Photo: Sarah Schmitt and Alex Morris lead during the 1600 Meter Run (Laura Duffy Photo)

Naperville North senior runs state fastest time in 1600; Hart runs impressive double; Sheldon rolls in 3200 Meter Run

By Michael Newman

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Naperville – Every time that Naperville North’s Sarah Schmitt passed the start/finish line on the Al B. Carius Track at the Res-Rec Center, she stopped her watch and looked to see what it said. She must have liked what it said since she ran her pace like clockwork.

Schmitt pulled away from her teammates Alex Morris and Hannah Ricci in the second half of the 1600 Meter Run to win with the state’s fastest time in 2018 (4:56.05).

This was not a time trial for Schmitt, but it did seem like it at the end. This was not a soft field as you had runners such as Lindsey Payne and Katie Hohe of Glenbard West, Isabelle Christensen of Oswego, and Emily Eberhart of Yorkville among the field in the last section of this race.

It did not matter to Schmitt as she had the lead by the second-turn cut in. The first 200-meters in 36 seconds, 400-meters in 73 seconds, the 800-meters in 2:29. She did not break away from the field at the start. It was a methodical slicing of this field slowly breaking away. It was all about the pace keeping the same stride the third portion of the race. Most of the runners struggled from the 800-meters to 1200-meters. Not Schmitt. The same stride, the same speed, the same checking of her watch as she won the race by nine seconds ahead of Ricci (5:05.14) and Morris (5:05.23). The race was fast being that it was run on a 200-meter track as the first six finishers were all under 5:08. Emily Eberhart was the first non-Naperville North runner across the line as she finished fourth (5:06.89). It was the Glenbard West duo of Lindsey Payne (5:07.60 and Katie Hohe (5:08.88) that were next.

North Central College and Naperville are one of the distance mecca’s in the Chicago area especially with the success that the North College Men’s Cross-Country team have had. It was no surprise that the distance races took center stage in this meet.

Schmitt’s 1600 Meter Run race was fantastic. Katelynne Hart was close to that with two fast 800-meter efforts within a span of an hour. It started with Hart’s anchor leg in the 3200 Meter Relay. Katie Hohe gave Glenbard West the lead early with her 2:21.1 opening leg. It was Isabelle Christensen of Oswego that made it close on the second leg of the race as she closed on Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne in the 400-meters. Payne held Christensen off again lengthening the lead for the Hilltoppers. Haley Yaeger lengthened the leading margin on the third leg of the race. Hart was not challenged on the final leg, but it was the ease of how Hart looked as she ran a 2:13.7 anchor split. Glenbard West finished with the fastest time in the state (9:27.59) as they finished ahead of Downers Grove South (9:44.48). Three other teams were under 9:50 with Naperville North (9:48.54) ahead of Oswego (9:49.59), and Yorkville (9:49.81).

Hart was challenged in the closing section of the 800 Meter Run. Naperville North’s Clare Hill stuck on Hart’s shoulder just before 200-meters into the race. The two passed 400-meters in 67.8 moving away from the rest of the field. It looked during the race that Hill would make a surge trying to pass the Glenbard West sophomore. Each little move was countered by a Hart response refusing to let her pass. Hart’s final surge down the stretch was the difference as she crossed the line with a state leading time of 2:13.89. Hill’s race showed she has stepped into the spotlight as she was less than a second behind Hart (2:14.86). Hinsdale Central showed that they will have a great 3200 Meter Relay outdoors as they had the next three runners in all under 2:20. Grace McCabe led the group (2:17.96) followed by Reilly Revord (2:18.85) and Kayla Byrne (2:19.17).

Hill also anchored Naperville North’s 1600 Meter Relay. She was 20-meters behind Wheaton-Warrenville South when she received the baton. She caught South’s Sarah Kulkarni 150-meters into the final leg. She pulled away with the fastest 400-meter (open or split) in the meet 58.8 seconds. That finish gave Naperville North the win in their section and second overall in the event (4:07.80). Hinsdale Central had the event’s fastest time in their win in the last section (4:06.59).

Minooka’s Emily Shelton made it look easy as she defended her title in this meet in the 3200 Meter Run. Just like Schmitt’s race in the 1600, Sheldon just slowly pulled away from the pack keeping the same pace. She passed through 1600-meters in 5:29 on her way to a winning 10:58.61 time. That gives her the second fastest time at that distance in the state. Third if you count Hart’s 2-Mile time at Kentucky. Samantha Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville-South moved away from Hinsdale Central’s McKenna Revord in the final 200-meters to finish second (11:13.51) ahead of Revord (11:14.47) and Downers Grove South’s Brenna Cohoon (11:18.28).

Naperville North scored 91.5 points to win the team title. Halle Bieber was the team’s only double winner. The 3A champ in the 300 Hurdles last spring had little trouble in winning the 55 Meter Hurdles (8.64) ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Ariana Miller. Bieber came back to win the 400 Meter Dash (1:01.36) holding off Minooka’s Eryn Renison winning by only three hundredth of a second. Naperville North also had an individual win from Sarah Wastek in the Shot Put (39-0).

Bloom Township finished second (59 points) led by the individual wins in the 55-Meter Dash by Constance Daniel (7.38) and Hannah Morris in the Long Jump (17-11.5).

Only two points separated the next four teams led by Wheaton-Warrenville South finishing third (54 points). Lyons Township and Naperville Central both scored 53 points tying for fourth-place. Glenbard West scored 52 points for sixth-place.