The action will be hot and furious for the annual Peoria Notre Richard Spring Invite
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Over 30 ranked teams (more than half of the 3A continent is here) will battle against a massive field that promises to reach more than 70 teams. It is not a stretch to say that Detweiller could turn into a sweltering blood bath by the afternoon. #2 Hinsdale Central may be a little upset after dropping from the top spot. Plainfield South put on an amazing show last weekend at the First To The Finish Invitational where the Cougars scored 48 points against a stellar field. In it, they put three runners under 15:00 and averaged 14:54 per man. It is hard to believe that any team would be capable of matching that on Saturday. We will see though.
Aside from the Red Devils controlling the tempo whether it's slow or fast pace, five top 10 teams including the #1 2A Grayslake Central will be in the mix with strong packs. Several top 1A schools are in the mix and will have an intra-battle amongst themselves. #1 Normal University will test its mettle against #2 Depaul Prep and #4 Chicago Latin.
On the individual side, the field will welcome an outstanding runner in Connor Burns (Sr., Southern Boone, MO). He is the son of former Wheeling HS standout and All-American at Loyola University Marc Burns. Connor's mother is the former Alaina Crisman and she was also an outstanding athlete. Connor, though, is the center of attention who clocked 3:58.83 for the full mile this past track season. He also has a two-mile best of 8:45 and 14:56 for 5K. He is almost guaranteed to smash that three-mile/5K conversion on Saturday. Daniel Watcke (Sr., Hinsdale Central) and Marcellus Mines (Sr., Joliet West) are undefeated and seem to be the most likely choices to stop Burns.