The 3A competition is going to be Monster Like on Saturday afternoon!
Last weekend at the Hinsdale Hornet-Devil Invitational, the competition and atmosphere was incredible and at a post-season fever pitch. It is hard to think anything can top that just a week later. Let’s go out on the limb and at least predict the level of production and excitement on all levels will be of equal proportions.
Girls-
Key teams: #2 Naperville North, #3 Hinsdale Central, #6 Lockport, #7 Naperville Central, #8Minooka, #9 Winnetka New Trier, #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #15 Downers Grove South, #18 Edwardsville, #20 LaGrange Lyons Twp., #22 Libertyville, #23 Geneva, #25 Batavia, Barrington
Look at the teams in this field! There is going to be over 50 squads toeing the line- more than the actual state championship. The key will be getting out fast but controlled. While that in itself is a task that many teams will have an issue with, the patrons are going to absolutely love seeing a plethora of runners on such a tight and speedy course. It’s the Illinois way!
Naperville North is one of the nation’s top teams and they are the defending champions scoring a measly 35 points on 4,5,6,7,13 scoring. The Huskies sixth and seventh runners checked in at 19th at 20th. Now that's incredible! Coach Dan Iverson returns an even more mature bunch led by senior Elly DeTurris who finished fifth in 17:40 a season ago. Naperville North is not a selfish team though. They will rely on extreme tight pack running to divide and conquer their opponents. At last weekend’s Spartan Invitational in Iowa, the Huskies used a 27-second scoring split as an example. The final result was a 29-58 win over Edina, Minnesota. Edina is ranked #5 in their state and one of the top teams in the Midwest.
Hinsdale jumped up in the season opener (Hinsdale Invite) last weekend and placed second to defending and #1 Glenbard West. The Devilettes will have top runner sophomore star Alexa Haff to deliver a low number. Haff won her season opener in a sizzling 16:52. Her supporting cast delivered as well with Anne Zaher (Jr.), and two freshmen named Reilly Revord and Grace McCabe. The only missing piece is a fifth girl. This will be the task for Coach Mark McCabe and his staff.
Lockport will face their first exam of the season. Coach Evon Schlotter has been very careful in putting her young but talented squad in the line of fire during the early portion of the season. On Saturday, things will change for sophomore Morgan Bollinger. Although she has won her first two competitions, one of them was in a frosh race and the other in the low key Plainfield Central Invite. The Lady Porters rolled to easy victories in both. They will face super stiff competition for the first time in a year.
Naperville Central and Minooka will lock horns for the second weekend in a row. Minooka placed third at Hinsdale just ahead of the Hawks by a single point for 4th place. The Indians amazingly got the job done with an awful 2:34 scoring split. In a meet this big that could land them outside the top 15. Sophomores Ashley Tutt and Mackenzie Callahan will do their best for Minooka. Naperville Central’s attack is more balanced behind the leadership of senior Rachel Hoffman. Hoffman will be a candidate for top individual honors and when the team can pull off a 1:10 or better scoring split that means the health exam passes with flying colors.
New Trier quietly enters into the meet looking to improve from last week’s 6th place effort at Hinsdale. “Mimi [Smith] and her teammates know they need to step it up going forward. They are calm, cool and collected, yet know there is much room for improvement and focus,” said Charles Smith, Mimi’s father and super cross country fan. That positive observation should go a long way for the Lady Trevians this weekend.
All in all it should be a great weekend with Wheaton-Warrenville South and their deep team. Can the Tiger’s young team step up even more? Geneva has gotten to a slow start this season. Are the Vikings playing possum? Batavia, Libertyville, Barrington and Lyons enter the bright lights on a mission. Downers Grove South is in a rebuilding year but finished a solid second last weekend at Fenton. Edwardsville could be the team out of the south that everyone has to keep an eye on.
The individual race will be one to watch for sure. Buffalo Grove junior Kaitlin Ko has returned after missing the entire track and field season due to injury. She is the defending champion running 17:00- just two seconds ahead of Haff. Haff is a different running this time around and hasn’t suffered from any slumps or injuries. She has to be considered one of the favorite until further notice. But don’t forget Mimi Smith. She didn’t start fast at Hinsdale and ultimately finished 8th in that deep race. She is a champion runner and will be ready for any challenge. This is not an alibi but don’t be surprised if you see a 180 degree turn from last weekend. Nope we did not for Lauren VanVlierbergen! The Algonquin Jacobs super senior was been a wrecking ball since the start of the season. She has run 17:06 thus far. This will be her fourth race of the season but she should not have tired legs though. This year’s winning time could be in the 16:30’s if the pace, weather, and competition is honest.
Ryan Clevenger (leading purple jersey) will have a say in the individual race on Saturday
Boys-
Key Teams: #1 Hinsdale Central, #2 Naperville Neuqua Valley, #4 Winnetka New Trier, #5 Naperville Central, #7 Glen Ellyn Glenbard West, #8 Naperville North, #10 Downers Grove North, #12 Chicago (St. Ignatius), #13 Buffalo Grove, #15 New Lenox Lincoln-Way Central, #21 Chicago Whitney Young, #22 Edwardsville, #23 Batavia
LOADED!! This is the only way to explain such a race. This meet is so big that it has grabbed the national headlines. MileSplit USA will be on the scene for coverage on Saturday. As well the Nike Cross Nationals will take mental notes in case at-large selections come into play in late November. With all of the pre-meet hype in the books it’s time to talk racing.
Hinsdale Central used this stage last year to springboard themselves to a state title. The Devils scored 60 points in a big 45-team field. That’s a low number when you think about how many great teams out there. The main ingredient was the low scoring split that reached under 50 seconds. It may take a higher number this time out. “Our goal is to race consistently from one week to the next,” said a cautiously optimistic head Jim Westphal. “It will be a challenge for the guys to race well from one week to the next. This is a great meet and very deep. With such a great field we are hoping to finish in the top 3-5.” Look for sophomore Blake Evertsen and junior Chris Brenk to once again lead the Devil’s attack.
Hinsdale Central ran very well in holding off then pre-season #1 Neuqua Valley last weekend. The difference was the Devils scoring pack was just ahead of the Wildcats pack. That role could easily change on Saturday though. Coach Paul Vandersteen indicated that his team is healthy and should put in a good performance. Junior Connor Horn has learned from his overzealousness last week in trying to be a front runner so soon. He has gotten the lack of racing bug out of his system.
There is one particular team who will be licking their chops after not producing favorable results last weekend in their respective race. New Trier was able to manage a 25-second split at the Hinsdale Invitational but did it without key senior runners Om Kanwar, Tarek Afifi, and Luke Duros. If they are indeed ready to go on Saturday we could possibly talk of a new champion… or maybe not because even great pack running teams need a front runner. New Trier is in the process of developing one. Downers Grove North has one in senior boss Ryan Clevenger. Clevenger is the leader of a team that placed second in the state. He is enjoying his senior year quite well going 2 for 2 on the season so far in races. The Trojans have smoothly added the graduated pieces from last year’s championship run.
Fellow West Suburban Silver foes Glenbard West and Lyons Township will be in their biggest meet of the season. Glenbard West has been building a solid team for several years now and it’s time for the Hilltoppers to reap the rewards. At the Fenton Early Bird Invite, it was easy pickings GW who easily beat then #4 Buffalo Grove 48-70 for the title. Paul Christian (Sr.) led the way three other teammates under 16:00 with his fourth place finish. As for Lyons, the Lions have completely revamped its team after losing most of the top seven through graduation. They will also rely on tough pack running to get the job done.
The middle of the pack teams such as Naperville North, Naperville Central, and St. Ignatius add incredible depth. Each one of them could jump and bite several of the teams expected to be in the top five. One of those “middle of the pack” teams is St. Ignatius. “We think we are underrated. We have been fifth and then fourth the last two years,” said Coach Ed Ernst giving off an impression that something big could emerge from his charges on Saturday. “We think we can be better this year.” Realistically, the Wolfpack could have several running reaching the 15-minute mark or better with junior Daniel Santino leading the charge. If they can do that expect a top 5 finish for sure Ernst’s crew.
Naperville Central produced a 20-second split last weekend at Hinsdale. It was the lowest of any team in the field. That was the great thing and it earned them a third place trophy. The Hawks will need to get that pack up a little further to the front to compete with a deeper field. Deep fields usually punk and push middle running teams around if they don’t have a strong front runner. Naperville North is hopeful they will have their top runner senior Kerry Gschwendtner back on Saturday. Gschwendtner sat out last weekend at Hinsdale with an injury. If not they will have to continue to thread water with seniors John Klaiber and Andrew Ladeur.
Watch closely for Whitney Young’s young gun team, Edwardsville and its top runner senior Brydon Groves-Scott; Lincoln-Way Central will be a fun time to watch emerge from the pack as will Batavia.
The individual race will be fun to watch with Jesse Reiser in the house. The superstar making Reiser will be making his FTTF debut and his appearance will make for an entertaining affair. Last year’s winner Calvin Kraft of Fishers, Indiana ran 14:36 in a dog fight with Billy Magnesen, formerly of Hinsdale Central. Reiser may or may not get a stiff battle with someone. It won’t be Hoffman Estates Conant senior Zach Dale. Dale was slated to compete in the race but instead will be taking the ACT. He will get his shot at Detweiller the following weekend at the Richard Spring Peoria Notre Dame Invite. The challenge may come from Clevenger. Clevenger finished third last year in 14:44. He is much better than that after running blazing 14:45 at the Detweiller at Dark meet in July. Could the race reach into the 14:20s? We will see around 12:50pm on Saturday. Don’t expect Buffalo Grove junior Kevin Salvano to sit back in the pack too long. He is aggressive enough to go for a kill race. There of course will be other battles in between the main factions to watch for.
Enjoy the show!