Zach Dale and Blake Evertsen duel inside the Proviso West Field House (Colin Boyle photo)
The opening scene Friday evening inside the Proviso West High School Field House in suburban Hillside just west of Chicago reminded one of a Soliloquy of chaos in that eight teams were listed to attend a meet designated for only four. So the "Octo-meet" was eventually paired down to six. But thanks to the great coaching fraternity that Illinois beholds, the meet actually ran well under the circumstances.
Teams: Hoffman Estates (Conant), Downers Grove North, Hinsdale Central, Chicago Lane Tech, Schaumburg, and the host Proviso West.
Social following: twitter- @ilptt; hashtag: #2manyteams
Highlights:
- Zach Dale (Sr., Conant) made his long awaited season debut in the 3200m. The University of Illinois recruit did not waste one moment in establishing a goal time that he set for himself (9:20). Dale took off from the gun with Blake Evertsen (So., Hinsdale Central) glued to his back and hip. The pair worked early 400m circuits in 66.8, 2:15.7, and 3:22.0. Both runners stay together one final time at the halfway point in 4:37. Dale turned up the heat a notch and moved two seconds ahead of Evertsen at the 2k in 5:47.6; he was looking mid-season sharp as the form and body language was intact. Evertsen on the other hand was beginning to show signs of wear and tear of trying to maintain the pace of a precise veteran such as Dale. Dale would eventually pull away to victory without breaking much sweat in a state best 9:14.7. His mark was good enough to creep inside the US top 10 at #8. Evertsen earned a bit of a treat himself with an indoor personal best 9:29.6. The emerging sophomore will be one to watch in the shadows of the expected greats as the season unfolds.
- Schaumburg's Shandall Thomas made his first appearance of the season with two sizzling victories in the short sprints. The senior all-state hold over won the 55m in 6.3h and returned later in lane 5 to blaze 22.7 for the very easy victory. Thomas was a chief member of the Saxon's fine relays last Spring.
- Two of the state's premier middle-distance runners Ryan Clevenger (Sr., Downers Grove North) and Pavlo Hutsalyuk (Sr., Chicago Lane Tech) dueled in separate races- events that are a bit foreign to them. Clevenger got his chops going in the 600m in which he finished 2nd to an unknown soccer player from Hinsdale Central named Dan Lillard (Jr.). Clevenger went out aggressively through the first two circuits in 56.7. Lillard did not seemed fazed by the named brand Clevenger or the pace as he took control of the race in the backstretch and won in 1:26.7. The gassed Clevenger settled for second in 1:27.3... Hutsalyuk continued to hone his leg speed by competing in the 400m. Hutsalyuk ran a safe but aggressive race by moving swiftly after the 150m cut in, and maintained his poise in the backstretch before striking in the final 100m for the 52.9h win. Clevenger and Hutsalyuk are expected to battle one another a few times during the indoor season.... Downers Grove North senior Jack Diamond won the 1600m in an indoor personal best 4:33.8.