Footlocker Midwest Preview (Illinois Version)
Date: Saturday, November 30, 2013
Location: University of Wisconsin-Parkside National Course; Kenosha, WI
Time of races:
Frosh/Soph boys’ 10:00 am medals 1-24 given in chute
Seeded girls: 10:40 am- medals 1-24 given at awards ceremony (top 10 finishers advance to nationals in San Diego, CA on 12/14)
Seeded boys: 11:25 am- medals 1-24 given at awards ceremony (top 10 finishers advance to nationals in San Diego, CA on 12/14)
Frosh/soph girls’ 12:05 pm medals 1-24 given in chute
Junior/senior boys’ 12:45 pm medals 1-24 given in chute
FLCC Open: 1:25 pm medals 1-10 M&F- JR HS, open, masters (in fieldhouse)
Seeded race awards ceremony: 2:15 pm in the UW-P Sports & Activities Center Fieldhouse
The Land of Lincoln will be heard loud and clear-
The official start of the holiday season kicks in with Thanksgiving festivities and shopping galore to the delight of many consumers. It is also the final stop for many of Illinois’ emerging and elite cross country runners who are trying to make a name for themselves for the upcoming track season.
Let’s also keep in mind that Footlocker has and will always be about individual glory. The Illinois boys and girls have a glorious history of competing well at the Midwest Regional on the famed University of Wisconsin-Parkside National course. The pressure may be off for the Prairie State boys and girls as not a single runner is ranked in anyone’s national highlight picture. But as the cliché goes: ‘that’s why we run the races.’ Enough said.
Boys-
Key individuals:
Patrick Perrier (Sr., O’Fallon), Jesse Reiser (Jr., McHenry), Zack Smith (Sr., Downers Grove North), Jack Carpenter (Sr., Park Ridge Maine South), John Wold (Sr., Glen Ellyn Glenbard South), Graham Brown (Jr., Palatine), Nolan McKenna (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South), Dan Lathrop (Sr., Plainfield South).
Outlook:
Nine of last year’s top ten will have either graduated or moved on. This will include last year’s winner Jake Leingang (North Dakota) who is now at the University of Oregon. This leaves Patrick Perrier as the only national qualifier. Nicholas Elswick (Sr., Chardon, OH), who placed 10th in the ’12 MWFL race, did not enter into the meet due to tendonitis in his knee.
Perrier may or may not be the pre-meet favorite depending on who you follow or talk to. But the fact is that he is entered and ready to return to his winning ways. The Stanford University verbal commit suffered his worst high school race amid an undefeated season when he had to drop out of the NXN MW Regional race on November 17 because of a bum ankle. “I had some ankle issues a couple days after state. It flared up this morning. I stretched it and everything was good but sliding around in the mud around that 4k mark tweaked it out again,” Perrier would say in regard to why he didn’t finish the race. In the two following weeks he has been able to get some professional medical treatment and advice and now appears ready to roll.
Reiser- After two straight second place finishes in his last two races, this stalwart has went from a strong runner stateside to one of the top harriers in the Midwest. He checked in one-second behind Perrier in the 3A state meet then a week later copped a second place medal in terrible conditions at NXN MW to qualify for Nike Nationals. Word has circulated that Reiser may not run but his home is about 30 minutes away from the meet site. But he recently stated: “that’s the plan.” So, at least expect for him to show up and put in a quality effort.
Smith- Another qualifier for Nike Nationals, Smith was fifth last weekend at Nike Midwest. After an early fourth place finish, Smith went on a tear throughout the season before finishing third behind the top previously mentioned runners. Smith’s consistency throughout the season shows that he is ready to battle the top runners in Kenosha.
Carpenter- This lad turned on the jets during the second half of the season and had the biggest drop of time of major runner in the state. The result was a sixth place finish at state in 3A. Carpenter did not run NXN MW so he could concentrate on the Footlocker race.
Wold- The undefeated 2A state champion enters the big sweepstakes race for the first time. This will once and for all put the end of any speculation that Wold ducks top competition. He had been injured and sick on and off the last several years.
Brown- 8th in 3A state meet, 14th at NXN Midwest; Brown will have an opportunity to pad his resume for the 2014 season in which he will be one of the top harriers in the Midwest if not country.
Lathrop- The senior standout lived up to the promise that everyone had for him after a strong track season. Lathrop put up some solid times including 14:35. But the big number that he produced was the 13th place finish in the 3A state championship.
McKenna- The 12th place finisher in the 3A state meet has something to prove before he hangs up the cross country spikes.
Girls-
Key individuals: Madeline Perez (Sr., Glen Ellyn Glenbard West), Mary Blankemeier (Fr., Oak Park-River Forest), Kelsey Schrader (Sr., DeKalb), Mailin Struck (Sr., Brookfield-Riverside), Olivia Ryan (Jr., Oak Park Fenwick), Mimi Smith (Jr., Winnetka New Trier), Lauren VanVlierbergen (Jr., Algonquin Jacobs).
Outlook:
The talent level is not as deep as the boys but the quality that is entered in this affair should be solid enough to be respectable. It also helps that defending national champion Anna Rohrer (Jr., Mishawaka, IN) is not entered. She is out for the season due to a season ending injury suffered back in September. However, the overall girls field is packed like dynamite with US#4 Taylor Werner (So., Ste. Genevieve, MO), #13 Stephanie Jenks (So., Linn-Mar), #14 Hannah Long (Jr., Eureka, MO), #16 Jordyn Colter (Jr., Cherry Creek, CO), and #17 Audrey Belf (Jr., Seaholm, MI) entered.
Perez- The pre-eminent runner of the state feels that she has something to prove after missing the majority of the season to a pre-season injury. As well, she skipped out on the NXN MW because she didn’t feel up to par. “I don’t feel like I’m in shape to run well enough at NXN MW,” Perez said shortly after finishing third in the class 3A state championship. Hopefully, with a few weeks of quality training since the moment that she placed third is going to pay off. The smart money would be yes.
Struck- The import from Germany could be the surprise of the field. She has won every race this season by double digits aside from the First of The Finish Invite debacle. If Struck is still in shape after the long three week layoff she will be in contention for a top five spot and a ticket to San Diego. Kenosha or San Diego will be Struck’s final competition in the United States as a prep runner. She will be going back to her native Germany in January to complete her final semester of school.
Smith- The 3A state champion has a history of producing in the clutch. It started in middle school when she set the all-time record in the 1600m. The hype that followed upon entering high school produced all-star finishes and state team titles in her first three seasons in cross country and track and field. Smith’s personal best is 16:43 for three miles.
Van Vlierbergen- The middle-distance ace sharpened up her long distance skills this fall with a solid 17:07 that she ran twice. The second one netted a fourth place finish in the 3A state meet. It will be interesting to see how she competes against a deep Midwest field.