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.

Girls

800m

The state runner up will be running the 800, and it will still be a close race. Mia Forystek of Lincoln Way Central has yet to run an open 800 this season, she has chosen Batavia as the place to come out of her winter slumber. She ran 2:12.24 last year to take second place in the 3A 800 at State. She would be a big favorite, if it weren’t for Allison Shutler’s performance at Mustang Relays earlier this week. Shutler ran a cataclysmic 2:13.0 in a 4x8 split time to help her team run 9:12.00. She has the fastest season best in the field in both the open and in a split time, she has a very good chance at winning this race. They will be joined by Lily Hodneland of Hinsdale Central. She has run 2:16.94 so far this season and has the second best open season best in the field, only trailing Shutler (2:16.56 for open). Cecilia Hilby of Central Catholic ran 2:15.96 last year to take 5th in the 2A 800. She is a part of the pack that has run 2:19. She has run 2:19.08 so far this season, she will contend for the win as well. Athena Triner of Yorkville is seeded at 2:16.40, she has run 2:19 as well this season. Triner was one of the best middle school runners in the State last year. The St. Charles North duo of Gwen Hobson and Julia Rodney have also ran 2:19 this season and will be in the mix. I would also keep your eye on Jane Lynch of Loyola Academy. She is a sub 5 miler, but the last time she ran an 800 was a whole year ago, and she only ran it once that season. She is seeded at the back of heat 3 at 2:26, I would be willing to bet she will also be under 2:20. This event will be a great way to start the night off, I could not be more excited.

1600m

Emma Berres of Naperville North and Veronica Znajda of Prospect are going to be battling it out for the win in the mile. Berres is an incredibly well rounded distance runner. She boasts PRs of 2:12.92, 4:55.01, and 11:04.2. She was known for her 800 speed for a long time, but after this cross country season, she has really extended her range. She was 13th at the state championship with a season PR in the 3 mile of 17:08.8. This extra endurance does nothing but make her more dangerous, I think that gives her the advantage over Znajda. Don’t count Znajda out though, she is more than capable of competing with Berres. Znajda is the only athlete in the field who has run sub 5 indoors, she ran 4:58 last season to take second at 3A top times. She has a PR of 4:58.7, which is from that top times race. She has PRs of 2:15.21, 4:58.7, and 10:39.5. She is the better cross country runner out of her and Berres. She took 3rd at the 3A state championships with a 3 mile PR of 16:34.8. Znajda and Berres have different skill sets, but both of them are incredible milers. It will be interesting to see how their tactics interact and to see who will come out on top. Stella Davis of Evanston is the only other athlete seeded under 5 minutes. She doesn’t quite have the 800 speed that Znajda and Berres have, her 800 PR sits around 2:18.81 from her sophomore year. She will have some extreme competition from behind her in Lola Satre Morales, Sofia Arcuri, Delilah Hellenhouse, and Kyla Babb. Lola Satre Morales had an incredible race on Monday, she split a 2:12.7 in the 4x8 to anchor home the Redhawks to an IL #6 time of 9:27.50. That split time is an all time PR for her, her previous PR was 2:13.26. She is the only athlete who has an open 400 under a minute, it currently sits at 58.42 from last year outdoor. She has some incredible explosiveness which will come in handy in the last 400 meters of the race. Sofia Arcuri has the same build as Satre Morales, just with a little less speed. Expect Arcuri to be a demon on the finish as well. Hellenhouse and Babb are the only two athletes who have run under 11 minutes in the 3200 so far this season. Kyla Babb is currently IL #4 with a 10:37 and Delilah Hellenhouse is IL #6 with a 10:55. Both are not on the level of Satre Morales and Arcuri as far as raw speed, but both have an aerobic capacity that Satre Morales and Arcuri don’t quite have. Once again, the mixing of tactics and racing styles will make for a very interesting race between the 2 milers and the 800 runners. 

3200m

Maya Ledesma of Minooka will look to take the 3200 crown here at Batavia. She had a stellar cross country season and she is in incredible shape right now. She took 4th at the 3A Cross Country state meet with a 16:39.1, which is the fastest time out of the field. She has showcased some of her speed already when she split a 2:18.7 for Minooka’s 4x8 on Monday. She is surprisingly well rounded for someone who doesn’t run the 800 very often, I would expect her to walk away with the win. If anyone will challenge her, it will be Meg Peterson of Prospect. Peterson had a strong cross country season, she was 16:51.7 at the 3A State Meet and she took 7th in that race. She is a better 800 runner than Ledesma, she just recently split a 2:14.7 at Mustang Relays and she has an open PR of 2:14.65. The interesting thing is that she also has the aerobic base to run in an around 11 minutes in the 3200. Her all time PR is 10:58 and she has been able to run in the low 11 minutes very consistently. If she is able to stay in contact with Ledesma for most of the race, she will be able to beat her with a strong kick. Avery Hacker of Batavia is the only other girl in the field who has run under 17 minutes during cross. She was 8th at the 3A state championships and she will compete well against Ledesma and Peterson. Shania Tandon of Naperville North has the fastest seed time out of the rest of the field, she is seeded at 10:56 and will make a bid for the win as well. Nicole Poglitisch of Wheaton Warrenville South had an incredible finish to her cross country season, she took 11th at the 3A state meet and will be a key part of the chase pack. Lily Baibak of Waubonsie Valley could surprise you as well. She ran 4:59 in the mile last year and she has a 3200 of 11:09, I think she could potentially make some noise. Sophia Baumert of Streamwood will be the final athlete to make up this pack, she saw large time drops during cross country and will stick with the pack as long as she can. I could see this being a race that strings out the longer it goes. It will be interesting to watch Ledesma and Hacker counter Peterson’s kick. I could see all 3 of them taking home the win, it really just depends on who runs better on the day.

Boys

800m

This event features the matchup that I’m most excited to see. Metamora’s favorite 800 runner is making his return from basketball to stomp on some 800 dreams. Zach Born had an unbelievable freshman year, running a soul crushing 1:55.48 to take 8th in the 2A 800 at state. He was US #11 for freshman in the 800 last year, he is one of the fastest returning athletes this year. His 3 mile during cross saw dramatic improvement as well. He took 10th in the 2A state meet with a 3 mile time of 14:42. However, he is not without competition. Jackson Summy of Lakes has looked very strong this season so far, I don’t think he will let Born run away with the win. Summy has run some big time PRs this season, he is 4:16.8 in the 1600 and 9:22 in the 3200 right now. Earlier this week, he helped his team run 8:01 by splitting a 1:56.8 at the Bronco Relays. He did this with virtually no competition as well, so expect him to be under that mark when he has other people to race. Summy has Born in versatility, but Born has Summy in speed. This matchup is highly anticipated to be one of the best 1v1s of the night and it’s too close to call the winner right now. The chase pack behind these two will make for a very crowded race. The fastest seed time in the field (behind Born) goes to Griffin Schneid of Benet Academy with a 1:57.01. He hasn’t raced yet this season, but saw a pretty big drop in time during cross country. This could be an indicator for improvement in the 800, if so, he will hang with Summy and Born. Nathan Gabriel is the dark horse of this race. He has a PR of 1:58.1 which he ran as a freshman. The Joliet Central Sophomore had a very productive cross country season, lowering his PR from 16:01 to 14:56 and qualifying for the state championships. He is flying under everybody’s radar and is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated distance runner in the state right now. He is a huge wild card in this race, I think he will use this stage to prove that he is a name to remember. St. Charles East has 3 representatives in the fast heat with Michael Wilson, Patrick Klasa, and Sam Wollak. All 3 have been in the 1:58s before, all 3 will look to return to the 1:58s. Adam Strombom of Crystal Lake South will be another one in the chase pack, he had a big win over Ben Crane in the 800 this season. He has a season best of 1:59.2 and a lifetime best of 1:58.7, expect him to be a factor in this race. Another kid who has been going off this indoor season is Ethan Petrillo of St. Ignatius. The junior has nearly matched his PR in the 800 already, running 1:59.2 at the Cabin Fever invite to take third. John Daffenberg of Marmion Academy has fully embraced his speed and has started running open 400s. If he has a quality race, he will be in the mix as well. The race behind the top 2 individuals is packed with kids who have been running 1:58 consistently. The sheer amount of bodies will make this race chaotic. The runners who will have the best race are going to have to make their moves early so they can just stay out of the way of each other. Make sure to bring your popcorn,  This race is going to be super fun to watch.

1600m

Jacobs has one of the best distance runners in the state and he is the heavy favorite in the field this Friday. Max Sudrzynski had a mind blowing 1600 at the Huntley invite and he will replicate that here at Batavia. He is seeded first with a 4:13.7 and he is almost 4 seconds ahead of everyone else. It’s not to say that he doesn’t have competition, but it would take running an otherworldly time drop if someone else wanted to win. If anyone can do it, it will be Carter Hayes of Palatine. Hayes is one of the best racers in the state, he’s amazing at winning when it matters. He has run 4:18.6 and 1:57.4 so far this season, he is currently IL #5 in the 800 and IL #8 in the 1600. I think that he has more in the tank for that 1600, he ran 14:42 in the 3 mile and he has a 3200 of 9:19. He clearly has a strong aerobic base, and if you couple that with his 800 PR of 1:53, you get a very dangerous miler. I think he has the best chance at beating Sudrzynski out of anyone in this field, but it won’t be a walk in the park. The real challenge for these two will be shaking the rest of the field off. Evan Nosek of Kaneland has been racing better than he ever has during indoor. He has run 9:17 for the full two miles and he will be racing the mile for the first time this season. I think he is the next best runner in this field, I would be shocked if he doesn’t break the 4:20 border. Following him will be pretty much everyone else. Similar to the 800, there are a lot of guys hovering around the same mark which means that it will be a crowded race once again. Greyson Ellensohn of St. Charles East runs a similar strategy to Nosek, both are excellent 3200 runners and like to stretch their lead out early. However, Ellensohn has been seen with a kick, so even if he is behind, he could still work his way into the race later on. Alex Krieg of Palatine, Patrick Clune of Naperville Central and Jameson Tenopir of Cary Grove have been the strongest this season out of the rest of the competition. Tenopir and Clune are known for their speed, but I’ve seen Krieg unleash a demon to gun competitors down as well. All 3 of these runners will pull something late in the race, don’t be worried if they patiently camp out in the back for the first few laps. Christian Harris of Morton could also surprise you. He ran 9:25 in the 3200 recently, and he was sub 4:20 last year in the mile as well. He has only run one mile this year, and it was a sub par performance at Misfits. I think if he is back on his game, he will compete with the best of this field. All of them will be aiming for the 4:20 border, all are tantalizingly close right now. There were some big names who didn’t make the fast heat and will still have a good race. Braden Hoff of Lincoln Way Central and Aiden Noel of Wheaton Warrenville South are the 2 unlucky guys to miss the cutoff for the fast heat, they will duke it out in heat 7. This race will be just as exciting as the 800, stay tuned for fast times. 

3200m

A very top heavy field of 2 milers, this one will probably see the best individual performance of the night. There are 4 3A all-staters, a 2A state champ, and a 2A state runner up in this field, I would expect there to be fireworks in the boys 3200. Finn Richards of Benet Academy had an incredible cross country campaign, he will look to make a statement here at Batavia. His 2 mile PR is a little behind the rest of the competition, but that doesn’t mean you should count him out. His 3 mile PR was a whopping 14:21 this year, which he used to win the 2A state championships. He was 16th in the championship section at NXR, and was 25th at the Footlocker Midwest Regional. However, Richards lost one race to Illinois competition throughout cross country, and that was to Ben Crane and Josiah Narayanan. One of the two boys that were able to defeat Richards during his reign of terror is in the field at Batavia. Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton Warrenville comes in with the fastest seed time of 9:08.8 and is one of few boys who I think can challenge Richards. During early cross country, Narayanan was an absolute unit, he was taking down huge names left and right. He didn’t have the best finish to his season, but was still able to nab all-state with a 16th place finish. He has ran a couple times so far this season, but he hasn’t let anything rip yet. I’m hopeful that he will choose Batavia as the time to let loose because he won’t have better competition until the state meet rolls around. As strong as Narayanan and Richards are, I still think Tommy Nitz of Huntley might be able to beat both of them. Nitz is seeded at 9:10.2 and is having the best season out of anyone on this list. He is currently IL #1 in the 1600 with a 4:12.8 and IL #3 in the 800 with a 1:55.9. He has yet to run the 3200 yet, but he has always been proficient in that event. I really wouldn’t be surprised if he runs something crazy here, he very easily could steal the win from Narayanan and Richards. Rory Gaan of Fremd and Francesco Benelli of Batavia will be excellent pushers, they have PRs of 9:09 and 9:13 respectively. Gaan was the reason Nitz and Sudrzynski ran crazy fast in the mile. If he can learn when to reign in the pace, he will be a nightmare to race against. Benelli hasn’t run the 3200 yet this season, but with the competition surrounding him and the fact that he’s racing on his home track makes me think he will be a dog in this race. Thomas Jochum of Glenbard South is the only other athlete who I could see mixing things up in the front pack. He ran 9:19 completely solo to win the Greg Foster invite, and he is currently undefeated. He is a savvy racer, and he was the runner up at the 2A State Championships  during cross country. He has an excellent kick, and he is very used to racing Finn Richards, as he made clear when he rode on his coattails to take his second place title. I think if he can stay in contact with the leaders, he has a chance at making the top 3, potentially even taking home the win.