Skyler Bollinger/ Photo courtesy of YorkvilleTrackandField.Com
This past week didn’t provide the large meets that we saw last week. However, we did see some mind-boggling performances particularly on the girls side. We had the first girl under five minutes and Skyler Bollinger put her name among the best freshman in the nation.
The List: We list the top ten national elite times. If there are not ten times, we list all of the national elite times.
Girls 800 Meter Run
The 800 was on the backburner this weekend with only three girls reaching the national elite standard. Known for her distance, Kaylee Flanagan showed some wheels, dipping under the 2:20 barrier for 800. While I can’t see the Lake Park star running the 800 further down the road, she is ranked fourth in the state. The top 800 time from the week belonged to McKenna Kiple. The Tigers switched the order up from last week, running Kipple in the 800m and Schmelzle in the 1600m. Kipe produced a 2:17.04, less than a second off her best time, and third in the state rankings. The future Miami Bearcat ran away from the field, leaving a five second gap before the second place finisher. The only other national elite time comes from Torree Scull of St. Charles East who ran a season best 2:21.31.
1. 2:17.04, McKenna Kipple, Wheaton Warrensville South, Byron Indoor Preview
2. 2:19.80, Kaylee Flanagan, Lake Park, Proviso West Quad
3. 2:21.31, Torree Scull, St. Charles East, Paul Bergeson Invitational
Boys 800 Meter Run
The guys meets were typically smaller meets and the 800m times showed. With less competition, only one man achieved a national elite time. Payton rejoins the list, as he was on the list last week. Payton didn’t record a season best but he did top Edwardsville Chad Maxwell by two seconds.
1. 1:59.47, Darren Payton, Cahokia, Edwardsville Tiger Indoor Invitational
Girls 1600 Meter Run
There was plenty of action to go around in this event! We have seen many times already this season that Madeline Perez and Emma Fisher can run fast. Put them together and magic is bound to happen. The York Girls Invite didn’t disappoint as Perez ran an evenly paced 4:59.29 to become the first girls under five for the rest of the year. With such a performance it is hard to miss the girls behind her who deserve some attention. Emma Fisher PR’d (in March) clocking in at 5:05.55 to come in second. Hope Schmelzle displayed her speed, putting a gap between her and Sami Staples at the Byron Indoor Preview. She closed strong, running 5:08.99 which drops her season best time down by three seconds. Now for the fun part: Skyler Bollinger. This girl is unreal. If we counted splits she would be third on this list (and fourth in the state). After running a jaw dropping 3200m, she doubled back and ran 5:13.91, reportedly in flats and being held back. Not a bad double.
1. 4:59.29, Madeline Perez, Glenbard West, York Girls Invitational
2. 5:05.55, Emma Fisher, York, York Girls Invitational
3. 5:08.99, Hope Schmelzle, Wheaton Warrensville South, Byron Indoor Preview
4. 5:13.91, Skyler Bollinger, Yorkville, Plainfield South Cougar Invitational
5. 5:15.78, Sami Staples, Crystal Lake Central, Byron Indoor Preview
6. 5:17.06, Kelsey Schrader, Dekalb, Sterling First Chance Meet
7. 5:19.72, Lix Cox, Palatine, York Girls Invitational
Boys 1600 Meter Run
Garrett Lee ran 4:41 last week. Not the best, but it’s early. Things changed this week. He dropped just under 20 seconds, crossing the line in 4:22.43 to move into fourth in the state rankings. Lee, a University of Illinois signee, ran the race by himself, winning by 14 seconds. The second best time of the week comes from the man who was fourth at NXN Midwest, Quentin Schaeffer. He won at Proviso west in 4:25 which is good enough for the top ten in the state. A couple of 2A stars, Shawn Milhauser and Ethan Adlfinger had a good duel at Sterling with Milhauser winning in 4:26 with Ethan less than a second back.
1. 4:22.43, Garrett Lee, Belvidere North, Byron Indoor Preview
2. 4:25.00, Quentin Scaheffer, Prospect, Proviso West 7-Team
3. 4:26.56, Shawn Milhauser, Pontiac, Sterling First Chance Meet
4. 4:27.47, Ethan Adlfinger, Rock Island Alleman, Sterling First Chance Meet
5. 4:27.69, Nolan McKenna, Wheaton Warrensville South, WWS Quad
6. 4:28.40, Mike Matusiak, Lyons Township, Proviso West 7-Team
7. 4:28.70, Mike Accetura, Lyons Township, Proviso West 7-Team
8. 4:28.74, Caleb Beck, Oswego, Oswego Boys Indoor Invitational
9. 4:28.80, Cam Knudsen, Minooka, Plainfield South Cougar Invitational
10. 4:28.80, Peter Cotsirlos, New Trier, Dan Phillips Relays
Skyler Bollinger/ Photo courtesy of YorkvilleTrackandField.Com
Girls 3200 Meter Run
Wow. Skyler Bollinger really turned some heads this weekend. The freshman goes out for a 3200 and opens in 5:07. She closes in a respectable 5:30, not bad considering her first mile and she was running alone. Now 7th in the US, the question becomes how fast can this girl run? What will she run in late May with competition on a 400 track? I think we are going to see some special things from her not only this year but for the next three and a half years.
1. 10:36.00, Skyler Bollinger, Yorkville, Plainfield South Cougar Invitational
2. 11:22.43, Jessica Lincoln, Palatine, York Girls Invitational
3. 11:28.00, Casey Kramer, Yorkville, Plainfield South Cougar Invitational
4. 11:32.91, Hannah England, St. Charles North, Batavia 5-Team Meet
Boys 3200 Meter Run
Belvidere North domination part two. While Yunk had a rough end to his cross season, he seems to be back in full force already, winning at Byron by 45 seconds with a solid time of 9:25.21. A couple other people to highlight are Joey Santillo who had a good time at Plainfield South after having a slow start to the season.
1. 9:25.21, Tyler Yunk, Belvidere North, Byron Indoor Preview
2. 9:34.02, Jesse Reiser, McHenry, Paul Bergeson Invitational
3. 9:34.50, Christian Zambrano, Palatine, Proviso West 7-Team
4. 9:42.00, Joey Santillo, Minooka, Plainfield South Cougar Invitational
5. 9:46.10, Ryan Speir, Lyons Township, Proviso West 7-Team
6. 9:48.50, Greg Rogers, Granite City, Edwardsville Tiger Indoor Invitational
Girls 4x800 Meter Relay
While there were only three national elites, we did see the fastest time in the state. Palatine put together their squad to easily grab the win and lay claim to the top time in the state. They all had solid splits with leadoff Cassidy McPherson running 2:23, followed by Kara Burton with a 2:25. Star Tess Wasowicz had the top split with 2:19 before passing it off to Liz Coz who brought it home in 2:26. There is no doubt this team can run fast. It will be exciting to see them in a race teams like Yorkville and Wheaton Warrensville South.
1. 9:34.55, Palatine, York Girls Invitational
2. 9:54.88, St. Charles North, Batavia 5-Team Meet
3. 9:57.69, Whitney Young, York Girls Invitational
Boys 4x800 Meter Relay
Nothing too crazy this week like we saw at the DGN Mustang Relays. Belleville West recorded the top time running 8:12.30 to beat rival Cahokia at Edwardsville. Chicago powerhouse, Jones, put together a strong quartet to run 8:13 at the fourth U High meet.
1. 8:12.30, Belleville West, Edwardsville Tiger Indoor Invitational
2. 8:13.82, Jones, U High Meet#4
3. 8:14.90, Cahokia, Edwardsville Tiger Indoor Invitational
4. 8:17.80, Batavia, Batavia 5-Team Meet
5. 8:19.20, Lake Park, Wheaton North Triangular
6. 8:20,00, Evanston, Dan Phillips Relays