2020 ILXCTF.com Illinois Track & Field Previews - 2A Boys Distance Events
By Michael Newman
[email protected]
We may discover how strong the Class 1A runners were last fall with so many top teams moved up during the track season. Three of the four events could be won by 1A Cross country schools. There will be four new state champions in May.
The emergence of Drew Rogers
The Herscher sophomore Drew Rogers made a huge statement last November when he pulled away from the pack during the second mile to easily win the Class 1A State Championship by 14 seconds ahead of Rock Falls’ Dawson Smith. Both runners should be in the front of the pack in the 3200 Meter Run. Smith finished third in last year’s state race and has the fastest returning time. Rogers had a personal best of 9:57.83 at the end of last year. That personal best will get faster this spring.
Four other all-state runners are back from last year’ race. We saw drastic improvement from Sam Lange of Morton last fall running under 14:50 three times last fall at Detweiller Park. He finished sixth last year. He should be challenging for the win in Charleston. Anthony Farmer of Burlington Central missed almost all of last outdoor season due to injury. He did run 9:41.93 during the indoor season and finished third in last November Class 2A State Cross Country Championship. I would not count him out in this event.
Bergman’s next chance
Illinois Valley Central’s Elias Bergman seemed to have the 1600 Meter Run race won last year in Charleston until Daniel Chen stormed from behind to catch Bergman and capture the state title. Bergman is the top returning finisher from last year’s race as well as having the top returning time (4:21.32) ahead of the rest of the pack by close to three seconds.
Dan Weizeorick of St. Francis, Brooks Harlan of Centralia, Luke Sokolowski of Monticello, and Ryan Jones of Marian Central Catholic are the four returning all-state athletes. It will be interesting to see how Drew Rogers does in this event. The same holds true for Wilson Georges of Bartonville Limestone who could be the surprise at this distance.
An Open 800 Meter Run
The term open maybe an understatement when looking at the returning runners. It is anyone’s guess on who could be in the top spot when we get to Charleston in May. Three all-state runners are back from last year’s finals. It might be the Waterloo duo of Jackson McAlister and Eli Ward. Neither of the two had great races in Charleston with McAlister finishing seventh and Ward finishing 12th. Patric Natindim of St. Viator returns with the top finish a(fourth) and could be the athlete to capture the win.
There are only four other runners back that broke sub two-minutes. Gyvanziel Quinonez of Rochelle and Andrew Hutchinson of North Boone are the only runners back that had seasonal bests under 1:59.
Relay Notes
Stanford Olympia was at the top of the Class 1A rankings most of last fall’s cross country season.. They finished third in Peoria last November. The Spartans have the talent to win the 3200 Meter Relay in May. All four runners are back from their fourth-place team that ran 8:07.38. This team is loaded and could run sub-eight when the time is right. Dixon and Burlington Central finished1-2 in last year’s finals but only return two of their quartet. St. Francis and Sycamore both return three runners and could challenge Olympia for the win.
Top Returning Class 2A Boys Distance Event Runners
800 Meter Run
1 |
Jackson McAlister |
|
12 |
|
Waterloo |
|
1:55.54 |
|
7 - 2A |
2 |
Patric Natindim |
|
12 |
|
St. Viator |
|
1:56.96 |
|
4 - 2A |
3 |
Eli Ward |
|
12 |
|
Waterloo |
|
1:57.00 |
|
12 - 2A |
4 |
Gyvanziel Quinonez |
|
12 |
|
Rochelle |
|
1:57.77 |
|
|
5 |
Andrew Hutchinson |
|
12 |
|
North Boone |
|
1:57.91 |
|
6 - 2A |
6 |
Matt Speidel |
|
12 |
|
Centralia |
|
1:59.53 |
|
|
7 |
Parker Kistner |
|
12 |
|
Stanford (Olympia) |
|
1:59.82 |
|
|
8 |
Jake Shumaker |
|
12 |
|
Mt. Zion |
|
2:00.02 |
|
|
9 |
Nick Martin |
|
12 |
|
Tinley Park |
|
2:00.07 |
|
|
10 |
Rafael Pantoja |
|
12 |
|
Streator (Twp.) |
|
2:00.34 |
|
|
11 |
Spencer Lindstrom |
|
12 |
|
Geneseo |
|
2:00.46 |
|
|
12 |
Trevon Buchanan |
|
12 |
|
Chicago (Lindblom) |
|
2:00.63 |
|
|
13 |
Jerry Harper |
|
12 |
|
Rantoul |
|
2:01.03 |
|
|
14 |
Willie Johnson |
|
12 |
|
East St. Louis |
|
2:01.41 |
|
|
15 |
Ben La Prad |
|
11 |
|
Macomb |
|
2:01.52 |
|
|
16 |
Tommy Zettl |
|
12 |
|
Burlington (Central) |
|
2:01.53 |
|
|
17 |
Nollen Abriam |
|
10 |
|
Lasalle-Peru |
|
2:01.90 |
|
|
18 |
Josh Hoh |
|
12 |
|
Charleston |
|
2:02.00 |
|
|
19 |
Anthony Farmer |
|
11 |
|
Burlington (Central) |
|
2:02.86 |
|
|
20 |
Josh Loeh |
|
11 |
|
Highland |
|
2:02.87 |
|
|
21 |
Ryan Wade |
|
12 |
|
Genoa-Kingston |
|
2:02.94 |
|
|
22 |
Evan Leake |
|
111 |
Mt. Vernon |
|
2:03.14 |
|
|
23 |
Ethan Schickel |
|
11 |
|
Pontiac |
|
2:03.40 |
|
|
24 |
Braden Tate |
|
12 |
|
Salem |
|
2:03.44 |
|
|
25 |
Dan Weizeorick |
|
12 |
|
Wheaton (St. Francis) |
|
2:03.50 |
|
|
26 |
Eli Ginsburg |
|
12 |
|
Chicago (University) |
|
2:03.58 |
|
|
27 |
Alex Partlow |
|
10 |
|
Carbondale |
|
2:03.62 |
|
|
28 |
Rohn Ritchie |
|
11 |
|
Aurora Central Catholic |
|
2:04.01 |
|
|
29 |
Logan Wheeler |
|
11 |
|
Stanford (Olympia) |
|
2:04.02 |
|
|
30 |
Kalvin Zimmerman |
|
12 |
|
Genoa-Kingston |
|
2:04.05 |
|
|
1600 Meter Run
1 |
Elias Bergman |
|
12 |
|
Chillicothe (Illinois Valley Central) |
|
4:21.32 |
|
2 - 2A |
2 |
Sam Lange |
|
12 |
|
Morton |
|
4:24.07 |
|
|
3 |
Dan Weizeorick |
|
12 |
|
Wheaton (St. Francis) |
|
4:24.69 |
|
8 - 2A |
4 |
Brooks Harlan |
|
11 |
|
Centralia |
|
4:25.21 |
|
4 - 2A |
5 |
Luke Sokolowski |
|
11 |
|
Monticello |
|
4:25.63 |
|
5 - 2A |
6 |
Ryan Jones |
|
12 |
|
Marian Central Catholic |
|
4:26.48 |
|
9 - 2A |
7 |
Dawson Smith |
|
12 |
|
Rock Falls |
|
4:28.67 |
|
|
8 |
Anthony Farmer |
|
11 |
|
Burlington (Central) |
|
4:29.84 |
|
|
9 |
Ryder James |
|
10 |
|
Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda) |
|
4:30.28 |
|
|
10 |
Christopher Cherry |
|
11 |
|
Taylorville |
|
4:30.47 |
|
|
11 |
Zach Rose |
|
12 |
|
Chicago (Payton) |
|
4:31.66 |
|
11 - 2A |
12 |
Stephen Thomas |
|
11 |
|
Rockford Christian |
|
4:32.09 |
|
|
13 |
Alex Partlow |
|
10 |
|
Carbondale |
|
4:32.32 |
|
|
14 |
Wilson Georges |
|
10 |
|
Bartonville (Limestone) |
|
4:32.39 |
|
|
15 |
Rohn Ritchie |
|
11 |
|
Aurora Central Catholic |
|
4:32.89 |
|
|
16 |
Drake Bleier |
|
11 |
|
Troy (Triad) |
|
4:33.24 |
|
|
17 |
Ryan Wade |
|
12 |
|
Genoa-Kingston |
|
4:33.44 |
|
|
18 |
Adam Gilbreath-Glaub |
|
12 |
|
Metamora |
|
4:33.79 |
|
|
19 |
Gavin Kirby |
|
11 |
|
Richland County (Olney) |
|
4:34.49 |
|
|
20 |
Patric Natindim |
|
12 |
|
St. Viator |
|
4:34.54 |
|
|
21 |
Eli Ward |
|
12 |
|
Waterloo |
|
4:35.46 |
|
|
22 |
Luke Sikora |
|
12 |
|
Chicago (University) |
|
4:35.47 |
|
|
23 |
Jack Cook |
|
12 |
|
Eureka |
|
4:35.63 |
|
|
24 |
Cory Fleeman |
|
11 |
|
Centralia |
|
4:36.05 |
|
|
25 |
Charlie Kistner |
|
11 |
|
Stanford (Olympia) |
|
4:36.28 |
|
|
26 |
Easton Rosen |
|
11 |
|
Highland |
|
4:36.43 |
|
|
27 |
Keaton Vandel |
|
11 |
|
East Peoria |
|
4:37.63 |
|
|
28 |
Matt Herren |
|
11 |
|
Rochester |
|
4:37.95 |
|
|
29 |
Kyle Nofziger |
|
10 |
|
Mahomet-Seymour |
|
4:39.27 |
|
|
30 |
Jeremie Bokata |
|
12 |
|
Urbana |
|
4:39.69 |
|
|
3200 Meter Run
1 |
Dawson Smith |
|
12 |
|
Rock Falls |
|
9:25.64 |
|
3 - 2A |
2 |
Adam Gilbreath-Glaub |
|
12 |
|
Metamora |
|
9:31.32 |
|
|
3 |
Ryder James |
|
10 |
|
Paxton (P.-Buckley-Loda) |
|
9:35.52 |
|
7 - 2A |
4 |
Ryan Jones |
|
12 |
|
Marian Central Catholic |
|
9:39.39 |
|
5 - 2A |
5 |
Sam Lange |
|
12 |
|
Morton |
|
9:40.51 |
|
6 - 2A |
6 |
Alex Partlow |
|
10 |
|
Carbondale |
|
9:46.23 |
|
10 - 2A |
7 |
Zach Rose |
|
12 |
|
Chicago (Payton) |
|
9:48.63 |
|
9 - 2A |
8 |
Charlie Kistner |
|
11 |
|
Stanford (Olympia) |
|
9:49.47 |
|
|
9 |
Brooks Harlan |
|
11 |
|
Centralia |
|
9:50.53 |
|
|
10 |
Ian O'Laughlin |
|
11 |
|
Metamora |
|
9:54.29 |
|
|
11 |
Nick Hanratty |
|
12 |
|
Highland |
|
9:56.59 |
|
|
12 |
Elias Bergman |
|
12 |
|
Chillicothe (Illinois Valley Central) |
|
9:56.59 |
|
|
13 |
Peter Walsdorf |
|
11 |
|
Marian Central Catholic |
|
9:57.16 |
|
12 - 2A |
14 |
Matt Herren |
|
11 |
|
Rochester |
|
9:57.48 |
|
13 - 2A |
15 |
Drew Rogers |
|
10 |
|
Herscher |
|
9:57.83 |
|
14 - 2A |
16 |
Gio Martinez |
|
12 |
|
Burlington (Central) |
|
9:58.77 |
|
|
17 |
Logan Johnson |
|
12 |
|
Lasalle-Peru |
|
10:00.07 |
|
|
18 |
Morgan Dixon |
|
11 |
|
Monticello |
|
10:01.15 |
|
|
19 |
Cade Baker |
|
12 |
|
Mt. Zion |
|
10:04.26 |
|
|
20 |
Jack Cambier |
|
11 |
|
Sycamore |
|
10:04.72 |
|
|
21 |
Chris Metz |
|
12 |
|
Freeport |
|
10:05.79 |
|
|
22 |
Cadyn Grafton |
|
11 |
|
Dixon |
|
10:06.19 |
|
|
23 |
Taylor Dreyer |
|
10 |
|
Marion |
|
10:06.71 |
|
|
24 |
Ishaan Patel |
|
12 |
|
Tinley Park |
|
10:06.96 |
|
|
25 |
Paul Ruetten |
|
12 |
|
Sycamore |
|
10:07.67 |
|
|
26 |
Jarod Willis |
|
12 |
|
Troy (Triad) |
|
10:09.27 |
|
|
27 |
Nicky Edwards-Levin |
|
11 |
|
Chicago (University) |
|
10:10.82 |
|
|
28 |
Wilson Georges |
|
10 |
|
Bartonville (Limestone) |
|
10:11.88 |
|
|
29 |
Sam Lambert |
|
10 |
|
Urbana |
|
10:12.44 |
|
|
30 |
D'Artagnon Beaver |
|
11 |
|
Rockford Christian |
|
10:13.25 |
|
|