2026 Batavia Distance Madness Preview

The most premier distance meet that the indoor season has to offer, the Batavia heat sheets are stocked with talent this year. There are going to be several IL #1 times that get set here, get excited for the action this Friday.

Boys 800m

The boys 800 looks like a central Illinois showdown in the top heat, we should see some amazing times. Ben Gorsage of Washington is the favorite coming into this race. Gorsage has been on fire throughout early indoor, his season best of 1:54 is far ahead of anyone else in the field. However, his flat 200 season best is a 1:56, which is not too far ahead of some other athletes in this field. Zach Born of Metamora will be the one to challenge Gorsage. Born is in his second week back from basketball, and he’s already run 1:57. He usually doesn’t start this hot, so the fact that he’s obliterated his indoor PR means he’s ready for a big race. Abe Martin of Morton is one of the top returning runners in the class of 2029, he is looking for his breakout performance. Martin had a tough time at the Charger invite in the mile, this should be a bounce-back race in his main event for him. A big name to watch out for will be Evan White of Rockford Christian. White is one of the few in this field that has maintained a perfect record in the 800 so far, he will look to protect that streak here. His season best of 1:57 puts him in range of Born and Gorsage, he could potentially snipe the win here. Another person to watch is Justin Czepial of Conant, he will surprise in his opening 800. Czepial is a 400/800 runner who has looked fantastic in the 600 this season. His season best of 1:24.17 shows that he could definitely run a scorching 800 right now, it will be interesting to see what he throws down here at Batavia. 

Boys 1600m

The mile looks to be the main event here, with some big 3A names to keep your eye on. Jameson Tenopir of Cary Grove is the big name to watch here. Tenopir has been very conservative with his racing this season, he’s only ran once this year with a 1:58.85 from Clash. He has the best mile time in the field, with a ridiculous 4:12 from last spring. He will look to shave a few seconds off of that and take home the frisbee here at Batavia. Mateus Salomao of Hersey will be another name to watch. Salomao is a textbook mid-distance runner, with PRs of 1:55 and 4:14 from last spring. He’s a returning 3A all-stater in the 800, and he’s easily capable of taking home a fast mile time here. Alex Krieg of Palatine will look to join these two in the front. Krieg is more aerobically powerful than both Tenopir and Salomao, but he lacks the 800 speed that the other two have. Either way, his PR of 9:02 puts him in another bracket of fitness, so he should be well able to compete with these two. Behind these three, you’ll see Matt King of Glenbard West. King has one of the best 3200 PRs in the field with a 9:15, he should be able to hang with the leaders for at least 3 laps. James O’Sullivan of Palatine is another name who has broken the 4:20 barrier before. O’Sullivan was a key runner on Palatine’s sub eight 4x8 last week, he will look to carry that momentum into Batavia. Gabriel Gronski of Hersey has set his lifetime best within the last few weeks, make sure you keep an eye on him. Peter Kipp of Northridge Prep and Cooper Summy of Lakes have been right around their all-time PRs as of late, they should both be in the conversation for a top 5 finish here. 

Boys 3200m

The 3200 could see the fastest string-out in history, let’s meet the field. Santiago Chavez of Reavis is out for blood, he will be looking to drop everyone in his first real 3200 of the season. Chavez hasn’t done much racing yet, but he has run 9:25 by himself at a home quad meet. However, his track times won’t speak to the type of racer he is. For that, we need to look at his cross country season. Chavez led the 3A state meet through 2 miles in 9:24, which is one of the boldest moves you can make when you aren’t the favorite. Chavez ended up paying for his antics with a 21st place finish, but you have to admire the guts that it takes to race like that. If he decides to mimic that strategy here at Batavia, this top heat is going to have to exercise great patience throughout this race. Jack Jennings of Fremd and Alex Batasala of Plainfield South will be the best at the patient game, they also have the best chance at taking Chavez down. This will be Jennings opening 2 mile, but he’s run a great full mile time of 4:20 already this season. He is a returning 3A all-stater in the 3200, which makes him the only returning track all-stater in this field. He knows how to compete when the race gets hard, and he should be a strong competitor in this field. Batsala has officially made the jump from great to elite after his 3200 at Clash, he will look to join Jennings in the chase. Batsala ran 9:11 in a time trial during cross and then backed that up with a 9:13 win in the fastest 3200 that IL has seen so far. He was the main pace pusher in that race at Clash, and he will use that confidence to try and grab a win here. Another athlete to keep your eye on is Dylan Buturisis of Plainfield South. Buturuisis will need a bounce-back race after his Clash 2 mile, having Batsala in this race will help him stay in contact with the leaders. Ellery Shutt of Woodstock will look to take significant time off of his 3200 PR. He finished fourth in the tactical mile at Clash behind some of the best distance runners in the state; he will look to show his fitness here at Batavia. The Plainfield South varsity cross country team is certainly something to keep an eye on, with Austin Cory, Kellen Hernandez and Ethan Ensign all making the top heat. These three are used to racing together, and they should use that to their advantage in this race. 

Girls 800m

The girls 800 should produce some top-rated times, it’ll be a three-way race for the win. Natalie Nahs of Minooka, Kylie Simpson of Hononegah and Lily Hodneland of Hinsdale Central will face off against each other in an extremely close matchup. Nahs and Hodneland have nearly identical PRs of 2:13.8, but Simpson beat both of them at the 3A state meet last year. Hodneland has the better season best of the three, with a 2:17 over Nahs’s and Simpson’s 2:20s, but you can expect all three of them to take considerable chunks out of their season bests here. With three runners that are all of the same caliber in a race together, you can expect nothing less than a showstopping performance from one of them. After these three, you’ll see Mikayla Chambers of Dwight lead the chase pack. Dwight’s PR of 2:18 is respectable in a field like this, and her season best is the next fastest after Simpson’s. Morgan Sauber of Huntley and Athena Triner of Yorkville will look to join Chambers towards the front of the chase pack. Sauber and Triner have both run 2:21 so far, they will look to better that mark at Batavia. 

Girls 1600m

We’re going to see some serious off-event action in the girls mile, get ready for an electric race. Emily Stecky of Depaul is the narrow favorite coming into this race, but she’ll have to fight off Lennox Szymonik of Jacobs for the win. Stecky is one of the top returning 800 runners in the field, and her PR of 2:09 shows that she’s got the most speed out of anyone here. She’s broken 5 minutes in the mile before, with a 4:59 from last winter, so she’s capable of running a strong mile. However, Szymonik has Stecky in season bests, with a 4:58 from the Huntley Invite. She has a wicked 3200 PR of 10:32, which showcases her aerobic strength. Stecky is going to have to hang on for dear life with Szymonik in the field, but if she’s attached with 400 to go, she will probably get the win here. Another girl who could use her speed in this race is Keira Jenke of Benet Academy. Jenke is another 800 specialist who is capable of running a strong mile, her PR of 5:00 will hold up in this field. Once again, if Jenke is attached to the leaders with 400 to go, it will be a battle of speed between her and Stecky for the win. Someone who will surprise you in this race is Nicole Mayer of St. Charles East. Mayer has been running PRs all over the place, but her 5:06 performance at the Hononegah invite is what puts her in this conversation. She took third in that race behind Meg Peterson of Prospect and Abigail Baumann, both of them ran 5:04. She can clearly hold her own against top tier talent, so you can expect her to mix it up with the leaders here at Batavia. Some of the top rated cross country runners will be names to watch here as well, with Kara Glenn of St. Charles North and Avery Hacker of Batavia. Glenn is coming off of Mustang Relays where she split a devious 2:15, so her speed is clearly intact. Hacker hasn’t really focused on a specific event, but her 3200 season best of 10:56 is definitely something to take into account. Either of these two could sneakily end up winning here, keep your eyes on them.

Girls 3200m

One of the best matchups of the day will come from the girls 3200, it should be a top-heavy race up front. Meg Peterson of Prospect comes in as the defending champion, but she will have her work cut out for her. She dropped a searing 10:44 last year to take the win at Batavia, but her range is what separates her from the rest. She is a returning all-stater in the 800, with a PR of 2:11.55. Her mile time of 4:52 is one of the fastest marks in the field as well, and her speed will prove to be a valuable weapon here. Sydney Gertsen of Montini Catholic is the main roadblock to a second 3200 title for Peterson. Gertsen was the 2A cross country state champion this fall, with a 3 mile PR of 16:34. Aerobically, she is much more cut out for a 3200 than Peterson is, but she doesn’t quite have the speed that Peterson does. This will be a classic matchup of a speed-based miler who is stepping up to the 2 mile vs an aerobic monster who is stepping down to the 2 mile, it should lead to a ridiculous result in the end. Behind these two titans, you’ll see Adley Wilson of St. Charles East battle it out for third. Wilson set her PR in the 3200 a few weeks ago with her 11:16 at the Huntley invite. She will be joined by Shania Tandon of Naperville North, who has a season best of 11:17. These two have had extremely similar indoor seasons, it should lead to a close matchup for third.