By Michael Newman

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Coaches, runners, and high school running enthusiasts have been looking at the calendar waiting for this meet to take place. Call it a preview of the state meet. Call it what you want. It is a monster of a Girls meet loaded with team and individual talent. Don’t wait for the race video to come out on Thursday morning. Travel to Naperville Wednesday afternoon and watch some of the top female high school runners that this state has to offer. You won’t be sorry.

We saw in Minnesota last Saturday what the top teams in Illinois could do as Yorkville led a 1-2-3 sweep at the Roy Griak Invitational. Multiply that by three in this meet as nine ranked teams in Class 3A with eight of those schools ranked in the top 11.

Let’s look at the individual race and then each of the squads that will compete Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM.

Top Individuals – Katelynne Hart, Glenbard West; Katrina Schlenker, Batavia; Samantha Poglitsch, Wheaton-Warrenville South; Campbell Petersen, Naperville North; Katie Hohe, Glenbard West; Brenna Cohoon, Downers Grove South; Alex Morris, Naperville North; Helena Kleronomos, Yorkville, Emily Eberhart, Yorkville, Kailey Fox, Yorkville, Anne Marie Jordan, Palatine; Juliana Stogsdill, Plainfield North; McKenna Revord, Hinsdale Central; Vivian Van Eck, Minooka; Mia Gianfrancesco, Batavia.

Race Thoughts – The key time to watch in this race is 16:15.2. That is the course and meet record set by Naperville North state champion Judy Pendergast set in the 2015 Twilight race. Katelynne Hart came close to that last year running 16:15.9 to win her second straight Twilight Championship. She looks for the third consecutive race win in this race. She also looks to smash the meet record.

I think the race record can be broken. Hart at her race in Peoria on September 15 ran 16:14 on a fast Detweiller course after running the first mile in a swift 5:10.

The record and third consecutive race win will be Hart’s if she does not get caught too much in the race hype. The Peoria race plan was to run three consecutive 5:20 miles to get her close to 16-minutes. Instead, she took the first mile out in 5:10 and followed that up with 5:30 and 5:35. If she keeps that first mile under control, then I think we will see a special race from the All-American. Hart sets her goals high in situations like this. Wednesday could be one of those nights.

A controlled first mile by Hart, however, could keep the pack closer earlier in this race. Hart had a six second lead on the race at Peoria at 880 yards. Katrina Schlenker ran 16:42 in her win at First to the Finish a month ago and could be Hart’s chief competition. Samantha Poglitsch ran 16:53 at Detweiller in that Hart race and will be among the runners in the front.

The field is loaded. The top 10 runners all under 17:10 is a strong possibility. The dynamics of the team race will be in play up front as we can see in the individual team previews.

Yorkville

State Ranking – 1

Team Thoughts – The Lady Foxes are coming off a big win last Saturday at the Roy Griak Invitational ahead of Naperville North and Downers Grove South.  What starts Yorkville off is a strong front pack including Helena Kleronomos, Emily Eberhart, and Kailey Fox. The trio was separated by only separated by 10 seconds in the Griak race. Sophomores Sara Klemm and Haley Simmons stepped up in that race with Klemm only 16 seconds behind the pack. Simmons will need to be 10 seconds closer to Klemm in this race. It was a gap of 35 seconds last week. Olivia Borowiak, who has been in their top five early in the season, is injured and may not run in this race. Yorkville’s trio will need to find their way not the top 10 in this race with the next two scorers in the top 30. That could be the formula of holding on to the team win in this high stakes race.

Naperville North

State Ranking – 2

Team Thoughts – Coach Dan Iverson was excited after seeing the team results of Saturday’s race noting where he sees areas of improvement from this team. The Lady Huskies ran great at Griak. They could take it up another level in this race on their home course. Campbell Petersen stepped up in a major way finishing in the top 10 at Griak. Alex Morris was 29 seconds behind Petersen. I expect her to be closer or be with Petersen in this race. The pack behind Petersen and Morris will be a key in this race. Claire Hill led the five-runner group that had only an 11 second gap. The five-runner group, that also included Maggie Gamboa, Audrey Mendys, Lucy Westlake, and Megan Driscoll, were all across the line before Yorkville’s fifth-runner crossed. Naperville North could bounce back in this race for the win. Petersen and Morris in the top 10 will help with that. Getting their third runner in before Yorkville’s fourth-runner finishes could be the difference in this meet.

Downers Grove South

State Ranking – 3

Team Thoughts – The Lady Mustangs ran good in Minnesota resulting in a third-place finish. The potential for a better race is there from those race results. We could see that in this race Wednesday night. South does have the presence in front. Brenna Cohoon and Erin Reidy finished in the top 20 on Saturday and lead this team on the course. Melissa Weidner was under the weather at Griak and could be closer to the front pack in this race. Where Downers Grove South has been dangerous is in past races with their pack running behind Cohoon. They will need that in this race to get closer to Yorkville and Naperville North. The team is deep with four to five runners that could step up led by Becky Versaskas and Rebecca Diddia. The three to seven pack off Weidner was separated by 30 seconds in Minnesota. That group needs to get closer in this race. South will need to get three runners in the first 15 led by Cohoon with all their scorers in the top 25 in order to finish in the top three and possibly jump into the top two.

Glenbard West

State Ranking – 4

Team Thoughts – The Hilltoppers have not raced in a major invitational since their one-point win ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South at the Richard Spring Invitational on September 15. Katelynne Hart is the individual race favorite and leads this team. Katie Hohe ran a strong race in that meet running 17:00 at Detweiller. She could be among the top five runners in this race. The infusion of freshmen Aubrey Allman and Delaney Engel have been great additions in the pack that also includes seniors Abby Hoffman, Chloe Connolly, and Lauren Pappas. Glenbard West will need a strong pack run from this group staying within 25 seconds of each other from three to five in this race. This team will get the low numbers in the first two spots with Hart and Hohe. Getting their next three runners in the top 40 could move this team into the top three in the standings.

Wheaton-Warrenville South

State Ranking – 7

Team Thoughts – My guess is we will see a team race from this squad on Wednesday night. Coach Rob Harvey said that his squad ran seven individual races in their last two meets at Richard Spring Invitational and then at the Centerville Saturday Night Lights race on September 22. A team race could get them into the top three in this meet. Samantha Poglitsch will be among the top runners in this race. She already has a 16:53 from Detweiller Park in her resume. Laurel Moneysmith and Kaitlyn Nenninger need to be close together in this race and could finish in the top 20 if this is accomplished. Their pack behind these three will be a key led by Haley Ansiel and Sarah Kulkarni. Getting their four through seven pack closer to Nenninger will be something to watch. South will need to get all their scorers in the top 35 to get them into the top three team discussion in this meet.

Batavia

State Ranking – 8

Team Thoughts – The Bulldogs have the talent up front to challenge for a top five team finish in this meet. This is their first appearance at Naperville Twilight. Freshman Katrina Schlenker has been undefeated in her high school career and will be up front challenging for the win. Mia Gianfrancesco has been a strong second runner for Batavia and could be among the top 12 runners in this race. She looked strong at Bartlett less than two weeks ago running 17:48 on that rugged course. Chad Hillman’s squad will need a strong three to five pack behind Schlenker and Gianfrancesco in this race with Audrey Pellico, Erin O’Brien, and Jenna Schifferer all staying within 25 seconds of each other in this race. The pack finishing in the top 50 will complement the low scores that Schlenker and Gianfrancesco could provide and move the Bulldogs closer to a top five finish.

Palatine

State Ranking – 10

Team Thoughts – The Lady Pirates are also new to this meet. They have been running strong in their first three meets of the season first finishing fifth at the Richard Spring Invitational, third at the Palatine Invitational, and second last weekend at the St. Charles North Invitational. Anne Marie Jordan has again been the top runner on this team having run 17:07 in her first race of the season at Detweiller Park. The sophomore could be among the top ten runners in this race. Sisters Kate and Liz Lechowicz are the anchors of a strong pack for Coach Joe Parks. Sophomores Ellie Roy and Mia Solano are the team’s fourth and fifth runners that could be within 15 seconds of Liz Lechowicz in this race. Their second through fifth runners need to finish between 22^nd and 46^th place to get Palatine closer to a top five team finish.

Minooka

State Ranking – 11

Team Thoughts – This team has been hiding in the shadows and Coach Kevin Gummerson likes that approach. We could see an eye-opening race from this squad in this meet. Vivian Van Eck is an all-state runner that could find her way into the top 12 individuals in this race. The addition of freshmen Kathryn Cichon, Alyssa Hrusosky, and Jocelyn Host into their top seven have made the Indians a top ten team. Julia Dames is having a great junior season and could be a surprise in this race. Getting Host closer to her freshman teammates will be something to keep an eye on. The team had the potential to place the freshmen between 35^th and 45^th while Van Eck and Dames place in the top 25. Minooka could be the surprise team in this race.

Hinsdale Central

State Ranking – 17

Team Thoughts – The last of the nine ranked teams in this race. Just like Minooka, the Red Devilettes could be close to the top five in this race. McKenna Revord has been running great of late and is coming off a win at St. Charles North last Saturday. Central will need a tight pack from their second through fifth runners in this race led by Kayla Byrne and Bella Pisani. The split on that group at St. Charles was only 10 seconds. The group, however, was 89 seconds behind Revord. That split needs to be within 60 seconds for the Red Devilettes to make some noise in this race. Revord could finish in the top 10 but the pack needs to start near 30^th place for a finish near the top five teams.

Naperville Central

Team Thoughts – The Redhawks have been in the top 25 statewide at some points during the season. Central is a good team that will need tight pack running to pick off one of the ranked teams. Kayla Zimmer and Madeline Engels have been the top runners for this squad in this 2018 season. The potential for the top five split of this team could be between 30 to 35 seconds in this race. However, this team does not have a “front-runner” in this high-powered race that could finish in the top 25. Zimmer or Engels could finish in the top 35. That along with a tight top five pack could keep this team in the top ten Wednesday night.

Plainfield North

Team Thoughts – Another team that has been in the top 25 state rankings at some point this season. The Tigers are led by Julianna Stogsdill who is coming off a great 17:28 race in finishing second last Saturday in Peoria. A top ten finish would not be out of the question for this senior. This team is young but talented with only one other senior in the top seven. Aminah Hussain, a freshman, has stepped into the second -runner spot for her team. Hussain finishing in the top 45 would be a plus. Keeping their pack tight on Hussain will make a difference if the Tigers are among the top ten teams.

Downers Grove North

Team Thoughts – The Trojans could be making the trip to Peoria in November. With this race filed being so loaded, it might be tough for North to finish in the top ten. This squad runs in a tight pack. Expect a split under 40 seconds on their scorers led by sophomores Katie Figliomeni and Melissa Jachim.  One of their top runners could finish in the top 40 in this race. The fifth runner finishing in the 70’s would be big for this team.

Waubonsie Valley

Team thoughts – The Warriors have run good so far this season. Again, the toughness of the race field will take effect on Waubonsie Valley. Ashley Heidenreich has recovered from a track injury and is having a good fall season. A finish in the top 25 would not surprise me. Sarah Vitro could finish in the top 50. This team needs to keep their top five split under 80 seconds in order for a top 10 finish.

Geneva

Team Thoughts – The Vikings have two front runners that could lower their point total on Wednesday night. Sophia McDonnell ran 17:38 at Detweiller in September and is coming off a fourth-place finish last Saturday at St. Charles North. A top 20 finish could be within her reach. Andrine Larsen is a solid second runner that could finish in the top 45 for Geneva. Laura Hasty leads the pack that will need to stay within 15seconds of Larsen in order for the team to be near the top 10 finishing squads.

Neuqua Valley

Team Thoughts – Julia Rushing and MiKenna Robinson lead the Wildcats and could finish in the top 50 individually. Neuqua Valley should have a tight pack under 40 seconds in this race. Keeping all of their scorers in the top 80 could move this squad close to a top 10 finish.

Metea Valley

Team Thoughts – The Mustangs should display some great pack running in this race. The toughness of this race field could be problematic in getting close into the top ten for Metea Valley. Carly Cast and Sophia Sandy lead this team. One of those runners could finish among the first 60. A split of 35 seconds or closer could move this team into the top 12 in this meet.

Lane Tech

Team Thoughts – Daniella Martinez and Hannah VanderMuelen lead the lone Girls team entry from the Chicago Public League. Having one of those runners in the top 80 would be a big plus for Lane Tech. A split on their scorers under 60 seconds could move this team into the top 15.

Photo: Katelynne Hart and Judy Pendergast at last year’s Nike Cross Nationals. Hart looks to break Pendergast’s course record at Wednesday’s Naperville Twilight Invitational (Mike Newman Photo)

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