2024 Batavia Distance Madness Preview

By Michael Newman

Most of the distance fanatics in the Chicago Suburban area will have their GPS set for Batavia High School’s Fieldhouse for the annual running of the Batavia Distance Madness.

It could be tough for meet record breaking in this meet after two of the six events ended with new meet records. The oldest records was in the Girls 800 Meter Run in 2014. Here is a look at all six events and how the championship races could play out.

Live Results

Girls 800 Meter Run – Championship Race – 5:44 PM

Total Sections – 8; Total Runners – 99

Meet Record – 2:14.57 – Michaela Hackbarth, Downers Grove South – 2014

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 2:11.57 – Elana Rybak, Father McGivney

Preview – None of the top 10 runners in the state are in the championship section. Korina Gonzalez of DeKalb is the top seed and also has the fastest time in the field (2:21.64) run last week at Gately Park. The championship section is wide open with Madison Harmsen of Rockford Guilford. Janellisa Oceguera of Joliet West, Ally Seurynck of Maine South, and Allegra Triner of Yorkville are among the runners that could challenge for the win.

The one runner that could be a surprise is Cecilia Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic who has run in two meets this season after playing basketball. Hilby as a freshman last year ran 2:18.49 in the IHSA State 2A Meet finishing sixth and earning all-state honors. Keep an eye on her winning the overall title from the second section. Also watch Jenna Bachara of Wheaton-Warrenville South in the second section. The senior is running with more confidence with every race. A top five finish overall is within her reach.

Boys 800 Meter Run – Championship Race – 5:49 PM

Total Sections – 8; Total Runners – 115

Meet Record – 1:55.40 – Patrick Hilby, Aurora Central Catholic – 2023

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 1:50.50 – Patrick Hilby, Aurora Central Catholic

Preview – There will be a new champion in this event. The defending champion will not race here oping to run this weekend at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Hilby currently has the fastest indoor time at this distance in the United States.

John Ihrke of Glenbrook North on Munday at Mustang Relays ran a 1:57.6 to lead off his team. He will be in the mix for a win. Payton Whitehead of Lakes Community finished third at last year’s 2A State Meet. The senior has not raced at this distance this year. Whitehead has run 4:27.21 for 1600-meters. The runner to watch for is Liam Naughton of Hersey. He ran 1:57.09 in his first meet last Friday at York. He then came back to win the 1600 later in the meet displaying his strength. Naughton might have the best chance to win. I would not count out the two above mentioned runners.

Two runners from the championship section could be the ones to watch for the win. Tim Jochum of Glenbard South has looked strong throughout the first month of the season. Kendall Easterly of Whitney Young ran a strong leg for his team Monday night at Mustang Relays. I would not count out either of these runners.

I would also not count out the top two runners in the second section of this event, Conor Foley of Maine South, and Felipe Wickler of Batavia. Both are having great indoor seasons. They will have a good chance of improving the championship time in racing after that group. I don’t see Hilby’s record broken, but a winning time in the low 1:56’s could happen.

Girls 3200 Meter Run – Championship Race – 6:57 PM

Total Sections – 2; Total Runners – 24

Meet Record – 10:34.25 – Sarah Schmitt, Naperville North – 2018

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 10:30.29 – Mia Sirios, Barrington

Preview – This could be one of the most intriguing races of the night with two of the state’s top sophomores leading the way. Neither of these runners have yet to race at this distance this indoor season. Annika Swan of St. Ignatius College Prep who only run this event twice in her career and both last spring. She ran 10:45.45 at the end of April. Swan after finishing second last fall in the Class 2A State race has been on fire this indoor season running a 2:15.3 split last Monday at the Mustang Relays and before that, a 4:57.44 time at 1600-meters. Meg Peterson of Prospect has only run this event seriously once winning at the Oregon Relays with an 11:05.89 time for 2-Miles. Peterson has dropped her 400 time to 60 seconds indoors, and last Monday a 2:15 anchor split to give her team the win at the Mustang Relays.

The one runner that will push in this race is Danielle Jensen of McHenry. Jensen ran 11:05.92 (IL #5) last week at Lakes Community. It would not surprise me if she wins this race. Shania and Rianna Tandon have not raced that much indoors. They are however in condition to drop their personal bests close to 11:00. Jane Lynch of Loyola Academy and Holly Johnson of Downers Grove South are runners that you should also see in the front in this race.

Boys 3200 Meter Run – Championship Race – 7:12 PM

Total Sections – 3; Total Runners – 46

Meet Record – 9:15.91 – Caden Simone, Lincoln-Way Central – 2022

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 9:07.87 – Camyn Viger, Plainfield South

Preview – This is the on race in this meet where we could see a meet record. Dale Johnson of Sterling has raced in one meet this season. He tuned up for this meet by running 4:29.98 last Saturday in the 1600 Meter Run. His junior season culminated by running 9:08.77 to finish second in the IHSA Class 2A State Meet. He ran 14:23 to finish second last November at Detweiller Park. His first race at this distance on Friday night could take him under 9:20. He ran 9:26.79 to finish second in this event in 2023.

Hirsi Hirsi of Mather ran 9:27.86 (IL #13) two weeks ago at Lakes and should be a factor in this race. Weston Forward of Rockford Christian has a personal best of 9:25.70 in finishing third last year in the  1A State Meet last year. He ran a solo 9:48.38 at Olivet Nazarene almost two weeks ago. He will be with Hirsi and Johnson in the front. Tommy Nitz of Huntley is the top seeded runner in this race and has a 9:21.95 personal best. Nitz has not run in this event this year. Nitz did run 4:23.05 on his home track for 1600-meters on February 23.

Girls 1600 Meter Run – Championship Race – 9:11 PM

Total Sections – 8; Total Runners – 100

Meet Record – 4:49.30 – Judy Pendergast, Naperville North – 2016

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 4:37.98 – Allison Ince, Normal Community

Preview – The 1600 Meter Run races at Batavia Distance Madness tends to be the showcase event of the meet. This year again will be no exception. Veronica Znajda of Prospect has run this event twice in the middle of February within four days. Her best time in that period was 5:15.29. She will run faster than that on Friday especially after running 2:15.8 last Saturday and then a 2:13.2 opening leg last Monday at the Mustang Relays. Teammate Lily Ginsberg ran 11:10 with Znajda two weeks ago on this track. Prospect trends running better with every race. Don’t be surprised if both Prospect runners are under 5-minutes.

Emma Berres of Naperville North surprised some a week ago when she ran 5:04.59 (IL #11) at North Central College after running a 2:17 split at the beginning of the meet. Teammate Julie Piot has only run the 1600 Meter Run twice but dropped her time down to 5:09 two weeks ago. I see a faster time from Piot in this race. Sofia Arcuri of Maine South and Grace Mullin of Chicago Christian both have powerful finishes. If they could stay close to the front, both could finish in the top five.

Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South has improved with every race this season. Running under her 5:09 personal best is a good possibility. Naperville Central’s Ava Hendren and Abby Mogg should also be among the front runners in this race. In Section 7 in the race before the championship race, top seeds Delilah Helenhouse of Benet Academy and Sophia Baumert of Streamwood could put down under 5:10 times to push that final section.

Boys 1600 Meter Run – Championship Race – 9:18 PM

Total Sections – 8; Total Runners – 105

Meet Record – 4:17.00 – Quintin Lowe, Batavia – 2023

State Leading Time (as of 3/7/2024) – 4:08.70 – Patrick Hilby, Aurora Central Catholic

Preview – We could narrow the Girls field down to 5-10 runners that could be difference makers in their race. This Boys race is so wide-open. Nicholas Strayer of Lyons Township is the top seed in the championship race. The senior has run 4:20 in the 1 Mile Run at Proviso West two weeks ago getting nipped at the line by York’s Brady Golomb. Jacob Barraza of DeKalb ran 4:23.31 (IL #19 last week and is the second seed based on last year’s best time. Charles Halden of Glenbard West, Mohammed Abdullahi of Mather, Joe Bregenzer of Barrington, and Rory Gaan of Fremd all could play factors in how this race is run.

Anthony Nitti of Glenbard West looked good Monday night at Mustang Relays and could be the runner to watch in Section 7. Jedidiah Wilson of St. Charles East and Maximillian Sudrzynski of Jacobs both have been running well in the last month and will be in the front of this section. The one runner that should have been in the Championship section but was slotted as the fourth seed in this section is Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton-Warrenville South. Last week at York, “Sy” ran a solo 9:21 under control to win the 3200 at that meet ranking him #8 in the state. Every race he runs has shown improvement. His 4:24.52 seed time was from Lakes two weeks ago. Could Narayanan run under 4:20 in his section? Most definitely.

A fast race in the penultimate section of this event will surely put the pressure on the runners in the final race of the night. Strayer likes a fast pace, and we could see that from him at Madness. Barraza has a dynamite kick. The same can be said about Gaan who could surprise many in this race.