Illinois Week

By Scott Bush - Illinois Runner, Inc.

May 1st, 2005

Earlier this week, on Tuesday evening, super freshman Kevin Havel (Hersey) ran the 1600m run in a dual meet against Prospect. Havel won the race in 4:21.6h and looked very good in doing so.

Friday

- Friday evening was a perfect evening for some big marks and times to be put up by the best around the state (no wind and mild temperatures). At the Crystal Lake Central Invitational (Crystal Lake H.S.), Richard Behling (Sr., Harlem) threw two great marks. In the shot put he threw 55' 6", while in the discus he threw a mark of 176' 5". Behling recently signed with Georgia Tech University.

- The Prospect Invitational (Prospect H.S.)

photo courtesy Ross Dettman

The marquee meet of the weekend. Every year this meet produces some of the fastest times of the season in the distance events, and this year was no exception.

The night started off with the 4x800m relay. This meet has always produced some amazing results in this event, including a national record back in '00. This year's race showcased the highly anticipated match up between York H.S and the host Prospect H.S. The race got off to a very fast start, with a lot of runners all packed together through the first quarter. At the first exchange, Jay Renaud of Prospect handed off three seconds ahead of York's lead runner. Each leg Prospect strung out their lead by a few more meters and coming into the home stretch on the final lap, Prospect crossed the line in 7:48.8h, nearly three seconds ahead of York (7:51.4h).
The 3200m run had the most depth out of any of the distance races. Steve Finley (Jr., Palatine) led the race through much of the first mile, as he paced the strong field through in 4:39. At that point, Eric Dettman (Jr., York) took off and strung out the field. Over the ensuing next lap Dettman and Ryan Craven (Jr., Prospect) pulled away from the field enough that it was clear that they were going to dual until the finish line. Throughout the rest of the race, Craven sat right on Dettman's shoulder as the pace picked up dramatically. As the gun went off signaling the final lap, both Craven and Dettman picked up steam. Coming into the last 200m Craven came up right beside Dettman and the two gave it their all heading into the home stretch. In the last seventy meters, Dettman pulled away from Craven slightly to take home the win, as he ran a 61 second last lap. Dettman's time was 9:07.8h, while Craven ran 9:09.0h. Finley came home in third with a mark of 9:13.4, while freshman Kevin Havel (Fr., Hersey) ran 9:14.0h.

The 1600m run was just as exciting. While many of the runners were doubling back from previous events, there were a few fresh faces in the field. Jeremy Stevens (Jr., Winnebago), who has been one of the top runners in the state all year but has been given little credit because he runs at a Class A school, drove in with his coach to match up with some of the best of Class AA. The race got off to a fast start, as Ryan Kuphall (Sr., Lyons Twp.) drug the field through the first lap in 63.0. At that point the pace started to slow and went into a lull as the runners came through the half in 2:10. The race continued to drag until the gun lap when Stevens put in a huge surge and gapped the field by twenty meters. That would be a lead he would never relinquish, as he blazed the final lap of the event in under 60 seconds. His finishing time was officially 4:15.6h. Coming in a strong second and third were Brian Marchese (Jr., York) and Matt Dettman (Jr., York), both of who were only a few seconds back.

Saturday

- At the Waubonsie Valley Invitational (Waubonsie Valley H.S.), Tracey Drew (Sr., Waubonsie Valley) had a great day in the hurdling events. In the 110m HH he ran a mark of 14.1h to beat the field, while he came back in the 300m IH and ran the top time in the state so far this season, as he finished the race in 38.5h. Drew has stamped himself as the premier hurdler in the state at this time with both of those marks.

- The Palatine Relays (Palatine H.S.) is usually a good showcase of talent on both the boys and girls side of the event. This year the girl's side really captured the attention of the crowd. Brianna Officer (Sr., Palatine) beat a solid field in the 400m dash, including US #1 300m intermediate hurdler Shalina Clarke (Jr., Evanston Twp.). Officer ran 55.6h, beating Clarke to the line by .3 seconds. Officer's time is the second fastest mark in the state this season behind Alexandria Anderson's (Sr., Morgan Park) mark set a few week prior. Officer also ran a solid time in the 100-meter dash, as she won that race as well in 12.1h. Clarke came back after the 400m defeat to win the 200m dash in 24.7h. With Clarke running the 200m dash, which meant that the 300m intermediate hurdle race was wide open. Well, Molly Glantz (Fr., Barrington) proved that she is one of the tops in the state, as she ran 44.7h, as she easily beat the field and ran the third fastest time in the state this season.

- The New Trier Invitational (New Trier H.S.) provided some solid results as well on the girl's side. Homewood-Flossmoor beat host New Trier by a single point, as they got some big wins from their sprint core. Seun Adigun (Sr., Homewood-Flossmoor) ran two good marks in the hurdle events. Adigun ran 14.2h in the 100m HH and then came back to run 45.6h in the 300m IH. She has continued to show that she could very well be the best all-around hurdler in the state. In the long jump, Nicole Joyner (Sr., Homewood-Flossmoor) helped her team out again by winning this event with a distance of 18' 4.5". Her mark currently ranks her tied for second in Illinois.

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