By Michael Newman

DyeStat IL Editor

[email protected]

They say that lightning seldom never strikes twice. What about rain and then a race run at Detweiller Park the day before a major high school invitational. The dry weather this week has given the course at the Det a chance to recuperate from what it went through last Saturday. There is a 90% chance of rain during the day with chances of it raining during the Bradley Intercollegiate Invitational Friday afternoon. That leaves us in the same position that we were a week ago for the First to the Finish Invitational.

We did see some great races last week in not so great conditions. I think with the quality of teams and runners at the park on Saturday, we could see some special things occurring. Top ranked Glenbard West leads a good Girls field. Top ranked Neuqua Valley will head a Boys race that has Lake Zurich and York making their seasonal debut.

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 IL. While he was a member of the Augustana track team, Richard died in the spring of 1985 while he was a junior.

This is the 29^th edition of this meet. It started as the Spaulding Invitational in 1982 up until 1987 when the school consolidated with Bergan to become Notre Dame High School. Close to 70,000 runners have participated in this race.

Here is a look at each of Varsity races that will take place on Saturday morning. 

Girls Varsity Race – 9:40 AM

Ranked Teams – 3A (12):  #1 Glenbard West , #5 Geneva, #8 Neuqua Valley, #11 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #13 Maine South, #14 Stevenson, #15 York, #19 St. Charles East, #20 O’Fallon, #21 Grant, #23 Palatine, #25 Schaumburg; 2A (5): #5 Peoria Notre Dame, #10 Normal University, #12 Mahomet-Seymour, #18 Chatham-Glenwood, #22 St. Ignatius; 1A (4): #1 St. Joseph-Ogden, #10 Stanford Olympia, #13 Monticello, #17 St. Thomas More. 

Team Preview – It is hard to see anyone else other than Glenbard West coming away with the championship trophy in this meet. They could have the top two runners in this race after Katelynne Hart and Lindsey Payne ran 16:49 and 16:51 last weekend at Lake Park. A ninety second split on their top five along with the possibility of running at least five runners in the top twenty-five makes this team tough to beat.

It is a toss-up with eleven other 3A ranked teams in the field with the possibility of placing into the top five. The addition of Freshman Andrine Larsen to the Varsity level gives Geneva a good trio up front along with Emma Ehrhardt and Sophia McDonell. Keeping those three together along with a split under 50 second split could get Geneva into the top five. Neuqua Valley will also rely on a good pack running. When all of their varsity ran at Hinsdale two weeks ago, Caitlin Horn was 30 seconds ahead of a four runner pack within ten seconds of each other. That same kind of race could get the Lady Wildcats into the top three. Wheaton-Warrenville South will have Sara Atkins and Allison McGrath that should be in the top ten at least. The question will be if Coach Rob Harvey will move sophomore Amanda Obrist and freshmen Haley Ansiel and Maria Rucoba up to the varsity level in this race for the possibility of a top five finish. It could be that those athletes run on the lower level looking at the big picture in November.

Maine South will look to close their split on front runners Maddie Dingle and Olivia Niziolek in this race. The split for the Hawks was just over 100 seconds at Lake Park when they finished second. Watch for that to drop in this race. Stevenson will have Natalie Sparreo who should finish in the top five in this race. The key will be getting their pack within 45 seconds of Sparreo and twenty-five seconds among the pack. York will have Sarah May who should be among the top fifteen. The Dukes had their split under 60 seconds last week at Lake Park. It they can close that gap just a little, the team could be among the top five.

Palatine could be the surprise in this race. The Lady Pirates did not have all of their top seven in the meet at Hinsdale. With a full line up in led by Liz Lechowicz, watch for a tight pack from this team. It could get them among the top six teams. Grant and O’Fallon would also be teams to watch to challenge for a top six finish.

Individual Preview – It should be a sea of forest green up front. Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne and Katelynne Hart have the fastest two times in the state on a three mile course. It will not surprise me if they take the top two spots.  The winning time will be the big question. Hart and Payne ran a Detweiller equivalent of 16:42 in their race wins last week at Lake Park. We do not know what kind of shape the course will be in. If it is similar to what we saw last week at the First to the Finish Invitational. It will be tough to break 17 minutes. We could see a winning time between 17:10 to 17:15.

St. Charles North will be here but Audrey Ernst, who pushed Hart and Payne last week, will not. She will be competing in the World Junior Triathlon Championships on Saturday. Isabelle Sparreo (Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire) finished fourth in this race a year ago and could be the Glenbard West’s duo’s chief competition. Madison Marasco (Schaumburg HS) along with Katie Hohe (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) should be challenging for a spot in the top five. Marasco finished fourth at Lake Park last Saturday.

Jenna Diers (Lincoln-Way West HS, New Lenox) has been tough early on and could be a runner to watch in the front pack. Olivia Niziolek (Maine South HS, Park Ridge), Sara Atkins & Allison McGrath (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS), and Danielle Osmon (Grant HS, Fox Lake) will be runners to also keep an eye out for. Also watch for Claudia Magnussen (Pana HS). The 1A all-state runner will be running in this race as an individual. She has run 18:04 at Rochester on September 3. It would not surprise me if she finishes among the top ten runners.

Boys Varsity Race – 11:00 AM

Ranked Teams – 3A (13): #1 Neuqua Valley, #2 Lake Zurich, #5 York, #9 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #10 O’Fallon, #11 Sandburg, #12 Hersey, #13 Loyola Academy, #19 St. Charles East, #20 Geneva, #21 Palatine, #22 Oswego, #24 Oak Park-River Forest; 2A (7): #1 Mahomet-Seymour, #2 Normal University, #4 Chatham-Glenwood, #17 Springfield, #18 Hinsdale South, #19 Peoria Notre Dame, #24 Wheaton Academy; 1A (4): #5 St. Joseph-Ogden, #8 Monticello, #13 St. Thomas More, #18 Deer Creek-Mackinaw.

Team Preview – This battle for the team title in this Boys meet will be intriguing to say the least. By the time the race is over, we should have some questions answered. Neuqua Valley did not run with their full varsity line up at Hinsdale two weeks ago but still came away with a convincing win. It is doubtful that their projected #1 runner Scott Anderson will be in the lineup. This team will still be strong led by seniors Jake McEneaney and Matt Milostan. Their split in their first meet was 31 seconds. Watch for that to drop in this meet.

Lake Zurich and York have not run their full lineups in an invitational meet this season. It is going to be interesting to see how both teams shake out in this meet. Lake Zurich has Brian and Kyle Griffith along with Matt Pereira that will be up front in this race. Coach JB Hansen stated before the season began that junior Patrick Burns showed great improvement during the summer. How close will he be to the trio in the race as well as what kind of split will there be from the first four and then their fifth man. York is extremely young but has the talent to be in the top five in this meet. The top returnee from last year’s state meet Charlie Kern Jr. is in great shape and could be challenging for the race championship. Sean MacGregor and Jackson Bode have improved and could be in the top twenty on Saturday. The key will be what kind of split the Dukes will have on their top five.

A muddy course could be a good thing for Wheaton-Warrenville South in this race. The Tigers have been a surprise early in this season doing it with a tight top four group. Kyle Thompson and Aleksei Sorokin have been the front men for this team. This team is capable of having a split of ten seconds or under on their first four. A 35 second split or under on their top five could get this team into the top five. O’Fallon survived the swamp like conditions last week in St. Louis still managing to finish eleventh. Joey Black and Chris Conrad should lead the Panthers who will also have a tight pack. Hersey was dominating in winning at Fenton two weeks ago. Jacob Krupa will lead a team that could run a 30 second or under split on their top five in this meet. 

The top two teams in 2A will face off for the first of many times this season. Both Mahomet-Seymour and Normal University both have the talent to finish in the top five in this meet. Top ranked Mahomet-Seymour has not been challenged in their two meets this season. Andrew Walmer has been the top runner for the Bulldogs. Their splits have been miniscule so far this season with last week at 22 seconds on their top seven. The key will be if they can keep their split at 45 seconds or under in order to get them into the top five. Normal University was dominating in winning the 2A Meet on this course last week by almost 100 points. Jack Franklin will be among the front runners in this race. It will be interesting to see if the Pioneers move two of their sophomores that are in the top seven down to the Frosh/Soph race. U-High has a history of doing that in this meet.

Loyola has not run their top lineup in a meet this season. It will be interesting to see what kind of pack the Ramblers will show in this race. Sandburg will have Dylan Jacobs and Martin Skucas towards the front. The key for the Eagles is to see their #3 to #5 pack to close that gap a little. Rock Bridge MO travels from Columbia MO to compete in this meet after finishing fifth last week at the Forest Park Classic in Saint Louis. They had a 63 second split off of the tenth place finish by Sam Baumer. That will need to come down if this team wants to finish among the top seven in the final standings.

Individual Preview – The race would have been a fast one if Detweiller Park was in pristine conditions. With the predicted forecast for Friday during the day and then overnight, it most likely will be a slop fest. It sill should be a great race. Dylan Jacobs has run the second fastest three mile time in the nation so far this season in running 14:19 at Lyons Township two weeks ago. He likes to push the pace from the gun. That could be advantage in this race especially if the course is sloppy. Irwin Loud (Oak Park-River Forest HS) makes his seasonal debut in this race. Like Jacobs, he likes to push the pace from the gun and should be shoulder to shoulder with the Sandburg junior. The opposite can be said about Charlie Kern Jr. The York junior was in twelfth with 800 to go in last year’s state meet but ran a 2:09 final 800 to move up to second. He is a savvy racer that likes to stay off the pace waiting for the right moment to move. The Lake Zurich trio of Kyle & Brian Griffith and Matt Pereira ran within seconds of each other most of last year. Expect more of the same from these three in this race as they should be towards the front with teammate Patrick Burns. 

Jake McEneaney will lead Neuqua Valley’s pack and should be in the top ten in this race with maybe a couple of teammates. Brian Leonard (Palatine HS) is coming back strong from an injury that sidelined him most of last fall. Watch for a big race from him Saturday morning. Evan Mitchell (Lincoln-Way West HS) had a good race at Lyons Township two weeks ago. He should be among the front runners in this race. Logan Hall (Arthur-Lovington HS) finished second in the 1A 3200 last spring. He is running individually in this meet and could be among the top fifteen. Caleb Washington (Shepard HS, Palos Heights), Sean MacGregor, Noah Healy (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort), Jack Franklin, Andrew Walmer, and Chris Durr (Chatham-Glenwood HS) could be runners that you see in the top twenty in this meet.