By Michael Newman
ilprepharrier.wordpress.com

Palatine boys cross country coach Chris Quick is always looking for ways to make the Palatine Invitational a little bit tougher and stronger every year. In the 2011 edition of the “Meet of Champions,” Rock Bridge of Columbia MO came into the meet and almost knocked off eventual Illinois 3A Boys champions and invite host Palatine. It was a different story in the girls’ race as Kentucky powerhouse Assumption knocked off Illinois running powers Wheaton-Warrenville South, Lake Park, and Palatine to win the varsity championship.

This year, Assumption is back to defend its title. They brought along fellow Louisville school St. Xavier to go after some of the top schools in Illinois, including perennial running power York and up-and-coming Jones College Prep of Chicago.

Here is a look at the two featured races Saturday morning at Deer Grove East Forest Preserve in Palatine, IL:

Girls Championship Race: (start time 10:20 AM CDT)

All eyes will once again be on Kaylee Flanagan (Lake Park HS, Roselle IL) and her quest to set another course record. Every course that she has run on this fall she has conquered. Last week, it was the famed Detweiller Park circuit. Will it be any different on Saturday?

What will be on the table is a record that she set last year of 16:51. There is the possibility that the Lake Park senior may have a little more company. The Assumption duo of Bailey Davis and Katherine Receveur are both capable of pushing Flanagan to a faster time. Last week at the Trinity/Valkyre Invitational in Louisville, Davis and Receveur pulled away in the last 400 for the 1-2 finish, with Davis taking the win in a time of 17:46.1 for 5000 meters.

Other runners that could be in the front pack include defending 2A state champ Sami Staples (Central HS, Crystal Lake IL), Tess Wasowicz and Sarah Lincoln (Palatine HS IL), Emily Leonard and Meghan Lemersal (Maine Twp South, Park Ridge IL), Brooke Wolfe (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect IL), Hannah Winter (St. Viator HS, Arlington Heights IL), Haley Verbeke, (Moline HS IL), McKenna Kiple and Hope Schmelzle (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS, Warrenville IL), and Gabrielle Hesslau (North HS, Downers Grove, IL).

Assumption has a good chance to defend its team championship in this meet, but should be challenged by two Illinois schools: #4 Palatine and #3 Lake Park. Palatine has the two good front runners in Wasowicz and Lincoln. The host school of this meet ran a 36-second, 5-runner spread at their first meet of the year. Last week, without their #5 runner Amy Kieliszewski, they ran a 42-second spread on their first four runners. The Lady Pirates will need that kind of a split on Saturday.

Forget about Lake Park’s 5-runner split with Flanagan as far ahead as she is expected to be. The thing to watch is the 2-5 split for the Lancers. Last week, it came down to 46 seconds. If their regular #2 runner Sam Montalbano can place in the top 12, this team could be in good shape.

Looking at Assumption’s performance last week, they do have a gap after their first two runners, Davis and Receveur, of 71 seconds. Their 3-5 split, however, was only 22 seconds. The 2-3 gap needs to decrease a little more for this team to have a better chance to win. The key will be whether either Palatine or Lake Park can get four runners in between this gap of Assumption. Do not discount #7 Prospect. They have a good front runner in Wolfe, but will need to get their pack a little bit closer to her. Last week it was at 51 seconds. Also watch for #10 Wheaton-Warrenville South. They have been slowly building momentum with a good performance last week at Minooka. This team could surprise with a top-3 finish Saturday. There are 12 rated Illinois schools in this field. It should be a tight battle.

Boys Championship Race: (start time apprx 10:50 AM CDT)

There are two runners that will command the field’s focus: The first is Jack Keelan(St. Igantius HS, Chicago, IL). He has controlled every race he has been in this season, dictating his will. Two weeks ago at the First to the Finish Invitational at Detweiller Park, Keelan built up a 60-meter lead at two miles and cruised to a 21-second win, running 14:35. The second runner, that should push Keelan, is Grant Nykaza (Beecher HS IL). The Foot Locker national qualifier of a year ago is running with a “slight” chip on his shoulder after placing second at the state meet in 1A last fall. He has responded by winning the 1A 1600 in May and ran a solo 14:40 in the 1A division of the First to the Finish meet, just five seconds slower than Keelan’s big school win. Put these two runners together and we could have a fast pace.

The one wild card in this field could be Jamison Dale (Jones College Prep, Chicago IL), who has the talent to stay with Keelan and Nykaza. One factor is how Dale will respond to coming back after the 10-day teacher’s strike in Chicago. The team’s athletes trained during the strike and Dale is in great condition. But the second factor is Dale has not raced since the Sycamore Invitational at the end of August.

There will be a great pack after that of quality individuals that could break into these first three. Watch for Luke O’Connor (Jones College Prep, Chicago IL), Alex Baker (Central HS, Crystal Lake IL), Micah Beller (Niles North HS, Skokie IL), Kyle Mattes, Scott Milling, Chris May, and Alex Mimlitz (York HS, Elmhurst IL), Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS IL), Sam Lewis and Connor Sheryak (St. Xavier HS, Louisville KY), Ryan Burgoon (Barrington HS IL), Harry Winter (Fremd HS, Palatine IL), Matt Nicholson (University HS, St. Louis MO), Christian Zambrano and Graham Brown (Palatine HS IL), Andy Philipose and David Rodriguez (Hersey HS, Arlington Hts IL), and Joe Cowlin (Prairie Ridge HS, Crystal Lake IL).

Three should battle for the team championship. US#4 York looked tough last week at the Richard Spring Invitational with a 34-second, 5-runner split and they were not at full strength. Milling is back to 100 percent and should be back with Mattes, May, and Mimlitz, whom placed in the top 10 at Peoria. The potential for this team to have four runners in the first 10 in this meet is possible.

St. Xavier won the loaded Trinity/Valkyre Invitational last weekend in Louisville by two points over a tough Carmel IN team. They ran a 5-runner split of 31 seconds on a tough Sawyer Park course. The key for this team is to get their two front runners Lewis and Sheryak, ahead of the York pack. They could then have a chance to win this team championship.

How will IL 2A #1 Jones Prep run this week? This Chicago school just started training formally Wednesday when the Chicago school strike ended on Tuesday. How will this team respond? They have a front duo of Dale and O’Connor that could run ahead of the York pack. In the only meet that they have run their top seven together, in August at Sycamore, the team ran a controlled first two miles and then moved in the last portion. Their split on the first five was 42 seconds. It will be very interesting to see how this school will respond in this 31-team field.

Do not forget defending meet and IL 3A state champ Palatine. They had a good meet last week in Peoria finishing fourth with a 34-second, 1-5 gap. Zambrano and Brown did not run their best races last week. This squad always runs well on their home course and especially in this invitational. They could sneak into the top three with a great performance on Saturday.

Two other out-of-state schools could pop into the top five. St. Louis University HS MO finished third at the Forest Park XC Festival two weeks ago in their home town. Hilliard Davidson HS OH finished sixth at Trinity/Valkyrie last weekend and will look to place higher in this meet.

With three ranked out-of-state schools along with 12 IL-ranked teams, this race will be action-packed from the firing of the gun.

Follow the Palatine Invitational with updates on Twitter: @NewmanDyetrack.
Meet information: http://palatinecc.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/cc_meet_info_2012.pdf