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DyeStat IL – 2015 Richard Spring Invitational Preview

Published by
DyeStatIL.com   Sep 18th 2015, 12:21am
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Above: Maryjeanne Gilbert at the end of last year’s 2A State Meet. Gilbert is the defending champion in the Girls Race at the Richard Spring Invitational (Photo: Michael Newman)

 

Invitational of the Year in Illinois should produce some great performances

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

 

If we thought that last weekend was fast last weekend at Detweiller Park, just wait until this weekend.

 

Two great individual fields headline two great varsity races at Saturday’s Richard Spring Invitational hosted by Peoria Notre Dame. Richard Spring was a 1982 graduate of Bergan High School in Peoria who ran cross-country, the mile/1600m, and the two-mile/3200m. Spring participated on two Class A IHSA State Cross-Country state championship teams, in 1980 and 1981, Richard finished third individually in 1981, as a senior. He went on to compete in Cross-Country and Track for Augustana College in Rock Island, IL. While a member of the Augustana track team, Rich died in the spring of 1985, as a junior.

 

The Girls race features Glenbard West as the team favorite with 2A state and defending race champion Maryjeanne Gilbert challenged by Glenbard West’s Lindsey Payne. Six of the top eight 3A teams along with 2A top ranked Mahomet-Seymour lead a loaded field that could produce some fast times. Two time 1A state champion Jon Davis leads the individual field that could have 5 or more runners under 14:30.

 

Meet Schedule

 9:00 Girls Frosh/Soph (10 entries), 9:40 Girls Varsity (10 entries),10:20 Girls Open (unlimited entries)

11:00 Boys Varsity (10 entries), 11:40 Boys Frosh/Soph (10 entries), 12:20 Boys Open (unlimited entries)

 

Here is an idea of what to look for in the varsity races on Saturday morning.

 

 

Girls Varsity Race – 9:40 AM

 

DyeStat IL Ranked Teams (22) – 3A: #3 Glenbard West, #6 Palatine, #9 Schaumburg, #11 Maine South, #12 Neuqua Valley, #13 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #16 York, #17 Oswego, #18 Geneva, #22 St. Charles East – 2A: #10 Peoria Notre Dame, #11 Chatham-Glenwood, #12 Normal University, #13 Lincoln-Way West, #15 Mahomet-Seymour, #17 Marist, #25 Wheaton Academy – 1A: #3 Petersburg PORTA, #4 St. Joseph-Ogden, #8 Monticello, #20 Stanford Olympia, #23 St. Thomas More

 

Top Individuals – Maryjeanne Gilbert (Peoria Notre Dame), Lindsey Payne, Kathryn Kenwood, & Grace Rogers (Glenbard West), Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS), Audrey Ernst (St. Charles North), Maryclare Leonard (Marist), Maria & Adriene Brauer (PORTA), Maggie Scholle (Lane Tech), Sara Atkins (Wheaton-Warrenville South), Lexi Grigg (Plainfield South), Lauren Whitehouse (Mahomet-Seymour HS), Isabelle Sparreo (Stevenson), Madison Ronzone (Rosary), Emma Moravec (Downers Grove North), Elizabeth Hagstrom & Sarah May (York), Madison Romig (Grant), Caitlin Horn & Julia Pena (Neuqua Valley)

 

Team Outlook

 

#3 Glenbard West is the top ranked team in this field and the team to beat on Saturday. They will have the front running of Lindsey Payne then their pack that had an 80 second difference between them. Watch for that to narrow a little more in this meet. Kathryn Kenwood and Grace Rogers lead the pack in hopes of having the 2-5 split at 20 seconds or faster.

 

#6 Palatine will look to bounce back after they finished fourth at Hinsdale two weeks ago. Kelly O’Brien will be up challenging for the win. The Lady Pirates will need to lower their 2 through 5 split. It was 96 seconds at Hinsdale. #9 Schaumburg lost to Palatine in a dual meet 24-31 on September 9. The Saxons finished second at Lake Park behind Glenbard West on Saturday with a 6-9 finish by Maddie Marasco and Lauren Kubinski. Their split on five last week was 97 seconds. That needs to come down if Schaumburg wants to finish in the top three. #11 Maine South looked amazing at Lake Park when they only ran a 13 second split on their top five. The question is where will their pack start on Saturday? Kalina Gardiner, their #1 runner last week, ran 18:33 at Lake Park. It would help if the first runner for the team is 18:10 or under if this team wants to finish fourth or better.

 

#12 Neuqua Valley also excels in pack running and will need to run that way in order to be in the top four in this meet. Caitlin Horn is coming off of a race win at Joliet Central last Saturday. Julia and Corinna Pena should be close to Horn. The split was only 37 seconds on five last week. You can expect that to be a little lower in this race. #13 Wheaton-Warrenville South will look to build off of their race at Hinsdale where they finished sixth. Sara Atkins should be under 18 at Detweiller this Saturday. Their pack was good at Hinsdale with only a 25 second split from 2 to 5. The problem was there was a 52 second split between Atkins and the pack. That split should narrow down in this race.

 

#16 York was a surprise team two weeks ago at St. Charles when they finished third. Elizabeth Hagstrom and freshman Sarah May will lead the Dukes. They could finish in the top 20. Their 5 runner split at St. Charles was at 76 seconds. A split under a minute could put this team in the top five. #17 Oswego bounced back from their fifth place finish at St. Charles by finishing a close second to Neuqua Valley last week.  The addition of Isabelle Christiansen to their lineup last week helped give the Panthers a 28 second split on the first four. If Kayla Wooten returns to the lineup, there is a good chance this team could challenge for a top five finish.

 

#18 Geneva has a solid 1-2 punch up front with McKenzie Altmayer and Sophia McDonnell. Both runners could be in the top 15 in this race. Chances are good that Altmayer could be under 17 in this race especially after running 17:38 at Wauconda in her last meet. The Vikings split was over 2 minutes at the Wauconda meet. That needs to be lower if they want to finish among the top teams. #22 St. Charles East has been struck by the injury bug this year but still is running good. Anna Arrick stepped in for teammate Hannah Ewald last week as she was the #1 runner for the Lady Saints. Along with Anastasia Honea, the two should have a presence towards the front. The 71 second split on five last week could be cut down a little for good finish for the team this meet.

 

There are seven ranked 2A schools in this field led by #10 Peoria Notre Dame and defending state champion Maryjeanne Gilbert. #11 Chatham-Glenwood could also finish in the top ten especially the way they have been racing early in the season. 1A teams #3 Petersburg PORTA and #4 St. Joseph-Ogden will see how much they compare to each other. PORTA will have Maria & Adrienne Brauer who could finish in the top 20. They will be missing Anna Tambroski who is still recovering from a slight injury and could be back the next meet. St. Joseph-Ogden will be led by Faith Houston.

 

Individual race outlook

 

This was a race that I was looking forward to this season with two state champions facing each other. It’s changed since the season ending injury to Glenbard West’s Lindsay Graham. It still is an anticipated race. Maryjeanne Gilbert ran an even pace last year averaging 5:30 miles winning the race in 16:30. Gilbert has looked good so far this year running 17:30 winning against Minooka’s trio at Normal West at the end of August and then coming back to win by two minutes at Canton.

 

Lindsey Payne has started her season off in a spectacular fashion running under 17 minutes in winning both of her invitational wins. She ran 16:28 to win last weekend doing most of her work in the last half of the race. One thing to keep an eye on is that this race could be just as fast as the First to the Finish Invitational when Judy Pendergast ran 16:18. Lake Park’s course tends to be 8 to 10 seconds slower than that of Detweiller Park. With Payne running what she did at Lake Park last week, we could see something special in this race on Saturday.

 

Audrey Ernst likes to push the pace from the gun and should do that again in this race. Her 16:53 that she ran last week at Lake Park indicates she could have something faster in store in this race. Don’t forget about Kelly O’Brien in this race. The Palatine senior could be 17 minutes or faster in this race challenging for a top spot. McKenzie Altmayer could be a surprise in this meet. The time she ran last week at Wauconda shows she could also be under 17 minutes in this race. Maryclare Leonard has not raced yet this season. If she is on the line, the possibility is good that she could finish in the top ten.

 

 

Boys Varsity Race – 11:00 AM

 

DyeStat IL Ranked Teams (20) – 3A: #1 Sandburg, #3 Neuqua Valley, #5 York, #6 Lake Zurich, #7 Maine South, #8 Oak Park-River Forest, #18 Loyola Academy, #19 St. Charles East, #22 Stevenson – 2A: #1 Mahomet-Seymour, #4 Hinsdale South, #6 Springfield, #10 Chatham-Glenwood, #13 Lincoln-Way West, #15 Normal University, #19 Peoria Notre Dame, #20 Wheaton Academy – 1A: #4 St. Joseph Ogden, #6 Monticello, #10 Pleasant Plains.

 

Top Individuals – Jon Davis (Fithian Oakwood), Irwin Loud (Oak Park-River Forest), Matt Pereira, Brian Griffith (Lake Zurich), Sean & Chris Torpy, Tom Brennan, Dylan Jacobs (Sandburg), Charlie Kern, Liam Hill, Max Denning (York), Connor Horn (Neuqua Valley), Alex Keeble & Andrew Walmer (Mahomet-Seymour HS), Charlie Nodus & Roman Drabchuk (Hinsdale South),  Raul Rosendo (Joliet Central), Caleb Washington (Shepard), Heath Warren (Springfield), Landon Skelly (Chatham-Glenwood HS), Brian Sodaro & Reese Jordan (Maine South HS), Jared Borowsky (Stevenson)

 

Team Outlook

 

One of the most anticipated team races that we will see before the state meet in November. Six of the top eight 3A teams along with 2A #1 Mahomet-Seymour. 3A Top ranked Sandburg will be the team to beat. They should especially be hungry for this competition especially after their last race two weeks ago. Sandburg edged Lyons Township 36-37 at LT in that meet. The Eagles did not have Dylan Jacobs, who was their #3 runner in their first meet, in the varsity lineup. He raced in the sophomore race. This team likes to go out fast and maintain their front running position from the beginning. Sandburg could have four runners in the first twelve led by Jacobs, Chris and Sean Torpy, and Tom Brennan. If Jacobs would have been in the LT race, their split would have been under 10 seconds.

 

 #3 Neuqua Valley is deep as evidenced by putting nine in the first seventeen at Hinsdale two weeks ago. Connor Horn should be with the front runners in this race. They will miss #2 runner Scott Anderson who is out with a leg injury. Their depth will take over led by Jake McEneaney and Jackson Jett. Their five runner split off of Horn two weeks ago was only 11 seconds. If Horn goes after the front pack, you could still expect a five runner split of possibly 30 seconds or better. #5 York makes their invitational debut in this meet running with a huge chip on their shoulder. It is hard to determine how good this team is. In their only race of the season at Oak Park, the pace was at tempo pace until Charlie Kern took off in the final mile. The split for the team on that day was only 21 seconds. The split was tighter that following Saturday when the Dukes ran all-out in their intra-squad race. Kern should be among the front pack in this race. The pack with Liam Hill and Max Denning among the group should be tight. The question will be how close will they be to their star sophomore?

 

#6 Lake Zurich is just like York making their invitational debut at this meet. They had a strong front three in a triangular meet on Tuesday at Mundelein with Kyle & Brian Griffith along with Matt Pereira close together. Patrick Burns give the Bears a strong front four. It will be interesting to see who steps in as the team’s fifth runner. #7 Maine South could be the surprise team in this field. They looked good at Lyons Township finishing third two weeks ago. Expect Reese Jordan and Brian Sodaro to be among the front pack. Their split on five was at 47 seconds. It could be lower in this race. #8 Oak Park-River Forest will be back at full strength after their top three were not in the lineup last week at Lake Park. They will be at full strength this week led by Irwin Loud. Their split on five at Fenton was 62 seconds. The split on 2-5 was only 26 seconds. If they can maintain that kind of spread, the Huskies could finish in the top five.

 

#18 Loyola Academy easily won last week at DePaul Prep with Paolo Tiongson winning individually. The five man split at the meet was at 83 seconds. That split needs to come down if they want to finish among the first ten teams. #19 St. Charles East ran a 29 second split on six last week at Lake Park. Michael Gerkin was their #1 man last week but could change this week especially how close this team runs to each other in races. A runner under 15:10 with that split could put this squad among the top six. #22 Stevenson entered into the top 25 a couple of weeks ago when they defeated 2A #2 Grayslake Central at the Lake County Invitational. The Patriots could make some more noise this week especially with Jared Borowsky up front and their split staying under 60 seconds.

 

Mahomet-Seymour called their second place finish at last year’s Richard Spring Meet a difference maker for the program. The 2A #2 team in the state will not be overlooked in the 2015 race. Alex Keeble is coming off a strong race at Springfield and should be among the top runners in this race. The key for this team is their 2-5 pack. Their 2-4 split has been tight in the first two meets running within 8 seconds of each other. The 2-5 split has been near 28 seconds. That split coming down could be a difference maker for the Bulldogs in this meet.

 

#4 Hinsdale South is another strong 2A team in this race especially when you have Charlie Nodus and Roman Drabchuk possibly in the top ten. Their split on 3 through 5 was 33 seconds two weeks ago in their home invitational. The gap between Nodus / Drabchuk and the pack was 60 seconds in that meet. Watch for that split to come down in this meet. Central Illinois powers #6 Springfield and #10 Chatham-Glenwood will challenge for a top ten spot. Springfield will have all-state runner Heath Warren in their lineup for the first time this season. Springfield’s split on their pack behind Warren is tight and could make the Senators dangerous. Chatham-Glenwood is young but have a tight five runner split led by Landon Skelly. It will be interesting to see where the pack lands in this race. #4 St. Joseph-Ogden and #6 Monticello are the top 1A teams in the field.

 

Individual Race Outlook

 

When you have some of the top runners in the state in this race, how can you not get excited? Jon Davis has the fastest returning time (14:20) on this course from the state meet a year ago. Besides the Palatine next weekend and post-season races, this will be the only time he will have people around him during a race. It won’t happen in the 1A state series as he will try to push himself to run the state record of Craig Virgin. This field is loaded.

 

Irwin Loud showed he is ready to go after he ran 14:52 two weeks ago at Fenton. Matt Pereira and Brian Griffith will give Lake Zurich presence up front. Charlie Kern will be up front when it counts in this meet. Connor Horn also will be in contention towards the front. You know that the Sandburg pack led by Sean Torpy will be in the front. Alex Keeble exhibited last week at Springfield when he ran 14:52 he is able to run 14:30 or faster at Detweiller Park. 2A runners Charlie Nodus and Roman Drabchuk along with Heath Warren will be part of that front pack. This is Warren’s first race of the season. He is hungry to see how his track success translates to a cross country course.

 

Don’t forget about Jared Borowsky or the Maine South dup of Reese Jordan and Brian Sodaro. They will be towards the front. Raul Rosendo will also be towards the front along with Caleb Washington.

 

 

The conditions will be good for Saturday with temperatures in the low 70’s. It depends how saturated the course becomes from the rain that is expected in the area Friday afternoon and Friday evening. The course was soft last week and look at the performances that those races produced. The Boys race is a deeper field that will produce faster times on Saturday than last weekend’s meet. It will be interesting Saturday morning just after 11 AM who makes the first move after the mile.



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