Reiser and Haff break away in the last 800 to win the individual races; Hinsdale Central dominates to sweep team titles

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

Peoria, Ill – It was going to be a busy weekend for Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS). It is homecoming weekend for the school and Reiser was a big part of it. After festivities Friday night, the senior drove down to Peoria Saturday morning to race in the 3A First to the Finish Invitational before heading back home for his dance that night.

The activities did not seem to bother the 3A 3200 Meter state camp and the top returnee this year in cross country. The pre-race outlook showed that the 3A Boys individual race was going to be a dual between Reiser and Ryan Clevenger (Downers Grove North HS). #23 Conant was in the meet but was without star runner Zach Dale who stayed home to go through ACT testing. Dale will have his day to run fast next week at the Rich Spring Invitational.

On this day, it was all Reiser and Clevenger. That was pretty clear in the first 400 when Reiser took the lead and Clevenger was right on his side. By the 800 meters, the two went by in 2:14. There was already a seven second gap. The two star runners were on their own. By the mile the gap was up to nine seconds. Reiser was leading. Clevenger was stuck on his side. “My Coach (John Sipple) actually told me yesterday that he wanted me to latch right on him (Reiser) to let him know you are there,” Clevenger said. “He did not want me to lead but to stay with him. I believe I have a better finish than him at the end. When it came down to it, I just could not hang on.”

Reiser started to test the Downers North runner in the next mile making little surges to see what Clevenger would do. Clevenger would respond to each one. The two went through the two mile point in 9:33 with the pack not in sight. The cat and mouse game continued as they passed behind the start finish area. As they turned onto the Route 29 portion of the course going downhill, Reiser opened up a five meter lead. This time, Clevenger did not respond. In the last 800 meters, Reiser continued to pick up the pace gaining 11 seconds in that distance. He cross the line in a blazing 14:20 also showing that he had more in the tank for later in the year. Clevenger finished in 14:32. The 14:45 that he ran at the end of July at Detweiller at Dark showed Clevenger what he could do potentially.

“In like all of the races, I want to come out with a win. That was my main focus. I knew with Clevenger being a great runner. I knew we were going to get a fast time out of it,” Reiser said. “I tried pushing the pace a little bit to try to bring him with me. I was surging a little bit and he was coming back. In the last half, people were telling me that he was ten meters behind. I knew his quick was going to come up behind me. I knew I had to go then.”

“Every quarter mile he was making a conscious move or surge to see if I was still there,” added Clevenger. “This experience will help me a lot. I won’t see Jesse the rest of the year before state. This was very good to see how he races and what he did here. It will pay dividends in November.”

The team race was projected to be a repeat of what happened last week at Hinsdale when #1 Hinsdale Central and #3 Neuqua Valley battled tooth and nail before the Red Devils came away with the win. It was not that way in this race. Hinsdale Central was starting on the outside got out in the first 800 meters where they wanted to be. Neuqua Valley, on the other hand, was starting out of box four and had trouble negotiating the first turn where a number of their runners were slowed to a basic walk. They were battling to get up front the rest of the race.

“Michael Widmann and Daniel Weiss had a hard time getting up there,” said Neuqua Valley Coach Paul Vandersteen. “It’s live and learn. I can’t remember the last time that we had an inside box. We’ve been very lucky. It is a good experience to get an inside box.”

One Neuqua Valley runner that avoided the gridlock of the first turn was Connor Horn. The junior was in the front pack chasing Reiser and Clevenger. Horn finished fourth getting edged by Kevin Salvano (Buffalo Grove HS). Horn ran a personal best of 14:45.

The team race was all about the Hinsdale Central pack and the scary potential that they could have later in the season. The #1 team in the state proved they belonged in that spot with a dominating win scoring 86 points. For the second week in a row, they had a five runner split. What made it a little scarier was that first runner Chris Brenk (7^th) ran 14:48. To have a split like that with runners up front raised the game for everyone else from this meet forward. Matt McBrien was four seconds back in eleventh. Teammate Blake Evertsen was six seconds back in twelfth. Josh Feldman (27^th) and Nathan Hill (29^th) finished within two seconds of each other. Presto. There you have a 21 second split.

Despite the fact that Neuqua Valley had on the first turn, they still fought back in the last part of the race to grab second place. It was not the pack that the Wildcats had the week before but it was still good. Daniel Weiss (22^nd), Michael Widmann (26^th), Dominic Dina (47^th), and Jake McEneaney (54^th) were within 18 seconds of each other. But the gap between Horn and the pack doomed them on this day especially with what Hinsdale ran.

The mood in the Hinsdale Central and Neuqua Valley camps by the starting line were somewhat somber after the race. Aidan Livingston, one of the top seven runners on the Neuqua Valley team, did not run in the race on Saturday. The team was notified in Peoria that Aidan’s father Jim had suffered a heart attack while riding a bike on the Prairie Path Friday. He passed away that night. Even though the Wildcats were running with a heavy heart in the race Saturday, they still performed beyond expectations of a team that has to go through a situation like that. The respect of the two teams and coaches is strong. There was no jubilation when Hinsdale Coach Jim Westphal talked afterwards.

“We just wanted to continue that process of pack running relying on each other and getting out well and then hanging on,” Westphal said. “Hopefully our sixth and seventh runners can close the gap. We are happy with these first two meets.”

#5 Lyons Township demonstrated strong pack running. Led by the fifteenth place finish of Connor Madell and with their runners within 29 seconds, the Lions scored 201 points to finish third. #11 New Trier was powered by the eighth place finish by Josh Rosenkranz. They were only eight points behind Lyons Township in fourth. #23 St. Ignatius, led by a seven second split between top three runners Daniel Santino, Andy Weber, and Kallin Khan, finished fifth with 223 points.

If the race that the Hinsdale Boys team ran was dominating, how could you describe the race that the Hinsdale Central girls race before that?

The #3 team in the state showed that the run that they had on their home course the week before was real. It showed in the first mile of the race. Alexa Haff was challenging Lauren Van Vlierbergen (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) for the lead up front. Central teammates Annie Zaher and freshman Reilly Revord were in the top ten. Then came Grace McCabe close behind. #2 Naperville North likes to work through the race to get to the front by the last mile. The Huskies were handicapped a little when five of their runners fell going around the first turn.

As the team race was going Hinsdale Central’s way, the same was happening for Haff who finished second at state a year ago. Haff and Van Vlierbergen went together through the mile in 5:23 and then 11:05 through the 2 mile. Going around the turn by the finish line, Haff made a surge that Van Vlierbergen could not reply to. In the last three quarters of a mile of the race, the Hinsdale sophomores lead grew dramatically. She crossed the line in 16:41. It was very impressive considering the course was in great condition considering the amount of rain that central Illinois had experienced in the last week. Van Vlierbergen surged and crossed the finish line in 17:00 with a smile. She wanted to go under that mark, but it was her fastest time in at least two years.

“We were neck and neck all the way,” Haff said. “When I was ready to make my move, I felt good so I went after it.”

#3 Hinsdale Central won the team title with 63 points based off of the 1-3-4 finish of Haff, Zaher, and Revord. Grace McCabe’s fourteenth place finish gave the Red Devils a strong fourth runner. It was the performance of their fifth runner that had Central coach Mark McCabe gushing.

“Like I said last week, our top four were lights out. Three in the top four and our fourth was 14^th. For goodness sake,” said McCabe. “Sarah Folliard today was huge. She was our fifth runner today. It was a huge step up from last week. It was thirty seconds faster than she has ever run on a three mile course. We are happy today for where we are at being this was only the second meet of the season.”

#2 Naperville North after the fall rebounded nicely to finish second with 122 points. The Huskies were without their #1 runner Elly DeTurris who remained in Naperville for ACT testing. North still had a nice trademark pack with Judy Pendergast (16^th), Sara Schmitt (19^th), Claire Hamilton (20^th), Jenny Gibson (33^rd), and Ella Guppy (34^th) were all within thirty seconds of each other. It just could not offset what Hinsdale Central had run.

Led by the fifth place finish of Mimi Smith, #8 New Trier was only six points behind the Huskies in third place running five runners in the top 38. Naperville Central, who is still without #1 runner Katie Hoffman due to injury, finished in fourth with 148 points. Minooka rounded out the top five scoring 197 points.