Open Mile
The Open Mile at Magis Miles has hosted many emerging elite face off against some more experienced runners as the try and make a name for themselves. One of those experienced runners is Jeremy Ruston of Huntley, IL as he enters the field with the top seed time with a 4:30.00. The last time that Ruston competes at Magis Miles was back in 2018 where he won the Coaches mile in an impressive 4:35.97, he will be trying break 4:30, we will see who will push him to that mark.
The Soon to be senior, Ryan Traub of St. Charles North has been having a great track season and will be looking to take the next step as he tries to make a name for himself as one of the states elite runners. Coming in with a PR of 4:32.63 ran at the DuKane Conference Boys Championship, Troub has had a breakout last few weeks as he also went 1:59.15 in the 800m at Sectionals.
Over the last few years, Naperville Central has had a few elite runners in recent memory and we may see that next elite guy in the sophomore, Luke Noren. The young gun had a great XC season competing at the ShaZam XC Championships and has translated that to the track going 4:32.99 in the 1600m.
A few others that can have some breakout races in other heats include Aidan Simon of Loyola Academy, Thomas Braun of York, and Aiden Haughian of Plainfield Central, these races will set up the nights action.
Coaches' Mile
There are many great coaches in our state both in terms of training athletes and in terms of running some fast mile times. This race will focus on the second part of that last statement. Coach Roger Pinon of Chicago Latin enters with the top seed time of 4:32.00 in the event. Pinon is known for his great 5K races, but we will get to see his speed in the mile here.
One of Pinon's competitors in most of those 5K's is Coach Steve Bugarin of St. Ignatius. Bugarin will look to win his first coaches' mile title at Magis Miles.
Don't overlook Plainfield Central's coach Jeff Purdom either as he has a chance to impress, consistently doing different running challenges throughout the year, coach Purdom has his own ways of keeping running interesting to him.
Middle School Boys Mile
Many top athletes have labeled themselves as a top incoming freshman as they have used the the Middle School Mile at Magis to thrust them into the spotlight and that looks to be the case for Ignacio Escamilla who will be attending Bolingbrook High School next year. Escamilla went 4:42.67 indoors at the Illinois Meet Of Champions Showcase Meet. He will be looking to go sub 4:40 in this race and make sure people know who he is going into next year.
Incoming Kaneland Freshman, Evan Nosek has had a great 8th grade campaign that has been overlooked by the great running of Ben Gibson and Escamilla, here will be his opportunity to shine before he goes off to his distance powerhouse high school. He ran 4:51.87 at the CYUP Misfits Invite indoors, can he make a statement here?
Middle School Girls Mile
The girls Middle School Mile will be exciting race to the finish as Charlize-Trinity McKenzie and Sofia Arcuri go head-to-head in a heavyweight battle. Two have been at the top of respective states in the Middle School Rankings all season long.
McKenzie out of Ozaukee County, WI has a 5:05.81 time to her name that she ran this past weekend at the Illinois Girls Meet Of Champions Meet where she beat Arcuri by almost six seconds in that race. The Wisconsin native will try and lower her time even close to the 5:00 barrier, can we see her pull it off?
Arcuri out of Park Ridge, IL will be attending Maine South next year, but before she goes she will try and make a statement here and get a win back on McKenzie. Arcuri is a smart racer and always analyzes her race the next time she races an opponent she has lost to and tends to come back and excite in that next race. Could we see a breakout race for her?
Freshman Boys Mile
Nicholas Strayer of Lyons Township may very well blow everyone out in this race of the top young guns in the state. Strayer first made a name for himself this past cross country season going sub 16 for 3 miles and was off to a slower start this track season until he ran a 4:32.99 1600m at the Hinsdale Central JV Distance Meet. With Strayer coming in with a 9 second seed gap between second place and him, its hard to see the Lions Freshman lose this race.
Will Kozlowski of Lane Tech will be looking to be the future of CPS Boys Distance Running, an underrated name during cross-country, Kozlowski has had a breakout track campaign. He will try and break 4:40 here. He may possibly be able to challenge the Lyons Township Rising Star.
Ryan Moats of Gurnee Warren after not racing his first mile since Distance Night In Palatine on May 8th. He took 11th in the freshman 1600m running 4:42.10. The freshman was part of Warren's 14th place state 4x800m team splitting a 2:00.09 at the meet, can he translate that to the next distance up?
Ray Meyer High School Boys Mile
Home to some of the fastest miles in Illinois history, we have the possibility of seeing a few boys go sub 4:10 here. To this point in the season only one Illinois kid has gone sub 4:10 which was Drew Rogers at the Festival of Miles. With everyone in the fast section coming in under 4:22 for the 1600m, this will be action packed.
Wilson Georges of Limestone enters as the with the top seed time in the field with a 4:12.9p that he ran indoors at the CYUP Cabin Fever Invite. The junior took 5th at the 2A State Meet after doing the 800m/1600m double. The 2A ShaZam Champ will be looking to have a big race here as he will be fresh as he preps to race this star studded field.
Cole Raymond of LaPorte in Indiana comes which is located just over the IL-IN Border comes in with the same seed time of 4:12.90 as Georges. The Slicers star runner took 4th in the 1600m at his State Meet at the beginning of June and will now be preparing to go sub 4:10 here.
Expect a hungry Nicolas Dovalovsky of Neuqua Valley to show up here at Magis. The future Illini runner came up a little short at state in this event taking 3rd place in a tough field. Dovo's PR of 4:13.02 came in May at the #SmithStrong Invite where he wasn't challenged for the entire race. But after last week splitting 1:52.32 to win his team a 4x800m State Title then coming back in the 1600m to go 4:13.28, he has to be the overall favorite coming in.
Spencer Werner of Loyola Academy finally had the breakout meet that everyone was waiting for him to have at the State meet as he took 3rd in the 3200m and 4th in the 1600m. His 1600m was particularly impressive going 4:13.60 for a major lifetime best in the event. Competing at the Last Call Invite on Sunday, will Werner go all out?
Ray Meyer High School Girls Mile
With most of the states elite's in the Women's Championship Mile, the High School Mile should open the doors for a few new names to emerge. Isabella Terry out of Hinsdale Central is your top seed time in the event after she ran 5:24.30 at the Meet Of Champions last week. If this race becomes a footrace expect Terry to be the favorite to win as she was part of her teams 14th place state 4x400m team.
Terry's teammate Sarah Fischer will also be in the mix on Saturday night. Fischer enters with a 5:28.83 in the 1600m that she ran last week, she can surprise some people here.
Hailey Rieckelman of St. Ignatius will try and defend her home track here as she comes in with a seed of 5:29.00. The Wolfpack runner was part of their state qualifying 4x800m team that ended up getting DQed at state, expect her to want to end her season off right.
Womens Magis Mile Championship
While this doesn't hold any "pro runners" this race is a great opportunity for some elite high schoolers to compete against an NCAA D1 National Qualifier. That runner happens to be Northern Illinois standout star, Ashley Tutt. Tutt last competed at the national meet a few weeks ago where she ran the 10K and took 22nd place. The last time that Tutt ran a mile was this past February at the MAC Indoor Championships where she ran 4:49.09. Can she run closer to 4:45 here?
Cross-Country Standout, Abby Vanderkooi of Muskegon Western Michigan Christian has been having a low-key 2021 Track Season winning boost of her races, but her fastest time only being 5:07.48, she will look to break the 5:00 barrier for the first time this season here. Last season, indoors the Michigan native ran 4:48.62 in the 1600m, can she replicate that at Magis?
Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central will also enter this competition field with a chance to win the race. Part of a very great running family, McCabe has had a career season running great during the state series, including a 4:52.23 performance at the State Meet. Can she go sub 4:50 under the lights?
Lexi Affolter of St. Ignatius will be looking to looking to defend her home facility one last time before she heads off to Butler in this spectacular. Affolter also ran great under the state meet lights going 4:52.65 at the spectacle. She will try and go sub 4:50 as well.
Mens Magis Mile Championship
The story has been the same in this race as it has been the last few years, will we finally see the first sub 4:00 outdoor mile within the city of Chicago's limits? The 4:00 barrier was broken indoors back in the early 60s by St. Ignatius grad Tom O'Hara which was a world record indoor mile at the time with a 3:56. This may be the best field that the meet managers have to put together to attempt this accomplishment.
The top seed time in the field comes from Lane Tech grad, David Timlin. He comes in with a PR of 3:57.69 and has been looking to run a PR for awhile, will he be able to go sub 3:55 and run the fastest mile in Chicago's History?
Jack Anstey who just graduated from Illinois State will be looking to redeem himself after a heartbreaking finish at the NCAA Prelims meet where he just missed out on qualifying for nationals. The Australian was a first-team All-American back in 2019 and has a sub 4:00 mile to his name.
Sean Torpy of Miami (OH) returns again to Magis Miles with a nice sub 4:00 Mile under his belt. One of the best middle-distance runners in Illinois High School History, he will look to improve here.
Jacob Dumford is the wildcard, breaking 4:00 in the mile last year unexpectedly while battling injury, Dumford is healthy and ready to run it again. Dumford will also be racing at the 800m Jamboree this upcoming Monday.