Cold weather does not seem to bother Ince and Hilby in 800’s at Distance Night

 

Vater and Bosley bring home wins to Wisconsin in Boys 2 & 1 Miles; Final lap move gives Storms the win in Girls 1 Mile; Soukup leads from start to win Girls 2 Mile

 

By Michael Newman

 

Palatine, Ill --- Figuring out the weather in Illinois during April can be a guessing game. Rain early in the day turned to sunshine which turned to sideways snow during the Middle School races at the start of Distance Night in Palatine. By the time the championship races began just after 9 PM, the flags at Chic Anderson Stadium found a home resting on the poles that they resided on.

 

Results | Interviews | Photos

 

No wind meant personal bests for most of the runners in this meet. Temperatures dipped to 40 degrees seemed to affect some of the runners in the final six championship races of the night. There were technically four meet records at this meet since this would be the first time that the 1 Mile and 2 Mile Runs would be competed in instead of the 1600 and 3200 Meter Runs.

 

It did not seem to bother Ali Ince of Normal Community to step to the line in the 800 Meter Run. She passed the first 400-meters of the race in under 60 seconds (59.8) with Lincoln’s Becca Heitzig a second behind. Ince increased her lead on the back stretch with Heitzig beginning to fall back. The cold then hit Ince.

 

“The last 200 was a little different,” explained Ince. “My legs and arms went a little numb. My coach kept yelling at me to keep my head down. I lost by a tenth of a second at Arcadia. I made sure I sprinted in all the way to the finish.”

 

Ince ran the final 200-meters of this race in 34+ seconds crossing the line in 2:05.04 for the win. This was the third time she has won in races at this meet. She won at this distance as a freshman in 2021. She won last year in the 1600 Meter Run. Ince’s performance in this meet gives her the nine fastest times ever for an Illinois female high school runner in the 800 Meter Run.

 

“I kind of learned at Arcadia that I had gone through a ton of 800’s in 60-61,” added Ince. “I was in the 59’s today. 59 and 60 feel close to the same. I knew my last lap was going the same whether I went out in 59 or 60.”

 

Heitzig was looking for a fast time in this meet. She did get it running a personal best of 2:09.21 (IL #2) to finish second. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester ran 2:13.70 (IL #7) to finish third holding off Gabrielle Walker of DePaul College Prep (2:14.06, IL #8) and Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge (2:15.19, IL #10).

 

Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic won an undercard race at 800-meters in last year’s meet. He made a decision at the end of the season to instead of playing football in the fall to concentrate his efforts on running. He was all-state on November at Detweiller Park. He is rolling from that point.

 

The pace was fast in this championship race with Aden Bandukwala of Hinsdale Central leading the pack out in a swift 54.7 opening lap. Hilby wanted to wait and take the lead with 200-meters left in the race. He felt so good as he came of the first curve that he went ahead and took the lead.

 

It paid off for the junior as Bandukwala and Caleb Levy of Warren Township could not catch Hilby as he ran the state’s fastest time this year in winning with a 1:52.32 time

 

“I saw I went through fast (around 54 seconds) but did not want to make my move at that point,” said Hilby. “I felt so good when coming off the curve with 300-meters left. I knew I had the race won with 200-meters left in the race.”

 

Bandukwala has not run that many open races at this distance but did achieve a personal best for the open 800 timed at 1:53.67 (IL #3) to finish second. Levy finished third (1:54.64) with Julian Aske of Beacon Academy running 1:55.03 (IL #6) to finish fourth. Parker Dewey of Eau Claire Memorial WI ran 1:55.65 to finish fifth ahead of Grant Giblin of Sandburg who ran 1:55.81 (IL #9).

 

It seemed that none wanted to lead the championship Girls 1 Mile Run. It was Annika Swan of St. Ignatius Prep that assumed that role leading for almost three laps. Scout Storms of Barrington had been sitting behind Swan during that time waiting for the right moment. There were four more runners in that pack with Swan and Storms  including Grace Schager of Glenbard North, Anna Harden of Hersey, Juliet Frum of Glenbrook North, and Catherine Sommerfeld of Lyons Township.

 

Storms took the lead entering the final lap and barely held that advantage as Harden and Frum looked to take the lead. A final surge from Storms as she got closer to the finish gave her the win.

 

“I was not happy on how the race pace was going. Last year we had Ali (Ince) pushing the pace up front and we just followed along,” Storms said. “I just stayed behind until the pace started to crank up. This race was just like indoor conference where Anna (Harden) was pushing me the entire way along with two Prospect runners.”

 

The sophomore had run 10:54 earlier in the day to win the 3200 Meter Run at Glenbard West. Storms was the top seed in this race winning with a 4:56.95 time. Frum just got by Harden before the finish as she placed second (4:57.28) just ahead of Harden (4:57.33). They were the only runners under five-minutes in this race. Swan led the next pack running 5:01.00 finishing fourth ahead of Schager (5:01.54) and Sommerfeld (5:02.33).

 

It was a who’s who of runners in the Boys Championship 1 Mile Run with everyone wanting the lead the first two laps. That urgency did not show in the pace as Gavin Genisio of Benton had the lead at 400-meters in 63.9. Immediately at that point, Ethan Hogan of Columbia charged up front to take the lead for the next lap as they passed the halfway point in 2:07.

 

The lead changed up on the third lap as Dan Watcke of Hinsdale Central was in touch of the lead. Tommy Murray of Riverdale and Trey Sato of Grayslake Central were also now within reach. Also joining the front pack was Owen Bosley of Homestead WI.

 

The pace was picking up as they ran the third lap in 64 seconds with Genisio taking the lead. Bosley made a sudden move with 250 meters in the race. He pulled away from the field winning with a 4:12.65 time.

 

“The mentality in this race was completely to ignore time. I came here to compete,” Bosley said. “All that mattered tonight was passing the finish line before other people do. The last move can in the last 300-meters. My legs felt good. That feeling when I cross the line is why I run.”

 

Bosley’s move gave him a two second margin of victory. Camyn Viger of Plainfield South stayed near the back throughout the race but moved to finish second (4:14.66). Trey Sato of Grayslake Central also played it cautious throughout running 4:15.24 to finish ahead of Genisio (4:15.35) and Watcke (4:15.52). 10 runners in this race and 12 runners overall in the meet ran under 4:20.

 

It was hard to tell that Rachel Soukup of Prairie Ridge had raced the night before at the McHenry County Invitational as part of her team’s 4x800m Relay and then to run 4:58.29 in the 1600 Meter Run. Soukup on Saturday led from wire to wire in the Championship 2 Mile Run. Soukup had close to six second lead for most of the second mile. She ended up running an outdoor personal best of 10:32.59 for the win.

 

“I was just keeping track of the laps. My coach was yelling splits and stopped doing that after the mile,” Soukup said. “This was a cool night. This was my last Distance Night in Palatine race. I was thinking about that on the starting line. There was no pressure. I am just doing what I like to do.”

 

Molly Farrell of Marshall keeps running great races and it showed again on Saturday evening. The freshman ran almost a 15 second personal best of 10:37.51 to finish second just ahead of Liv Phillips who also ran a personal best of 10:38.40 to finish third. Kaela Helling of Two Rivers WI (10:48.82) and Carissa Hamilton of Neuqua Valley (10:57.12) were the only other runners in the race under 11-minutes.

 

Charlie Vater of Iona-Scandinavia WI was hoping that someone would push the pace in the Boys Championship 2-Mile Run, so he did not have to lead. That was not the case for him as he took the lead on the third lap of the race. Vater passed the first mile in 4:33 with Dale Johnson of Sterling his closest competition just two seconds behind.

 

That was the closest that Johnson could get to the lead. Vater maintained a four second lead entering the final lap. Johnson did close the gap in the final lap but ran out of real estate. The Wisconsin junior ran a personal best of 9:14.96 to claim the win with Johnson running a huge personal best of 9:16.73 to finish second. The night before at Rock Island, Johnson ran 4:23 in the 1600 Meter Run. Dylan Maloney of Plainfield South moved on the final lap to run 9:17.59 to finish third. Jackson Barrett of Tuscola also made that final lap move that gave him a personal best of 9:19.00 to finish fourth with Conant’s Vijay Krishnamoorthi running 9:20.21 to finish fifth.

 

Main Event Highlights

Daniel Winkelman of Harvest Christian Academy was the final runner in the third section of the Boys 800 Meter Run. He proved those rankings wrong in this race taking the lead at 400-meters at 54 seconds. There was no catching Winkelman as he ran 1:54.57 (IL #4) for the win more than a second with John Ihnke of Glenbrook North (1:55.72, IL #8) and Grant Miller of Hinsdale Central (1:55.81, IL #9) finishing second and third.

 

Lola Satre-Morales of Naperville Central is another face in a young but strong distance group. Satre-Morales held off Sofia Munoz of Mt. Zion to take the win in Section 3 of the 800 Meter Run (2:17.78). Munoz ran 2:18.17 to finish second just ahead of Riley Franz of Zion-Benton (2:20.00).

 

One of the most exciting finishes in this meet came in Section 3 of the Boys 1 Mile Run. Nicholas Strayer of Lyons Township had close to a three second lead entering the final lap of the race ahead of a pack led by Theo Cunningham of Fremd. Cunningham made a charge around the final curve gaining ground. He caught Strayer at the line running 4:18.62 for the win. Strayer ran 4:18.65 to finish second ahead of Jacob Barraza of DeKalb (4:20.35) and Liam Naughton of Hersey (4:20.46).

 

Katherine Klimek of York has a great finishing kick. Sometimes she forgets how good it is. She did not forget how potent it was in Section 4 of the Girls 1 Mile Run. Klimek was part of a seven runner pack entering the final lap of the race. She pulled away in the final 250-meters to claim the win running 5:07.78 to win by more than three seconds ahead of Marley Anderson of St. Charles East (5:11.43) and Natalie Quinn of Oak Park-River Forest (5:11.62).

 

Joe Bregenzer of Barrington pushed the pace in Section 3 of the 2-Mile Run until Dylan Myers of Lake Zurich decided to take over. He ran the final two laps in 2:10 to claim the win in this race with a 9:14.83 personal best. Bregenzer ran 9:22.52 to finish second ahead of Will Kozlowski of Lane Tech (9:24.70), Brian Hatoum of Highland Park (9:27.32, and Jed Wilson of St. Charles East (9:32.47).

 

Logan Brennen of Naperville North pushed the pace for the first six laps of Section 3 of the 2 Mile Run with Ellie Robinson of Dodgeville/Mineral Point WI and Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South. The two sophomores took over the pacing duties in the final two laps. Poglitsch tried to make moves to take the lead, but Robinson would not allow it. Both runners ran personal bests as Robinson left with the win (11:10.55) just ahead of Poglitsch (11:11.57). Isabella Gonzalez of Crystal Lake South ran 11:17.59 to finish third just ahead of Brennen (11:18.31).

 

Undercard Girls Highlights

One of the bigger surprises in this meet was the performance of Joliet West junior Janelissa Oceguera who came away with the win in Section 2 of the Girls 800 Meter Run. Oceguera ran a three second personal best of 2:20.32 for the win ahead of Kylie Simpson of Hononegah (2:20.44) and Morgan Giola of Maine South (2:21.36).

 

A strong final 200-meters from Sophia Lane of Lake Forest gave the junior a win with a 2:21.69 time. Brooke Zeibert of Rochester (2:22.80) and Gabi Makowski of Hersey (2:23.39) finished second and third.

 

The emotional moment of the meet came in the third section of the Girls 1 Mile Run. Grace Mullin of Chicago Christian finished drenched in emotion as she won the race in 5:09.20 finishing ahead of Amanda Pocica of Stagg (5:11.24) and Evelyn O’Connor of Seneca 5:13.25. Mullin have the word “Believe” written on her wrist by her watch. Mullin has been battling POTS (Postural Tachycardia Syndrome) for over the past year. We hope that she continues to embrace every race that she runs like she did in this meet.

 

Abby Lewis of Barrington took command of Section 2 of the 1 Mile Run in this meet taking the lead just after the halfway point in this race. The freshman ran 5:12.13 to win by seven seconds ahead of Maya Ledesma of Minooka (5:19.68), Kate Ahmari of Urbana University (5:20.87), and Morgan Dick of Oswego East (5:20.90).

 

The first race of the meet belonged to Nadia Bowden of Lincoln-Way Central. The junior ran 5:20.08 for the win with Ashley Schraeder of Yorkville running 5:20.36 to finish second.

 

Samantha Rowley of Barrington was 50-meters behind a leading pack led by Gianna Arizzi of Lincoln-Way West and Sophia Keeler of Yorkville entering the final two laps of the Section 2 2 Mile Run. Rowley moved strong in those laps taking the lead and the win timed in 11:37.81. Lindsey Gerhardstein of Sandburg finished second (11:43.21) and Renee Ballard of Mt. Zion (11:43.80).

 

Kara Matthias of Urbana University took the pace out hard in the opening section of 2 Mile Run leading for the first seven laps. She passed on the first curve as Madeline Bialko of Hersey pulled away to claim the win (11:43.74) finishing ahead of Emma Zach of Palatine (11:46.08) and Kylie Florance of Warren (11:48.95).

 

Undercard Boys Highlights

The Boys 800 Meter Run races were fast in this meet. It started with the opening section. Aidan Sosnowski of Rockford Christian pushed the pace for the first 600-meters of this race. Noah Britton of Rock Island Alleman made a pass in the final 100-meters to pull away for the win (1:56.40). Sosnowski finished second (1:57.88) ahead of Layton Knopp of Morton (1:59.42).

 

Three runners in Section 2 of the 800 Meter Run had the top three finishers all under 1:57. Andrew Nelson of Jones College Prep moved in the final 50-meters to take the win (1:56.00) ahead of Mather’s Muhiyadin Ali of Mather (1:56.21) and Barak Goldstein of Highland Park (1:56.99).

 

The Freshman Mile showed the excitement in a race that we would see in this meet. Owen Horeni of Yorkville was in third place entering the final lap trailing race leader Alex Krieg of Palatine by four seconds. Horeni, who has run 1:56 for 800m this spring, closed in a 61.8 final 400-meters to catch Krieg before the line to win in 4:27.06. Krieg ran 4:27.25 for second with Jamie Chandler of Deerfield finishing third (4:31.49) just ahead of New Trier’s Jordan Kreiner (4:31.51).

 

Charlie Halden of Glenbard West ran down Charlie Richardson of DePaul College Prep to win Section 2 of the Boys 1 Mile Run. Halden ran 4:23.20 to edge Richardson (4:23.35) for the win. Samuel Teppo of New Trier (4:24.87) and Owen Morgan of Taylorville (4:24.99) finished third and fourth.

 

Dalton Lowery of Whitney Young controlled the final lap of Section 1 of the Boys 1 Mile Run running 4:26.40 for the win. The next four runners were within a second of each other led by Jeremiah Lanum of Bradley-Bourbonnais (4:28.33) followed by Sam Cruz of Wheaton-Warrenville South (4:28.57), Ryan Tracey of Plainfield North (4:28.67), and Jack O’Brien of Riverside-Brookfield (4:28.97).

 

Sean Heetland of West Aurora edged by Graham Ballard of Stevens Point to claim the win in Section 2 of the Boys 2 Mile Run by two hundredth of a second (9:29.77 – 9:29.79). Lucas Yonker of Wheaton-Warrenville South ran 9:32.83 to finish third.

 

The lead traded off between Bryson Grant of Iroquois West, Ethan Scott of Barrington, and Ari Elmayan of Niles North in the final three laps of Section 1 of the Boys 2 Mile Run. Scott pulled away on the final lap to run a 20 second personal best of 9:36.81 to claim the win ahead of Elmayan (9:42.19) and Grant (9:42.43).