By Michael Newman

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The next two weekends are the time-period that Illinois High School runners gear their focus to during the summer. It is two meets that get you to need to be on your game to get you to Detweiller Park in November and your assigned spot on the starting line for the IHSA State Meet.

The 15 1A regional meets in Class 1A that take place on Saturday, to be honest with you, will not have that much drama. 7 teams qualify out of regionals in 1A, with 5 individuals advancing that are not on qualifying teams. There should not be that many surprises on the teams advancing. In this preview, we will look at five of the most interesting regionals to watch for.

Here are five 1A meets to keep an eye on this Saturday.

1 – Eureka Regional @ Lower Lake Park

With the IHSA deciding to move state powers Monticello and St. Teresa into this sectional complex, this regional becomes the toughest of the three feeding into the Elmwood Sectional. #5 Monticello could be the team to watch in the Girls race. Their first four runners, led by Hannah Offenback and Grace Talbert, could have four runners in the first ten in this race. The key is making sure their fifth runner comes in within the top 17 runners. #7 Eureka will be on their home course and provide the Sages with the stiffest competition. Emma Argo should be one of the individual favorites in this race. The Hornets could have a good two through four pack in the teens. Moving their fifth runner closer to that pack will be something to watch. #13 Stanford Olympia has no “superstars, but runs with a nice pack led by Payton Wille. Keeping her in the top ten and keeping their team split under 60 seconds moves them that much closer to Monticello and Eureka. Veronica Hein will be one of the runners to watch in the front for #11 St. Teresa. Getting their top five in the first 30 spots could move them past Olympia. Deer Creek Mackinaw, #24 El-Paso Gridley, and #25 Tremont could escape out of this high-powered regional. Good teams like Maroa-Forsyth and Heyworth could be on the outside looking in by the end of this race.

The Boys race mirrors that of the Girls race with the power that could be in this field. #8 Monticello has the fire power with Garrett Dixon and Alec Helmuth expected to be in the front. Their gap between these two and the rest of the pack has averaged near 60 seconds this fall. The Sages need to have 5 runners in the first 22 to win this regional title. #6 Deer Creek-Mackinaw relies on tight pack running led by Gary Cates. They could have a split on their top 5 of under 30 seconds. Their key is getting at least one runner in the top ten as well as their scorers across the line in the top 17. #17 Eureka could get Jack Cook and Kyle Johnson in the top ten. #15 El Paso-Gridley looked strong on this course last week led by Noah Smith and Bo Halvorsen. Top ten finishes from them as well as their top 5 in the first 30 could solidify a qualifying spot for them. Tremont, St. Teresa, Clinton, and Stanford Olympia will be fighting for the three final qualifying spots. The individual race should be a good one with Monticello’s Garrett Dixon and St. Teresa’s Jackson Stewart challenging for the win.

2 – St. Thomas More Regional @ St. Thomas More HS, Champaign

The top two 1A Girls teams face off once again in this regional. #1 Tolono Unity has the edge in this meet led by race favorite Jordan Harmon. Their pack just needs to be in the top 14 at the end. #2 St. Joseph-Ogden is just a step behind Tolono in this race led by Sam Mabry and Faith Houston. They could also have 5 runners in the top 15. The Spartans just need to have Houston and Mabry ahead of Tolono’s #2 runner. Fran Hendrickson should be one of the front runners in this race and will lead #17 St. Thomas More to a top three finish.

It could be closer than people think in the Boys race between #4 St. Joseph-Ogden and #16 Urbana University. It will be a matter of which team can get their fifth runner in first. The Spartans could have three runners finish in the top five led by Wyatt Wolfersberger. U-High could expect to see Henry Kraatz, Aryan Lalwani, and Nicolas Ramkumar finish in the top 10. U-High will need to have their top 5 in the first 14 to win the regional title. SJO getting their top four runners in the first ten to secure that win. #19 Tuscola has come on strong this year led by Michael Holmes and could challenge for a top three team finish.

3 – Winnebago Regional @ Fuller Forest Preserve, Winnebago

#12 Rockford Christian and #16 Johnsburg will be the teams to watch in the Girls race. Rockford Christian could have 5 runners finish in the top 20 led by Madison Franseen. Johnsburg will have Sam Schmitt and Ashley Molidor in the top ten. Getting their third runner into the top 15 and top 5 in the first 20 gets them closer to Rockford Christian. Winnebago could challenge led by individual favorite Natalia Martino.

#5 Rockford Christian, led by individual favorite Riley Wells, look to have the slight edge in the Boys race ahead of #24 Winnebago and Marengo. Winnebago could have four runners in the top ten but will need to close their gap between four and five. Wells and Johnsburg’s Tim Bertulis should challenge for the individual win.

4 – New Athens Regional @ Okaw Valley Park

Freeburg could sweep the team titles in this regional meet.

In the Girls race, #10 Freeburg and #15 Breese Mater Dei should be the teams to watch. Freeburg will have individual race favorite Breanna Chandler leading a team that will need to get their top 5 in the first 18 runners. Mater Dei has a pack like Freeburg led by Elyse Faust. Getting their pack in before Freeburg’s will be a key. New Athens and Althoff Catholic should be the next two teams to finish.

#9 Freeburg is the team to beat in the Boys race led by Charlie Parrish. If this team is healthy, 5 runners in the top 12 is a possibility. #23 Trenton-Wesclin finished second behind Freeburg at last Saturday’s Cahokia Conference. They could get closer in this race but Columbia and Breese Mater Dei could be surprises. The individual race should be fun to watch with Parrish, Luke Goebel of Mater Dei, and Justin Mumford of Trenton-Wesclin challenging for the win.

5 – Kankakee McNamara Regional @ Kankakee Community College

This is a sneaky good regional especially in the Girls race with three 1A ranked teams in the field. #4 Herscher has a solid pack led by Jillian Milton that could place 5 runners in the first 15. #8 McNamara could sweep the first 3 spots led by Eden Rainbolt. Their key is getting their top 5 in the first 20. The team battle could come down to under five points between these two teams. #14 Beecher will have Hailey Janssen in the top five. Their split on five needs to go under 100 seconds to challenge McNamara and Herscher. Illiana Christian, Clifton Central, Chicago Christian, Peotone, and Paxton-Buckley Loda are six teams that will challenge for the final five qualifying spots.

#11 Clifton Central should be the Boys race favorites led by Jeremy Snejberg and Isaiah Ditta. They could get 5 runners in the top 20 if they can keep their split under 67 seconds for their top 5. Paxton-Buckley-Loda and Herscher will challenge for the second spot. Herscher’s Tyler Howard could be the individual runner to watch.