By Michael Newman

mike@dyestat.com

Saint Louis --- Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) was hoping for setting records at last weekend’s IHSA State Meet but a flu bug and the IHSA speeding the meet schedule up had him settling for two more state championships. The future University of Illinois student / athlete satisfied his goals Thursday night at ST. Louis University High School catching Connor Lundy (Fordham Prep NY) and pulling away in the final 200 meters to win the Boys Elite 1 Mile Run at the Festival of Miles. His time of 4:05.29 broke the meet record that Spencer Haik set in 2014 (4:05.98).

This race cried out negative splits as the pace setter took the pack through a sluggish 64 second first lap before the pack passed him at 600 Meters. Lundy decided enough was enough as he threw in a 58 second third lap to open a three second lead ahead of Dustan Davidson (St. Louis University HS MO), Ryan Schweizer (Downing Catholic, West Des Moines IA), and Davis. It was Davis that made the move just before the final lap that set up the finish. Davis closed with a 1:59 final 800 closing with a 57.9 final lap.

“I just wanted to keep focused on the game plan and not get distracted by previous events. I just wanted to get over the sickness,” Davis said after his race. “I felt really good. I just wanted to go in that final 400. I was confident in my kick. I felt like it was there tonight. The weather and the crowd just amplified the atmosphere of this place.”

Schweizer finished second more than two seconds behind Davis (4:07.55). It was a great evening for Illinois runners as five went under 4:12.5 in this race. Jack Aho (Grayslake Central HS) ran a 59.2 final 400 to pass Brody Smith (Cody WY) and Lundy to finish third (4:08.79). Soren Knudsen (Minooka HS) was a last second entry in the meet but it was worth him running as he finished sixth with a new personal best (4:10.17). Heath Warren (Springfield HS) also ran a personal best (4:11.82) to finish ninth. Cory Landon (Carlinville HS) dropped his personal best by five seconds to finish eleventh (4:12.42).

Stephanie Jenks (Linn-Mar HS IA) was going for her fourth straight Festival of Miles Championship in the Girls Elite 1 Mile Run. It was anyone’s guess who would make the first move as Jenks led the fifteen runner pack through the first two laps in 72 seconds and 2:26 at the half way point. The action started around 500 meters to go when Urbandale IA teammates Julia Noah and Elyse Prescott started to pull away from the pack. Jenks, Anna West (Lafayette HS MO), and Cailie Logue (Girard HS) stayed close to the leaders as the gap opened up to two seconds on the five to the rest of the pack.

The five stayed close together as they came around the curve. Logue swung around off of the curve on the outside to take the lead. West made a great move following Logue. As soon as the two had passed Noah, Prescott, and Jenks, West cut to the inside and had a slight advantage. The two battled down the stretch with Logue crossing the line first with the lean (4:46.89) just three hundredths of a second ahead of West.

“The race was tight early on. I thought that the pace was okay,” said Logue. “I usually go out too fast for races so today holding on was good. I knew I had to hang onto Stephanie (Jenks) if I wanted to run a good time. I just gave everything I had that last 100 meters.”

Noah edged her teammate Prescott for third with both runners finishing under 4:50 (4:49.60 – 4:49.68). Jenks was close behind in fifth (4:50.61).

State champions ruled both of the 800 Meter Run races. Missouri Class 5 Champion Allison Bailey (Kickapoo HS MO) took the pack through the first 400 in 63 and then pulled away from defending champion Larkin Chapman (Muscatine HS) in the final 200 to win the Girls race with a new personal best (2:09.87). Jana Shawver (Lee’s Summit West HS MO) passed Chapman in the final fifty meters to finish second (2:11.77) just ahead of Chapman (2:12.29). Rachel Hickey (LaSalle Peru HS IL) lowered her personal best down slightly to 2:14.12 to finish fourth.

There was no doubt that Eugene Grayson (Glenpool HS OK) would win the Boys 800 as he led the pack through the first 400 in 55.26. The Oklahoma 3A champion controlled the race thorough out winning (1:51.49) by almost a second ahead of Matt Frazier (Dowling Catholic HS IA) who ran 1:52.28. Tim Krashevsky (Vernon Hills HS) lowered his personal best two seconds as he finished third (1:53.62).

Joshua Bell (Brentwood Academy TN) and Madison Mooney (Horizon CO) won the Elite Developmental 1 Mile Run races. Mooney was fourth entering the final 400. She closed in a final 70 seconds final lap to just break the meet record by eight hundredths of a second as she ran 4:55.51. Kami Tabor (Raymore-Peculiar HS MO) was three seconds behind finishing second (4:58.09). Bell broke the record set last year by Jon Davis. Bell pulled away from the pack at 800 meters running a 2:01 final two laps to win by almost four seconds (4:11.10). Charlie Kern (York HS, Elmhurst IL) was in the back of the pack at the halfway point but ran a final 2:04 800 meters to finish second with a new personal best (4:15.67).

Brandon Miller (St. Louis MO) electrified the crowd in the Junior High Boys race running an amazing 4:25.02 to break his own meet record by close to seven seconds. The eighth grader, who will attend John Burroughs HS in St. Louis this fall, opened the race running the first 400 in 60.7 and first 800 in 2:06.2! Nicuelette Fazekas (Reagan MS, Dixon IL) pulled away from Kylie Goldfarb (St Louis MO) in the final two laps to win the Girls Junior High 1 Mile Run (5:20.16). Goldfarrb was to seconds behind in second (5:22.90).