Hart goes after another fast time; Jacobs and Hall look for fast times in Boys race

Photo: It could be Katelynne Hart vs. the clock in the Girls Varsity race (Eric Hofmann photo)

By Michael Newman

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We found out in last Saturday’s First to the Finish Invitational that the conditions were almost perfect on the Detweiller Park course.

Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township produced the fastest time ever (14:02.3) for an invitational race during the regular season on this fabled layout.

Earlier in the day at the Harvey Braus Lake Park Lancer Invitational, Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart ran 16:08.9 to win her race by more than a minute. It was the second-fastest time ever on that course, missing Judy Pendergast’s record (16:05) set in 2015. Three weeks later, Pendergast came to the Detweiller Park Course and set a state meet record (15:53.8).

Is a course record in the cards for Hart?

It is a question that will be answered at 9:40 a.m. Saturday morning as she toes the lie with the rest of her Glenbard West teammates.

The 30th edition of this meet should be one of the best in the history of this event. This meet is named after Richard Spring, who graduated from Bergan High School in Peoria in 1982. He ran on Bergan’s two state championship teams in 1980 and 1981. He finished third individually in the 1A State Meet in 1981. Richard went on to compete in Cross Country and Track for Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. While he was a member of the Augustana track team, Richard died in the spring of 1985 while he was a junior. The meet started as the Spaulding Invitational in 1982 up until 1987 when the school consolidated with Bergan to become Notre Dame High School. Close to 70,000 runners have participated in this race.

All eyes will be on Hart as she looks to defend her 2016 win. Glenbard West will look to repeat for the Girls team title.

The Boys race at 11 a.m. should be wide open. Defending state champion teams Neuqua Valley in 3A and Mahomet-Seymour in 2A lead a loaded field that includes Wheaton-Warrenville South, York, and Hersey. The individual race could be a fast one as Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs and Arthur-Lovington’s Logan Hall should set the pace.

Here is a look at each of the Varsity Races that will take place on Saturday.

Box Assignments

Girls Varsity – 9:40 a.m.

Teams - 3A (10) - #2 Glenbard West, #8 Oswego, #9 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #13 York, #16 Lincoln-Way Central, #18 Neuqua Valley, #20 Palatine, #21 Maine South, #22 Stevenson, #23 Hersey; 2A (5) - #8 Mahomet-Seymour, #14 Rosary, #16 Normal University, #19 Chatham-Glenwood, #23 Peoria Notre Dame; 1A (5) - #2 St. Joseph-Ogden, #5 Monticello, #8 Springfield Lutheran, #9 Freeburg, #16 St. Thomas More;

O’Fallon, Geneva, Grant, Schaumburg, Oswego East, Marist, Waubonsie Valley, Lake Zurich, St. Charles East, Oak Park-River Forest, St. Charles North, Lake Forest, Downers Grove North, Loyola Academy, St. Ignatius Prep, Springfield, Wheaton Academy, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Outlook – Glenbard West should have the big edge with the potential of Katelynne Hart, Lindsey Payne, and Katie Hohe finishing in the top ten or better. Let’s watch to see what kind of pack they run on two through five in this race. Last week, it improved by 20 seconds.

It is anyone’s guess who will be in the second spot. Oswego, led by Isabelle Christiansen and Grace Pagone, had a great race last week at Joliet and will look to duplicate that effort this weekend. Wheaton-Warrenville South is young with no seniors in their top seven. The team does have the talent, led by Maria Rucoba, to take the second spot of they can keep their five-runner split under 60 seconds with Rucoba in the top ten.

York had four-runner within 18 seconds of each other led by Sarah May last week at Lake Park. This is a team that could be a surprise. Palatine and Stevenson have the talent to be in the top three. That would not be a surprise. Maine South, with Olivia Niziolek leading the way, had a bad race last week at Lake Park. Watch for them to bounce back at Detweiller. Mahomet-Seymour has been on the rise in the 2A rankings this fall. It is possible that the Bulldogs finish in the top ten. St. Joseph-Ogden is ranked No. 2 in 1A. In this meet, they usually keep their Frosh/Soph runners down on the lower level. When the results come out, looking at both races will give us an indication of how well this team runs.

So, who will get second in the individual race? Nothing is a lock in this world but with the way that Katelynne Hart has been running this season, the sophomore from Glenbard West winning is a good probability. She ran 16:08 last week at Lake Park. That usually translates as eight to ten seconds faster on the Detweiller Park course. With the ground conditions being hard and fast, we could see a winning time close to 16 minutes or perhaps under.

We have not seen Madison Marasco of Schaumburg race this season. This meet could be her debut and could be in the top five if she is on the starting line. Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne and Katie Hohe have been in the top five in both races they have been in this fall. Saturday’s races could be the third. St. Charles North’s Natalie Galvan has showed improvement this fall as she went under 18 minutes last Saturday at Lake Park. Keep an eye on her.

Maria Rucoba of Wheaton-Warrenville South, Danielle Osmon of Grant, Olivia Niziolek of Maine South, and Isabelle Sparreo of Stevenson all are capable of finishing in the top five along with the Oswego duo of Isabelle Christiansen and Grace Pagone.

Boys Varsity – 11 a.m.

Teams - 3A (11)- #2 Neuqua Valley, #4 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #6 York, #7 Hersey, #10 Plainfield South, #14 St. Charles East, #15 Sandburg, #21 Palatine, #22 Barrington, #23 Naperville Central, #24 Lake Zurich; 2A (6) - #1 Mahomet-Seymour, #2 Normal University, #4 Chatham-Glenwood, #9 Springfield, #11 Deerfield, #24 Hinsdale South; 1A (3) - #4 Freeburg, #8 St. Joseph-Ogden, #15 Monticello;

O’Fallon, Oswego East, Oak Park-River Forest, Naperville North, Geneva, Plainfield East, Oswego, Bartlett, Loyola Academy, Lane Tech, Grayslake Central, Taylorville, Wheaton Academy, Marist, St. Thomas More, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Niles Northridge Prep

Outlook – The dynamics of the team race in this meet are fascinating in the Boys Varsity level. Neuqua Valley is the top ranked team in this field led by Zach Kinne and Ryan Kennedy who could be among the first ten. The key is the pack behind these two runners. The team’s five-runner split at Hinsdale was 38 seconds off Kinne. Watch in this race to see this team pack it up even more.

Neuqua Valley’s DVC rival Wheaton-Warrenville South has a good pack going this season. They had their first three runners within three seconds of each other last week at Wauconda with William Hauenstein and Scott & Sean Maison leading the way. Their top four split has averaged 18 seconds in their two invitational races. The Tigers could win this meet if they have their top five runners within 40 seconds of each other. Last week at Wauconda, it was at 56 seconds.

The York camp has been tight-lipped whether Charlie Kern will make his season debut. Even without him in the lineup, York has displayed some strong pack running and could be a threat in this race. The Dukes had a 16-second split on their top four last week at Joliet led by Sean MacGregor and Tim Stevenson. Jackson Bode, who missed last week due to ACT testing, will be back and should be with his two teammates. A split of 30 seconds or under on the top five could give York the win in this meet.

Hersey is the one team to keep an eye on in this race. This team finished second at Fenton behind Glenbard West but ran Max Svienty and Josh Methner in the Frosh/Sop race. Their pack in the varsity race, led by Ryan Buch, Nate Mayo, and Ryan Thiesen, had an eight second split on their top four. That split could spread out in this meet with more competition in the race. The Huskies do have six runners that could finish in the top 20 that could cause problems for the rest of the teams in this field.

There could be a side battle in this competition with three of the first four teams in 2A in this field. Top ranked Mahomet-Seymour did not have their #5 runner Evan Burge in their lineup as they finished second behind Mundelein at Springfield. The Bulldogs have a strong first two with Ryan Hodge and Mathias Powell leading the way. The key is lowering their five-runner split in the 30- to 35-second range. That could get them into the top five in the team standings. Normal University was on this course last week winning the 2A race at First to the Finish. We will see how the Pioneers match up to Mahomet led by Jared Schuckman. Chatham-Glenwood did not have Drey and Dathan Maton running last week at Springfield. Add those two runners in along with Cooper Petersen and the Titans could be among the top ten teams in this race.

Plainfield South, led by Christian Knowlton, showed how good they are with a 39-second split on five and winning at Joliet ahead of York. This team could be a surprise in this race if they can keep their five-runner split under 34 seconds.

I see the individual race coming down to a great dual between Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs and 1A Arthur Lovington’s Logan Hall for the win. Jacobs looked good in running 14:34 at Lyons Township two weeks ago but was a world away from Danny Kilrea so it seemed in that race. Hall has been undefeated this season and is running with confidence from last track season when he ran 9:05 for 3,200 meters. This is a different Hall than we saw at this time at this meet last year.

It is anyone’s guess who could be in the top ten since there are so many talented runners. Nick Lanning of Barrington looked strong in winning the Lake County Invitational more than two weeks ago. Zach Kinne was in charge of his race at Hinsdale and could be towards the front with Jacobs and Hall.

Josh Rodgers of Geneva has been running good early in the season and could be in the top ten along with Mahomet-Seymour’s Ryan Hodge and Mathias Powell. York’s Sean MacGregor, Jackson Bode, and Tim Stevenson could all be towards the front along with Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Sean & Scott Maison and William Hauenstein, Ryan Kennedy of Neuqua Valley, Ryan Buch and Ryan Thiesen of Hersey, Charlie Parrish of Freeburg, Jared Shuckman of Normal University, Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central, Patrick Burns of Lake Zurich, Matthew Vietzen of Oak Park-River Forest, Wyatt Wolfersberger of St. Joseph-Ogden, Garrett Dixon of Monticello, and Cole Adesso of St. Charles East.