Sunny Weber and Zane Meyer are the prestigious winners of the girls and boys Detweiller at Dark races.
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PHOTOS I VIDEOS I RESULTS
Peoria, IL---
Every year, the spectacle known as the Detweiller At Dark, held at the Mecca grounds known as Detweiller Park, never fails to impress. Once again, the electricity flowed from the undercard to the featured high school girls and boys races.
Rising eighth grader Audrey Dickinson from Illini Bluffs is someone you should watch in the future. Dickinson completed her seventh-grade season with two titles at the 1A IESA Championships (800 and 1600 meters). Now, she can add an impressive win in the junior high girls' 2.1 miles with a time of 12:15.7.
Anthony Garcia of Oswego appears ready for high school after handily winning the boys' junior high school 2.1-mile race with a time of 10:49. Garcia led from the gun at each of the mile check marks: 5:05 and 10:17. From there, the future Oswego East cross country freshman cruised home with an 11-second win. Afterward, he shifted his thoughts toward high school. "I have been at our school running camp, and I hope to make the varsity team this season," he stated.
As the Twilight switched to full-on darkness at the park, it was time for the featured events.
Enter rising junior Sundara Weber, better known as "Sunny," from Sandwich High School.
Weber last competed here in last year's state championship. In that big 2A affair, she took third in the three-mile event in 16:40.
How would this one shake out?
You knew it would be fast when many runners hit the first half mile in the 2:40s. Weber led the first mile in 5:26, four seconds ahead of Ava Jarrell (Sr., Pendleton Heights, IN).
It was a take-no-prison scenario, as Weber kept her foot on the pedal as the race entered the back loop, aka "the Bermuda Triangle." The gap went from four seconds to thirty as Weber rolled past the second mile in 11:00.
Undoubtedly, Weber's solid last half-mile would take down the meet record of 16:49. To accomplish it, Weber would have to navigate through a bit of darkness plus a slew of lapped runners, which prompted the meet director to yell, "Move over to your right!"
Fortunately, a passing lane opened up for Weber straight up the slight incline, and she won in a new record 16:32.2! Remember that it is still July, and the season's biggest meets are several months away. Weber has undoubtedly given her chief competitors something to think about.
The boys' race was a stark contrast to the girls' in that it was competitive and a nail-biter to the end.
Enter Zane Meyer from Edgewood High School. He later admitted that he was motivated to travel from Ellettsville, Indiana because his track season fell short of expectations.
The rising senior wasted no time getting out before the fray. The first mile was a respectable 4:44. A slew of runners closely pursued Meyer as they faded to the back loop.
At 1.75 miles, Meyer appeared to put some separation on the field, and all he needed to do was hold his composure and finish strong.
Things began to tighten up inside the final half mile as Meyer was caught by Jameson Tenopir (Jr., Cary-Grove). Tenopir had the lead with less than 100m remaining. Somehow, Meyer was able to summon one final burst of acceleration, pass Tenopir with meters left to spare, and grab the victory in a personal best of 14:47.
Tenopir shaved over 30 seconds off his previous best and placed second in 14:48.4.