2022 Richard Spring Invitational Preview

 

The temperatures could be hot on Saturday. So could be the individual races headlined by Grace Schager and Connor Burns.

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

Temperatures in the Peoria area should top out in the mid-80’s by the middle of the day on Saturday. It could get higher earlier in the day from the heat that will be provided north of town at Detweiller Park. 94 teams with over 3000 runners entered are expected to compete in the 34th edition of the Richard Spring Invitational.

 

The individual races again should be the focus in this meet even more so now than they would have been at this time last week. Grace Schager of Glenbard North changed the narrative of the Girls race by running the fastest time in the nation (16:00) in the Harvey Braus Invitational at Lake Park breaking the course record. Could the course record at Detweiller Park of 15:53.8 be in jeopardy? We will find out in the 10 o’clock hour on Saturday morning.

 

Schager finished third in this race a year ago running 16:42. The week before at Lake Park, she ran 16:57. Look what she did last week?

 

More than a month later at the IHSA Class 3A State Meet, the then junior ran 16:41 to finish fourth overall. She has run three races this fall, all of them under 16:31. The defending state champion in the 3A 3200 Meter Run could do something special in the Girls Varsity race.

 

Connor Burns of Southern Boone MO broke 4-minutes for the 1 Mile Run becoming the first high school junior to accomplish that feat since Jim Ryun did that almost 58 years ago.

 

Read Dave Devine’s Article About Connor Burns on DyeStat.com

 

Burns runs for the first time at Detweiller Park on Saturday. It is a misconception that he is just a sub 4-minute miler. The senior from Missouri won the Class 3 State title last fall on the way setting the course record on the Gans Creek State Meet course, a course that his dad, former Missouri Coach Marc Burns, designed.

 

His father, who ran at Loyola University and before that Wheeling High School in suburban Chicago, has run at Detweiller Park running a best of 15:14.6 at the IHSA State Meet in 1985. His son should run faster on Saturday as one of the favorites in this race.

 

Five #1 teams in the state are in this race with 3A top dogs Hinsdale Central Boys and York Girls the favorites for the team title. Prospect, who is nationally ranked along with York, will push the defending 3A champions in the Girls race. Grayslake Central is top ranked with both the Boys and Girls teams. We will get a chance to see how they compare to the 3A schools in this race.

 

The 34th edition of this meet again should be great building on the legacy 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. Over 70,000 runners have participated in this race.

 

Here is a look at the two Varsity Races that will take place on Saturday listing the teams competing in each race along with some of the runners to watch for.

 

Watch the 2021 Varsity Race Highlights BOYS | GIRLS

Richard Spring Invitational Box Assignments | Athletic.Live Results Link

 

Girls Varsity Race – 10:10 AM

 

Teams (25 Ranked Teams)

3A Ranked - #1 York, #2 Prospect, #8 Loyola Academy, #9 Downers Grove North, #10 Palatine, #12 Hinsdale Central, #14 Neuqua Valley, #15 Oswego East, #20 Oswego, #21 Lincoln-Way East, #23 Sandburg, #24 Glenbard West, #25 Lincoln-Way Central, #26 Oak Park-River Forest, #27 St. Charles East

 

2A Ranked - #1 Grayslake Central, #4 Normal University, #10 St. Ignatius Prep, #12 Chatham-Glenwood, #19 Peoria Notre Dame, #24 Payton Prep, #27 Hinsdale South

 

1A Ranked - #3 Rosary, #6 DePaul College Prep, #11 Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

 

Non-Ranked Schools – AA Stagg, Astoria, Bartlett, Belleville West, Chicago University, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Deerfield, Downers Grove South, El Paso-Gridley, Fithian Oakwood, Geneva, Glenbard East, Glenbard North, Grant Community, Hersey, Joliet West, Kenwood Academy, Lake Park, Lake Zurich, Joliet Catholic, Lane Tech, Latin School, Lincoln Park, Lincoln-Way West, Machesney Park Harlem, Mahomet-Seymour, Marist, Monticello, Mother McAuley, Noble ITW Speer, O’Fallon, Pekin, Plainfield East, Plainfield Central, Plainfield South, Providence Catholic, Quincy, Rantoul, Riverdale, South Elgin, St. Charles North, St. Joseph-Ogden, Schaumburg, Shepard, Springfield, Springfield Lanphier, Taylorville, Urbana, Waubonsie Valley, West Aurora, Whitney Young

 

Team Preview – It is York and Prospect going at it again for the second week in a row. One thing to watch is how many individual runners that we see from the two schools in the top 10. York took a big step last week at Lake Park when they lowered their top five split from 73 seconds down to 54 seconds thanks to Lily Beerhalter running 18:06. Bria Bennis, Brooke Berger, and Katherine Klimek are interchangeable in the front though Bennis has been the top runner their first two meets. Michaela Quinn could be in the top 10 or perhaps top 15. Prospect is closer than people think especially when you consider the two frosh/soph runners supplementing the top seven for the Knights. It is doubtful that we see those runners moved up in this meet. Hailey Erickson, Lily Ginsberg, and Cameron Kalaway lead Prospect and could finish in the top 12. The team was within 24 points last week. Let’s see how their split is on their five and if they can get closer than 24 points in a bigger meet.

 

I am convinced that 2A top ranked Grayslake Central will finish in the top five in the team race. I could even see them finish third. That is how good this team is. The Rams are among the top five teams in the state regardless of classification. Sara Armstrong, Ava Henne, and Bella Domier gives this team a solid first three pack. Their top five split at Lake County to start the year was 83 seconds. They did not run their entire top seven at Fenton, their last major invite. Watch for big things from this team in this meet.

 

Loyola Academy will run all their top runners in this race with the exception of projected top runner Morgan Mackie. They still have Ellie Grammas and Jane Lynch to lead the Ramblers. Downers Grove North finished third at Lake Park last week and have some great pack running led by Claire Pyne. Palatine finished third at Hinsdale behind a top 10 finish from Abigail Jordan. Their 2-5 split in that race was 47 seconds. Their pack just needs to be under 60 seconds to Jordan to finish in the top five.

 

Hinsdale Central only finished 11 in their own meet but that was without their top runner Catie McCabe who had to drop out of the race. McCabe is entered in this meet. She will team with Sarah Fischer in the front. The return of Gabby Thanos could give the Red Devilettes a boost. Normal University is ranked #4 in Class 2A. Natalie Bierbaum could be among the top runners in this race. U-High traditionally runs some of their top frosh/soph runners in the lower level race. Let’s see if that develops in this race.

 

Runners to Watch – Grace Schager, Glenbard North – Brooke Johnston, Lake Zurich – Bria Bennis, York – Audra Soderlind, Oswego - Katherine Klimek, York - Holly Johnson, Downers Grove South – Catie McCabe, Hinsdale Central – Natalie Bierbaum, Normal University - Hailey Erickson, Prospect - Brooke Berger, York - Anna Harden, Hersey – Lily Ginsberg, Prospect - Michaela Quinn, York – Sarah Fischer, Hinsdale Central – Carissa Hamilton, Neuqua Valley - Cameron Kalaway, Prospect - Claire Pyne, Downers Grove North – Savannah Franzen, St. Joseph-Ogden – Ellie Grammas, Loyola Academy – Jane Lynch, Loyola Academy - Nikki Chopra, Whitney Young – Katie Stabb, OPRF - Sara Armstrong, Grayslake Central – Morgan Dick, Oswego East - Lilly Eddington, Downers Grove North – Zoe Carter, Normal University – Morgan Sandlund, St. Charles East - Lily Baibak, Waubonsie Valley – Ava Henne, Grayslake Central – Mabry Bruhn, Monticello – Abigail Jordan, Palatine – Norah Dorrance, St. Charles North – Josephine Dziedzic, Payton Prep – Annika Swan, St. Ignatius College Prep

 

Individual Race Preview – Temperatures will be near 80 by the time this race starts. I don’t think that will play a part in this race especially for Grace Schager. The Glenbard North senior broke Judy Pendergast’s course record at Lake Park last week running 16:00. Pendergast’s record was 16:05. History on the Lake Park course and Detweiller Park shows that times are 8 to 10 seconds slower than in Peoria. Pendergast ran close to 12 seconds faster three weeks later in her state race.

 

Adjustments have been made on the Lake Park course that make the difference anywhere from 6 to 8 seconds. Schager is running post season times at the beginning of the season having run 16:31 at St James Farm and then at Lake Park where she ran 16:35 in training flats. She passed by 2-miles last week at 10:55 then flew in with a final 5:05 mile. She may need to be near 10:45 to 10:50 if she is thinking of Detweiller Park course record of 15:53.8. We will have to see how the first mile goes.

 

Brooke Johnston has only raced once this season  but knows how to run fast on this course having a 16:35 best. Audra Soderlind has the tendency to push the pace hard from the gun. We should see her in the front early in this race.

 

I do not know if we will see anyone go with these three runners. Bria Bennis ran 17:12 last week and was 72 seconds behind Schager. I think we see the first three runners then a huge pack that will have a lot of green and light blue in the group.

 

Boys Varsity Race – 10:50 AM

 

Teams (31 Ranked)

3A Ranked - #1 Hinsdale Central,  #5 Oswego East, #8 Palatine, #9 Oak Park-River Forest, #10 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #11 Barrington, #12 Lake Zurich, #14 Hersey, #17 Lane Tech, #18 York, #19 Wheaton North, #20 Sandburg, #21 Jones Prep, #22 Lincoln-Way East, #25 West Aurora, #26 Prospect, #29 O’Fallon

 

2A Ranked - #1 Grayslake Central, #14 Marmion Academy, #19 Mahomet-Seymour, #20 Peoria Notre Dame, #23 Chatham-Glenwood, #29 Northside Prep

 

1A Ranked - #1 DePaul College Prep, #2 Normal University, #3 Latin School, #4 Riverdale, #7 Northridge Prep, #17 St. Joseph-Ogden, #21 Monticello, #22 Chicago University

 

Non-Ranked Schools – AA Stagg, Astoria, Bartlett, Belleville West, Blue Island Eisenhower, Brother Rice, Conant, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, Downers Grove South, El Paso-Gridley, Elgin, Fithian Oakwood, Geneva, Glenbard East, Grant Community, Hinsdale South, Joliet Catholic, Joliet Central, Joliet West, Kenwood Academy, Lake Park, Lincoln Park, Lincoln-Way West, Loyola Academy)Machesney Park Harlem, Marist, Naperville North, Niles Notre Dame, Noble/ITW Speer, Oswego, Pekin, Plainfield Central, Plainfield East, Pleasant Plains, Quincy, Rantoul, Rockton Hononegah, Shepard, South Elgin, Springfield, Springfield Lanphier, Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Taylorville, Urbana, Whitney Young

 

Team Preview – If this race plays out like we think, it will be top ranked Hinsdale Central ahead of at least nine schools battling for the second spot. The Red Devils had a convincing win on their home course two weeks ago with 4 runners in the top 15. We could see a race similar to that with Daniel Watcke, Michael Skora, and Aden Bandukwala all in the top 10. Their split on five runners in that race was 78 seconds. The split from 2-5 was 58 seconds. Watch for both of those splits to drop in this race.

 

The three teams that could challenge for the win have not raced in a big meet the past two weeks just like Hinsdale Central. Oswego East finished 53 points behind Hinsdale Central two weeks ago in third and could be in the top three led by possible top 10 finishers Parker Nold and Alex Das. Palatine had only four seconds separating Mason Krieg and Jack Casaccio in the top 10 in that Hinsdale race. The pack behind these two started 51 seconds later. That gap needs to close in this meet.

 

Oak Park-River Forest won by almost 20 points two weeks ago at Fenton behind an individual win from Liam Newhart and a 45 second split on their top five. Hersey had a nice 12 second split on their top three led by Liam Naughton in that race. Getting their top 5 split from 91 seconds to under 60 seconds will be something to watch for in Peoria. Wheaton-Warrenville South looked strong in winning last week ahead of Wheaton North. Both teams are in this meet with possibilities of finishing in the top five.

 

Lake Zurich has not raced their top seven yet this year. This meet is their usual launch. We will see what the Bears have in this race. Barrington won at Lake County almost three weeks ago ahead of Grayslake Central. Both teams could sneak into the top five with good races. York only had a 14 second split on their top five last week in their win at Joliet. The Dukes should move that pack up in this meet and should surprise some of the higher ranked teams. Lane Tech and Jones Prep will put their top runners in for the first time this fall. Just like Lake Zurich, we will get a good idea of what these teams have.

 

An interesting aspect within the Boys race is that the top four teams in Class 1A are all in this race with all being at full strength.

 

Runners to Watch – Connor Burns, Southern Boone MO – Marcellus Mines, Joliet West - Daniel Watcke, Hinsdale Central – Parker Nold, Oswego East - Hunter Whitney, Lane Tech – Mason Krieg, Palatine - Akili Parekh, Latin School – Dylan Ybarra, O’Fallon – Alexander Das, Oswego East - Brady Nelson, Oswego - Trent Anderson, Sandburg – Grant Giblin, Sandburg - Aden Bandukwala, Hinsdale Central – Tommy Murray, Riverdale – Joe Schwartz, Waterloo - Dylan Myers, Lake Zurich – Liam Newhart, OPRF - Michael Skora, Hinsdale Central - Trey Sato, Grayslake Central – Jack Casaccio, Palatine – Mitch Garcia, St. Charles East - Liam Naughton, Hersey – Mac Kittrell, DePaul College Prep - Sam Berlinghof, Jones Prep - Will Kozlowski, Lane Tech -  Carter Smott, Downers Grove South – Alexander Krieg, Palatine – Caleb Youngstedt, Wheaton North – Nathaniel Virginelli, Wheaton-Warrenville South

 

Individual Runner Preview – It is hard to calculate how this race will go. Connor Burns we all know broke 4-minutes for the mile last track season as a junior. He also is the defending Class 3 State Champion in Missouri. This is only the second race of the season for the senior. Marcellus Mines could be Burns’ chief competition. The junior in his opening race this season ran the final mile in 4:43 running 14:43 for 3-miles. He ran 14:30 on this course at the beginning of October last year. He is in better condition than he was a year ago. The time that Camyn Viger ran last week of 14:22 could be the carrot that Mines could chase after.

 

Daniel Watcke controlled the final mile in his Hinsdale win two weeks ago. You can expect him to be in the front in this race. Parker Nold is a tough front runner and will also push the pace. This is the first race of the year for Hunter Whitney. He ran 15:05 for 5k at the end of last fall. He could be a factor in the race depending what kind of condition he is in. Mason Krieg and Jack Casaccio pushed the pace early at Hinsdale. Both will be in the front in this race. Akili Parekh, Brady Nelson, and Dylan Ybarra are some of the runners that you will see in the front.

 

Palatine freshman Alex Krieg will be running his first three-mile race in this meet. The question is whether he will run Varsity or Frosh/Soph. Krieg has showed so much promise on the track and early this season setting the 1.93-mile course record at Katherine Legge Memorial in Hinsdale. He could be the runner to watch in that race. York’s Max Zangan, who won the F/S race last week at Joliet could be one of his competition in the front on Saturday.