Race at Sue Pariseau Invitational one for the ages

By Michael Newman

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Glen Ellyn – Dreams do come true. Just ask Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart.

Conditions were ripe for something special to happen at Saturday’s Sue Pariseau Invitational. The skies were overcast with little to no wind and temperatures hovering near 50 degrees. They were conditions that distance runners dream of when they step inside of a stadium.

Hart achieved something special just after 11 AM Saturday morning running the fastest 3200 Meter Run ever by an Illinois High School Girls runner of 9:52.02. The old best time was run by Kayla Beattie at the IHSA State Championships in 2011 (9:56.96). Hart’s time was also the best run by an American Girl in the Sophomore Class. It was also the fifth fastest time ever run by an American Girl for the 3200-meter or 2-mile distances.

Naperville North’s Sarah Schmitt was a two-time All-American last fall during the cross-country season and finished second achieving a personal best of 10:25.95. She was almost half a lap behind Hart.

It was not a race against the other runners in this race. It was a race against the clock. It was a race within herself to achieve something huge.

“I was a little more nervous than usual,” Hart said about the night before this race. “I really have not raced a 3200 or 1600 in Illinois this season. I was a little nervous not sure of how I was going to feel. I did not know how it was going to go. Then, it actually went really well.”

Hart took the lead 100-meters into the race. The “race” was figuratively over. Now the race against the clock had begun.

Her race two weeks prior at the Arcadia Invitational in the 3200 Meter Run was an indicator that Hart could surpass the Illinois best time when she ran 10:02 to win that race. There were some that would think that it would happen later. Hart made it happen sooner.

“We were hoping today that she could go under 10-minutes. If you would have asked me that before the race, I would be more of a believer of what she (Hart) could do,” Glenbard West Distance Coach Paul Hass said. “Consider me a believer.”

Hart has been working on controlling the excitement of the race in her pace this season. She covered the first 400-meters in 70.5 almost two seconds faster than her pace at Arcadia. The rest of the race in California she was running 75/76 second laps. In this race, those laps were covered in 74/75 seconds.

“I made it a point at Arcadia to go out a little slower. That benefitted me,” Hart explained. “Today, I went out in 70 but I really felt relaxed.”

Her first mile was astounding as she passed by the first four laps in 4:54. That time would have won Distance Night in Palatine later in the day. Hart still had four more laps to go. The excitement began to build inside of Duchon Field. Fans there were seeing history being made.

When she approached the final and bell lap, Hart was almost 10 seconds ahead of her Arcadia pace.

It got louder as Hart picked up her speed on the backstretch.

As she came out of the final turn, she accelerated one more time. The noise from the crowd was deafening.

She crossed the line.

Poof! The only Illinois best time at this distance was gone.

“At the mile, I was thinking that I could actually get the record. Mr. Hass was yelling out splits,” added Hart. “As long as I keep listening to him. I was just making sure I was continuing the pace and coming home strong. I had a time in my mind (8:40) with one-lap to go. If I could get that time, I knew I could hit it.”

Hart’s day was not over. 2.5 hours later, she was back on the track to run the 1600 Meter Run. Maybe this was a premonition of what we would see a month from now at the state meet in Charleston. She did not know what she will run. Neither do her coaches. Each of the next few meets for her will be tests before the sectional race. She passed the test in this meet moving away from the rest of the runners in the first 200-meters of the 1600-meter race. She crossed the line in an amazing 4:51.02 just missing the meet record that she achieved one-year ago. It was one of the best distance doubles that a High School Girls runner had ever achieved. She won by 11 seconds ahead of another upcoming and promising runner freshman Molly FitzPatrick of Barrington who achieved a personal best of 5:02.60.

Hart’s running day ended when she anchored Glenbard West’s quartet to a win in the 1600 Meter Relay. She even with Barrington’s Gabby Cossio entering the final 100-meters. The margin was almost two seconds (4:06.74 – 4:07.99) when Hart crossed the line with a 60.6 split.

It was quite a day.

“Arcadia was amazing I did have the support of some of the Illinois runners that were there,” Hart concluded. “There is nothing better than being there with your team. I think on every corner of the track today, there was a runner or coach that was cheering me on. It makes it just so much easier when you have people on your team yelling for you.”

Hart’s day ended when while attending the Distance Night in Palatine, she was asked to prom by Lyons Township’s state cross-country champion Danny Kilrea.

Dreams do come true. Many more dreams will be realized by this Glenbard West sophomore in meets in the years to come.

Hart’s 3200m Splits: 70.5 – 2:24.6 (74.1) – 3:38.9 (74.5) – 4:54.0 (75.1) – 6:09.2 (75.2) – 7:24.8 (75.6) – 8:40.0 (75.2) – 9:52.02 FAT / 9:51.8 HT (71.8)

Hart’s 1600m Splits: 69.5 – 2:23.6 (74.1) – 3:37.9 (74.3) – 4:51.03 FAT / 4:50.8 HT (72.9)

Results | 3200m Race Video | 1600m Race Video  | Hart Interview