2019 Peoria Invitational Meet Preview

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

A different type of record hit Detweiller Park last week. More than six inches of rain hit the Peoria area last Friday September 27 which put portions of Detweiller Park’s course under water. The course was still flooded late Sunday afternoon. On Wednesday, Meet Director Brien Dunphy tweeted out a picture where the course had been flooded. Dunphy stated the meet will go on and the course was solid. The condition of the course could be the story of this meet on Saturday.

Four races with each  going off in 45 minute intervals starting at 9:00 AM. It should be a good day of racing in Peoria.

Class 1A/2A Girls – 9:00 AM

Ranked Teams – (2A): #4 Lakes Community, #5 Dunlap, #8 Dixon, #9 Bloomington, #10 Chatham-Glenwood, #12 Crystal Lake South, #13 Highland, #14 Peoria Notre Dame, #15 Fenwick, #16 Urbana, #24 Troy Triad; (1A): #4 Normal University, #17 Roxana, #18 Freeburg, #21 Rockford Christian, #22 Benton.

Other Teams – Bartonville Limestone, Belvidere, Carbondale, Carlinville, Centralia, Champaign Central, Charleston, Decatur MacArthur, East Peoria, Effingham St. Anthony, Fenton, Galesburg, Galva Mid-County, Mattoon, Massac County, Metamora, Morton, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Zion, Mundelein Carmel, Peoria, Peoria Manual, Peoria Richwoods, Pontiac, Princeton, Rock Island Alleman, Springfield, Sterling, Waterloo.

Preview – The individual competition in this race could be one of the highlights in this meet. Lakes Community’s Brooke Stromsland finished second in last year’s race. She will be looking for the win at Detweiller after finishing third last week at Palatine. Benton’s Amelia McLain ran 17:27 to finish ninth two weeks ago on this course and could be one of the runners to push Stromsland. Olivia Rosenstein of Urbana ran 17:50 here two weeks ago and is primed to have a big race on Saturday.

Freshman Saniya Mathew of Dunlap is having a standout season and will be among the leaders along with Jade Miller and Paige Stees of Dixon, Kaitlin Skeate of Bloomington, Janelynn Wirth of Roxana, Emma Skinner of Morton, Breanna Chandler of Freeburg, Macy Priess of Dunlap, and Nia Gibson of Chatham-Glenwood are some of the runners to watch near the front.

The chase for the team title is wide-open with Lakes Community the top ranked team in the field. Dixon had a strong race last week in Sterling and could be the team to beat. Chatham-Glenwood, led by Gibson, had a strong race last week outdistancing Mascoutah and Highland. The Titans only had a 20 second split from their second through fifth runners which could make a difference in this team race.

Normal University has moved down to Class 1A, but still have the talent to challenge for the team title after finishing second in this race last year. Crystal Lake South, led by McKenzie Aldridge, won the team title last year and will be ready to repeat especially with the addition of freshman Isabella Gonzalez.

Class 1A/2A Boys – 9:45 AM

Ranked Teams – (2A): #2 Benet Academy, #5 Dixon, #6 Chatham-Glenwood, #7 Bloomington, #8 Troy Triad, #11 Centralia, #12 Springfield, #14 Bartonville Limestone, #15 Mascoutah, #18 Waterloo, #20 Metamora, #22 Urbana, #24 Carbondale; (1A): #13 Freeburg, #14 Benton, #19 Rockford Christian

Other Teams – Carlinville, Champaign Central, Charleston, Decatur Eisenhower, Decatur MacArthur, Dunlap, East Peoria, Effingham St. Anthony, Fenton, Fenwick, Galesburg, Galva Mid-County, Hinsdale South, Lakes Community, Leo Catholic, Marion, Mattoon, Morton, Mt. Vernon, Mt. Zion, Mundelein Carmel, Normal University, Peoria Manual, Peoria, Peoria Notre Dame, Peoria Richwoods, Pontiac, Princeton, Rock Island Alleman, Roxana, Sterling

Preview – The top ranked team in this race and the favorite should be Benet Academy. The Redwings might not have a runner in the top 15 but will have a tight pack. Their split off top runner Dominic Adams two weeks ago at Kaneland was only 23 seconds. Dixon could be Benet’s chief competition led by Brock Dregenberg. The Dukes finished third behind Kaneland and Yorkville last week at Sterling with a 66 second split on their top five. Runners in the top 10 could push them ahead of Benet Academy. Troy Triad slid by Highland in their home meet Wednesday and could be a surprise in this race. Chatham-Glenwood is young and could challenge in the front if they have their front runner Graham Turk in their lineup. He has not raced in the past two weeks. Centralia, Bartonville Limestone, and Springfield could be among the top three in this race.

Sam Lange of Morton surprised some when he won the First to the Finish Invitational three weeks ago. Lange will not be a surprise if he is leading this race on Saturday. Wilson Georges of Limestone is a sophomore that is running with more confidence and could come away with the win.

Dixon’s Dregenberg and Christian Seagren could be among the top 10 in this race. Brooks Harlan of Centralia was sidelined early with an injury. The junior has been coming on strong the past couple of weeks and could be a threat in this race. Bradyn Olmstead of Dixon, Kyle Boughter of Springfield, and Metamora’s Ian O’Laughlin and Adam Gilbreath-Glaub could be some of the runners that you see in the front. Glenwood’s Turk status is unknown for this race after missing the past two meets for his team. He did finish second in this race last year and could be a threat if he is 100% ready.

Class 3A Girls – 10:30 AM

Ranked Teams - #18 Fremd, #19 Prospect

Other Teams – Alton, Aurora East, Aurora West, Bartlett, Belleville East, Belleville West, Buffalo Grove, East Moline United, Edwardsville, Glenbard East, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Granite City, Hoffman Estates, Homewood-Flossmoor, Huntley, Jacobs, Joliet Central, Maine East, McHenry, Mundelein, Normal Community, Normal West, Pekin, Plainfield North, Rock Island, Rockford Auburn, Rolling Meadows, Shepard, Thornton, Wheeling

Preview – There are only two ranked teams in this field. If could be an opportunity for an unranked team stepping to the front of the pack. Both Fremd and Prospect will be coming back from MSL Divisional races on Tuesday with Fremd finishing third in the Western Division and Prospect coming away with the Eastern Division championship. Audrey Ginsberg has been the top runner for the Lady Knights most of this season. The addition of a strong freshman group could make Prospect the favorite. Fremd, led by Emme Beaupre and Rebecca Markham, is capable of running a 20 second split from their second through fifth runners. A key will be moving that pack closer to Beaupre.

Normal Community, Jacobs, and Huntley could be the top unranked teams to come away with the team win. Normal Community looked strong in winning their Inter-City Championship over perennial area power Normal University. Olivia Hartke is a runner you could see in the front in this race. Her teammates will need to have a split on their pack within 50 seconds for this team to contend for the win. Jacobs has a good pack led by Elisabeth Kania and Kelly Carpenter that could challenge for a top three finish. Huntley, led by Bailey Wilk, could also be a team to keep an eye on.

Kate Jortberg of Glenbrook South is the defending champion in this race and is a good bet to repeat. Riley Knoyle of Edwardsville, Olivia Hartke of Normal Community, Emma Beaupre of Fremd, Alyssa Elliott of Belleville West, Natalie Sandlow of Glenbrook North, and Jenna Buchanan of Bartlett will be some of the other runners to watch in the front.

Class 3A Boys – 11:15 AM

Ranked Teams - #1 St. Charles East, #2 Sandburg, #6 Maine South, #7 York (JV), #9 Lyons Township, #22 Mundelein, #24 Prospect

Other Teams – Alton, Aurora East, Aurora West, Bartlett, Belleville East, Belleville West, Downers Grove South, East Moline United, Edwardsville, Fremd, Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South, Granite City, Hoffman Estates, Homewood-Flossmoor, Huntley, Jacobs, Joliet West, Loyola Academy, Maine East, McHenry, Normal Community, Normal West, Pekin, Rock Island, Rockford Auburn, Rockton Hononegah, Rolling Meadows, Thornton, Wheeling.

Preview – The top two teams in this classification face off in what could be a close race compared to the last time St. Charles East and Sandburg faced each other two weeks ago. The Saints put five runners under 15:03 with a 34 second split. With the conditions being less than perfect at Detweiller Park, we could see the team closer together in this race. Bob Liking, Aidan King, and Micah Wilson should be leading their pack. Sandburg will also have a tight pack led by Will and Ben Giblin who both ran under 15-minutes in the last Peoria race. Maine South surprised some by finishing third last week at Palatine and could get close to the two front teams. Lyons Township did not have Owen Hays in their lineup last week in their race in Indiana. Hays joining Sawyer Madell and Jack Ehlert in the front could make the Lions a challenger for a top three finish.

The last two races in the 3A meet at this meet have had winning times of 13:57 and 14:11. The amount of rain that hit this course in the last week could slow things down. St. Charles East’s Bob Liking ran 14:29 two weeks ago and will be one of the front runners in this race. Mundelein’s Dillon Blake and Carter Schorr had big races two weeks ago in California. They will look to bounce back after last week’s meet at Palatine and will be two of the favorites. Ian Geisler of Huntley has the speed to match these runners in the front and could come away with the win. Joey Kasch of Maine South finished only two seconds behind Josh Methner at Palatine last week and will be a factor in this race.

Jack Pifer of Edwardsville, Micah Wilson and Aidan King of St. Charles East, Ben and Will Giblin of Sandburg, Charlie Wetzel of Normal West, and Jackson Morrill of West Aurora are some of the runners that you could see in the front.