2023 Downers Grove South Mustang Relays - Meet Preview

By Michael Newman

There is something about competing at a big meet at North Central College’s Res-Rec Center. Runners are doing their thing on the Al B. Carius Track. Spectators are not allowed on the floor of the stadium instead watching the races from the warmup track hanging above the track. With their teammates cheering for them on the side of the track, Res-Rec becomes a wall of sound as well as giving athletes an adrenaline boost.

The DGS Mustang Relays benefits from this atmosphere. The 19 edition of the meet welcomes 43 teams from around the Chicago area. This is the 12th time that this meet has been held at the Res-Rec Center on the south end of the campus.

The highlight event of the meet should be the 4x800 Meter Relay. Prospect’s Girls quartet just missed the meet record by less than a second in winning last year’s race. Hinsdale Central pulled away to win last year’s Boys edition of the event running the third fastest time ever in this meet. The Red Devils went on to win the Nike Outdoor Nationals Championship in this event in June.

The first race starts at 6:30 PM on Monday, March 6 and rolls from there with excitement in all of the 29 races contested in this meet.

Here is a look at each of the six relays that will take place in this meet.

Meet Information | Live Results

Girls 4x800 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 9:20.49 – Downers Grove (South) – 2019

2023 Illinois State Best – 9:37.17 – LaGrange (Lyons Township)

Race Notes - Prospect is the defending champion in this race having run 9:21.20 to take the win. Lily Ginsberg, Cameron Kalaway, and Hailey Erickson ran on the winning quartet a year ago. Freshman Meg Peterson will give this team a boost in this race. The Knights are two time defending Class 3A State Champions and would like to start their chaise for the trifecta with a win in this meet.

Two WSC-Silver schools could be the chief competition to Prospect in this race. Hinsdale Central has three seniors in their quartet that could be led off by Sarah Fischer. Their anchor could be all-state runner Catie McCabe who has run 2:14 already this season and could get the team in contention for the win if they can stay close to the lead when McCabe gets the baton. Lyons Township also has a senior dominated group led by Catherine Sommerfeld that should be close to the front this entire race. The Lions ran the state’s fastest time win winning the NCC Cardinal HS Girls Invitational last Thursday on this track.

Naperville Central is another team to keep an eye on led by Addison George and Liv Phillips. St. Ignatius Prep could be the surprise team in the race. Their team led by freshman Annika Swan have the talent to run under 9:30 and also possibly finishing among the top three teams. Downers Grove North is dominated with all underclassmen in their quartet led by freshman Lily Eddington and sophomore Ava Gilley. Keep an eye on the Trojans in the final section.

Loyola Academy and Minooka are teams that you could see finish in the top five. Plainfield North, Batavia, and Sandburg should be teams that challenge towards the front in the final section of this event.

Boys 4x800 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 7:45.80 – Orland Park (Sandburg) – 2016

2023 Illinois State Best – 8:13.61 – LaGrange (Lyons Township)

Race Notes - Hinsdale Central are also defending champions in this race. The Red Devils ran the third fastest time in meet history winning in 7:53.30. It helps that Central has two of the top distance runners in the state part of their quartet. Aden Bandukwala continues to improve after winning the 3A State XC title last fall having cruised to a 1:56 win at Lakes more than a week ago. Dan Watcke has yet to race this season. We do know what he has under the hood especially when he gets the baton to anchor his team. Grant Miller and Michael Skora will keep Hinsdale Central within the front runners to get the baton to Watcke.

Plainfield South edged Hinsdale Central by just one point last November to capture the 3A State title. The Cougars will load up their relay led by Camyn Viger who has run 1:54 this indoor season and ran 9:13 for 3200-meters at Lakes. BJ Sorg, Gavin Borger, and Ethan Reynoso all have sub two-minutes bests in the 800 which will put them close to Hinsdale Central.

A team that will surprise and near the front in this race is Downers Grove South. The Trojans are young and hungry led by Ryan Eddington who has already run sub 2-minutes this indoor season. Caden Weber, Grant Schroder, and Zach Bender. North will also have a “B” team in second section that could run under 8:12. Naperville Central also has the talent to challenge for a top three finish with Luke Noren having a 1:56 personal best. Foster Shelbert and Samuel Barnard have times at 1:57 already this indoor season. Keep an eye on the Redhawks in this race.

Lane Tech, led by Will Kozlowski, finished second in this race in 2022. The Indians could challenge for a top five finish. Sandburg has veteran Grant Giblin and Trent Anderson leading their quartet in this meet. It is a young group behind their top two, but good enough to be among the top five finishers. Yorkville could be a surprise in this race led by Owen Horeni who has run under two for 800-meters and all-state 400m runner Josh Pugh who could give this team a boost. There are a number of powerful teams in the final section including St. Ignatius, Minooka, and Batavia that could find themselves in position for a top five finish.

Hinsdale Central and Plainfield South both have the talent to run under 7:50 in this race. A possibility to get Sandburg’s seven year old meet record and could push each other to accomplish that.

Girls 4x200 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 1:41.03 – Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) – 2016

2023 Illinois State Best – 1:41.51 – Chicago (Kenwood)

Race Notes - Lincoln-Way East ran 1:45.55 to win the 2022 title and will run in the fifth of the six sections in this meet for this event. The Griffins have the four fastest times ever in this meet in this relay including their 2016 meet record.

Most of the action to see who wins this relay will come from the fifth and six sections Monday evening. Batavia ran an IL #3 1:44.89 on their home track on Saturday with Madison Wilson, Mariah Wilson, Isabelle Taylor, and Skylar Sandoval part of the group. Neuqua Valley has not run on a big track yet this year. The Wildcats have the talent to win the final section. Zawadi Brown brought her team from behind to win their section last year and to finish fourth overall. If they are close to lead when Brown gets the baton, Neuqua could come away with the win. Prospect is IL #7 from a meet in the middle of February at Huntley and will be among the front runners led by Anna Niebrugge. IL #8 Plainfield North looked strong on Saturday at Normal U-High and running 1:47.19. Lauren Dellangelo and Taylor McClain give the Tigers a strong core in this quartet to work with. Plainfield East finished second last year and again be in the mix led by Ava Mabry Spencer. Bolingbrook will also be among the top teams in the final section led by Kristyn Johnson that could finish in the top three.

The fifth section of this event is evenly matched with any of the six teams running the fastest time heading into the final section. Downers Grove South, led by Mariah Gonzalez, ran well on this track last Thursday, and will be a threat to get under 1:47. Naperville Central has a strong group led by Lauren Thorne and Bella Brozek capable of winning this section. Lincoln-Way East is the defending champion. This is a young group led by Olivia Donaldson and Kyra Hayden that could be among the top five overall finishers. Whitney Young is a perennial power in this event but are young but ripe to run a fast relay on Monday.

Boys 4x200 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 1:30.50 – Plainfield (South) – 2011

2023 Illinois State Best – 1:31.57 – Elmhurst (York)

Race Notes – York has the state’s top time this indoor season but does not compete in this meet. Minooka ran a meet #3 1:30.81 to win this relay in 2022 and will run in the final section. The Indians have the IL #8 time in this relay led by Cael Hiser and Samuel Drey. Batavia enters this meet with the IL #4 time of 1:32.21 run Friday on their home track. The Bulldogs could come away with the win led by Weston White. IL #6 Lane Tech finished second behind York at Proviso West a week ago and have run 1:33.14 on the banked track at Gately Park. The Indians are led by Demastanis Nikopoulos. Niles North (IL #7) ran 1:33.15 at Gately Park and will be in the mix and will also be in the mix for the win. Kenwood Academy has run 1:34.97 in their opening meet of the season and will also be in the final section of the event.

The winner in this event could come from the fifth section with Plainfield North, led by Conner Gramley, and Plainfield South, led by Brian Stanton, having the talent to run under 1:33 and push each other to fast times. The state has 30 teams that has run 1:35 or faster this season. Bolingbrook, Bradley-Bourbonnais, Hinsdale Central, and Lockport all are teams that are capable of finishing in the top five.

Girls 4x400 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 3:54.77 - Frankfort (Lincoln-Way East) – 2016

2023 Illinois State Best – 4:04.87 – Homewood-Flossmoor

Race Notes – Lincoln-Way East is the defending champion in this event having run 4:04.38 to win a year ago. The Griffins again will be in the final section led by NCC Cardinal individual champion Olivia Donaldson and Kendall Crossley. Plainfield North ran an IL #3 time of 4:06.37 to win on Saturday at Normal University. The same duo as in the 4x2, Taylor McClain, and Lauren Dellangelo, will lead the Tigers. There are three other state top 10 teams in this event in the final section. Hinsdale Central ran an IL #4 time of 4:06.88 and will be in the mix for the win especially if Catie McCabe anchors for the Red Devilettes. IL #6 Batavia ran 4:07.31 on their home track more than a week ago with the same quartet that we should see in the 4x2. Prospect ran an IL #7 4:08.10 time at Huntley in mid-February. Meg Peterson ran sub-60 seconds Saturday at York. This freshman could give the Knights a boost in this race. Minooka, led by Elaina Culpepper and Cassie Fuhrman, are also in the sixth section and will be a factor in that final race.

Lyons Township ran an IL #9 4:10.20 on this track last Thursday but will run in the fifth section of this relay, Neuqua Valley should run a fast time especially with Zawadi Brown anchoring for the Wildcats. Whitney Young and Plainfield East are teams also to be watched for.

Six teams have run under four-minutes in this event in the history of the meet. It may take that type of time to win on Monday in this relay.

Boys 4x400 Meter Relay

Mustang Relays Meet Record – 3:22.63 – Plainfield (South) – 2011

2023 Illinois State Best – 3:29.67 – East St. Louis (Senior)

Race Notes – There are only five sections in this year’s meet for this event. The tradition in this relay is grand. Four teams have run under 3:25 all-time. 14 schools total have run under 3:26. Batavia ran 3:27.21 to win this relay title in 2022.

This event on Monday evening should be wide-open. Entries closed on Thursday evening before the big weekend meets took place. Plainfield North ran an IL #5 time of 3:33.80 to win at the University of Illinois on Saturday. They were placed in Section 3. The Tigers will be running after a fast time in most case by themselves in this section.

Kenwood will be the top team in the field after running a #4 3:33.76 at the beginning of the season. Lane Tech  and Yorkville both have run 3:33.99 this year and will be in the mix for the win. Josh Pugh gives Yorkville a good chance to win this relay.