. Mary Leahy of DePaul College Prep (5:16.18) and Sophia Schulz of Naperville North (5:16.30) crossed the line in second and third.

 

Section 1 – Yorkville’s Liliana Camargo was the class of the field in the opening race of the meet pulling away on the final lap to run 5:17.34 for the win. She won by more than three seconds ahead of Violet Schnizlein of Oak Park-River Forest (5:20.80). Olivia Van Denend of Oswego East ran 5:22.37 in finishing third.