Lake Zurich's Brend aims to be in his element

February 1 will go down as a memorable day for most people in the Lake Zurich and surrounding communities.

It wasn't the day of the apocalypse. The Chicago Bears weren't playing in the Super Bowl, nor were there any champions being crowned that day.

What most will remember is the backbreaking, blizzard that dumped more than two feet of snow around the area.

Lake Zurich senior Alex Brend just saw that day as any other.

“It snowed a lot, but my coaches always told me that we work when everyone else takes a break,” Brend said. “My mom thought I was nuts.”

Mary Brend may have been on to something, but her son's love for running took precedent over shoveling Mother Nature's latest offering.

So there was Alex, with teammate Ryan Moncrieff, off on a 4-mile run through the ice, snow and the wind.

“You just bundle up and get going, and try not to think about the weather,” Brend said.

He won't have to navigate through snow and ice this weekend. Brend has visions of a state championship, which would be the first for a Lake Zurich boys runner in school history. His shot comes in the Class 3A state track and field championships at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Field in Charleston. The meet starts today.

Brend is the top seed in the 800-meter run, an event that he has virtually owned since he anchored Lake Zurich to its best relay finish in school history last spring. Brend was a member of the Bears' 3,200 relay team that also featured current Harper standout and 1,500-meter national champion Cisco Soto.

“We have had a lot of success in our distance program of late,” Lake Zurich distance coach J.B. Hanson said. “Each year the guys follow a leader in the program. For Alex, he saw the workouts that Cisco was doing and just started doing what he did.”

Following in Soto's footsteps helped Brend and the Bears achieve a second-place finish in the Class 3A cross country state meet last fall.

“I really owe all of my success last year to Cisco,” Brend said. “I saw how hard he worked, and I just tried to do what he was doing.”

The apprentice ended up being faster than the master. At last spring's Midwest Distance Gala, Brend raced Soto in the 800 and beat him in a personal-best 1:55.4. That would have shattered the previous school record, but Brend saw to it that the mark fell anyway.

The transition to track and field started when Brend was a freshman. His slight 125-pound frame doesn't necessarily adhere itself to football and he soon found that out.

“Football is big at this school, and as a freshman you have to at least try and go out for the sport,” Brend said. “I didn't like getting hit, so football was out.”

Wrestling was also a love for Brend. From fifth grade through his sophomore year, he wrestled — from clubs to eventually the program at Lake Zurich.

Soon, though, he found that wrestling wasn't his cup of tea, either.

“Some of the wrestling coaches were telling me he dislocated his finger and didn't take it too well,” Bears head track coach Chad Beaver said. “It's funny, because you develop so much lactic acid during a tough 400 or 800, and he handles that with no problem.”

Track was the thing for Brend. He left wrestling before his junior season and started running with the Lake Zurich Polar Bears club. That brings up the whole, running in the snow thing again.

“He is just enthusiastic about running,” Beaver said. “He always comes out and is ready to work and run, and just loves running.”

Brend's emergence last spring transitioned to a state runner-up finish in cross country, and the runner hasn't slowed down this spring.

His 2011 started with the snowstorm and had a snowball effect for Brend, as he captured the indoor state title in the 800-meter run.

He owns school records in five events, three of which he will be running this weekend.

The outdoor campaign has been one of records for Brend, who has reopened up his recruiting after initially verbally committing to Purdue. He has since visited Minnesota and has a visit scheduled soon to Iowa.

First things first, however. A little matter of a state title is on the docket this weekend.

“I am really looking forward to this weekend,” Brend said. “I feel like I know what to expect. All I have to do is keep myself calm, take a couple of deep breaths and it should all work out.”

“Big-Time Brend,” as Beaver has nicknamed him, will surely be ready.