2016 Class 2A Boys Pre-Season Distance Preview

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3200m-

2015 State Champion: Colin DeYoung (Lansing Illiana Christian) 9:21. 63

Season analysis: This is one of the few distance events in Illinois this year where we will see the 2015 champ return to defend his title. Colin DeYoung won a tight battle at the front in 2015, running away from Alex Keeble, Luke Beattie and Walmer Saavedra. All four return again this year but DeYoung has to be the favorite entering this season.

DeYoung was sharpened by a higher level of competition this past cross country season because Illiana Christian was bumped to 3A competition. The team qualified for the state meet, and DeYoung made his mark by finishing 9^th, with a time fast enough (14:34) to finish 4^th in the 2A meet, and the fastest time of all 2A distance returners (the top 5 runners in the 2A XC meet are all 3A in track). This should be enough to make DeYoung the favorite for most 3200 races he runs throughout the season. As Illiana Christian's time in Illinois runs down, expect their team to find some strong competition to test themselves against.

The top returner from the 2A cross country meet is state scene newcomer Jack Franklin, whose sudden dominance in the latter half of the harrier season established him as a contender for the rest of his career. Franklin, who won the Peoria Invitational, East Peoria Regional and Normal University Sectional, finished 6^th in 14:42 at the state XC meet. Franklin's track pedigree may not be as developed as some of the other top 2A runners (a 'modest' 9:54.80 3200, and 4:35.7 1600), but his cross season suggested that he has improved much since last year. Do not be surprised to see Franklin continue to improve throughout the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Another 2A runner who knows something late season breakouts is Shane Williamson (Jr., Vernon Hills). Williamson just finished outside of all-state contention in the outdoor 3200 state championship, and finished just .01 seconds outside of a victory in the Illinois Top Times 3200. He is also our #2 2A state cross country returner, back to seek his first state championship. Williamson has been running with the big guns ever since a strong 3^rd place at the 2014 2A state meet right behind the Hoffert twins Jake and Luke, and after playing second fiddle for a small handful of seasons now, he will be gunning from the front for a state title.

As mentioned earlier, all four of the top four finishers from last year's state race return in 2A this year. DeYoung is the first, and Keeble is the second. Keeble is the lead runner for powerhouse Mahomet-Seymour. His Detweiller PR is a blazing 14:36 set at Notre Dame's Richard Spring invitational. A fantastic cross season ended relatively disappointingly with a 16^th place 15:02 at the state. This makes him no less dangerous, though-his 9:23 and 9:24 3200 performances on consecutive weeks ended a strong track campaign last year.

Beattie is the third returner, and finished the 2015 track season with the second fastest 3200 time behind DeYoung (a 9:22.3 time from a blazing fast Fox Valley Conference championship race). Beattie, a three-time cross country all-stater and this past year's 9^th place finisher, will look to add a 3200 state championship to a long list of Beattie family individual championships. Do not be surprised to see Beattie double (3200/1600) as well, as he did in his conference meet last year.

CPS cross country runner-up Saavedra made his first track all-state appearance by hanging to the back of the lead pack and finishing in 4^th. Saavedra has had massive success on the course and will likely focus on the 3200 after his 9:29 (he failed to qualify to the 1600 final in 2014). Saavedra is a runner who has shown a massive increase in maturity and patience, important characteristics for a 3200. Do not count out Saavedra this spring.

Another name is watch for is Evan Mitchell, who ran an easy early season state best in 9:33 at the SWSC Indoor Conference Championship. Mitchell finished in a disappointing 15^th at the state meet but ran a strong 15^th at the cross country championships the following season. Watch for Mitchell to try to translate his previous early season success into a win during the postseason.

With runners like Franklin and Williamson emerging from the fold during cross country seasons in 2A, and Mitchell during track, watch for the names of 9:50-10:00 3200 runners whose times drop dramatically as they find themselves competing for a state title at the end of the season. Many schools with such strong program fly way under the radar in the 2A division and although it is impossible to mention every team and contender by name, know that we must give credit to the underdog whose name we do not know yet, but will in due time.

Top returners for 2016-

*Complete list