The Distance Night in Palatine Girls Meet Preview


3200m -

Main Event Record: Lauren Pansegrau, Middleton WI - 10:13.91 (2021)

Undercard Record: Ailey Mitchell, Shelbyville - 10:57.66 (2019)

2021 Main Event Champ: Pansegrau

2021 Undercard Champ: Caroline Schoen, Flossmoor (Homewood-F.) - 11:01.28

 -Last year's undercard race provided the state with one of the best breakout performances of the season, an 11:01 major win from Caroline Schoen, who beat the next IL finisher in the event by 37 seconds. Since this performance, Schoen has gone all-state in the 3200m and amassed numerous victories in track and cross country, including a 3A Top Times 1600m title in her first sub-5 performance in 2022. Schoen is no longer an unknown underdog but rather one of the strong favorites to inherit the crown from Lauren Pansegrau.

 The pack in the fastest section of this event will be a crowd to join Schoen, however. The first entry of note is Delaney Fitzgerald (Sr., Normal (University)). Fitzgerald wasn't close to this scene a year ago, but established herself in cross country and has added numerous accolades including an indoor 10:45 at Top Times (runner-up to Becca Heitzig), and a signing with Kansas. Fitzgerald has already PR'ed in all three distance events this brief outdoor season, including a superb 10:41 solo effort in the wind at Bloomington last week. Fitzgerald lacks the closing foot speed that some of the other entrants in this event possess, and Schoen is an assertive racer, so expect those two at the front early in this race.

Peyton Schieppe (Sr., O'Fallon) comes from downstate and could crash the party. Like Fitzgerald, Schieppe is coming off all her best marks lifetime in the recent weeks. This includes a 5:04 run in Missouri on April 9, followed by a 10:46 at home the following week. She joins Schoen and Fitzgerald as the three best bets to run sub-10:40 times in this race.

There is a mix of familiar and fresh names to round the field. XC all-stater Audra Soderlind enters having gone 10:50 at Batavia Distance Madness, and multi-time state champion Lianna Surtz also ran 10:50 indoors to match a set of strong 800's throughout the season up to now. A new name to watch in this field is Sarah Fischer (Jr., Hinsdale (Central)), who has dropped serious time in the last month, including improving her 3200 best from 11:55 to 10:55 during the indoor season.

In section three of four, there is some serious freshman power with Nicole Poglitsch (Wheaton-Warrenville South), Ellie Anderson (Chicago (Latin)), Sofia Arcuri (Park Ridge (Maine South)), Abigail Jordan (Palatine (H.S.)) and Wisconsin's Ellie Robinson (Dodgeville/Mineral Point) all in the section. Anderson in particular is a newcomer to running this track season and could have a big performance in hand.

Veterans Logan Brennan (Jr., Naperville (North)) and Isabella Gonzalez (Jr., Crystal Lake (South)) look to beat out the youngsters in that race.

On the Undercard, the field may appear thinned out on paper, but we need to expect a surprise performance as we saw from Schoen last year. Who will it be? Some candidates include Brenda Torres (Jr., Wheeling), Paige-Elicia Caruth (So., Lake Villa (Lakes)), or Chiara Surtz (Fr., Aurora (Rosary)). Perhaps junior Liliana Bednarek of Batavia, with 2:27/1:04 to her name, will have the wheels to take the undercard as well.