Above: Jon Davis (center) in the front of the pack in last year’s Boys Varsity race at Palatine. Davis will be the big favorite in the Boys race Saturday morning (Photo: Mike Newman)

 

The Illinois spotlight this weekend is on the Palatine Meet of Champions

 

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

 

If it is the first weekend of autumn, it must mean that it is time again for the Meet of Champions this Saturday at the Palatine Invitational. The first race of the day at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve begins at 9:00 AM. You can find more information about the meet here!

 

Palatine Coaches Joe Parks and Chris Quick did another great job putting together a class field for the Varsity races. 11 ranked Girls teams and 15 ranked Boys team along with teams from four states will guarantee that there will be excitement on the tight turns of the Deer Grove East course.

 

Here is a look at each of the two varsity races at Palatine.

 

 

Palatine Invitational Meet of Champions

 

Girls Varsity – 10:20 AM

DyeStat IL Ranked Teams (11) – 3A: #4 Barrington, #7 Wheaton-Warrenville South, #8 Palatine, #9 New Trier, #11 Lyons Township, #13 Maine South, #17 Prospect, #23 Libertyville – 2A: #1 Yorkville, #3 Vernon Hills, #6 Crystal Lake Central

 

Out of State Teams – Assumption KY, Daviess County KY, Mountain Brook AL, Louisville Male Traditional KY

 

Individuals to Watch – Daly Galloway (Gardner-South Wilmington), Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS), Jocelyn Long & Lauren Conroy (Barrington HS), Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS), Alexis Grandys, Maddie Dearborn, Summer Pierson (Yorkville HS), Sarah Crawford (Assumption KY), Sara Atkins & Allison McGrath Wheaton-Warrenville South HS), Caitlin Shepard (Lake Zurich HS), Vivian Overbeck (Vernon Hills HS), Melissa Manetsch (Libertyville HS), Kathryn House (Loyola Academy), Isabelle Sparreo (Stevenson HS), Frances Patrick & Anna Grace Morgan (Mountain Brook AL), Kaitlyn Lacy (Male Traditional KY)

 

Outlook – Yorkville enters this meet as the favorite after a strong performance two weeks ago at the First to the Finish Invitational. The Lady Foxes ran a tight 23 second split in that meet and will look to duplicate it in this meet. The split could be smaller especially on this tight course. Freshman Nicole Greyer has emerged as one of the top runners on this team. Along with Maddie Dearborn, Alexis Grandys, and Summer Pierson, this team could have four runners in the first ten.

 

Barrington finished fourth in the Peoria Meet two weeks ago and could be one of the teams challenging for the win in this meet. They have the momentum after defeating Palatine 27-29 Thursday evening to snap Palatine’s 55 win dual meet streak. Jocelyn Long will be challenging for the win. Their pack behind Long had a 77 second split at Peoria. That will need to come down in order for this team to finish in the top three. Wheaton-Warrenville South ran strong last week in getting second at the Richard Spring Invitational behind the front running of Sara Atkins and Allison McGrath. Watch for this team’s 5 runner split to lower a little in this race giving them a chance in the first three. Palatine will feed off of running on their home course and will be hungry for a top finish after their race against Barrington Thursday evening. The defending team champions in this race could have a strong four up front led by Kelly O’Brien. Watch to see if Palatine’s fifth runner is closer to the pack in this meet.

 

New Trier will look to close their gap in this meet led by Oona Jung-Beeman and Savannah Noethlich. Both Lyons Township and Maine South have been running with great packs this season. Maine South has averaged 14 seconds for their first five their last two meets. Both teams could challenge in the top three if the packs move up. Vernon Hills has the great front runner in Vivian Overbeck. This team could finish among the top five on Saturday. Crystal Lake Central had a tight pack up front last week at Kaneland placing second. The talent is there for this squad to get into the top ten in this meet.

 

Four out of state schools are running in this meet adding a little more mystery to the event. Assumption HS from Louisville KY did not run their best race of the year last week at the Trinity/Valkyre Invitational at Louisville placing seventh overall. Sophomore Sarah Michels was the top runner for the team. She could be in the top ten in this race. Watch for the pack of Assumption to rebound this week. They had a 64 second split on their first four and gap after that until their fifth. Watch that split narrow in this meet. Mountain Brook from Alabama is a team also to watch. The defending 6A state champion in that state returns all of their top seven from last year’s team. Last week at the Scottsboro Invitational, Frances Patrick and Anna Grace Morgan placed third and fourth. They could place fifteenth or better in this meet. Their split on five was 96 seconds last week. Their 3 to 5 pack is a tight 28 seconds. Keep an eye on this team on Saturday.

 

This could be one of the tightest individual Girls races that we have seen in this meet in a long time. There is plenty of star power up front led by Daly Galloway. The two time 1A all-state runner has been in the shadows of Anna Sophia Keller the past two years. She has started to come out of that shadow. She easily won at First to the Finish running a solo 17:23. She is capable of running under 17 minutes in this race. Brooke Wilson has not stepped on Detweiller yet this year but ran 17:11 at Lake Park to place third two weeks ago. She has the ability to be up front to win this race. Kelly O’Brien is the defending champion in this race and on her home course. She finished sixth last week at Peoria but should rebound in this meet. She won the dual meet against Barrington Thursday running a fast 17:31.  If the race becomes tactical, O’Brien’s finishing kick could be the difference.

 

Jocelyn Long has put in some great races this season including 16:49 at Detweiller Park two weeks ago. She will be in the mix up front. Vivian Overbeck is another runner that will be in the front of the pack. The 17:19 that she ran in the 2A First to the Finish race shows that she could be capable of running much faster in this meet.

 

Alabama’s Francis Patrick has been running strong this year after finishing 8th in her state meet a year ago. Sophomore Kaitlyn Lacy had a strong race last week at Trinity/Valkyre running 18:15 for 5k. She is an athlete that we could see in the top ten. Sara Atkins continues to improve and should be with the pack up front. Isabelle Sparreo ran a great race finishing fourth last week at Peoria and could be a surprise up front. Caitlin Shepard also has the talent to finish in the top five in this race especially after her strong run last weekend at Peoria.

 

Boys – 10:50 AM

 

DyeStat IL Ranked Teams (15) – 3A: #4 Hinsdale Central, #5 York, #7 Lake Zurich, #9 New Trier, #12 Maine South, #13 Stevenson, #16 Marmion Academy, #17 McHenry, #20 Jones College Prep, #22 Loyola Academy – 2A: #4 Yorkville, #6 Crystal Lake Central, #7 Vernon Hills, #9 Prairie Ridge, #20 Fenwick

 

Out of State Teams – Centerville OH, Mountain Brook AL, St. Louis University MO, St. Xavier KY

 

Individuals to Watch – Jon Davis (Oakwood HS), Matt Pereira, Brian & Kyle Griffith (Lake Zurich HS), Blake Evertsen & Chris Brenk (Hinsdale Central HS), Charlie Kern (York HS), Shane Williamson (Vernon Hills HS), Dustan Davidson (St. Louis University HS), Spencer Hayden & Matthew Thomas (St. Xavier HS KY), Jared Borowsky (Stevenson HS), Daniel Santino (St. Ignatius College Prep), Filip Pajek (Prairie Ridge HS), Martin Barr (Niles North HS), Cole Barkocy (Crystal Lake Central HS), Paolo Tiongson (Loyola Academy HS), Brian Sodaro & Reese Jordan (Maine South HS), Josh Derrick (New Trier HS)

 

Outlook – The team race could come down to the two WSC-Silver rivals Hinsdale Central and York. The Red Devils have #1 man Blake Evertsen who will challenge for the win in this race. They would like to have Chris Brenk with Evertsen like he was at the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational at the beginning of the month. The emergence of Andrew Irvine will be a plus for this team in the meet. Their split on five has averaged in the 50’s in their two invitational meets this year. That needs to come down if they want to leave Deer Grove East with the championship trophy. York looked good in their first invitational last week placing third at the Richard Spring Invitational. Charlie Kern will be towards the front giving his team single digit points. York’s 2-5 split was only 12 seconds last Saturday. If the pack gets closer to Kern, it could be the Dukes that walk away with the crown.

 

Lake Zurich is a dangerous team. Their front f=running could be the difference in this meet. Matt Pereira along with brothers Brian and Kyle Griffith could all be in the top ten in this meet. The Bears’ split on five last week was a big 2 minutes. If that split cuts down to at least 90 seconds, it could be Lake Zurich for the win. New Trier ran a 59 second split on five two weeks ago at Peoria but did have Josh Derrick in the top ten in that race. Derrick could be in the top ten again on Saturday, but the Trevians need to get their split under 40 seconds with Derrick or Jack Litowitz up there in order for the Trevians to finish in the top three. Maine South will look to bounce back from last week’s Peoria race where they got a horrible start out of Box 1. The Hawks could have Reese Jordan and Brian Sodaro fighting for top ten spots. Their split has been close to 60 seconds this year on their scoring five. That needs to come down in order for Maine South to have a high finish.

 

Defending meet champion St. Louis University is back in this meet trying to defend their championship. U-High finished tenth two weeks ago at the Forest Park XC Festival behind Dustan Davidson’s 23^rd place finish. There is a good chance that Davidson could be in the top ten in this race. Their split on five was 71 seconds at that meet. The split will need to drop in order for this team to be in the hunt for a trophy. St. Xavier from Louisville KY makes another trip up north and could be a difference maker in this meet. They finished fifth in the seeded race at last week’s Trinity/Valkyre Invitational behind St. Ignatius OH’s team win. Spencer Hayden and Matthew Thomas give this team two solid front runners that could be in the top 15. Their split last week on five was 53 seconds. It would not surprise me if this team is in the top five looking for some hardware to return with them to Kentucky.

 

Marmion Academy and Stevenson could be surprises in this meet. Stevenson has Jared Borowsky who should be with the leaders. The Patriots need to get their split under 55 seconds in order to be among the top 7 teams in this meet. The same can be said for Marmion Academy in this meet for the first time. It is possible that Andrew Burroughs or Michael Ronzone could place 20^th or better in this race. The Cadets need to have a 45 second or better 5 man split in order to be among the top teams. Two time defending 2A state champion Yorkville could be a surprise in this race. They do not have the runners up front like they have in the past, but have a solid pack led by Trevor Wills that could have a 30 second or better split if that pack starts at 21^st place or better.

 

Jon Davis will be the favorite in the individual race. His Peoria race last week where he ran 14:10 to win has opened some eyes across the United States where he is now the eighth ranked individual runner nationally. The time is the fastest invitational time in Detweiller Park history. The confidence that he showed at the end of the race could be the difference on this course on Saturday.

 

Matt Pereira could be joined by Brian Griffith in the top five in this race. Blake Evertsen is coming off of a 14:25 race at Peoria two weeks ago and will be a factor up front. Shane Williamson ran 14:41 two weeks ago in Peoria. His face should also be in the front pack. Charlie Kern ran a conservative first mile last week at Peoria but made a final 2 mile charge to finish at 14:39. He could be towards the front at the end of the race. Daniel Santino and Jared Borowsky should also be fighting for spots in the front along with out of state runners Dustin Davidson, Spencer Hayden, and Matthew Thomas. Last year’s race turned into a tactical affair before Jesse Reiser pulled away in the final 800 for the win. Davis was a victim of that tactic placing sixth overall. Even though Davis took no prisoners at the end of last week’s race pulling away from Irwin Loud in the final 500 meters to win by nine seconds, he could push the pace from the mile out trying to make a statement and going after Jack Driggs’ course record.

 

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Here are some of the other meets that will be taking place across the state and in the Midwest involving Illinois schools:

 

St. Joseph-Ogden Classic

 

This could be the best meet outside of Palatine in Illinois as the top 1A teams in the state face off. The race is guaranteed to have fast times especially since it is run on the streets of St. Joseph. For the first time in the meet’s history, the Girls will run the three mile distance. Anna Sophia Keller will go for the three-peat in this meet as she shoots for a time under 17 minutes. Eight ranked 1A Girls teams will be in this field led by top ranked Urbana University and #2 Tolono Unity. The two face each other last week with U-High winning 41-44 in the Tuscola XC race. Unity would like to turn the tables on U-High in this meet.

 

The Boys race is loaded with seven of the top ten 1A teams in the state ready to toe the line. Top ranked Tolono Unity has been unbeatable this season and will look to continue their unbeaten streak in this meet. #2 Shelbyville will again be without top 5 runner Preston Henze, but still has a solid group to challenge the Rockets. #3 St. Joseph-Ogden and #4 Monticello are coming off of good race last week at Peoria and will be a factor in the team battle.  #7 El Paso-Gridley could surprise in the top three, but will need to have their front three led by Hunter Cobbley close together as well as their 5 man split cut down. The individual race will be great with Marcus Skinner (Shelbyville HS), Andrew Warnes (Tolono Unity HS), Cory Landon (Carlinville HS), Nick Porter (Paxton-Buckley-Loda HS), and Hunter Cobbley all fighting for the win.

 

Culver Invitational @ Culver Academy IN

 

#3 Lyons Township travels east to this meet in Indiana looking to repeat their 2014 team win. The Lions could face challenges from Columbus North IN, Mason OH, and West Lafayette IN for the team titles. Lyons’ Vince Zona and Connor Madell will challenge Fort Wayne Carroll’s Cameron Clements for the individual title in the Elite race. Illiana Christian will run in the meet’s open race and should be the favorite in that race behind the front running of Collin De Young and Nick Wondaal. Downers Grove South will also be in the meet competing in the Elite division.

 

Roy Griak Invitational @ Minneapolis MN

 

3A Top Ranked Naperville North will look to dethrone Saugus CA for the Gold Division Team championship. Wayzata MN could also be a threat for the team championship. Judy Pendergast could show she belongs with the nation’s elite going for the championship in a field that includes last year’s third place finisher Emily Covert (Washburn HS, Minneapolis).

 

Macnider Invitational @ Harper College, Palatine

 

This second year meet moves from Busse Woods to Harper College due to a scheduling conflict at the forest preserve. #6 Oak Park-River Forest is the top ranked team in the Boys meet which also includes #14 Hoffman Estates, #23 Waubonsie Valley, and #24 Minooka. If Irwin Loud runs in this meet, he will be the individual favorite. If not, look for Soren Knudsen (Minooka HS) and Brett Davidson (Highland Park HS) to be among the runners to challenge for the individual title.

 

#4 Minooka is the only ranked Girls team in this meet and will be the big team favorite. Host Hoffman Estates could be the closest team to the Indians. Watch for the Minooka trio of Ashley Tutt, Emily Shelton, and Mackenzie Callahan should command the front of this race.

 

Bartlett Flyin Hawk Invitational @ Sunrise Park, Bartlett

 

#3 Batavia and #12 Schaumburg will be the teams to chaise in the Girls race. Audrey Ernst (St. Charles North HS) has run under 17 minutes the last two weeks. She will try to make it three as Emma Stephens (Batavia HS) will be the top athlete to push Ernst. #18 Huntley and #21 Fremd will challenge each other for the Boys team championship. Keagan Smith (Huntley HS) will be the favorite in this race.

 

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There will be other great meets throughout the state this weekend. The Rock Island Invitational and Naperville Girls Invitational will take place Friday afternoon.

 

Among the meets that will take place on Saturday are the Ziomek Invitaional run at Washington Park in Chicago, The Grant Invitational, and the Rock River Run in Sterling, the Springfield Invitational at Lincoln Park, the East Peoria Invitational, and the Aurora Central Catholic Charger Classic held at Aurora’s Oakhurst Park

 

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Good luck to all athletes, fans, and coaches this weekend!