Emaline Foster roars home with a teasing smile during one of the undercard DNIP 2 mile races
RESULTS I VIDEOS I PHOTOS
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The ninth edition of the Distance in Palatine is in the books. As usual, cool to ice cream cold embarked on Palatine High School Stadium, but it did not stop performances from burning up the track. Let's take a look inside:
Undercard-
Freshmen boys mile: The future was presented with the phenom Abe Martin of Morton in the field. He sat in fourth place after the first lap, but turned it up and closed out the field, winning in 4:25.79.
Girls 800 section 2: Adeline Dietrich (So., Palatine Fremd) held off a fleet of runners and was the first and only one to break 2:20 in the undercard section with a time of 2:19.35.
Boys 800 section 2: It was a very slow first 400 that puzzled several coaches on the infield. Evan White (Jr., Rockford Christian) was in 10th place (1:00) before darting in the final 250 and winning in 1:57.64.
Girls mile section 3: Avery Hacker (So., Batavia) took over after the halfway point and powered home in 5:08.81.
Boys mile section 2: It was a tight tilt on the bell lap between Matt McKee (Sr., Chicago Marist), Andrew Kurien (Sr., Rockford Christian), and Finnegan Kelly (Sr., Oak Park-River Forest). Kurien powered ahead off the backstretch and held off Kelly to win in 4:22.96.
Girls 2 mile section 2: You would have thought Emaline Foster went to Palatine HS with the support that she was given during the race. The freshman from Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge chipped away from an early deficit to win in 10:53.48.
Boys 2 mile section 2: Senior Owen Lencki traveled from central Wisconsin in Waupaca in anticipation of running a personal best. He achieved his goal by running 9:20.07 and easily winning by over eight seconds.
Main Event-
Girls 800 section 4: Natalie Nahs (So., Minooka) opened with an enormous personal best and then a top-five mark in the state for the penultimate section, clocking 2:14.29. It would be a great setup for the "championship" section. As expected, the favorite Charlize Trinity-McKenzie (Jr., Cedarburg) took the field, which included Annika Swan (Jr., Chicago St. Ignatius) and Emily Stecky (So., Chicago DePaul Prep) into the deep waters with a blistering first 400 in 61.50. Swan and Stecky did their best trying to stay with Trinity-McKenzie, who continued to apply pressure through 600. Swan faded and left the way for Stecky, who mounted a final charge, but it would not be; McKenzie won her first DNIP title in 2:08.42. Stecky's consolation prize was a state-leading 2:09.58 and perhaps a message for anyone in a crowded 2A state field. Swan runs a 3A best of 2:11.06.
Boys 800 section 4: It would be a contrast to the girls' race despite a strong field that contained Owen Horeni (Jr., Yorkville), Tra'Monti Williams (Jr., Chicago Payton), and Sam Wollak (So., St. Charles East). The opening circuit was a pedestrian 57.43, and it was not what was expected. Horeni picked the pace up significantly with Williams and a few others in tow. Horeni motored home in a season best 1:53.65 for the controlled win. Williams gritted home in 1:54.03.
Girls 2 Mile section 4: It was a great battle through the first half between Mia Sirois (So., Barrington) and Allison Shutler (So., Chicago St. Ignatius), who separated from the field from the gun. Sirois was 5:04 and Shutler 5:09 at the 1600 mark. Sirois would string together a steady diet of 77s per lap in the second half, and finally the dagger 1:15.29, and broke the record, 10:12.93. Shutler valiantly held her island position for second in 10:28.68. Maya Ledesma (Sr., Minooka) led the chase pack for third overall in 10:32.29.
Boys 2 Mile section 4: This was not the most loaded field in recent years, but still strong. Defending 3A state champion Joe Bregenzer (Sr., Barrington) was the big name, along with Alexander Bendana (Sr., St. Louis University), Quinn Davis (Sr., Plainfield North), and Thomas Czerwinski (Sr., Plainfield North)
Girls Mile section 5: Klarke Goranson is just a freshman at Manteno who has emerged into big-time status, it seems, overnight. As quick as the gun went off to signal the start, it was over for the rest of the field. Goranson hit the first circuit in 69.0 and then 2:25 at the halfway point. She held a two-second lead and remained that way through the tape in IL#2 4:52.68. Kyla Babb (Jr., Westmont) was second in 4:54.53. Ali Londrigan (So., Chatham-Glenwood) copped the bronze medal with a time of 4:57.10.
Boys Mile section 4: Simon Lane (Sr., Chicago University) is a very good runner, but it would have been hard for him to win a pre-meet poll for this race. However, races are not run on paper. Perhaps still on a high from the Arcadia Invitational, Lane plotted his race by sitting in the back of the pack for the first half. Ben Crane (Sr., New Trier) led a sluggish opening 400 in 64.9 before giving way to Rory Gaan (Sr., Palatine Fremd) at 2:08.98. Gaan tried to stretch the third quarter, but the pursuers were there. Lane had the best kick and the only one under 60 seconds on the final lap, and the spoils in 4:12.27.