Great conditions could mean fast times at Detweiller Park

By Michael Newman

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When schools started to arrive last year at Detweiller Park for this meet, they found a huge mud pit to run on. Then again, you run on anything in a cross-country race. Last year’s times were on the average 40 seconds slower than usual.

On Saturday, it will be a 180 degree turn in what should be near perfect conditions. No rain in the forecast, temperatures in the mid-70’s with low humidity. What a difference a year makes.

A record for this meet 199 schools will converge on historic Detweiller Park to put some more memories on this fabled course.

Yes, it is the second weekend in September. It’s not the state meet. But we could see some great performances. Just another stepping stone on our way to the first Saturday in November in this park.

Six varsity races plus two open races will take place in a span of five hours starting with the 1A Girls race at 9 a.m.

Here is a look at each of the classification races that will take place on Saturday. Remember, Saturday is an ACT testing day. There will be some teams that will be missing runners from their top seven!

Class 1A Girls – 9 a.m.

Ranked Teams (15) - #3 Williamsville, #5 Illiana Christian, #6 Eureka, #11 St. Teresa, #12 El Paso-Gridley, #15 Rock Falls, #16 Rockford Christian, #18 Stanford Olympia, #19 Johnsburg, #20 Beecher, #21 Kewanee Wethersfield, #22 Elmwood-Brimfield, #23 Westmont, #24 Macomb, #25 Chicago Christian.

Team Outlook – The first race of the day is also the big mystery race in this meet. There is no team that jumps out at you as the big favorite. Williamsville jumped into the spotlight last fall finishing second behind Chicago Christian. The Bullets are the top ranked team in this field. Caroline Gwaltney, Audra Koechle, and Lexy Henrikson were the top runners last week at Rochester. Their five-runner split of 92 seconds last week may be good enough to win in this meet.

Eureka and Illiana Christian are the mystery teams in the field. Eureka has the talent to win especially with all-state runner Emma Argo leading them. This is their first race of the season. Illiana Christian ran last Saturday but did not have their #1 runner Gillian Fiene in the lineup. She did race last Wednesday at the Irish Conditioner where she looked good. With her in, this team does have the talent to challenge for the win. A “Fiene-less” team could have trouble getting into the top five.

St. Teresa and Rock Falls are other teams that I could see challenge for a spot in the top three or perhaps winning. Sophomore Veronica Hein has been the top runner for St. Teresa early in the season. Their split was close to three minutes last week. That needs to come down for this team to challenge for the win. Rock Falls will have Bailee Fortney and Alex Gomez that could finish in the top ten. They do have a split that could be smaller than that of St. Teresa near two minutes and could be one of the teams that might find their way into the top three.

Kewanee Wethersfield did not run two of their first seven in their first race. If they are at full strength, especially if Whitney Johnson is leading them, then the Titans could be a surprise. Rockford Christian, Johnsburg, and Beecher would be teams that I would also keep an eye on.

Individual Outlook – Just like the team race, the chase for the win will be the same. Gillian Fiene does have the fastest career time on the course out of this field and could be the favorite if she is 100% healthy. Emma Argo of Eureka will race for the first time this year but I expect her to be towards the front. She finished eight at state last November. Maya Stovall of Macomb finished 11th at state last year. She opened her season last week with a win at Canton.

Madison Franseen of Rockford Christian has already picked up wins this fall at Rock Falls and Oregon defeating Rock Falls’ Bailee Fortney and Alex Gomez both times. The junior could challenge for the win. Whitney Johnson of Wethersfield opened the season with a win on her home course more than a week ago. She is someone to keep a watch for in the front.

There are two cross-country newcomers that could be difference makers in the front. Lizzy Friedinger of Tremont did not run last fall but had a good track season including qualifying for state in the 3200 Meter Run. In her first cross-country race at Rochester, she ran 18:37 for the win ahead of Pleasant Plains’ Caroline Jachino. Both could be towards the front on Saturday. Lydia Roller of Staunton has started her high-school career with wins at SIU-Edwardsville and Carlinville. She is a runner that I would watch for challenging for the win.

Other athletes that I would keep an eye on include Payne Turney of Clinton, Bailey Fortney & Alex Gomez of Rock Falls, and Laura Krasa of Judah Christian.

Class 1A Boys – 9:40 a.m.

Ranked Teams (12) - #2 Rockford Christian, #3 Athens, #4 Elmwood-Brimfield, #6 Carlinville, #8 Deer Creek-Mackinaw, #11 St. Teresa, #12 Tremont, #13 Eureka, #15 El Paso-Gridley, #19 Rock Falls, #22 Illinois Valley Central, #24 Urbana University.

Team Outlook – Athens and Elmwood-Brimfield face off for the second week in a row. Athens had the edge last week winning by only six points. Athens has Wyatt McIntyre in the front who is one of the best 1A runners in the state. The key for this team is watching their pack behind McIntyre. Those four runners were separated by 48 seconds. Elmwood-Brimfield will have Cooper Hoffman and Trevor Dunkel towards the front. The team had a 42-second split on their first four runners at Canton. Keeping their five-runner split under between 60 to 62 seconds could put them ahead of Athens.

Rockford Christian has run at Rock Falls and Oregon in their first two weeks winning at Rock Falls without their #1 runner Riley Wells. The 1A 800 Meter Run champ did run last week and could be in the top five in this race. The team has not really run an “all-out” race yet. They did have a 59 second split at Rock Falls off their top runner Brent Brunner. Wells ran side-by-side Brunner last week. The Royal Lions keeping their split under 60 seconds with Wells and Brunner up front could mean a team win.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw was a distant fourth behind Athens and Elmwood-Brimfield at Canton. The addition of John Bluemeyer into their top five could push this team closer. The freshman won the F/S race last week and would have been the team’s fourth runner in the varsity race. Jackson Stewart leads St. Teresa that will need to get their pack closer to their #1 runner. It was more than 90 seconds back last week. Eureka has yet to race and could be a surprise. Carlinville has been running 63 to 65 second splits on their top five. If their #1 runner Jacob Landon can finish in the top ten with the split at or under 60 seconds, the Cavaliers could take home the top prize.

Individual Outlook – It could be Wyatt McIntyre vs. the clock in this race. The senior, who finished second at state and this race last year, ran 15:19 winning by almost 30 seconds last week. His time would have been equivalent to a 14:43 run at Detweiller. The conditions are predicted to be good on Saturday. We could see him run near 14:35.

It is wide-open after McIntyre. Pittsfield’s Eli Ten Eyk finished 11th at state last year. He is on a drive to do some big things this fall. It could start with his race on Saturday. Jackson Stewart finished 15 seconds ahead of the top three runners from Harvest Christian Academy last week in winning the race at Harvest Christian. I could see him towards the front in this race. Brandon Schnitker of Nashville has started out slow this fall finishing 14th at SIU-Edwardsville and but then third the following week at Murphysboro. He’s coming to race here as an individual. I am guessing he is looking also for a fast time.

Austin Knight of Carterville finished eight seconds behind Schnitker at Murphysboro after finishing fifth at SIU-Edwardsville. Christopher Collet of Seneca has started out strong winning at Morris and Seneca. Watch for both these runners to challenge for top five spots.

There is plenty of talent in this race. Runners to also watch for include Owen Haberger of Illinois Valley Central, Dawson Smith of Rock Falls, Javon Watkins of Madison, Tim Bertulis of Johnsburg, and Jason Landon of Carlinville.

Class 2A Girls – 10:20 a.m.

Ranked Teams (13) - #1 Belvidere North, #2 Dunlap, #3 Vernon Hills, #4 Waterloo, #6 Washington, #7 Dixon, #9 Lakes Community, #11 Latin School, #14 Canton, #16 Triad, #19 Riverside-Brookfield, #22 Metamora, #24 Morton.

Team Outlook – I am looking forward to all six varsity races that will take place on Saturday. This could be the most anticipated as 2A powers Belvidere North, Dunlap, and Vernon Hills lead six of the top seven teams in the ILXCTF rankings to the starting line.

It could be only 8 to 14 points that separates Belvidere North and Dunlap in the team battle. Belvidere North has the strength up front led by Madison Diercks and Gianna Sagona. Sabrina Elder has started off strong and could also be in the top ten. Dunlap has a strong pack led by Franny Verville. Campbell Petersen was the team’s top runner two weeks ago at Normal West. She could again be the team’s top runner and could get the low number up front that the Eagles will need. Like in any other race, it is going to come down to pack running. The split for the Blue Thunder at Sycamore more than a week ago was 93 seconds. That’s okay especially with their three runners up front. That spread does need to come down. Dunlap took the top five spots last week at Galesburg with a split of 35 seconds without Peterson running. Getting a runner in North’s first three would be a help. Keeping that same kind of split and having six runners crossing the line before Belvidere North gets four in gives them the team title. Belvidere North getting their fourth runner in before Dunlap’s fifth with a split near 70 seconds could get them the win.

I would not count out Vernon Hills in this meet especially with the way they have been running. Lauren Katz could be in the top ten in this race. The emergence of sophomore Carly Sear as the #2 runner along with Payton Makowskyj gives the Cougars a strong top three. Sear was 40 seconds behind Katz at Fenton. This team will be a solid third if they keep the pack from two through five at 15 seconds. Getting that pack ten seconds closer to Katz could have this team in the running for a team title.

Waterloo had a great race last week at Granite City finishing second behind 3A Edwardsville and led by the individual win from Jenna Schwartz. They have a solid pack in the front that could have three runners in the top 20. Their split on five last week of 144 seconds will not get them into the top three in this meet. Getting their getting their split near 90 seconds on their pack behind Schwartz gets them closer to the top three.

Washington opens their invitational season at this meet. It will be interesting to see what kind of pack that they have. Dixon finished second behind Belvidere North at Sycamore. Nicquelette Fazekas and Paige Stees lead the Duchesses. This team could finish in the top five but will need to keep their five-runner split under 70 seconds.

Individual Outlook – Rockford Boylan Catholic is scheduled to be at this meet which could mean the 2017 debut of two-time All—American Grace McLaughlin. She had a great end of season last spring winning two state titles and then her success at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. McLaughlin has not raced in any of her team’s three races this fall. If she is on the line Saturday morning, she is the favorite.

Belvidere North teammates Madison Diercks and Gianna Sagona have finished 1-2 in all their races this season. If McLaughlin does not run, that could happen again. Jenna Schwartz of Waterloo had a great race last week at Granite City running 17:32. She will be in the front pack in this race. Dunlap’s Franny Verville and Campbell Petersen are capable of finishing in the top ten along with Vernon Hills’ Lauren Katz and Shanice Garbutt of Danville.

Freshman Marianne Mihas of Latin School easily won the frosh/soph race at Hinsdale last week. With her running Varsity this weekend, we could see her perhaps in the top five. Sophia Elder of Hampshire, Arielle Summit of Urbana University, and Kylie Hagmann of Woodstock are also capable of breaking into the top ten.

Class 2A Boys – 11 a.m.

Ranked Teams (16) - #2 Normal University, #4 Danville, #5 Sycamore, #6 Kaneland, #11 Belvidere North, #12 Dixon, #13 Lakes Community, #14 Metamora, #16 Antioch, #17 Normal West, #18 Riverside-Brookfield, #20 Rock Island Alleman, #21 Illiana Christian, #22 Elmwood Park, #23 Mt. Zion, #25 Washington.

Team Outlook – With defending state champion Mahomet-Seymour running this weekend, all eyes will be on Normal University in this race. The Pioneers did not run all their top seven last week at the Normal Open. Top runners Jared Schuckman, Harris Porter, and Matt Zacharias should lead this team on Saturday. Their top three runners last week were within 32 seconds of each other. With Schuckman up front and a split near 30 seconds on their pack could get U-High the win.

It is up for grabs for the top five behind Normal University. Danville could be a team to watch for the win after a strong second-place finish behind Mahomet-Seymour at Charleston. Michael Moreman could finish in the top ten. Their overall split in that meet was 49 seconds on five but only eight seconds from their third through fifth runners. What for that split to get even closer this weekend.

Kaneland will have the strength of Matt Richtman up front. They key is getting their pack closer to their star. The split on their pack from #2 Daniel Occhipinti and #5 Peyton Heiser was only 33 seconds in their meet at Sycamore but 82 seconds behind Richtman. The pack split is good but it needs to get closer to the front by 20 seconds. Sycamore finished third behind Kaneland in their home meet but did not have their #1 runner Stephen Poorten in the lineup due to a calf injury. His doctors cleared him to run on Saturday. We will see how far close to the front he is. His presence could push his team to a team top three finish.

Metamora, Illiana Christian, Dixon, Belvidere North, and Normal West are all capable of finishing in the top five. Unranked Waterloo could be the surprise team in the top five.

Individuals Outlook – This will be the second time that Matt Richtman of Kaneland and Jacob Gebhardt of Sterling will face off. The two raced more than a week ago at Sycamore with Richtman coming away with a two second win. Gebhardt followed that effort last Saturday running a good 15:15 at Galesburg winning by 30 seconds. The two will challenge each other down to the finish once again on Saturday.

Stephen Poorten of Sycamore finished fourth last year at sectionals before an injury forced him out before state. He will be racing on Saturday for the first time. This race could be a rust-buster for him. It would not surprise me if he finishes in the top five. Jared Schuckman of Normal University should be among the top five in this race. The senior finished 11th in last year’s state meet. Confidence from a successful track season could have him winning at the Det.

Nick Oakley of Charleston ran 15:08.9 to win by a second ahead of Mason Jones of Mt. Zion last week at Charleston. Expect both towards the front in this race. Metamora’s Adam Gilbreath-Glaub finished fifth last week at Galesburg. He could be a surprise in the front.

This talented field also has Austin Ohm and Derek Van Prooyen of Illiana Christian, Blake Jones of Lincoln, Spencer Smith of Rock Island Alleman, Mark Skaggs of East Peoria, Charlie Smith of Antioch, Michael Moreman of Danville, and Jimmy McDonald of Vernon Hills all capable of finishing in the top ten.

Class 3A Girls – 1 p.m.

Ranked Teams (13) - #1 Naperville North, #3 Yorkville, #4 Hinsdale Central, #5 Downers Grove South, #6 Barrington, #7 Edwardsville, #8 Lyons Township, #9 Minooka, #11 Batavia, #15 Hononegah, #21 Naperville Central, #22 New Trier, #24 Lockport Township.

Team Outlook – This is almost a 3A state meet preview except for top ten teams Glenbard West and Maine South running this weekend at Lake Park. Everyone else is here in what will be an extremely close team battle.

I think the top four teams could be within 20 points of each other. Top ranked Naperville North looked great in winning last weekend in Iowa. They have the power up front led by Sarah Schmitt, Alex Morris, and Hannah Ricci. All three runners could finish in the top ten in this race. The split on their top five was 109 seconds off Schmitt, 86 seconds off Morris. The Lady Huskies tend to run a closer split the week after Pleasant Valley. That should be the case on Saturday.

Yorkville has not raced since August 21. The Lady Foxes should be a factor in this race. They ran a 41 second split on their top five in that race and that was without last year’s #1 runner Nicole Greyer who was just starting up training after an injury. With Greyer in the top five, Yorkville could be that much closer to the front.

I liked what I saw from Downers Grove South in their win last Saturday at Fenton. Brenna Cohoon should be among the first ten in the race. The Lady Mustangs had a 41 second split on their top five with only 15 seconds separating the pack behind Cohoon. This team could come away with the win. Their top five needs to be among the first 32 runners. Getting their top seven in before Naperville North’s fifth could increase their chances of winning.

Edwardsville was a surprise at Granite City scoring only 33 points and could finish in the top three in this meet. Abby Korak ran 17:48 in that race and could be among the first ten in this race. The split on their top five was 56 seconds. If Korak is in the top ten with a split of 50 seconds or under, the Tigers could finish in the first three.

Hinsdale Central edged Glenbard West by two points last week at Hinsdale. The Red Devilettes could be a surprise again. Grace McCabe along with Reilly and McKenna Revord are all talented to get in the first 15. The split was 81 seconds on their top five. If that comes down, watch for this team in the first three. Minooka could make it in the top five led by Emily Shelton. Just like Hinsdale Central, closing their split could get them to that result. Lyons Township will again be without Sarah Barcelona who is still recovering from an injury. They do have Emily Henkel to lead them to perhaps finishing in the top five.

Barrington looked great in winning last week at St. Charles led by Jocelyn Long. The addition of two freshmen including Molly FitzPatrick could see this team as a surprise in this meet. Batavia had a tight pack behind Barrington. Moving their pack closer to the front could mean big things on Saturday from this team.

Hononegah has three runners that could finish among the top 20 in this race led by Alicia Repka and Taylor Frommier. Their split does need to come down for this team to be among the first 10. Lockport Township and Naperville Central are teams that could surprise some.

Individuals Outlook – With no Katelynne Hart and Lindsey Payne in this race, we will see a different face crossing the line first in Peoria. Naperville North’s Sarah Schmitt’s time of 17:49 on Pleasant Valley’s 5k course last Saturday was equivalent to a quick 16:37 at Detweiller park. With the quality of field that we have in this race, that is possible. The big individual surprise last week was the 17:20 run by Enyaeva Michelin of Evanston Township at Hinsdale. She could be the one runner to challenge Schmitt in this race. Emily Shelton of Minooka was 13 seconds behind Michelin last week but was running under the weather. A healthy Shelton could push the pace up front.

Barrington’s Jocelyn Long won by 30 seconds last week at St. Charles and will be one of the runners pushing for the win. Melissa Manetsch of Libertyville was slowed down by injuries last fall. She is running strong with wins at the Lake County Invitational and the Racine Horlick Invitational. Don’t count her out in this race.

Other runners to watch in this race include Katherine Olsen of DeKalb, Alex Morris and Hannah Ricci of Naperville North, Abby Korak of Edwardsville, Brenna Cohoon of Downers Grove South, and Taylor Frommier of Hononegah.

How many runners will we have under 17 minutes? We will find out just before noon on Saturday.

Class 3A Boys – 1:40 p.m.

Ranked Teams (10) - #1 Downers Grove North, #5 Lyons Township, #8 Hinsdale Central, #10 Downers Grove South, #12 Glenbard West, #13 Edwardsville, #14 New Trier, #17 Plainfield North, #19 Dundee-Crown, #24 Maine South.

Team Outlook – Here is another meet where we get to see how good one of the top teams in the nation Downers Grove North is. The top ranked team in the state has improved in their first two races. At St. Charles last Saturday, Jacob Ridderhoff led the Trojans to a five runner 15 second split last week. We should see more of the same in this meet. They will again focus on pack running, but could have five runners close to or under 15 minutes.

Could we see a sweep of five West Suburban Conference teams a top of the standings in this race? It is a possibility. Lyons Township has one of the top runners in the state leading them. Watch for them to work on their pack, led by Charles Harders, to get a little closer together in this race. The four runners behind Kilrea were within 38 seconds of each other in last week’s race. Harders was 64 seconds behind Kilrea last week. Watch for that split to get closer.

Hinsdale Central had a 14 second split on their first four runners last week on their home course. The problem was their overall split was 44 seconds on five runners. Alec Hill and Sean O’ Connell could finish in the top 15. A split of 35 seconds or smaller could get the Red Devils in the top three. Glenbard West moved into the top 15 in the rankings last week with their win over Hersey at Fenton. Their split on five was only 26 seconds. The key is moving their pack, led by Stephen Moody, closer to the front. Moody or Rory Cavan could finish in the top 20.

Downers Grove South finished third last week at Lyons Township putting their top three in the first 12 places. One thing that will need to be worked on is the split from #1 runner Stephen Pipilas and #5 runner Nick Dziedzic was 76 seconds. In a smaller meet, this would not be a problem. That kind of split in a race with these numbers could cause problems. Pipilas could be in the top 10 as well as two other runners in the first 25. That split will have to come down if they have hopes of finishing in the top three.

There are three other teams to keep an eye on. Edwardsville looked good in winning at Granite City led by Roland Prenzler who could finish in the top 15 on Saturday. The team only had a 32 second split on their scorers. They could be a surprise in the top five. Dundee-Crown showed their packing strength running a 31 second split on a tough Veteran Acres Park course. How will that split translate on a flat course like Detweiller Park. Unranked DeKalb could be the surprise in this race. The Barbs only had 40 second split on their first five last week. If they can get one runner in the first 25 with the same type of split, DeKalb could finish within the first five.

St. Ignatius scored a perfect 15 points in their own invitational last Saturday and could be one of the top ten teams along with Naperville Central and New Trier. Yorkville and Oswego East could be surprises in the top ten.

Individuals Outlook – Last week it was Danny Kilrea running 14:10 for a 24 second win ahead of Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs. This week it is the Lyons Township senior against Whitney Young’s Clayton Mendez in what could be a sizzling finishing time. Mendez was in cruise control last week at Plainfield Central running only 15:17 for the win. Mendez is in good shape. We could find out how good Saturday afternoon. You don’t see times near 14:20 at Detweiller Park in early September. In 2011, Edwardsville’s Garrett Sweat led three runners under 14:30 as he crossed the line in 14:20. We could see that kind of race on Saturday.

There is a good group of runners that could see themselves under 15 minutes in this race. Andrew O’Keefe of Granite City ran 15:05 to win his own invitational and could find his way into the top five. Tommy Brady of Maine South finished third behind Kilrea and Jacobs last week running 14:46. We could see Brady and teammate Brandon Christopher under that magical 15-minute mark. You have Downers Grove North’s team led by Jacob Ridderhoff, Matt Moravec, and Ryan Birkmeier all could be under 14:50 for starters. Maybe more than three will be under 15. Patrick Norrick of New Trier finished third last week. He could also be among the top five with Downers Grove South’s Stephen Pipilas and Jacobs’ Zach Albrecht close.

Also keep an eye on Sam Rivera and Charlie Nevins of Whitney Young, Brett Lucas of Stevenson, and Alec Hill of Hinsdale Central. Thomas Shilgalis of Naperville Central ran 15:00 in July on this course but did not run last week in Hinsdale. If he is healthy, he could be among the front runners.