Hart cruises to Girls win; Wheaton-Warrenville South Girls, Neuqua Valley Boys win close team battles

Photo: Dylan Jacobs distanced himself from the pack in winning Boys Individual race

By Michael Newman

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Peoria – It did not feel like a mid-September morning. By the time that the Boys race started at 11 a.m, temperatures had climbed to 82 degrees with the humidity close to 65 percent. The warm weather was not going to slow down Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs or Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart as each of them dominated their individual races Saturday at Detweiller Park.

How serious was the pace during the boys race? In the first 400 meters, Arthur Lovington’s Logan Hall burst to the lead from the left side of the starting line. On the right side, there was Jacobs looking to his left looking for Hall. They found each other near 400 meters into the race and off they went.

This was not an early season conservative pace. Jacobs and Hill pulled the race pack through a blistering 2:09 first 800 meters.

“I wanted to go through the first 800 in 2:15 to 2:18,” Jacobs said. “When I heard 2:09, I thought that I really could not slow down now.”

Jacobs wanted to go through the first mile in 4:35 to 4:36 which he accomplished as he passed through in 4:34. Hall was just a second behind him with the pack led by Neuqua Valley’s Zach Kinne at 4:40.

The heat was starting to effect some of the runners in the field but not Jacobs. There is a moment in every race if you want to win, you make your move. Regardless of the heat, Jacobs made that move in the back triangle. By the time he reached 2-miles in 9:24, he had opened an 18 second lead on Hall with Kinne holding onto third trying to stay within reach of the 1A 3,200-meter champion.

The early pace hit the pack in the final mile. Jacobs came towards the finish not with a strong kick but holding on to his pace he crossed the line in 14:23. It cooler conditions, that time would have been ten seconds faster.

“In the last mile, you have to go up the hill twice,” Jacobs added. “That kind of hurt a little. I think the fast opening and the heat did hurt. I am not trying to complain but I should be able closer much better than that.”

Hall and Kinne maintained their positions in the final mile with Hall (14:37) finishing ahead of Kinne (14:39). Barrington’s Nick Laning (14:46) was the next runner in placing fourth. Jack McNabola of Francis Parker was the surprise of the race. The senior from the small Chicago private school ran 15:36 at the end of last year to finish 28th in the 1A state race. He showed he will be a contender for the 1A crown as he ran 14:47 to finish fifth overall.

It had figured to come down to three schools to battle for the boys team title but few thought it would be that close. Only 13 points separated the first three teams with No. 2 Neuqua Valley surviving with 112 points. Kinne led the Wildcats with his third-place finish. Then came their pack that had a 22-second spread between No. 2 runner Ryan Kennedy (19th) and Michael Madiol (37th).

Fourth-ranked Wheaton-Warrenville South once again displayed their tight pack running in finish second with 119 points. Only four seconds separated top three runners Scott Maison (18th), Sean Maison (19th), and William Hauenstein (21st). The Tigers finished the race with only a 28 second split on their top five.

No. 7 Hersey was another six points back (125 points) to finish third overall. The Huskies had a 40 second split on their top five runners led by the ninth place finish from Josh Methner and 16th place finish of Ryan Theisen. No. 14 St. Charles East with 222 points finished fourth. The Saints only had a three second split on their second through fifth runners. Tenth-ranked Plainfield South edged No. 15 Sandburg for fifth by eight points.

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It was not a matter of Katelynne Hart and running a fast time on the Detweiller Park course. She did not dismember the rest of the field like she did when she ran 16:08 the week before at Lake Park. She did lead wire to wire to win the race in 16:35. She did not wear her spikes but her trusted racing flats like she did many a time during the track season.

“My coach (Paul Hass) told me to go out a little slower to see how I was feeling especially after running hard the past two weekends,” Hart said after her run. “I wore the flats today because I am really hoping for a long season. I just want to make sure that I am staying healthy. I am realizing that every race can’t be pushing as fast as I can.”

Hart’s win was still dominating as she finished 37 seconds ahead of teammate Lindsey Payne. Hampered by illness the first two races of the season, Payne looked strong as she crossed the line in 17:12. Madison Marasco of Schaumburg was in her first race of the 2017 season and she accounted herself nicely running 17:22 to finish third. Then came Stevenson’s Isabel Sparreo in fourth (17:30) followed by Glenbard West’s third runner Katie Hohe in firth (17:38).

If the Boys team was close, the Girls Varsity finish was even tighter with only three points separating the top three teams.

No. 2 Glenbard West has relied on power up front to finish a close second in their first race of the season and the winning last week at Lake Park. The Hilltoppers had again three runners in the first five. It was No. 8 Wheaton-Warrenville South and their pack that matched that up-front fire-power in the front. Both teams scored 128 points to lead the field.

The difference in the race came down to the 33rd place finish by Wheaton-Warrenville South’s fourth-runner Kaitlyn Nenninger and Glenbard West’s fourth runner Chloe Connolly. The two runners were only separated by two tenths of a second. If the places had changed, it would have been Glenbard West that came away with the narrow win.

Instead, it was the Tigers and their tight pack running. Maria Rucoba finished in the top ten with an eighth-place finish. Then came their pack that only had a 9 second spread between their No. 2 runner Samantha Poglitsch (20th) and fifth runner Becca Hauenstein (36th).

No. 21 Palatine was third only three points back with 131 points. It was their pack that had four runners in the top 28 as well as the addition of two freshmen in their top five that got them closer to the front. Freshmen Ann Marie Jordan led the Lady Pirates with a 12th place finish followed by sisters Kate (14th) and Liz Lechowicz (17th) and Lauryn Simons (28th). Freshmen ended the scoring for Palatine with her 60th place finish.

“This race was all part of the process. It was a great performance on such a hot day,” Wheaton-Warrenville South Coach Rob Harvey said. “Our kids really ran well. I am excited for the rest of the season. This is not the end all end. It’s a means to the end. All our levels ran great today. I’m just looking forward to progressing. We go to Michigan next week (Jackson Invitational) and we will try something different. I’m excited.”

Wheaton-Warrenville South also won the team titles on the Frosh/Soph and Open race levels.

It was a battle for the next two team spots between a pair of Oswego schools. Oswego East ran their best race of the year so far finishing fourth (235 points). #8 Oswego scored 262 points to finish fifth.

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