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First Edition- The Mile
Hey everyone- It’s that time of year again. Time to start recruiting our fields for the 2014 Nike Festival of Miles. That’s right, Nike is this year’s title sponsor, which means all high school all stars will be decked out in Nike uniforms and looking good under the lights in front of 1,200 plus fans!!
Over the next week or so we’ll be giving you a look at some of the top runners in the Midwest in the Mile, the 800 and the 100. Those are the three High School events that we’ll have at this year’s meet. We’ll also have kids races, junior high races and of course our always popular professional Women’s 800 and Men’s Mile.
For all the info on the high school all star races click HERE.
For the purpose of this watch list we’ve included top milers from the following states; AR, IA, IL, KS, MO, OK, NE. That is where we typically draw from although the meet is open to athletes from any state in the country.
BOYS MILE
BOYS MILE
Spencer Haik, SR Glendale (MO) – Haik, the defending FOM Champ, started his season with a bang by running a 4:10.99 at the Hillcrest Invitational. The mark makes Haik the 7th fastest high schooler in the country over 1600 meters and makes him the early favorite to defend his FOM title.
Albert Meier, SR, Boone (IA) – Meier won a thrilling race at the Gary Dou Brava Invite over teammate Chandler Austin (4:13.65 to 4:13.73) that vaulted both Boone runners onto our watch list in a big way.
Chandler Austin, SR, Boone (IA) – We will be keeping our eyes on Austin and Meier at next weekend’s Drake Relays and we’d love to see them race in Saint Louis on June 5th as well.
Brendan Taylor, SR, Catholic HS (AR) – A 4:14 from the Arkansas senior at the Texas Relays certainly got our attention. Running that fast in March, what could he do under the lights in June? We’d love to find out!
Tony Zea, SR, Downers Grove North (IL)- Zea traveled to the prestigious Arcadia Invitational in California and as they say, “he didn’t go all that way for nothing.” His 4:15 there is currently the 45th fastest 1600 in the U.S.
Stephen Mugeche, JR, Blue Springs (MO) – Mugeche has a 4:18 to his credit already this year, but perhaps more indicative of his fitness was his 8:58 3200 at Arcadia. We would absolutely love to see Mugeche challenge the best from the Midwest at FOM in June.
Patrick Perrier, SR, O’Fallon (IL) – Perrier was the runner-up at last year’s FOM and will be making his third straight appearance if he joins us again this June. His latest effort, a 9:00 3200 at Arcadia shows us he’s in great shape.
Noah Kauppila, SR, Marquette (MO) – If not for a lost shoe mid-race we’d have likely seen another sub 9:00 performance from Kauppila at Arcadia. He ran 8:54 there a year ago. He also ran 4:12 at FOM in 2013 and we would love to see him go even faster this June.
Ryan Clevenger, JR, Downers Grove North (IL)- Clevenger ran 4:17 at Arcadia, just a couple of ticks behind teammate Tony Zea.
Sam Guinn, SR, Blue Valley Northwest (KS) – Kansas’ #1 miler, Guinn was unable to attend last year’s FOM due to bad weather on the way over. We are hoping for clear skies this year so we can watch Guinn run the fastest mile in the Midwest!
Other runners to watch: Kyle Pudenz (MO), Ryan Schwiezer (IA), Cole Rockhold (MO), Jacob Shiohira (AR), Stuart McNutt (AR), Jesse Reiser (IL), Zach Dale (IL), Ben Barrett (OK)
* Did we miss someone? Let us know by emailing meet director Ben Rosario at ben@nazelite.com.
GIRLS MILE
Hannah Long, JR Eureka (MO) – With all due respect to the two young ladies ahead of her on the National 1600 list (and there only two) we don’t think they ran their times in 42 degrees with 17mph winds like Long did when she ran 4:45 at the Festus Early Bird. That’s a heck of a performance.
Stephanie Jenks, JR, Linn-Mar (IA) – Jenks is the defending FOM champ and we’d love to see her battle the likes of Long, Taylor Werner and the rest of the Midwest’s best this June. She’s already run a 4:40 1500 this season so she’s off to a good start.
Taylor Werner, SO, Ste Genevieve (MO) – What can we say? Two-time NXN and Foot Locker qualifier. Last year’s FOM runner-up, she is simply one of the very best sophomores in the country. A 4:54 this year shows she’s ready for more!
Jamie Kempfer, SR, Ste Genevieve (MO) – Kempfer had a huge cross country season (NXN finalist) and is clearly a different runner than when she finished 13th at last year’s FOM. With a 4:55/10:23 double to her credit already this spring she is now one of the Nation’s best.
Jill Whitman, SR, Cor Jesu (MO)- The defending Missouri State Champ over 3200, Whitman was sixth at last year’s FOM in 5:00.98. She’s already run 5:00 this year for 1600 and will likely be yet another 4:50 type runner by June. The Missouri girls scene is on fire!
Karissa Schwiezer, SR, Dowling Catholic (IA) – From the always powerful Dowling Catholic program, Schweizer is just a tick behind Jenks in the Iowa 1500 meter rankings so far this season.
Sophia Racette, JR, Nerinx Hall (MO) – Racette has been a star at the longer distances since entering high school in 2011. A three-time top ten performer in cross country, Racette finally showed her wheels with a 5:03 at the Holt Invitational. That should be good enough for a spot on the line at FOM 2014.
Lindsay Graham, SO, Glenbard West (IL) – The second sophomore on this list, Graham has a 5:04 to her credit so far this year and that tops the Illinois rankings.
Anna Sophia Keller, FR, St. Anthony (IL)- Keller is the top freshman in the Midwest over 1600 meters so far in 2014 with her 5:04.69.
Jeralyn Poe, JR, Lincoln Northstar (NE) – Nebraska’s number one makes the list courtesy of an early season 5:06.06 at the Benson Invitational.
Other runners to watch: Anne Zaher (IL), Amanda Thate (IL), Jordyn Kleve (IA), Jessica Rehmann (IA), Kate Smith (IA), Rebeka Topham (IA), Courtney Rogers (MO), Nicole Lee (MO), Grace Barber (OK), Kyandra Chandler (AR), Bailey Sullivan (KS), Emily Venters (KS)
* Did we miss someone? Let us know by emailing meet director Ben Rosario at ben@nazelite.com.