Prospect Invite
Friday, April 28, 2006 - Mt. Prospect HS, Prospect, IL
Results from Scott Bush - no auto timing, no wind info
Winnebago sr Jeremy Stevens 8:56.9 3200 (3 others at 9:02), Libertyville 7:51.1 4x800, Naperville sr Brian Beaird 1:53.8 800.
Midwest Regional Editor Scott Bush's Report
What a night it was at the Prospect Invitational at Prospect High School on Friday night. The crowds were bigger than they have been in the past few years, mostly because of the stellar distance fields that were put together. The key race of the night was the 3200m run, although the 4x800m relay and the mile were fantastic events as well.
Boys 3200
Results
Jeremy Stevens (Sr., Winnebago) - 8:56.9
Eric Dettman (Sr., York) - 9:02.0
Jacob Nachel (Sr., Lyons Twp.) - 9:02.5
Steve Finley (Sr., Palatine) - 9:02.9
Kevin Havel (So., Hersey) - 9:10.2
Matt Dettman (Sr., York) - 9:12.5
Griff Graves (So., Abingdon VA) - 9:13.9
Ryan Craven (Sr., Prospect) - 9:21.2
The race went out right on pace, but slowed during the third lap. Nearly all the entries in the field were in a tight pack at this point. Steve Finley (Palatine) took the duty of leading through the mile mark, since no one else wanted to share the burden of leading up to that point.
They came through the half way point around 4:33. At this point Jeremy Stevens (Winnebago), Jacob Nachel (Lyons) and Eric Dettman (York) moved around Finley and started to push the pace a bit faster. The fifth lap was a 67 and the field started to string out.
A collision happened in the back of the pack at the 2000m mark, where a couple athletes went down. Stevens and Dettman slowly pulled away from Nachel and Finley until the last lap when both runners exploded and the race was really on. Each runner ran stride for stride all the way into the home stretch, until with 80m to go Stevens made one last move and pulled away for the win.
All the athletes showed tremendous heart and ran outstanding races. While only one runner broke nine, most of the athletes got their personal bests and it was quite a night for Illinois (and Virginia) to showcase their best.
Boys 4x8:
Partial Results
Libertyville - 7:51.1
York - 7:54.8
Prospect - 7:56.6
The 4x800 kicked off the night in grand fashion. Under near perfect conditions (fantastically cool and very little wind), the race got off to a fast start. Right from the gun Libertyville and York pushed themselves to the front. Libertyville's lead leg shot out like a cannon and made the race fast.
Coming to the first hand off Libertyville had a slight lead over York with a handful of other teams trailing right behind. The positions stayed the same through two legs, although Libertyville fell slightly behind York at the handoff and Prospect had moved right onto those two teams' shoulders. The rest of the field was a bit further back.
On the third leg, Prospect took off and grabbed the lead. Libertyville and York ran right behind him, knowing full well that Prospect could drop off from the very fast first 200m of this leg. Sure enough both teams passed Prospect and handed off at nearly identical times for the fourth and final leg. Libertyville's anchor shot out and took the lead right from the handoff, as the crowd started to really get into this race.
Stride for stride the two teams dueled, until the last 150m when Libertyville put in one last surge and took the lead for good. Libertyville ran a huge season best time and won the race in 7:51.1, while York faded just a bit down the homestretch and finished in a good mark of 7:54.8. Prospect ran a gutsy race and cruised to third in 7:56.6.
800m
Brian Beaird (Sr., Naperville Central) - 1:53.8, went out in 58 and won by nearly two seconds
A lightning fast start to the "D" race of the distance events meant that hopefully someone would take charge and be able to hold pace for a solid time. The large pack of middle distance men took off right from the gun, going through the 200m as a group in 26 seconds. This was apparently too fast and pace slowed dramatically, as the pack slowed down to come through the 400m point in 58.
This was incredibly slow for such a good field. Right at the bell, Brian Beaird (Sr., Naperville Central) took control of the race and put in a surge to really spread out the field. Beaird had run 1:54 earlier in the season, and was the favorite coming in. Down the back stretch Beaird kept the pace moving and he looked strong. The only runner to really go with him was Yosef Tewolde (Sr., Elgin), who hung on Beaird's shoulder through 600m.
At this point Beaird unleashed an amazing kick and clearly seperated himself from Tewolde. Down the home stretch Beaird ran and the crowd supported him in grand fashion. Beaird crossed the line looking tired but not 100% spent, as he finished in a time of 1:53.8.
Tewolde finished a strong second in 1:55.4 and showing that come state time he will be a strong force to deal with.
1600m
While many good athletes were doubling back from other events (4x800m/3200/800) Barrington senior Nick Farina was fresh as could be and made the 1600m race one to watch from start to finish.
From the time the starting pistol fired Farina was in the lead and pushing the pace. He took the pace out hard and came through the first quarter in 62.6. The only person following him was David Montgomery (Sr., York).
Farina and Montgomery pushed the pace the next lap, as both came through the half a 2:08.5, slowing just a bit from the lap before. It looked as if Montgomery was going to pass Farina in the homestretch, but Farina put in a surge and wouldn't let him pass. Down the back stretch they went with Farina putting in a surge and dropping Montgomery.
Behind the two runners York's sensational sophomore Tom Achtein and Brian Beaird (Sr., Naperville Central, winner of the 800m) were moving up. Coming through the 1200m mark Farina had clearly distanced himself from the rest of the field as he passed in 3:13.2. Charging and flayling his head in the last lap Farina pushed and pushed, although you could see that Beaird was slowly starting to creep up.
With 150m to go many in the crowd thought that Beaird could make one last move to overtake Farina, but Farina went into an all-out kick and went through the finish in 4:14.x (unofficial), while Beaird finished 1.5 seconds back and ran a splendid double. More results from this race are forthcoming. It was one magical run for Farina.
Team
York showcased their massive depth and talent in nearly every event. Many thought that this team would be a distance only squad this season while going after a state trophy, but their relays showed that they can compete with just about anyone. While teams like Cahokia and East St. Louis may have the advantage right now, York will definitely be challenging for a state trophy in a month.