By Michael Newman

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The brainchild of Palatine Coaches Chris Quick and Joe Parks has come to fruition as the inaugural Distance Night in Palatine will take place Saturday evening at Palatine High School’s Chic Anderson Stadium. It was not something that Quick came up at the spur of the moment. It started during the last track season.

“Last year, I was fortunate to coach Graham Brown, a strong distance athlete who ran 9:11 and 4:14 during his senior track season. In April - for the first time in my career - I supported an athlete going out of state as Graham travelled to Los Angeles to run in the prestigious Arcadia Invite. While there he ran against other local stars, including Zach Dale and Kevin Salvano from our own Mid-Suburban League conference,” said Quick. “It was the only time all year that the three athletes raced each other in the 3200 meters, albeit with Graham in a slightly slower heat. Two weeks after that race, I went over to the Wanner Invite hosted by Prospect High School. While there I saw numerous outstanding performances in the distance events, including an astounding 1600 meter run that featured Zach Dale running 4:10 and numerous athletes shattering their personal bests and recording college scholarship worthy times.”

“As a fan, both experiences were exciting. As a coach, they were also a bit disappointing. I realized while sitting in front of my computer for Arcadia and in the stands at Prospect that for already established great athletes, most of running fast is coincidental. It is simply about having access to the right race. Arcadia prevents such access for most good Midwestern runners due to logistics and cost,” added Quick. “I vowed then to do better. We are looking to provide a focused and fun couple hours of distance-only racing at a realistic entry fee. We cannot guarantee the weather of Arcadia or the tradition of the Wanner Invite, but we can guarantee a truly elite field by bringing our best kids out for one night to focus on two things: running fast and having fun.”

With the fields that Quick and Parks and assembled, it looks like there will be fast performances. It looks like the weather will cooperate also with no precipitation that night with temperatures near 60 degrees at the start of the meet at 7:00 PM.

Here is a look at each of the elite events that will take place on Saturday evening.

Boys 800 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 1:53.08 – Connor McCue – West Aurora HS

Outlook – Two of the 3A all-state runners from last year’s state meet head this field. John Partee (Plainfield South HS) has not run an outdoor invitational this spring but the 4:16 that he ran last week at the Minooka Invitational shows that he is in great shape. Partee ran 1:56 indoors. Torrian Haughton (Maine East HS, Park Ridge) tuned up for Saturday night’s race by running 1:56.5 at last week’s Warren Blue Devil Invitational. He will be among the front runners in this race.

Robert Kuhlmann (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) is having a breakout senior season. It started by running a surprising 1:56 indoors at the University of Kentucky in February. He ran 1:57 to win the Bartlett Flyin’ Hawk Invitational 800 last Saturday. Demetri Panici (Lincoln-Way North HS, Frankfort) could be the surprise in this race. He has not run an 800 outdoors yet, but ran 1:56 and 4:24 this past indoor season.

Nathan Hill (Hinsdale Central HS) ran 1:57.31 last week at Downers Grove South and could also be a surprise in this week. St Charles East’s Jack Rzepecki and JB Sandlund had a successful indoor season running 1:58. They will be pushing the pace up front. Dylan Pommiar (Grayslake North HS) and Brian Jordan (Hinsdale South HS, Darien) are two other runners to keep an eye on in this race.

Even though Partee and Haughton are the top two seeds in this race, this race is wide open with any of the 13 runners in the final section the ability to win. With the weather cooperating, it could take 1:54.5 or faster to take the win.

Girls 800 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 2:13.44 – Kelly O’Brien – Palatine HS

Outlook – With state list leader Kelly O’Brien opting for the 1600 in this meet and 3A champion Michaela Hackbarth running at Lockport Friday night, this race could come down to a two runner match race. Two time defending 2A champion Karina Liz (Aurora Central Catholic HS) ran 2:16 to win at Yorkville last Friday and has the top seeded time in this race. Imani Davis (Lane Tech HS, Chicago) finished third in last year’s 3A State final running 2:13. She ran 2:15 this past indoor season in New York. Both runners have tendencies to take the pace out fast. Davis last week in her 800 leg of her team’s 3200 relay went out in 63 on her way to a 2:14 split.

It will be interesting to see how this race plays out. Liz has run 800’s laying off the pace using her kick at the end to win. We could see a 2:12 or faster race in this meet.

Avryl Johnson (Libertyville HS) and Emily Noone (Glenbrook South HS, Glenview) both are capable of going under 2:20 in this race and should be battling for third. Also watch for Rachel Hickey (LaSalle-Peru HS) who finished second in last year’s 2A State finals. She will battled for the third spot as well.

Boys 3200 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 8:51.17 – Jon Davis – Oakwood HS

Outlook – This could be a wide open race especially with Jon Davis, Matt Aho, and Blake Evertsen running the 1600 and 3A cross country champion Kevin Salvano not competing. Daniel Santino (St. Ignatius College Prep, Chicago) ran 9:27 indoors and has a 9:18 personal best run at the Midwest Distance Classic last June. He will be pushed by two 2A runners. Alex Keeble (Mahomet-Seymour HS) has come off of two good weeks of meets running 9:23 at Arcadia two weeks ago and then a double win at Springfield. Keeble has good leg speed at the end and can run both up front and from behind. Evan Mitchell (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox) is another 2A runner to watch. Mitchell was the 2A 3200 winner at the Illinois Top Times Meet in March in which he ran 9:24. Any of these three runners could be under 9:20 in this race.

The wildcard in this race is Heath Warren (Springfield HS). He is known for his middle distance work having run 1:53 last week in Springfield. He is looking to go after his school’s 3200 record (9:12). If he is with the lead in the last 600, he could be the difference maker in this race. Brett Davison (Highland Park HS), Kyle Griffith (Lake Zurich HS), Jeremy Adams (Jones College Prep, Chicago), and Brian Leonard (Palatine HS) are other runners that I would keep an eye on.

Girls 3200 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 10:35.87 – Maryjeanne Gilbert – Peoria Notre Dame

Outlook – With six runners seeded under 11 minutes, this race could be wide open. It could take a time under 10:40 to win it. Summer Pierson (Yorkville HS) ran 10:46 at Arcadia two weeks ago and is looking to take that personal best a little lower. Caitlin Shepard (Lake Zurich HS) will be coming off of a double. She is schedule to run in the 1600 at Glenbard West earlier in the day. Her 10:48 indoor time and her willingness to push the pace is one of the reasons why this race will be a fast one. Maggie Scholle (Lane Tech HS, Chicago) is also entered in the 1600 at Glenbard West. She ran 10:50 indoors with the ability to run faster.

Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) ran 10:50 at York at the beginning of March and has not run this event outdoors. The junior has run 5:09 and 5:05 for the 1600. She is another athlete that could win this race. Brett Chody (Lake Forest HS) surprised some by running 10:53 to win at Metea Valley two weeks ago. She could be a surprise in this race. Dakota Roman (Batavia HS) is having a great senior track campaign having run 10:55 last week at Oswego East and 2:16 for the 800 on her home track on Thursday. She has the wheels to win if it comes down to the kick.

Claire Hamilton (Naperville North HS) and Allison McGrath (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) are some of the other athletes that will push up front. I think we will see a number of athletes going under 11 minutes…but how many?

Boys 1600 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 4:11.67c – Connor McCue – West Aurora HS

Outlook – The race of the night. The field is so deep that we could see faster times than we did a year ago at Prospect. There are six runners that you should keep an eye on:

Connor McCue – The West Aurora senior has a chip on his shoulder after missing the state finals last year in this event by hundredths of a second and then suffering an injury during a regional race last fall that ended his season. He ran 4:13 for the full mile at Arcadia finishing fifth. McCue ran a solo 1:53 800 to take the state lead on his home track. He led the entire 3A Top Times 1600 Meter race before being kicked down by Jack Aho in March. He won’t let that happen again.

Jon Davis – What else can we say about Davis? The 3200 that he ran at Arcadia resulted in a huge personal best. He did not run a great tactical race letting Casey Clinger get too far ahead. He almost had the national champion running a 58.8 final 400. Davis can run from the lead or from the back. He does have a furious kick. He showed that last June at the Festival Miles where he pulled away to run 4:10 for a full mile to win the “developmental” race. We could see an under 4:10 in this race.

Sean Torpy – The Sandburg senior runs a good tactical mile as he demonstrated at last June’s Midwest Distance Classic when he ran 4:09 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Torpy will make sure that he will be in position to win. Just like McCue and Davis, Torpy has a Grade A kick that puts him in competition in every race that he is in.

Jack Aho – The 2A state cross country champion has showed this track season that he can run from the front or settle in for a good old fashion kick at the end. His win at Batavia Distance Madness showed him taking the lead in the final three laps. His win at Illinois Top Times showed what he can do with a kick. His finishing speed in the final lap is deceptive. His will to win is not. It would not surprise me if he comes out on top.

Blake Evertsen – The Hinsdale Central junior has quietly put in a successful track season so far. His 9:04 at Arcadia demonstrates that he has a fast mile in him. His tactics at the WSC-Silver Indoor were extraordinary running a 27 second final 200 in the 3200 only to be caught at the line by Irwin Loud. If Evertsen is in position to win the race at the end, he has that kick to do it.

Charlie Kern – This York sophomore has only run a handful of races this entire season. The 1:25 that he ran for 600 at his conference meet and then using his kick to run 4:21 to outdistance Blake Evertsen last week at Downers Grove South makes him a threat in this race. He does not run like a sophomore. He will stay off the pace but does have the wheels at the end. We should see a fast time in this race.

Cory Landon (Carlinville HS) had a great indoor season running 1:57 in the 800 and then 4:20 behind Jon Davis at EIU at the end of March. He could be a surprise in this race. The same can be said about Jared Borowsky (Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire). He is competitive and will put himself in position to win. Ben Flowers (Jersey HS, Jerseyville), Charlie Nodus (Hinsdale South HS, Darien), and Brandon Skucas (Sandburg HS, Orland Park) are among this final section that could be under 4:20.

I am hoping that this race does not become a slow tactical affair. With the talent in the final section, I am doubting that. I definitely think we will see a winning time at 4:100 or better. A winning time under 4:10 would not surprise me.

Girls 1600 Meter Run

IL Best Outdoor Time – 4:51.09 – Judy Pendergast – Naperville North HS

Outlook – All signs in this race could point to a dual between two Mid Suburban League rivals. Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS) has a successful weekend running 2:13 at Downers Grove North last Friday and then 5:00 at Geneva last Saturday. Meagan Biddle (Hoffman Estates HS) also had a good weekend running 2:15 and 5:05 at Barrington last week finishing second behind Jocelyn Long in both races. Both athletes like to push the pace guarantying that we could see a sub-five in this meet.

Maddy Kammerer (Oswego HS) is having a great senior season. Last week at Wheaton North, she outkicked 3A 800 champion Michaela Hackbarth to run 5:03 for the win. She will be a factor in this race. Isabelle Sparreo (Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire) is another runner to watch. The sophomore ran 5:06 to win at Crystal Lake Central last Friday. She has the ability to win this race.

The top ten runners in the final section have run under 5:10 making this race kind of unpredictable. The one thing that you could predict is if O’Brien is close to the lead in the final lap, she could use her speed to win this race. Eight runners under 5:06 is not out of the possibility either.