Batavia Distance Madness Recap

There were some stellar performances Friday evening in Batavia

Batavia HS; Batavia, IL

Held at Batavia High School, the Batavia Distance Madness has become a sort of late indoor season welcoming party for the endurance fleeted talent from around the state. It was exhilarating for all of the spectators to see the athletes give it their all and leave it all out there.

On the girl's side, the 800m races proved to be more tactical with the fastest time of the night by sophomore Lauren Huber of Glenbard East with a time of 2.21.17. The splits were also fairly even, with the race going out with a modest 1:10 through the first 400. All of the athletes were feeling each other out still at the point, and as a result no one really made a move until the final circuit. 

The championship girls 3200m had a major upset with Alex Morris of Naperville North who was highly favorited to win, only finishing fifth. Morris finished 3rd at this meet last year, behind her former husky, Sarah Schmitt. With Schmitt having graduated, Morris wanted to continue the legacy with a win. The race went out at a modest 5:20 through the first mile. Following that, they continued on with consistent 40s for each circuit, until the last 400m. It was then that Emma Watcke, a transfer from Ohio to Hinsdale Central took advantage of the situation and ultimately winning in 10:37.96. Sophomore Campbell Petersen of Naperville North, junior Kailey Fox of Yorkville was third, junior Abby Lopez was fourth, and Morris faded to fifth. The first seven runners were all under 11 minutes. 

The 1600m was a real fight with Batavia standout freshman Katrina Schlenker, who was a sensational sub-five minute miler in middle school.  However, many thought that senior Claire Hill of Naperville North or junior Erin Reidy of Downer's Grove South could pose a threat. Schlenker met the race with a "challenge accepted." The girls all hung together in a good pack until 250 to go, when Schlenker layer the hammer down. Throwing it into another gear, she gapped the field by a good 5m within a few seconds. By the time Hill and Reidy started to close, it was too late. Schlenker had already got too far away and was on her way down the backstretch. Schlenker passed the line with a smile and a time of 4:56.26. Reidy and Hill came in at 4:58.42 (2nd place) and 4:58.56 (3rd place) respectively.

On the boy's side, the 800m was a very tight race with the first six finishing within 1.5 seconds of each other.  Everyone was fairly close together and similar to the girl's race, they were very focused on feeling each other out. Senior Riley Wells of Rockford Christian came home first with a speedy time of 1:58.63. Junior Jason Hoffman of Minooka took second with a time of 1:58.8, and senior Jadon Conroy of Huntley took third with a time of 1:59.03. 

The 1600m was exciting as well with senior Sean Maison of Wheaton-Warrenville South winning with a blistering time of 4:21.26. Junior Ben Rosa of Lake Forest took 2nd with a time of 4:23.01, and senior Charles Murphy of St. Charles East took 3rd with a time of 4:23.5. 

In the 3200m, the race was dominated by junior Tyler Cushing from Bolingbrook with a speedy time of 9:18.06. Senior Rory Cavan of Glenbard West and senior Nick Trattner of Naperville North were a close 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Another standout performance from the 3200m was freshman Micah Wilson of St. Charles East who challenged the big dogs with a stellar performance of 9:26.32. He will certainly be one to watch in the future.