Dylan Jacobs set the pace early against Logan Hall and the varsity PND field (T. Jones photo)
Coming into the Richard Spring Invitational hosted by Peoria Notre Dame High School, the theme was "hot" as in it's hot! Above average temperatures greeted the midwestern city of Peoria with climes well above the 80F mark all weekend.
At PND, the girls cycle of races go first with freshman-sophomore followed by varsity. Katelynne Hart (So, Glenbard West) opened the girls varsity race with a crisp 2:35 and later 5:20 for the first mile. She had already led the chase pack headed by teammate Lindsey Payne (Sr.) by 15 seconds. By the time Hart completed her tour of the "Bermuda Triangle" she was in shutdown mode. Hart would go on to win easily in 16:35.
#4 Glenbard West once again put three girls in the top 10 of a varsity invite. The final tally was 128-128 draw. But it wasn't enough to overcome #12 Wheaton-Warrenville South's great team pack running. The Lady Tigers won the title with better 6th place finisher.
| GIRLS THREE MILE RUN FINALS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||
| 1 | Katelynne Hart | 10 Glenbard West High School | 16:35.50 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Lindsey Payne | 12 Glenbard West High School | 17:12.70 | 2 | ||
| 3 | Madison Marasco | 12 Schaumburg High School | 17:22.00 | 3 | ||
| 4 | Isabelle Sparreo | 12 Stevenson High School | 17:30.70 | 4 | ||
| 5 | Katie Hohe | 11 Glenbard West High School | 17:38.50 | 5 | ||
The boys race was similar to the girls in that the opening pace was pushed from the beginning. Dylan Jacobs (Sr., Sandburg) and Logan Hall (Sr., Arthur) as expected got it going with a blistering 4:35 opening mile. Jacobs, with Hall on his hip, responded to his coach's signal to get lost. He proceeded to lose Hall in the back loop with a tremendous surge. Jacobs was 6:59 at the halfway point and unopposed. He sensed the race was his and began to make it a tempo fest over the final mile. Jacobs maintained his poise and finished with a solid time of 14:23 over Hall 14:37.
#2 Neuqua Valley won the team race 112-119 despite a less than stellar performance by them. The scoring split was 51 seconds and the Wildcats were bailed out by junior Zach Kinne's spendid third place effort. Give credit to a tough and hard charging #4 Wheaton-Warrenville South bunch who brought up sophomore David Zeller from the undercard. Zeller helped seal a once suspect #5 spot in a big way. Whether or not Neuqua Valley was holding back, the message was sent by the Tigers that they will be heard loud and clear in November.
| BOYS THREE MILE RUN FINALS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLACE | ATHLETE | TEAM | RESULT | POINTS | ||
| 1 | Dylan Jacobs | 12 Sandburg High School | 14:23.00 | 1 | ||
| 2 | Logan Hall | 12 Arthur High School | 14:37.30 | -- | ||
| 3 | Zachary Kinne | 11 Neuqua Valley High School | 14:39.40 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Nick Laning | 12 Barrington High School | 14:46.90 | 3 | ||
| 5 | Jack Mcnabola | 12 F.W. Parker High School | 14:47.50 | -- | ||
-PLEASE CHECK BACK ON SUNDAY WITH A FULL RECAP AND THOUGHTS ON PND