Arcardia is deep. You better make sure you are ready-
Another high action pack weekend of track and field awaits us with some big meets for Illinois athletes. Perhaps none will be bigger than the Arcadia Invitational. Let me get you up to speed regarding the meet of all invitationals. This is a meet that bills itself as "the home of national records." I believe 25 of them have been achieved at Arcadia. Prep athletes from around the world have competed and this year will be no different. More than two dozen athletes from Illinois will be making the trip to Arcadia which happens to be about 15 miles north east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley. You can see the mountains from inside the stadium as you compete and/or spectate. Personally, I think this is the coolest outdoor track and field meet to attend, though I haven't been to Penn Relays yet.
I am starting to see a trend here with some of our very best athletes traveling to the west coast to compete in such a great meet so early in the season. The Arcadia meet officials have done a great job in attracting great talent outside of California to test their skills. Illinois is a premier state when it comes to distance running and meet director Rich Gonzalez has reached out here in getting some of our best talent. One of our best a few years ago was Chris Derrick from Naperville (Neuqua Valley). Derrick was perhaps the #1 runner in the country in 2008. And the recruitment paid off. In the California night air Derrick ran 13:55.96 and his legend grew.
As dangerous as Arcadia can be in terms of its heavyweight position I think it is a perfect format for our elite athletes and teams to trek to. The meet traditionally falls on the second weekend in April when our state is finally lathered up from a long indoor season, deep training and a few outdoor races under our belt. Arcadia is perhaps the time to show off our best on a national stage. I don't think in most instances that New Balance Indoor Nationals or the Texas Relays truly show how good we are. Our best girls team Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) is the reigning three-time state 3A champion with a fourth one virtually in the bag. But I don't think in retrospect they were ready for what hit them in New York and Texas. Yes, the Lady Griffins have done well in those venues plus the Penn Relays in the past. They had some great units several years ago with Aaliyah Brown as the superstar runner. And everyone knew it. "The Franchise" ran 11.42 and 23.80. Most of the monster teams they have faced on the national scene featured a girl of such stature individually or relay wise. If you don't have a superstar athlete like Texan Tonea Marshall then you must be collectively great- all clicking full throttle at the same time. Of course Arcadia's invitational field is second to none but their open, rated, and seeded divisions are strong and offer what a current team's standing is in. Arcadia could have been a better situation had "ACTs" or other items not prohibited such a trip... there is always New Balance Outdoor Nationals in June when the temperatures are in the 80s and 90s...
