By Michael Newman

DyeStat IL Editor

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The gathering that has taken place in Mid-June in suburban Chicago has gone by different names. After a conflict with the New Balance Nationals forcing the meet to be cancelled in 2014, the meet is back with hopes of great competition Saturday evening. Now under new meet management led by Skip Stolley, the U.S. Army Midwest Distance Classic promises to bring forth some quick times at the Benedictine University Track Complex.

The Boys Mile Run has been the trademark race in past years in this meet. It could be overshadowed this year by the Boys 800 and 3200. Both races have fields that could produce national top ten times.

Here is a look at each of the events that will take place Saturday evening. They are organized by the meet schedule in which they will take place.

7:00 PM – Girls 2000 Meter Steeplechase

This race could be the swan song race in Illinois for Yorkville’s Skyler Bollinger. The junior announced last month that she would be moving to Southern California this summer. The six time all-state runner does have experience in this event as she won the AAU National Championship for the 15-16 age group last summer. Her personal best is 7:13.98. Abbie Wright (Louisville KY) will be Bollinger’s chief competition. She has not run in this event this season but has a 7:19.63 personal best achieved during her 2014 track season. Wright finished second last fall in the Kentucky 3A State Cross Country Meet. 

7:15 PM – Boys 2000 Meter Steeplechase

One of the favorites in this race should be Luke Anderson (Harbor Beach, MI). He ended a successful track season winning both the 800 (1:57.31) and the 1600 (4:17.77) at the Michigan D4 State Meet two weeks ago. David Kampf (New Carlisle IN) is coming back from the Indiana State Meet last Friday where he competed in the 800 Meter Run. He could be among the leaders. Ryan Onders (Shaker Heights OH) has run 4:25.73 for the 1600 and could be towards the front.  Mark Myers (Lake Forest IL) ran 9:29.9 for the 3200 this spring just missing qualifying for the Illinois 3A State Meet. He could end up the winner in this race.

7:30 PM – Girls 800 Meter Run

Larkin Chapman (Muscatine IA) and Karina Liz (Aurora IL) will face off for the second time in two weeks. They will be the favorites in this event. Liz took the pace out quickly last week at the Festival of Miles Race before Chapman overtook her for the win running a personal best 2:09.90 in the process. Liz has run 2:11.24 this year and is itching to go under 2:10 at this meet. Alyssa Goesch (Germantown WI) finished seventh last week at the Wisconsin D1 State Meet. She has a 2:13.88 personal best that she ran this season. This sophomore could be a surprise in this race.

7:40 PM – Boys 800 Meter Run

This should be one of the premiere races at this meet. This field is big with fourteen runners. The quality of this field could produce a sub 1:50 winning time. Shane Streich (Waseca MN) ran 1:51.04 last Friday in his preliminary 800 race. He came back on Saturday to win the Minnesota 1A State Meet after he ran 4:12 in the 1600. The 1:51 shows that he is capable of running faster Saturday night. Streich is also scheduled to race in the 1600 80 minutes after this race. Ty Moss (Plainfield IL) ran 1:51.80 to win the Illinois 3A State Meet two weeks ago. That was his fourth 800 within a 24 hour period at that meet. If any runner can go under 1:50 in this race, it could be Moss.

Dustan Davidson (O’Fallon IL) admitted he did not run the best tactical races at the Missouri Class 5 State Meet when he finished fourth in the 1600 and then came back to finish second in the 800 for St. Louis University High School. Davidson has a 1:53.02 personal best this season and could be a challenger up front in this race. Last weekend, Joe Novak (Dousman WI) finished fifth in the Wisconsin D2 1600 Meter Run then came back to finish second in the 800. He ran 4:18.60 to win the Wisco Mile Wednesday night. He could be among the leaders.

The surprise in some eyes in this race could be Pavlo Hutsalyuk (Harwood Heights IL). After watching him run 4:08.19 to win the 1600 Meter Run at the Illinois 3A State Meet, he should not be a surprise in this race. He has only run 1:54.68 this season, but did run a 1:49.9 anchor split for Lane Tech in the 3200 Meter Relay at last year’s New Balance Nationals. He wants to lower his seasonal time. He should do that in this race. It would be a good tune up for the Brooks PR Meet next week where he is entered in the Mile.

7:50 PM – Boys Freshman 1600 Meter Run

Matt Richtman (Elburn IL) has the fastest seed time in this race (4:29.24) by close to five seconds and should be the favorite in this race. Ean Buffington (Jackson MO), Jake Gebhardt (Sterling IL), and Nick Yanek (Bettendorf IA) should be Richtman’s chief competition in this race.

8:15 PM – Girls 3200 Meter Run

There are only four runners in this field but all within five seconds of each other. This should be a close race. Jennifer Lichter (LaCrosse WI) finished seventh in the 1600 and fifth in the Wisconsin D2 State Meet. Savanna Dalton (Castle View CO) finished fifth in the 3200 at the Colorado 5A State Meet. Ave Grosenheider (Madison WI) finished fifth in the 1600 at the Wisconsin D2 State Meet but has run 11:11 this season.  Caitlin Shepard (Lake Zurich IL) qualified for the Illinois 3A State Meet running 11:08.30 in the state race. Any of these four athletes could win this race.

8:30 PM – Boys 3200 Meter Run

There are 22 runners that are in this huge field. There is quality up front making it possible that we could see a sub- nine minute winning time in this race. Jon Davis (Oakwood IL) ran 9:05.23 to win the 3200 Meter Run at the Illinois 1A State Meet. He ran that race all by himself to set the 1A record. With a good pack around him, you can bet that the junior will go under nine in this race. His 4:11.34 that he ran in the mile to win the Developmental Mile at the Festival of Miles last week can be evidence of that.

Kevin Salvano (Buffalo Grove IL) ran 9:04 at Arcadia in April and has the fastest seed time heading into this race. He will be tuning up for next week’s 5000 at the New Balance Nationals. The Illinois 3A all-state runner could be among the front runners in this race. Bryce Richards (Mundelein IL) and Thomas Pollard (Gilbert IA) were only separated by a hundredth of a second in last week’s Boys Mile Championship Race at the Festival of Miles with Richards emerging the winner. He has only run the 3200 twice this year with his major concentration being on the 800 and 1600. Pollard was run 9:07 twice winning at the Drake Relays and the Iowa 3A State Meet. Expect both to be towards the front. Ben Eidenschink (Nekoosa WI) won the 1600 and ran 9:07.70 to win last weekend at the Wisconsin D2 State Meet. He should also be towards the front. John Nownes (Omaha NE) won the Nebraska Class A 3200 Meter championship. He could be a surprise up front.

Keagan Smith (Huntley IL) is another runner to watch. He has only run 9:20 outdoors this year, but he has run 4:10 for 1600 behind McHenry’s Jesse Reiser. The Huntley junior should be a runner to watch in this race. Christian Noble (Mount Vernon IN) ran 9:14 at last weekend’s Indiana State Meet to finish seventh. Keep an eye on him Saturday. Dylan Hodgson (Washington KS) ran 4:12 at Festival of Miles last week. He could be a surprise in this race. Graham Brown (Palatine IL), Daniel Soto (West Des Moines IA), and Sam Oh (Kildeer IL) are other runners to watch in this race.

8:45 PM – Girls 1600 Meter Run

Audrey Belf (Birmingham MI) is the big favorite in this race having a 4:44.56 seed time faster than the rest of the field close to 15 seconds. Belf is tuning up for the Brooks PR Meet the following week. Could we see a sub 4:40 from her on Saturday night?  There are three other runners in this field that have run sub five. Brooke Wilson (Mt. Prospect IL) is coming off of a win at last week’s Chicago Magnificent Miles. The sophomore had a breakout track season including finishing second in the 3200 Meter Run in the Illinois 3A State Meet. She could go 4:55 or faster in this competition. Audrey Ernst (South Elgin IL) finished behind Wilson at last week’s race. The freshman ran 4:58.58 to finish fourth at the Illinois 3A State Meet. She has a tendency to take the lead pushing the pace early. With Belf and a pacer up front, it could allow Ernst to run under 4:55 as well. Kathryn House (Chicago IL) ran 4:59.18 this season. She could be with Wilson and Ernst in that front pack using this race as a springboard to her senior season. One other runner to watch is Illinois 3A 800 Meter champion Michaela Hackbarth (Downers Grove IL). She has concentrated on the 800 and 400 most of the season. She finished third at last week’s Festival of Miles 800. This race could be a good tune up for next week’s New Balance Nationals for her.

8:55 PM – Boys 1600 Meter Run

With Illinois 3A State Champion Pavlo Hutsalyuk, Festival of Miles Champion Bryce Richards and runner up Thomas Pollard, and Illinois 1A State Champion Jon Davis opting for other races at this meet, this field is wide open on who could be the favorite. I still think we will see a winning time under 4:10 when the race is done.

Ryan Clevenger (Downers Grove IL) was under the weather when he ran 4:15.28 at the Festival of Miles last Thursday. The future Wisconsin Badger ran 4:11 this year to finish fourth in the Illinois 3A State Meet in the 1600. His last prep race could be his best on Saturday. The top seed in this event has the potential to dip under 4:10. Shane Streich (Janesville MN) ran 4:12.02 to win the Minnesota 1A State Champion. He is registered to also run the 800 which will happen 85 minutes before this race. If he chooses the 1600 only, we could see him well under 4:10. If he doubles, he could challenge for the win. The big threat in this race could be Ohio D1 state champion Gavin Gaynor (Hudson OH). The junior ran 4:12.16 to win the race. It would not surprise me if he runs 4:08 in this race. He has the potential to do that.

Sean Torpy (Orland Park IL) is coming off of a win at the Chicago Magnificent Miles last Friday and will be a threat up front in this race. He has a 4:13 personal best. Connor McCue (Aurora IL) has also run 4:13 for the 1600.  The junior has run 1:54 for 800 this year giving him an edge if this race becomes tactical. Both Torpy and McCue have the potential to get close to 4:10. Lucas Arrivo (Ann Arbor MI) ran 4:15 indoors. He could be a surprise in this race. Joe Novak is entered also in the 1600. If he opts for this race only, he could be a threat in front. Jacob Simmons (Sturgis SD) ran 4:15 basically solo this year. He could also a surprise in this race.

Good luck to all athletes competing in this meet Saturday night!