By Michael Newman

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If you are passionate about distance races run on the track, the Batavia Fieldhouse will be the place to be on March 9 for the Fourth Annual Batavia Distance Madness Meet. We should see some state best times in the six championship races that will be contested on this fast Batavia 200-meter track.

Here is a look at each of the six events that will take place on Friday night. The first race was start at 5:15 PM.

MEET INFORMATION | MEET HEAT SHEETS

3200 Meter Run

Girls

Meet Record – 10:43:08 – Sarah Schmitt, Naperville North – 2017

2018 Illinois Season Best – 10:56.11 – Abby Lopez, Argo

Preview – Section 2 of this Girls event could be the race of the night in this meet. Naperville North’s Sarah Schmitt is the defending champion and will look to make it two years in a row. Chances are good that she will break her own record. Chances are good that she could run in the 10:30’s range especially after running 4:56 for 1600-meters at North Central College eight days ago. She made that race look easy. Teammates Hannah Ricci and Alex Morris were behind Schmitt in that race running 5:05. Do not be surprised if you see them running in the 10:40’s range.

The wildcard in this race is Argo’s Abby Lopez. This is her first season of running track. She stepped onto the centerstage last fall first dominating a great field at the 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional in winning that race. She finished sixth the following week in the 3A State Meet. The sophomore has only one 3200-meter race under her belt this winter. In that race, she won by 42 seconds running a state leading time of 10:56.11. It will be interesting to see how she runs this race Friday night.

All-state runner last fall Breanna Cohoon of Downers Grove South ran 11:18 last week at North Central College and could push for one of the top spots. Her teammate Melissa Weidner or Yorkville’s Nicole Greyer and Kailey Fox could be some of the other runners that could contest for a top five finish.

Boys

Meet Record – 9:24.19 – Caleb Washington, Shepard – 2017

2018 Illinois Season Best – 9:09.74 – Zach Kinne, Neuqua Valley

Preview – This event is wide open. Bolingbrook’s Tyler Cushing ran 9:37.25 at the Proviso West Invitational and has the top time in this field. The one runner to keep an eye on in this race is Kaneland’s Matthew Richtman. The 2A State Cross Country champion from last fall has showed his fitness running 9:37.56 on this track last week. He showed his speed by running a 1:58.9 opening leg of the 3200 Meter Relay Monday at the DGS Mustang Relays. If it comes down to a kicker’s race, Richtman has the wheels to win this race.

Akhil Ghosh of Downers Grove South ran 9:37.36 in the Proviso West race right behind Cushing and will be in the front in this race. After those three runners, it is anyone’s guess who could push for a top three spot. Matthew Blanco of Oswego East and Colin Costello of Lyons Township could be one of the runners leading the pack. I would also watch for Evan Eckels of Palatine, Ian Repking of Glenbard West, and Ryan Kredell of Geneva that could be some of the runners that will be pushing for a top five finish.

800 Meter Run

Girls

Meet Record – 2:14.57 – Michaela Hackbarth, Downers Grove South – 2016

2018 Illinois Season Best – 2:13.89 – Katelynne Hart, Glenbard West

Preview – Five sections on the Girls side of this event. It could come down to five runners that could win this event. Brooke Delahanty of Rosary has the top seed time in the event. She ran 2:20.78 at the Vanderbilt Invitational at the beginning of February. Marygrace Golden of Batavia has not run an open 800 this winter but has been a part of three of their 3200 Meter Relay teams and has a personal best of 2:21.

This will be the second meet of the season for LaSalle-Peru’s Rachel Hickey. She does have the big race resume of winning the 2A State title in 2016, second-place at state in 2017, and finishing second at both the Festival of Miles and Distance Night in Palatine last spring. She does have a 2:13.69 personal best. It would not surprise me if she is under 2:17 even though this is the first time she steps to the track in 2018.

Becky Versaskas of Downers Grove South and Cailyn Biegalski of Glenbard East ran strong splits last Monday at the DGS Mustang Relays. I would not count either of these two runners out in this race.

Boys

Meet Record – 1:58.03 – Brian Kuehl, Geneva – 2017

2018 Illinois Season Best – 1:55.73 – Jacob Bryan, Illini West

Preview – This could be the best of the three Boys’ championship races in this meet. The meet record of 1:58.03 should fall in this race. The field is that good to accomplish that. Ed Worthem of Fremd has run 2:00.78 winning at Huntley two weeks ago along with having a 1:55.86 personal best. It could be Riley Wells of Rockford Christian that comes in first in this race. The junior is the defending 1A State champion in this event. He is coming off a win at Illinois State last week running 4:26.95 for 1600-meters. He has the best finish of all the field. If he is in position entering the final lap, he could be tough to beat.

I would also keep an eye of Lyons Township’s Charles Harders in this race. He is having a great indoor season including running 4:21 for the 1-Mile Run in winning the Proviso West Invitational two weeks ago. At Monday’s DGS Mustang Relays, he opened his team’s 3200 Meter Relay with a fast 1:55.1 split. It will be the first race for Jones College Prep’s Jeremy Brown who has a 1:59.32 personal best. He could be a runner to watch in this race.

Grant Jensen of Prairie Ridge does have that personal best of 1:53 at last spring’s Midwest Distance Classic. He could be a threat in this race. Marmion Academy’s Michael Ronzone won the 1600 Meter Run in last year’s meet but steps down a distance on Friday. He does have a 1:55 personal best and could be a runner to watch. Shepard’s Brian Hauser and Dalvin Humphrey, Lincoln-Way Central’s Zak Hutchinson and Chad Montague, and Batavia’s Sean Adams are also in the first and fastest section. Some or all these runners could dip under two-minutes in this race.

1600 Meter Run

Girls

Meet Record – 4:49.30 – Judy Pendergast, Naperville North – 2016

2018 Illinois Season Best – 4:56.05 – Sarah Schmitt, Naperville North

Preview – It is hard to imagine that Judy Pendergast’s record falls in this race. The field in the championship race, however, is good. A winning time of under five-minutes is not out of the question.

Downers Grove South’s Erin Reidy may be one of the hot runners in this race. After running a sub-par 5:30 at this distance last week at the NCC Cardinal Classic, she came back on Monday to run a 2:13.9 split for 800-meters in leading her team to the win at the DGS Mustang Relays. This sophomore is running with confidence making her a threat in this race. Naperville North’s Claire Hill might be the most improved runner on her team and perhaps the state. Hill ran side-by-side with Katelynne Hart at last week’s NCC Cardinal Classic running 2:14 for 800-meters. She has run 5:12 this season. Maybe close to five-minutes is in her future for Friday’s race. Yorkville’s Emily Eberhart is the top seeded runner in this race having run 5:06.89 to finish fourth last Thursday at North Central College. Eberhart, along with teammate Helena Kleronomos, could both finish among the top runners in this race.

Hinsdale Central has five runners in the last section of this race and deservedly so. There could be a Red Devilette finishing first Friday night. Kayla Byrne surprised some by running 5:08 a month ago at York and could challenge for the win in this race. Grace McCabe and Reilly Revord both ran under 2:20 for 800-meters last week at North Central College. Both have personal bests under five-minutes and thrive in big meets. This could be one of the races that either of these two could win. McKenna Revord and Bella Pisani are also in the championship section. Both could run under 5:10 Friday.

It could be Minooka’s Emily Shelton that could end up the winner. Shelton ran a solo 10:58 last week at North Central College for 3200-meters showing that her fitness level is ready for a fast race at Batavia. Katherine Olsen of DeKalb finished third in last year’s race here and has a 5:01 personal best for the distance. She likes to push the pace. She could make this fast pace and possibly win. Northside Prep’s Sara McCoy and Lincoln-Way Central’s Mackenzie Brownrigg are also running in this section. Both could run under 5:10.

Boys

Meet Record - 4:17.47 – Keagan Smith, Huntley – 2015

2018 Illinois Season Best – 4:17.43 – Zach Kinne, Neuqua Valley

Preview – 13 high quality runners in the championship section make this hard to predict the winner. A time close to 4:20 or under is possible.

Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central could be one of the runners that could win this. He has a personal best of under 4:20. He has run 4:26 so far this season. He opened Naperville Central’s 3200 Meter Relay on Monday with a 1:55.3 split. Downers Grove South’s Eddie Siuda and Stephen Pipilas are also possibilities for the win. Siuda ran 4:25.64 for the 1-Mile Run in finishing third at Proviso West two weeks ago. Pipilas ran 9:32.49 in that meet for 3200-meters.

This will be the first big race of the season for Geneva’s Josh Rodgers. He ran on a 160-meter track to start his season in February. The junior is coming off a great cross-country season in which he finished tenth at state. Glenbard West’s Rory Cavan also had a good end to his cross-country season finishing 14^th at state. The junior ran 9:46 for 3200-meters on this track two weeks ago. He will challenge in the front in this race. Batavia’s Adam Kennedy and Damian Rodriguez will be in front of their home crowd in this race. Kennedy finished second at this distance on this track running 4:30. Rodriguez finished third in that race.

Brett Haffner of Hinsdale South ran 4:27.49 to finish ahead of the two Batavia runners last week. That was after running on his team’s 3200 Meter Relay. A fresh Haffner could be a threat in the front in this race. Jadon Conroy of Huntley looked strong two weeks ago on his home track running 4:26 to finish second behind Jacobs’ Zach Albrecht. Keep an eye on Conroy. He could be pushing this pace early and could end up with the win.

Riley Wells is also entered in this race coming back from the 800 Meter Run. If he runs, a tactical race could benefit this junior. Sean Maison of Wheaton-Warrenville South is coming off a 4:27 win last week at York. Don’t dismiss him in this race. Anthony Hurgoi of Dundee-Crown pushed the pace in last year’s race before running 4:24 to finish seventh. He only has one meet under his belt this season. He does have a 4:20.16 personal best at this distance. Keep an eye on him. Campbell Koch of St. Charles East finished third at 800-meters last week at York and has a 4:25 personal best. He could be a surprise in this race.