By Michael Newman

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The biggest race of the NASCAR season comes at the beginning of the year at the Daytona 500 where teams are gearing to win that race. I am not saying that the teams that will converge on Katherine Legge Memorial on Saturday morning will be treating the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational like the state meet. For the fans that are arriving to watch this meet could have that feeling.

Five of the top six teams in the DyeStat Illinois 3A rankings will toe the line in the Girls Varsity race. The Boys Varsity race will be no slouch with defending 3A state champions Hinsdale Central head a field that will have four of the top six teams in 3A ready to go. Let’s not forget to mention that the individual races on the varsity level should be lights out.

There is a modification to the course for this Saturday’s race and most likely this season. When you enter the south portion of the course, you will head into the field instead of running along the tree line. If you go to the park on Saturday, you will see what kind of a mess that trail is. Going into the field gives you a drier path, but the inclines going into that field could wear on the runners the second loop of the race.

Here are some of things to watch for on Saturday morning in Hinsdale.

Boys Varsity – 10:00 AM

The field in this race gets a little tougher with the addition of Naperville North. The 3A #4 Huskies upgraded their schedule to include this race along with adding the Richard Spring Invitational on the 20^th. We will see how good this team is in the first three weeks of the season. North runs with a tight pack. That is something to watch for hen watching this race. They will have Kerry Gschwendtner and Jon Klaiber leading in the pack and could be in the top five individually. Watch for the 1-5 split on this team.

We will see what 3A #1 Hinsdale Central has for this upcoming season. Even though they lost three all-state runners due to graduation, the Red Devils have reloaded. Sophomore Blake Evertsen won the Frosh/Soph race a year ago and could be among the leaders this year. Central will have a strong pack with Josh Feldman, Chris Brenk, and Alex Domiano among the top five. It will be interesting to compare Hinsdale with North when it comes down to packs.

Talking about packs, let’s not forget about 3A #5 Neuqua Valley. I think we will see a tight pack among the Wildcats in this race. Neuqua races like they train. That was evident at Detweiller at Dark when the Neuqua pack stayed close together and then went after the last mile. This team is scary deep in which we should see some of that on display in this race. Connor Horn, Daniel Weiss, and Michael Widmann lead a team that would not surprise me if they put five runners in the first 15 in this race.

The question of health will be something to watch for the 3A #6 Trevians in this meet. New Trier Coach David Wisner mentioned in his correspondence at the end of the summer that three of his top seven were nursing some kind of injuries. This does not mean that New Trier is going to fall apart. Similar to what Neuqua Valley has, this team has the same kind of depth. Josh Rosenkranz should be among the lead runners in this talented pack.

We could see 20-25 points separating these first four teams. That is how close it could be.

Palatine Coach Chris Quick mentioned at the end of the summer that his young team could take some lumps early in the season but will be there when the time is right. The Pirates will have Graham Brown leading them, but if three freshman/sophomores slated to run in the frosh soph race do so, Palatine will be tough to challenge for a top five finish. 2A #13 Latin School will test themselves in the first race of the season. Naperville Central, Highland Park, Wheaton-Warrenville South, Minooka, Niles North, and 2A #22 Hinsdale South will see how their teams rank in this competition.

Graham Brown (Palatine HS) went through a tough track season where he had to battle through mononucleosis. He still ran 4:19 at the end of the season. He had a great summer of training and is hungry to start his senior year. Though he is not mentioned among the elite runners in the state, he should get that mention. He will be the runner to watch in this race.

Kyle Cepeda (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) steps out of the shadows of his graduated teammates Nolan McKenna and Luke Schroer this season. I believe he will challenge Brown in this race. Jon Klaiber and Kerry Gschwendtner (North HS, Naperville) should be among the front runners. Blake Evertsen (Central HS, Hinsdale), Connor Horn, Michael Widmann, and Daniel Weiss (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville), Josh Rosenkranz, and Gabe Cebellos (Minooka HS) will be among the front pack. The rain the days before the meet could slow these runners down on this course. The change in the south end could make this course even more challenging. It will be interesting to see if anyone goes under 15 minutes in this race.

Girls Varsity – 10:30 AM

If the Boys race will be competitive, the Girls competition should raise the bar even more. Defending 3A state champion Glenbard West heads this field. Even without graduated 2012 state champion Madeline Perez, this team could be deeper and better. Lindsey Graham will be one of the front runners for the Hilltoppers. The big question is whether Lisa Luczak will be running. Glenbard coach Paul Hass mentioned a few weeks ago that she was again having hamstring problems. With or without Luczak, this team has the depth with Grace Rogers and Janie Nabholz behind Graham.

3A #3 New Trier has the front runner with defending state champ Mimi Smith leading the way. The Trevians will have a solid pack behind Smith led by Cara Keleher, Kelli Schmidt, and Ooma Jung-Beeman. The pack will start out slow, but watch them the second half of the race.

3A #4 Palatine early last season would run with a tight pack without a front runner. With the emergence of Kelly O’Brien, you will still see that tight pack behind her. O’Brien has the talent to challenge for the race win, but watch for a strong pack behind her led by Amy Kieliszewski. 3A #6 Wheaton-Warrenville South was an unnoticed team heading into last year’s meet. They showcased a great team in the Frosh-Soph race. A year later, the Tigers have all of their runners back along with reportedly a few freshman that could make a push for the top seven. Sara Atkins and Allison McGrath should lead this team. Watch for the pack behind these two runners possibly making a difference in this meet.

3A #5 Naperville Central, if healthy, should be towards the front. Katie Hoffman should be challenging for a top five finish. Her sister Rachel, along with Maggie McClowery and Ellie Marcet give this team a good nucleus. It would not surprise me if the Redhawks win the team championship.

Host 3A #13 Hinsdale Central will challenge for the team championship on their home course. The Red Devils have a strong front two with last year’s state runner-up Alexa Haff and state 1600 champ Annie Zaher give this team the potential to have two runners in the first five. The key will be keeping their third through fifth runners together. If that happens and they are in the top 15, the trophy for this meet could stay in Hinsdale.

3A #17 Neuqua Valley could sneak up on a few teams in this meet. The Lady Wildcats have a strong front five led by Julia Pena and Caitlin Horn. Both of these runners could find their way into the top ten individually.

Even though 3A #18 Minooka finished second (just barely) behind Dunlap last week at Normal West, the Indians did that without promising freshman Emily Shelton. This team will be strong with Ashley Tutt, Mackenzie Callahan, and Megan Crouch leading the way. If they can close the gap in their top five, this team could challenge in the top five overall standings.  

Whitney Young has a strong group that will challenge for a top ten finish. 2A #14 Latin School could also turn a few heads in this meet. They finished 3^rd in the 1A state meet in 2013. Also watch for Bolingbrook to surprise some in this meet.

The individual field in this race is dynamite. Mimi Smith (New Trier HS, Winnetka) and Alexa Haff (Central HS, Hinsdale) finished 1-2 at state last fall. They should be in the front. Lindsay Graham (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) finished second in the 3200 last spring and should challenge for the win in this race. Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS) opened her season Tuesday at Deer Grove East running a solo 17:56 to win her dual against Rolling Meadows. With runners alongside her in this meet, don’t be shocked if she wins the individual race.

Katie Hoffman (Central HS, Naperville) finished 12^th in state last fall. Along with Lisa Luczak (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn), if both are healthy, you could see them in the top five. Others runners that I would keep an eye on include Annie Zaher (Central HS, Hinsdale), Ashley Tutt and Mackenzie Callahan (Minooka HS), Abigail Nadler (Latin School, Sara Chicago), Sara Atkins (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS), and Julie Pena (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville).

Meet Schedule

Soph Boys           3 miles 9:00am                     

Fr/Soph Girls        3 miles 9:30am                           

Var Boys              3 miles 10:00am     

Var Girls              3 miles 10:30am     

Frosh Boys          1.93 miles 11:00am

Open Girls          1.93 miles 11:25am