O’Keefe, Schlenker come from behind to win 1,600 races; Morris sets new record in girls 3,200; Kries holds off Methner in classic boys 3,200; Wells, Schmitt have final say in 800

 

All Photos © 2019 Laura Duffy

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

Palatine, Ill --- As a full moon began to rise over Palatine’s Chic Anderson Stadium and the winds from the past two days disappeared, it was time for the student/athletes that were to compete at Saturday night’s Distance Night in Palatine to come out and race. 

 

Race they did. 

 

The six championship races that took place between 9-10 p.m. were some of the top races that we will see this track season. It left a capacity crowd wanting more after the finish of the Boys 1,600 meters as finishes were determined by going to the photo and examining who was actually the winner. 

 

RESULTS | RACE VIDEOS AND INTERVIEWS

 

The runners for the championship Boys 1600 Meter Run waited patiently after the re-call of the first start of the race. Everyone wanted the pole position that there was some bumping that occurred. When the race did take off. One of the race favorites Drew Bosley of Homestead WI pushed the pace as pack followed him through an opening 62.1 first 400-meters. Carter Cheeseman of Fort Worth Christian TX was making his presence known as he stayed right on Bosley’s shoulder. Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central was close behind. He had just come off running 1:54.9 for 800 meters 24 hours ago at Rock Island. Behind him sat Granite City’s Andrew O’Keefe just waiting for the right moment. 

 

Another 62 second lap brought the group past 800-meters in 2:04. Bosley still commanded the third lap with a 400 in 62.8 seconds. There was moving around behind him and the pack started to break up as Bosley made a surge. Cheeseman started to drop back, but O’Keefe moved close to the Wisconsin runner deciding when he wanted to take the lead.

 

With 300 meters left in the race, O’Keefe made a sudden move that shocked the crowd as well as Bosley. Zach Albrecht of Jacobs had closed the gap and was right on Bosley’s shoulder. 

 

The move hit O’Keefe with 150 meters left as he seemed to struggle with his stride. Bosley noticed that and responded catching the Granite City runner. It looked like the race was over. 

 

But wait! O’Keefe found one more gear to make a surge as he flung his body across the finish line just getting Bosley. 

 

O’Keefe: 4:08.98; Bosley 4:09.02.

 

“Going that early at the end was kind of scary. My body was breaking down,” O’Keefe said. “I think I knew he was coming with 80 meters to go. He passed me and I thought it was over. I thought he wasn’t going any faster, so I just went after it.” 

 

It was deja-vu in some many ways. 11 months before in the IHSA 3A 1,600 meters final, O’Keefe raised his arms before the finish with Dylan Jacobs catching O’Keefe and winning by .08 seconds. The roles reversed in this race as O’Keefe was the one that was doing the catching. 

 

“I don’t think about it (the state race) a lot,” O’Keefe added. “I’ve been thinking about that .08 seconds and doing the little things in practice. It has inspired me to do a little bit more.” 

 

Shilgalis fought back after dropping back on the third lap to kick it in to finish third (4:09.63). Cheeseman held on for fourth (4:10.14). Albrecht, who made a surge on the final 400-meters, had a breakthrough performance as he finished fifth. 

 

The top 12 finishers in the race ran 4:16 or faster. 19 of the top 20 finishes in all three sections of the race either a seasonal or personal best. 

 

When the wind dies down in Palatine, great things happen. 

 

Katrina Schlenker of Batavia and Roisin Wells of Stevens Point WI can attest to that. The two freshmen commanded the pace in the Girls Championship race in the 1600 Meter Run with a finish that dropped a few jaws in the meet. 

 

This was a race of youth. The top seven finishers in the race were underclassmen. The top five finishers were either freshmen or sophomores. 

 

Willis, who stepped into the national spotlight in March by winning the national championship for 800 meters at New Balance Indoor Nationals, was hoping for a pace between 71 to 72 seconds for the first lap. The excitement of the meet may have affected the pace early as she led the group through a 69 second opening 400. Schlenker followed with follow two laps in 75 seconds. Campbell Peterson of Naperville North had moved up to challenge in the front. Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South, who lost her shoe in the final 600 meters of last year’s race, had both shoes on and was near the front. 

 

Willis had led from the gun, but her lead was about to be challenged. Schlenker tried to pass her fellow freshman on the backstretch. Willis refused to give up her lead. Coming off the final curve, Schlenker made one more move passing on the outside. Willis held her off for 20-meters but Schlenker found one more surge in her. 

 

Schlenker crossed the line with the win in 4:51.36. Willis followed in 4:53.26. 

 

“My coach (Chad Hillman) and I decided that we were going to take the week easy because we knew Palatine was such a big race,” Schlenker said. “I was really prepared. I had a lot of positive thoughts. I knew Willis was so good and so fast. I just waited until the last 200 and then to see what would happen.” 

 

Ava Parekh of Latin School, another freshman, moved up in the final lap to finish third (4:53.75). Petersen followed running 4:54.46 with Poglitsch close behind (4:54.81). The top five finishers were all under 4:55. The top 12 runners in the event all achieved personal bests.

 

Morris finds kick in 3200 Meter Run meet record performance

Alex Morris of Naperville North knows one way of running. The gun goes off. Morris charges to the lead dictating the pace. The same thing happened in Palatine as she stormed to the lead when the gun went off. She had company with Emma Watcke of Hinsdale Central, Leah Kralovetz of Denmark WI, and Fatima Giron of Round Lake close to the Naperville North All-American. 

 

It was Giron that stayed close to Morris as the t wo passed the first 1600-meters in a quick 5:08. The gap between the two and Watcke-Kralovetz was starting to grow. Also moving up was Abby Lopez of Argo who had started in the back of the race but was picking off runners like a frog catches flies on an early summer morning. 

 

Morris was still pushing the pace with two laps left in the race. Giron was starting to fall back with Lopez making a charge for the lead. The Argo junior made a try to pass in the final lap, but Morris would not allow it. She has found some speed this outdoor season running 2:17 for 800 meters and 4:56 for 1600 meters in her last two races. In the last 200 meters, Morris pulled away to smash the meet record by 15 seconds by running 10:25.95 for the win. 

 

“The atmosphere of this meet is great, and I was excited to compete,” Morris said. “The middle of the race with the group near me, I just kept telling myself to stay relaxed. It was helpful to hear those girls behind me. I was confident going out in that pace.” 

 

Lopez and Giron were next dropping their personal bests by more than 10 seconds. Lopez was second (10:30.52) while Giron finished third (10:32.68). Watcke also improved her personal best with her 10:34.79 fourth-place finish. 

 

The top 12 runners in this event ran under 11 minutes. 

 

Kries, Methner in a memorable 3,200

Expectations were high in this race with some of the top distance runners in Illinois in this field including Josh Methner of Hersey, the two-time All-American and defending 3A state cross-country champion. There were thoughts that a group of runners could finish under nine-minutes. Thoughts of that ended early as the second and third laps were turned in 69 seconds. 

 

Sam Rivera of Whitney Young, who had only run two times at this distance in the past year, took the lead just before 1600-meters as he led the  group through in 4:35. 

 

The lead changed it seemed like every 50 meters. Methner had the lead at 2,000 meters passing in 5:44. Mathias Powell of Mahomet-Seymour had the lead 200-meters later with then Jared Kries of Lincoln-Way Central taking over as they passed with two laps to go. 

 

Kries, Powell, and Methner started to pull away from the pack with Kries making the effort to get away from everyone else. It looked like he had enough room for the win entering the final 100-meters of the race. Powell and Methner had other thoughts. Kries started to move to the outside of Lane 1 hoping maybe he could hold the two other runners off. Methner saw the opportunity to pass on the inside. It was close at the finish as the two were only separated by seven hundredths of a second with Kries getting the win (9:02.47). Methner was next (9:02.54). Powell was within a second as he ran 9:03.51, a personal best. 

 

“I really did not do anything crazy. I did not taper. This is not the end of the season,” Kries said. “I just wanted to stay with them and see what I had in the last 800 meters.” 

 

11 of the top 12 runners in this race achieved personal bests with Maine South’s Tommy Brady (9:07.81, fourth) a seasonal best. 14 runners ran under 9:20. 

 

Wells, Schmitt have the wheels to win 800 meters

Defending meet champion in the boys 800, Riley Wells of Rockford Christian, has made his races at this distance this spring an adventure. His races are like Houdini trying to find ways to get out of difficult positions and finding a way to win.

 

That was not the case on Saturday night. Janesville Craig’s Aaron Leverson controlled the first 400-meters in a comfortable 58.4 seconds. Wells found his way to the outside staying on the shoulder waiting to make “THE MOVE”. 

 

Wisconsin fans thought that their native son was going to win. The problem with that is that they had never raced against a runner like Wells before who has a crazy good finishing kick. Wells made his move coming off the final curve as he ran 1:55.50 to defend his title. Leverson was next (1:55.97) with Michael Parduhn of Mundelein finishing third (1:56.76) and Grant Jensen (1:57.30) placing fourth. 

 

The pace was fast in the first 400 meters of the girls 800 meters as Claire Hill of Naperville North, Marne Sullivan of New Trier, and Kaylee Politza of Lemont passed in a quick 63.9 seconds. Olivia Schmitt of Lakes Community was two seconds behind in fourth but started making her move on the final backstretch. 

 

Sullivan started her move to the lead with 150-meters left as they went three wide coming off the turn. Schmitt was still in fourth but moving.  The junior passed the group with 55-meters left on her way to a 2:13.29 winning time. Sullivan (2:14.50) and Politza (2:14.51) were second and third separated by one hundredths of a second. Hill was close back in fourth (2:14.86). 

 

Naperville North defends DMR Girls title; Lane Tech takes Boys DMR title

With one lap to go in the Girls Distance Medley Relay, it looked like Geneseo’s Josie Brown had the race secured with Oak Park-River Forest and Naperville North within 15-meters of the lead. The race came down to the final 100 meters of the race when North’s Megan Driscoll edged Brown at the line to give the Huskies the win in this meet for the second year in a row. Only two hundredths of a second separated the two teams with Naperville North (12:41.87) followed by Geneseo (12:41.89). Oak Park finished third (12:42.19). 

Lane Tech was added to this event at the last minute due to the fact that Deerfield could not participate in the meet due to Passover. The Indians took advantage of the opportunity with a strong showing in this race. So strong that they won. Lane Tech took the lead before the 400-meter leg of the race and never looked back. A strong anchor leg by Julian Higueros secured the win as they ran 10:28.01 for the title. Oswego East looked strong throughout as they finished second (10:35.18).