History's the winner
Next to the state track and field meet at the end of the season, the most tradition-rich weekend in boys track and field in the state of Illinois kicks off tonight with the 40th running of the Knights Wanner Invitational at Prospect. The weekend culminates with the 76th addition of the oldest continuously held track meet in the state -- the Palatine relays.
Prospect will start with the field events and prelims at 5 p.m. today. The finals are slated for a 7 p.m. start under the lights at Gattas Field.
Palatine starts about the time the sun rises on Saturday, or so it seems with the junior high relays kicking off the festivities. The meet takes a break for the alumni mile at noon, then starts up with the 3,200 relay at 1 p.m.
The two meets are typically considered "the state meet before the state meet" for many of the elite athletes. But this year, Palatine and Prospect will dip back into its history to welcome two of the top distance runners in the country.
Griff Graves from Abingdon, Va., will compete at Prospect for the second consecutive year in the 3,200-meter run. Another out of state runner joining the already talented 3,200 field will be Bobby Nicolls from Regis High School, just outside of Denver.
Graves, a junior, is one of the top 3,200 runners in the country, has posted times of sub-9:20 this spring. In his final season in cross country last fall, he placed ninth in the state championships.
Nicolls is just a junior but made a significant impact last season in track. Coming down to sea-level last year as a sophomore, Nicolls posted a 9:11 clocking in the 3,200, which was one of the 15 fastest times in the country last year and among the fastest in the nation for sophomores.
What makes Graves and Nicolls even more appealing than their talents, is their collective bloodlines.
Graves' father Tom competed at the Palatine relays in the in the 1970s and held the 1,600 record until 1985 when it was broken by Sean Corrigan of Conant.
Nicolls' family tree also comes back to the Palatine relays, but it makes a quick stop in Prospect first. Bobby's father Bob competed for Lyons Township at the Wanner Invite in the 1970s as well, then competed the following day against Graves when he ran for Sandburg.
On top of that, Nicolls is coached by one of the true legends of track and field and cross-country in the state of Illinois -- Craig Virgin. Virgin still holds the state record in the 3,200 run dating back to 1973.
So it just might be possible that two of the most historic meets in the state could get another dose of history this weekend.
Illinois has some pretty good runners, too, and seniors Mat Smoody of Palatine and Kevin Havel of Hersey will race one more time this weekend.
Smoody will race in the 1,600 at Prospect in a field that is chalked full of runners that will be medal contenders in a month at state. Havel will double up, taking on the same task he did a year ago when he pulled off an impressive double by winning the 3,200 and 1,600 races. Nothing short of sub-nine-minutes is on Havel's mind this weekend.
The 3,200 field will be loaded. Besides Havel, Graves and Nicolls, look for great efforts from senior Tom Achtien and junior Steve Sulkin of York, junior Cameron Reiger of Carmel and Pat Lesiewicz of Schaumburg.
At Palatine, Smoody will compete in the 800 run at home one last time in the regular season before he races for a chance to repeat at the Palatine sectional next month. Last year Smoody ran one of the fastest 800 times in the country when his 1:51 clocking blew away a very talented field.
New to Palatine this year will be yet another great group of sprinters. Bolingbrook brought its group last year and will do the same this year. Belleville East, a fifth-place finisher at state last year, brings its loaded and deep group of jumpers and sprinters to Palatine on Saturday.
Prospect will also enjoy some of the best hurdling and sprinting this meet has seen in some time. Lane Tech, Zion-Benton, Niles North and York have all been at or below the state qualifying mark in both sprint relays which should make for a great all-around meet at Prospect.
Keep an eye out for the 1,600-relay at Palatine this year. The 75th addition of the meet was completed with a scintillating finish in the final race of the day between Palatine and Jacobs and figures to have the same this time around.
Just another chance to make a little more history.