Boys District 1 Preview

The Division 1 Central District meet is always one of the most competitive in the state, and this year’s distance events are no exception. With deep fields, fast personal bests, and limited regional spots up for grabs, every race will be high-stakes and tightly contested.

1600:

This race features five runners contending for four regional spots. All five have personal bests of 4:25 or faster, meaning even a low 4:20 might not be enough to qualify. The main contenders are Matthew Schroff, Casey Carlos, Anton Shishlo, Sid Sivakumar, and Jacob Reash. Among them, Schroff and Carlos are near locks to qualify, both having run well under 4:20 previously. After that, it’s a tight battle. Reash stands out as the only one in the group with prior regional experience, and given his strong postseason track record, he’s the favorite for the third spot. The final berth will likely come down to Shishlo or Sivakumar. It’s a close call, but Shishlo gets the edge thanks to his faster personal best, which he just ran at conferences last week.

800:

This one’s even tougher to sort out. Two names clearly rise to the top: Matthew Schroff, doubling back from the mile, and Gabe Wise, who will be fresh. Both own sub-1:55 personal bests and should be safe bets to advance. Beyond them, it gets murky. There are roughly seven runners capable of sub-2:00 times, including Evan Graessle, Jonah Hein, Dylan Willis, Phyel Richardson, Noah Kemp, Jacob Reash, and Kaden Walter. Graessle, who ran 1:55 last year and qualified to regionals, is a strong candidate to take the third spot. After that, it’s wide open. I’m going with Dylan Willis for the final qualifying spot due to his fast personal best and solid postseason experience.

3200:

This event is much more straightforward, with the top four seeds significantly ahead of the rest of the field. Unless there’s an injury or unexpected setback, Jacob Bolton, Jeffery Kerns, Charles Rizek, and Bradyn Allender should all move on to regionals. Each has a personal best under 9:25 and could make a serious push for the state meet. As for the order, I have Bolton winning, followed by Allender—who was just two seconds behind him last week—then Kerns in third and Rizek in fourth. That said, placement shouldn’t matter much here since all four are expected to advance.

With so many proven talents and rising contenders, this year’s district races should produce some of the most exciting finishes we’ve seen all season. Whether it’s a tactical battle or an all-out time trial, expect these athletes to leave it all on the track in pursuit of a regional berth.