Boys track and field: Five 3,200-meter runners look to add medals to name at IHSA State Meet

The 3,200-meter run is a different beast compared to other events.

The eight-lap race, which usually takes place only three events into a track and field meet, is not just a battle of speed but also a race of strategy. Runners have to consider plenty of things during the race: Where do I want to be in the pack? Is this pace fast enough? When is the best time to make my move?

And probably the most important heading into Saturday: How can I secure my spot on the podium?

And when the race begins at the IHSA Class 3A Boys Track and Field State Meet at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, five athletes will look to tame that beast and earn an All-State medals for their efforts.

Preliminaries for both 2A and 3A are Friday, with the finals set to be held Saturday.

The group of five consists of two duos and a lone Bulldog. On one end of the duos is Kaneland’s distance combo of David Valkanov and Evan Nosek. The two of them finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in last season’s 3,200 race in 2A before the Knights made the jump to Class 3A this year.

This year, Valkanov enters the meet after running the ninth-fastest time statewide at sectionals, crossing the line in 9:14.15, while Nosek had the 14th-best time with a 9:18.30, both of which were personal bests.

Valkanov, who will be donning the Knights uniform for the final time, said that while he knows that the competition in 3A is a little scary, he’s always ready to compete against tougher competition.

“In 3A, you can’t place with a 9:26 like we did last year. It’s going to get more intense,” Valkanov said. “But it’s my main goal because I know they’ll bring me to a PR, and I’m just excited and ready to go.”

On the other side is St. Charles East’s pair of Jed Wilson and Greyson Ellensohn, who are both competing at state for the first time. Ellensohn finished with the fastest time of the five in the Metea Valley Sectional after running a 9:14.02, which was the eighth-fastest time across all sectionals.

Wilson was the only one of the five who didn’t run a personal-best in the race, finishing in 9:20.67, which was the 18th-quickest time across state qualifiers.

Ellensohn, who beat Valkanov at the line to take second place at sectionals, said he knows that there’s going to be a small target on his back when the two take to the track once again.

“I know he’s going to want to get me back and I’m going to continue to want to beat him,” Ellensohn said. “But having that is great because we’ll be working together. It will be super competitive, especially since it’s no secret that we’re gunning for each other. But I think it’ll push both of us to run super fast, especially when it comes to the final kick.”

In the middle of it all is Batavia’s Francesco Benelli, who had the 12th-fastest time during sectionals with a 9:17.76, a 10-second personal-best. Benelli, who is one of four individuals and three relay teams to represent the Bulldogs at state, said that after running with the four in the sectional meet, he hopes to keep with them once again and end his junior season with all-state honors.

“My coach (Alvin Freeman) is telling me, ‘Whatever happens at the state meet, if I don’t put in a full effort, then it doesn’t matter,’ ” Benelli said. “It doesn’t matter if I run bad, it only really matters if I run really well. And on Saturday, it’s definitely going to be more about placement than anything.”

Because of the large amount of athletes who qualified in the event this year, IHSA decided to split the runners into three heats instead of two. Ellensohn, Valkanov and Benelli will run in the fastest heat, while Nosek and Wilson will run in the second heat.

While not being in the fast heat is a blow to Nosek and Wilson’s chances at getting to the podium, it’s not the end-all for the two runners. Wilson said that he and Nosek have a plan that will hopefully end with state medals around their neck.

“We’re planning on working together and just running a fast time together,” Wilson said. “We know that if we work together, it’ll be a lot easier. We’ve just got to run a fast time in the slow heat and just hope for the best.”

Nosek, who has known Wilson since he started running in fifth grade, said that while not running with Valkanov this time around is a big blow, getting to work with someone like Wilson will definitely help make the race a little better.

“It’ll be awesome just racing with each together and not racing against someone in the 3,200,” Nosek said. “We’ll need to work together and work out our times, and it made me feel a lot better when I saw his name in my race.”

After missing out on the finals last season, St. Charles North pole vaulter Nathan McLoughlin looks to be in prime position to finish the state meet with a medal around his neck. The junior enters with the highest seeding among all Kane County athletes, as he finished sectionals with the sixth-highest jump in the state after clearing 4.61 meters. His teammate, Dimitri Rosales, will also compete, after jumping 4.16 meters.

Also looking to bring home some hardware for the North Stars is sprinter Ayodele Bateye. Bateye ran the 10th-fastest 100 at sectionals last week, crossing the line in 10.76. He’ll only need to beat one person seeded ahead of him to advance to the second day of competition.

Geneva pole vaulter Warren Cooper also will be looking to earn an all-state medal. He finished the sectional meet with the ninth-highest jump in the state, clearing a personal-best 4.46 meters on his first attempt.

Both East and Kaneland will also have a pole vaulter compete. Evan Lagana will represent the Saints after posting the 18th-best jump across all sectionals after clearing 4.31 meters.

Kyle Rogers will be the eighth athlete in eight years to represent the Knights in the event. It will also be the 41st year in a row in which Kaneland sends a pole vaulter to the meet, with Gary Lubic starting the streak after qualifying in 1983 and 1984. Rogers is seeded 24th after clearing 4.16 meters.

Marmion, who is the only local team competing in 2A, will have six individuals and one relay team at state. Pole vaulter Ryan Anderson has the best chance to make it onto the podium for the Cadets after posting the sixth-best jump in the state at sectionals after clearing 4.33 meters. He will try to add another all-state medal to his collection after jumping 4.10 meters to tie for ninth last season.

Aaron Jenkins is the lone representative for Burlington Central. He is seeded 54th in the 3A 100 with a time of 11.04.