While the rest of the spring sports were wrapping up their seasons this week, the Niles North Track & Field long distance runners were just preparing to peak.

Despite a team loss at conference for the first time in seven years, the distance crew has remained consistent throughout the year and will send four runners down to Eastern Illinois University to compete in the State meet.

The Vikings will compete in the 4×800 relay, which consists of junior Micah Beller and seniors Carlitos Rangel, Tim Vasquez and Aron Sebhat. Sebhat and Beller will also run in the 1600-meter run.

The relay has high expectations after a huge race at the sectional championship. The boys placed second to New Trier by .2 seconds and ran a school record time of 7:44.54, the seventh fastest time in the nation. New Trier, who is anchored by the cross country state champion, Leland Later (shown above), will once again pose as the Vikings’ biggest competition at state.

While pressure and adrenaline always factor in at high stakes meets, one of the other major factors in Friday and Saturday’s races will be the scorching heat. The forecast calls for temperatures in the low to mid nineties, which is much hotter than any conditions the Vikings have raced in prior to this. While this may seem unimportant, the consequences can be very real; Sebhat, who will anchor the 4×800 relay, suffered from heat exhaustion in the 3200-meter run his sophomore year. While that is unlikely to occur again in a shorter race, the boys do not want to be feeling the heat (literally or figuratively) and have prepared accordingly.

If all goes well, the Vikings will surely run swiftly and perhaps bring home the gold. Good luck, boys!

UPDATE: The relay team came in second, in a hard-fought, fast-paced run.