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2023 Distance Night in Palatine Preview

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Distance Night in Palatine   Apr 21st 2023, 3:14pm
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2023 Distance Night in Palatine Preview

 

Fast runners + cool weather = anticipated outstanding races at Palatine High

 

By Michael Newman

 

Meet Director Chris Quick has built quite a meet on his home track at Palatine’s Chic Anderson Stadium. The meet began in 2016. Saturday’s meet is the seventh edition of Distance Night in Palatine. It could be the most exciting edition of the meet yet.

 

There are four runners that are entered in this meet who are former champions. Only Gavin Genisio of Benton is back to defend his title running in the Boys 1 Mile Run. Allison Ince of Normal Community won the 1600 Meter Run last year and set a new meet record in the 800 Meter Run in 2021. Ince Saturday will race in the 800 Meter Run. Dan Watcke of Hinsdale Central has the two-time defending champion in the 800 Meter Run and All-American this March at this distance. Watcke will be looking for a fast time in this meet in the 1 Mile Run. Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township was the 3200 Meter Champion in 2022. She will be one of the runners to watch up front this year in the 1 Mile Run.

 

For the first time in this meet’s history, the 1 Mile Run and the 2 Mile Run will be contested instead of the metric equivalent.

 

“One new wrinkle this year is that we will be running the 1 Mile/2 Mile rather than the 1600/3200 meter runs,” Quick explained on the meet’s website. “We will have FAT cameras set up at the 1600 and 3200 marks, though, so athletes can get accurate marks and seed times for both distances.”

 

The weather will be cool on Saturday with temperatures in the mid 40’s. That’s almost perfect conditions for a distance runner. A middle school set of races will start just after 4PM with open races. The high school meet begins at 5:30 PM with the Undercard races. The Main Event races will begin just after 8:00 PM.

 

Here is a look at the races that will take place on Saturday

 

Meet Website | Live Results

 

Girls 800 Meter Run

Main Event Section 4 (9:03 PM) – The top three female runners in the state so far this season will be competing in this event on Saturday. Allison Ince of Normal Community will be looking for her third win in this meet. She set the meet record in this event in 2021. She came back last year to win the 1600 Meter Run. She should be the big favorite in this race after re-setting her own Illinois All-Time best of 2:03.17 at the Arcadia Invitational on April 8. Ince enters this meet with the top eight times ever run by an Illinois High School female athlete at this distance.

 

Two Class 2A runners appear to be Ince’s closest competition. Becca Heitzig of Lincoln surprised some last month at Illinois Top Times running a meet record 2:11.77 with only a couple of meets under her belt. The Class 2A state meet record holder has already run 2:11.0 outdoors in a quad meet on April 13 and will push Ince in this race. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester finished second behind Heitzig at last year’s IHSA State Meet and should be close to the front on Saturday. She ran 2:12.5 behind Heitzig in the same quad meet.

 

Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge has the state’s best performance in the Long Jump and top 10 in the High Jump. The multi-event star also ran 2:15.83 in this event. Lydon joins Gabrielle Walker of DePaul Prep and Alyssa Moore of McHenry as the only runners in this field under 2:16 and will challenge for top five finishes. Lulu Ton-That of Northside Prep could be a runner you see finish in the top five. Bella Domier of Grayslake Central is a two-time all-state runner in this event and will challenge for a top spot. Grace Erb of Winnebago usually runs fast times at this distance off a double. This will be Erb’s only race  in this meet and could dip under 2:15.

 

Main Event Section 3 (8:03 PM) – This event is wide open with 15 runners snug together between 2:19.7 and 2:22.4. Sofia Munoz of Mt. Zion is one of two runners under 2:20 in this section with a 2:19.71 top seed time. Riley Franz of Zion-Benton has a best of 2:19.79 and will challenge for the section win. Mackenzie Huber of Glenbard East and Allison George of Naperville Central have times under 2:21 could be challenge for a top spot. Freshman Sophia Galiano-Sanchez of York ran a big personal best of 2:20.67 last Friday at Downers Grove North. It would not be a surprise if she came away with the win.

 

Undercard Section 2 (6:16 PM) – This early in the meet 800 is extremely close with the 13 runners in this section all within a second of each other. Adeline Gobble of Stevenson has the top seed with a 2:22.51 time. Runners to watch include Madison Perez of Lakes, Katie Melzer of Yorkville, Kylie Simpson of Hononegah, and Macie Russell of Salt Fork. Any of the 13 runners at the starting line could win this section.

 

Undercard Section 1 (6:11 PM)Reagan Bull of Normal University leads the opening 800 of the meet with a 2:23.75 seed time. Kristina Finley of Lyons Township and Brooke Zeibert also have times under 2:24 and will challenge for the win. 15 runners are within three seconds in this section. Anything could happen in this close knit section.

 

Boys 800 Meter Run

Main Event Section 4 (9:08 PM) – This could be a crazy championship race with the 14 runners in this field all having personal bests of 1:55.6 and within three seconds of each other. Two time defending champion Dan Watcke will race in the 1 Mile Run this year in this meet. His teammate Aden Bandukwala will be in the championship field and the top seed in this section. The 2022 IHSA 3A State XC Champion ran a 1:52.29 split last June in helping Hinsdale Central in winning the 4x8 championships at Nike Outdoor Nationals. The 1:21.02 for 600-meters run at the end of the indoor season along with the 49.42 for 400-meters last week at Downers Grove South indicates that he is ready for a fast time in this meet.

 

Caleb Levy of Warren Township ran great two weeks ago at the Arcadia Invitational running 1:53.32 to finish second in the open field at that meet. Last week, he ran 49.32 to win the 400 Meter Dash at Metea Valley. He has the speed to challenge Bandukwala in this race if the two are close together at the end. Levy finished third in the Class 3A State Meet last year at this distance.

 

There are eight other runners in this section that have personal bests under 1:55. Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic has been on fire this spring after running 1:53.87 to finish third in last year’s 2A State Meet. Hilby was untouchable at Illinois Top Times winning the 2A race in 1:54.71. This will be his first outdoor 800 of the season. He did run 4:21.1 for 1600-meters last week at Princeton. Julian Aske of Beacon Academy has sub-50 speed in his legs and has run under 1:55 at this distance. Aske will be someone you should see upfront in this race. Chicago runners Landen Gillespie of Kenwood and Michael Polizzi of Taft are both having great seasons and will be in the mix for top five finishes. Class 3A all-state 1600 runner Owen Forberg of HL Richards opted for this race instead of the 1600 and could be a surprise in this race.

 

Main Event Section 3 (8:09 PM) – 14 runners in this section within 2 seconds of each other and all under 1:58 could mean quite a race in the third of four sections at this distance. Zach Thoman of O’Fallon is just a sophomore but already has a 1:56.28 best under his belt run at Belleville West three weeks ago. Colin Nelson of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran a big race last week at Naperville North with a 1:56.41 top 10 Illinois time. This senior will be in the mix for the win. William Frohling of Shorewood WI was all-state last spring finishing third in the Wisconsin D2 state meet running 1:56.42. I would keep an eye on him in this race. John Ihrke of Glenbrook North ran 4:21.74 to win the 1600 last week at Bartlett and could be a surprise in this race.

 

Three runners that I would watch for in this race starts with Evan Rainville of Payton who has run 1:57 this outdoor season but has a 1:55 personal best. Daniel Winkelman of Harvest Christian Academy was all-state in Class 1A in the 800 and 1600. He has a 1:56.12 personal best for the open 800 but has a 1:54 split for his team in the 4x8 relay. He is possible to win in this race. Jackson Gilbert of Urbana ran 1:57 in this meet last year. Most of the time he spends in the sprints. Gilbert is the defending 2A state champion in the 400 Meter Dash. He wants to get the school record in this meet. He wants a 1:55 or under time to accomplish that. It might take that fast of a time to accomplish that.

 

Undercard Section 2 (6:25) – 14 runners seeded within a second of each other will make this race a fun one to watch. Four runners are under 1:58.5 in the seeds led by Landon Bachta of Rockford Guilford and followed by Kyle Doorhy of Hinsdale Central, Michael Ferrell of Lyons Township, and Mekeye Lomax of Marion. Eli Greenstreet of O’Fallon and Austin McInturff of Waubonsie Valley could surprise some in the front of this section.

 

Undercard Section 1 (6:21 PM) – 14 runners within under a second of each other to start the festivities in the Boys 800. 9 of the 14 runners are seeded under two-minutes. Owen Davies of Grayslake North, Aidan Sosnowski of Rockford Christian, and Ben Crombie of Lincoln are all within three hundredth of a second in the mid-1:59 range. Keep an eye on Sosnowski who has a best of 1:57 anchoring the Royal Lions to the title in the 4x8 at last May’s state meet.

 

Girls 1 Mile Run

Main Event Section 5 (9:41 PM) – 6 runners of this 18 runner section have personal bests under five minutes. Any of those six runners could end up winning this race. Anna Harden of Hersey ran 4:52.83 to win at Illinois Top Times in March waiting for the final 200-meters to take the win. A sub 4:50 is possible from Harden. Grace Schager of Glenbard North finished fourth in last year’s championship section in this meet. Since that race, Schager has won two state titles and earned All-American honors at NXN. Schager finished second behind Harden at Illinois Top Times. That came after Schager ran 10:19 earlier in the meet. She showed her fitness level at Arcadia running 10:03. A fast race is ahead for her on Saturday.

 

Scout Storms of Barrington will have a busy Saturday running at Glenbard West in the 3200 Meter Run in the morning then this race is similar to what she did last year when she finished second running 4:50.92. We could see a better double for her in this meet. Annika Swan of St. Ignatius Prep is having a great freshman season which will continue with another personal best in this race. Swan has already run 2:12 for 800-meters outdoors. She finished third at Illinois Top Times behind Harden and Schager running 4:53. Elyse Wilmes comes to the meet from Missouri having run 4:57.06 at a meet last week. The Father Tolton Regional Catholic sophomore does have a 2:08 best for 800-meters as a freshman in 2022 and is in position for a huge personal best. Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township is the defending 3200 Meter Run champion but will focus on this event for this meet. Sommerfeld ran 5:03 last week after running a leg on the team’s 4x800m Relay at Downers Grove Nort. She ran 4:57 indoors and could be among the lead runners in this race.

 

Stella Davis of Evanston is having a breakout sophomore season and could drop under five-minutes. Ahry Comer of Pope County has been running distance doubles this outdoor season in either the 3200/1600 or 800/1600. Saturday it will be just this distance. She won her section last year in 5:03. We could see a big personal best drop in this race perhaps running under 4:55. Juliet Frum of Glenbrook North was second last fall at Detweiller Park. She has a 5:08 best in her opening meet of the season but defeating Bria Bennis. Watch for something big from this sophomore in this race.

 

Main Event Section 4 (8:39 PM) – Half of this 18 runner field have bests between 5:09 to 5:13. There is no real favorite to watch for. Olivia DeLuca of Maine South could be one of those runners having a 5:09.66 best seed. Freshman Morgan Urbaniak of Palatine could run some magic in this race. She ran 5:09.73 best in her first meet of the season. Charlotte Lange of Lyons Township, Emily Nuttall of Edwardsville, and Audrey Luell of Zion-Benton all have 5:10 bests. Keep an eye on Katherine Klimek of York, Abigail Jordan of Palatine, Hannah Diete of Taft, and Marissa Roggensack of Winnebago up front in this race.

 

Undercard Section 3 (6:32 PM) – Another wide open race with all 18 runners within five seconds of each other. Madison Harmsen of Rockford Guilford, Grace Mullin of Chicago Christian, Ava Boyd of Mahomet Seymour, and Maria Polyakov of Glenbrook North are the top seeds in this sections with their times of 5:17 or faster.

 

Undercard Section 2 (6:29 PM) – Just three seconds separate all 18 runners in this section. A wide-open rave led by Morgan Dick of Oswego East and Maya Ledesma of Minooka. Kate Ahmari of Urbana University could come away with the win in this race.

 

Undercard Section 1 (5:30 PM) – This is the opening race of the meet with Allyson Niedfeldt of Hononegah having the top seed by two seconds with a 5:22.37 time. Lizeth Montes of St. Ignatius Prep and Lucy Schlachtenhaufen of Lake Forest are the top runners leading the rest of the pack.

 

Boys 1 Mile Run

Main Event Section 4 (9:50 PM) – The final race of this meet could be the best race of the night. Conditions will be close to perfect allowing a winning time perhaps well under 4:10. Last year’s final race was tactical with Gavin Genisio running 4:16.78 to win last year’s race. All 18 runners in this “fast” section have times of 4:19 or faster. Ethan Hogan of Columbia was a surprise at the beginning of the indoor season. When he steps to the line on Saturday, he will be one of the runners to watch. Hogan ran 4:09.92 for the 1 Mile Run indoors at New Balance Indoor Nationals, then a 9:00/4:17 double to win at Illinois Top Times. His race at Arcadia was nearly perfect running an even paced 8:49.61 for the tenth fastest 2 Mile/3200m in Illinois Distance History. He now has this challenge where he could come away with another fast time.

 

Dan Watcke of Hinsdale Central is the two time defending champion in this meet in the 800 Meter Run. He opted for this event because he is looking for a fast mile time. He has run this distance seven times with his fastest coming last outdoor season winning at the Pete Struck Invitational (4:12.43). The University of Oregon commit has showed his fitness level earning All-American honors in March finishing third in the 800 Meter Run (1:49.59). He started his outdoor season running a state leading time 47.50 at Downers Grove South last Saturday. There is a combination of strength and speed in Watcke where in the right race, he could run under 4:10 edging closer to 4:05. Saturday should be the right race for him.

 

Gavin Genisio of Benton is the defending champion in this race and is ready for the challenge. He was in that sub-4:10 territory before running 4:09.23 in the 1 Mile Run in winning at Magis Miles last June. Genisio has already put down a 4:12.50 in the 1 Mile Run at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. If there is a fast time in this race to be had, Genisio is ready for the moment.

 

This race is a who’s who of some of the top Boys distance runners in the state this season. Liam Newhart of Oak Park River-Forest had a great double last week at Minooka running 9:13 for 3200-meters and then a 2:05 second half of the race to run 4:23 to win the 1600 Meter Run at the Meet. Camyn Viger of Plainfield South showed his fitness level at Minooka running a 57 second final lap to run 9:12 to edge Newhart the win in the 3200 Meter Run. Trey Sato of Grayslake Central won the 800 indoors at Illinois Top Times. He has the speed to deal with the final two laps of this race. Sato currently holds the fastest time in the state at 4:16. Tommy Murray of Riverdale could be the surprise in this race. He is running races by himself as one of the top runners in Class 1A this spring. He has bests of 9:14.72 for 3200-meters and 4:16.66 for 1600-meters. He has broken out into the spotlight so to speak. He may just be jumping onto a higher stage in Saturday’s race.

 

Owen Bosley of Homestead WI ran 4:17.47 to finish third in this race last year. The 8:54.19 time that he ran in the seeded 3200 Meter Run race at Arcadia indicates he is ready to assess his limitations. A big question is Marcellus Mines of Joliet West who has gone through a level of injuries over the last year. He ran 4:14.74 in last year’s IHSA 3A state prelims. Injuries plagued him last cross country season including not finishing at Detweiller Park. Mines ran a solo 9:33 in triangular meet and then ran 4:19.02 to win at West Aurora all withing the last week. He will be dangerous in this race especially when he is healthy.

 

This is going to be a crazy race. We will get to see that fast is not fast enough for these runners. That is the fun thing to watch within the eyes of these runners.

 

Main Event Section 3 (8:46) – There are a large number of runners in this field that could have been placed in the final section. It shows how deep the talent is at this distance. 18 runners in this section are within five seconds or each other. Parker Nold of Oswego East leads this section with a 4:19.37 seed time. Grayden Rill of Fenwick bounced back after a rough fall cross-country season and is among the top milers in the state with a 4:19.98 best. Nicholas Strayer of Lyons Township ran 4:20.05 to win the 3A race at Illinois Top Times. Theodore Cunningham of Fremd has been running hot since the end of the cross-country season now having a best of 4:20.51. Michael Michelotti of Oak Park-River Forest, Liam Naughton of Hersey, and Will Gelon of Prairie Ridge have bests under 4:22. Akili Parekh of Latin School missed all of indoor season due to an injury. He did run 9:15 at Arcadia two weeks ago. He is fit and could be under 4:20. This race tends to be won in the low 4:20’s. We could see a winning time under 4:20 in this section.

 

Undercard Section 2 (6:52 PM) – Hard to see how this plays out especially when the 18 runners in this section are separated by only four sections. Gavin Borger of Plainfield South ran 1:59 at a windy Minooka last Saturday. He comes in with a 4:24.58 top seed time. Samuel Teppo of New Trier, Rory Gaan of Fremd, and Charlie Richardson of DePaul Prep will also be up front in this race. Landis Musser of Riverdale, Tommy Nitz of Huntley, and Cole Boudreault of Lake Zurich could also win in this section.

 

Undercard Section 1 (6:45) – A tight opening section with the field separated by only three seconds. Zach Self of Waubonsie Valley ran a smart race last Saturday at Minooka resulting in a huge personal best (4:27.76) to win the opening section and had the fastest time heading into the final race at that meet. He will play a factory on Saturday. Any of the 17 runners in this section legitimately could win. Keep an eye on Atticus Miller of New Trier, Cameron Donner of Hersey, Gabriel McLain of Benton, and Colin Knowles of Whitney Young as some of the runners to watch.

 

Freshman (5:38 PM) – There are two runners that stand out in this race. Alex Krieg of Palatine already has run 4:27.9 at an opening meet at York and will be the favorite on his home track. His chief competition should come from Owen Horeni of Yorkville. When a freshman runs near 2:00 for 800-meters, you should keep an eye on him. Horeni ran 1:56.34 (IL #8) to win at an invitational on his home track. He has a 4:29.70 best and will be challenging Krieg. Jordan Kreiner of New Trier, Jamie Chandler of Deerfield, Caleb Mathias of Champaign Central, and Nathan Gehrmann of West Aurora are some of the freshmen to keep an eye on in this race.

 

Girls 2 Mile Run

Main Event Section 4 (9:13 PM) – All eyes should be on Rachel Soukup of Prairie Ridge in this championship section of this distance. Soukup finished seventh as a junior and second last fall in the 2A State XC Meet. The 10:22.92 race at Illinois Top Times finishing second only three seconds behind Grace Schager. She ran a solo 10:36.52 two weeks ago at Elgin. It is hard to see anyone in this field with her entering the final three laps of this race.

 

Liv Phillips of Naperville Central looked strong indoors running 10:46.94 at Illinois Top Times. Phillips’ teammate Ava Hendren has a best at 10:45.58 and will push Phillips in the front. Audra Soderlind of Oswego is a big race runner, and it should show in this meet. Soderlind’s 10:40.51 seed time comes from last year’s state meet. We could see her get close to her best. Mikaela Helling of Two Rivers WI was a multiple all-state runner in last year’s Wisconsin D2 State Meet. She dropped her personal best down to 10:44.58 at the end of March at UW-Oshkosh. Her time could drop even lower in this race.

 

Molly Farrell of Marshall is a runner to keep an eye on. Her 10:49.96 she did in winning the 1A Illinois Top Times race was impressive. She ran 5:00 for 1600-meters a week ago trailing Tatum David by 11 seconds in this race. She will be surrounded by some talented runners in this meet. She should respond to the challenge on Saturday. Carissa Hamilton of Neuqua Valley missed most of the cross-country season due to an injury. She has fought back to run 10:57.19 at Top Times and could run faster on Saturday.

 

Normal University’s Zoe Carter and Natalie Bierbaum will be near the front in this race. Arianna Neisen of Liberty ran 11:03 last week in a race in Missouri and could surprise in this race.

 

Main Event Section 3 (8:13 PM) – A wide-open section with the first six runners within 10 seconds of each other. Ellie Robinson of Dodgeville/Mineral Point WI enters this race with a top seed time of 11:12.54. Naperville North’s Logan Brennen and Rianna Tandon along with Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Nicole Poglitsch all have bests under 11:20. It may take a time under 11:10 to win this section. Lynda Rotundo of McHenry will be a factor in this race. Chiara Surtz of Rosary, Isabella Gonzalez of Crystal Lake South, and Bella Daley of Fenwick could all make a difference within this section.

 

Undercard Section 2 (6:59 PM) – No real favorite in this section. We could see up to 10 runners that possibly could come away with the win. Ana Kimball of Loyola Academy and Samantha Rowley of Barrington both have 11:40 seed times. Avery Engle of Galena, Madeline Cassidy of Batavia, Gianna Arizzi of Lincoln-Way West, and Sophia Keeler of Yorkville will all be in contention for this section win.

 

Undercard Section 1 (5:45 PM) – Four runners come into this meet with seed bests of 12-minutes or faster. Southwest Prairie Conference rivals Taya Gummerson of Minooka and Annabelle Reeder of Yorkville lead this pack. Rosie Gonzalez of Antioch and Kylie Florance of Gurnee Warren will also be in the mix up front.

 

Boys 2 Mile Run

Main Event Section 4 (9:28 PM) – This race intrigues me especially with some of the top guns at this distance choosing to run in the 1 Mile Run. It opens the door for a fresh face to step into the spotlight. Ben Crane of New Trier, just a sophomore, has emerged this season as a top runner finishing second at Illinois Times with a time of 9:18.10. BJ Sorg from XC State Champion Plainfield South showed what he had for his team during the fall. He ran 9:19.75 indoors at Lakes at the end of February. His 1600 race at Minooka indicates he could run faster in this meet.

 

Charlie Vater of Iola-Scandinavia WI was all state last cross-country season finishing 11 at the Wisconsin D3 State Meet. His time has dropped down to 9:20.15 this season. He could be a surprise in this race. Dylan Maloney of Plainfield South is just a sophomore that runs with the ferocity of a senior. He has a seed time of 9:20.28 that could drop lower with him even winning this race. Dylan Ybarra of O’Fallon won the first section at the IHSA 3A State Meet last May. He already ran 9:22.05 in his win at Belleville West two weeks ago. Keep an eye on him in this race.

 

The talent is deep in this field. Vijay Krishnamoorthi of Conant is one of those runners to watch. The same holds true for Joe Schwartz of Waterloo, Oliver Burns of Plainfield North, Mac Kittrell of DePaul College Prep, Dale Johnson of Sterling, and Mario Torres of Buffalo Grove. This field is close with only 11 seconds separating all 18 runners in this race. Any of these guys can finish in the top five.

 

Main Event Section 3 (8:27 PM) – This race should be similar to what we will see later in the meet. 18 runners within 11 seconds of each other in an eight lap race means anything can happen. I am really interested to see what Dylan Myers of Lake Zurich can run. The senior has a 9:29 best. The 1600 that he won last week at Bartlett in 4:23.02 shows me we can see a fast 3200 on Saturday. Will Kozlowski of Lane Tech raced at Arcadia in California two weeks ago running 4:19.76 in the 1 Mile Run. The junior ran 1:56.68 in the 800 Meter Run in a meet in Tennessee. He could also be ripe for a fast 2-mile in this meet. It could be wide open behind these two with Brian Hatoum of Highland Park, Jesse Gamboa of Hinsdale Central, Jack Wright of Plainfield South, and Josh Weeks of Morton are some of the runners you could see up front in this race.

 

Undercard Section 2 (7:13 PM) – The final race of the undercard section. Zach Frayder of Hersey has run 9:40.90 and has the top seed time in this section. The top eight runners are within five seconds of each other. Braden Eckman of Lake Zurich, Lucas Yonker of Wheaton-Warrenville South, and Owynn Garrelts of Maine South are all runners that you should see in the front in this race.

 

Undercard Section 1 (5:59 PM)Colin Hanson of Eau Claire Memorial WI is the top seed with a 9:50.92 time. Barrington’s Max Lewis and Avery Erickson along with Jack Galminas of Lincoln-Way Central and Connor Carlson of Marmion Academy are some of the runners to watch for in the front.



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