Some of the best runners in Illinois and surrounding states assembled for the prestigious Distance Night in Palatine on Saturday, and Dixon’s Dean Geiger definitely proved he belonged.

“That was intense,” said teammate Keegan Shirley, joining a large contingent of Duke athletes and coaches celebrating with Geiger after a stellar performance in the 800 meters.

Running in the next-to-the-best section of the 800 meters, Geiger surged past everyone in the final 50 meters for a winning time of 1:54.90. Not only did he win his heat as the lowest seeded runner (1:57.59) out of 15 competitors, but he nearly broke the Dixon school record of 1:54.69 by Brock Drengenberg from 2021.

“I found my way out of the pack and starting reeling them in,” said Geiger, after getting star treatment with three different mixed media interviews at Palatine.

This, coming from a guy who ran a 4:20 in the 1,600 the day before at a meet in Wheaton.

“What a weekend for Dean,” Dixon coach Ryan Deets said. “Not many people could pull off what he did back-to-back. His finish tonight was spectacular with such a strong kick.”

Also qualifying for the same section was Oregon’s Daniel Gonzales, who took 12th in 1:58.23.

“I wish I could do this every single day,” said Gonzales, a returning 1A state-placer. “It was a big adrenaline rush. I wasn’t used to being pushed around with so many good runners close to me. This meet will only make me better.”

Unlike Gonzales, who ran under the lights at Palatine for the first time, Geiger has been running in the meet since he was a seventh grader. His experience paid off with well-constructed race plan, culminating with a strong push past Nathan Gehrmann (1:55.15) of West Aurora at the finish.

The top 10 finishers in the sections all had personal or seasonal best times. In the top section of the 800 meters, Jemeki Tally of Homestad, WI., won with a 1:51.57 clocking.

Dixon also got a strong performance from Averik Wiseman, who ran 4:19.50 in the 1,600 meters, to place 7th out of 18 in his section. First place in the heat was 4:16.

“I was expecting a faster time, but I’m okay with it after competing (anchor on 8:04 3,200 relay) last night,” Wiseman said. “I can do much better and will get my time down.”

Conventional wisdom in track is not to run hard two straight days, if top times are expected in Day 2. With much expected from his prized distance runners at the state meet, Deets opted to throw convention out the window and show them what they can expect downstate having to run both Friday and Saturday.

“Plus, the Wheaton meet was a chance for us to get on the track with some heavy hitters,” Deets said. “What I did, though, was have them run their non-specialties at Wheaton and save those events for Palatine.”

Shirley ran a 1:59.31 to place 9th out of 13 competitors in an earlier section of the 800 meters.

“I was glad to get under 2 minutes in an open race. I’ve done it in relay splits, but not in an open,” Shirley said. “In such a crowded field, it was a good finish for me.”

The Dukes did have a meet record setter in Alonzo Bautista, who took third in the freshman 1-mile run with a time of 4:22.95. He led most of the race until being overtaken in final 160 meters by Joseph Sittler of Huntley (4:20.23) and Jacob McKillop of York (4:20.41). The previous freshman mile record was 4:24.34.

“At first, it was kind of weird moving here, but I’ve adapted real easily” said Bautista, who transferred from East Moline, where his father was also a top-flight distance runner. “Coach [Simon] Thorpe is very knowledgeable and I’ve run with the team before. It will be good for my career to be here.”

Abe Garcia took seventh with a 4:28.68. He, along with Bautista, Wiseman and Daniel Ramirez ran an 8:04 in the 3,200 relay at Wheaton.

The final elite freshman, Ethan Carter ran a heat of the 2-mile and was 10th out of 17 with a time of 9:32. He hopes to approach Sid Aurand’s school record of 9:20 before the end of the season.

“Everyone was at or below their PRs,” Deets said. “It’s been a busy week for us with three meets. I’m happy where we’re at.”

On the girls side, returning cross-country state medalist Daniela Lovett ran a section of the 1-mile. She was towards of the front of the pack, but dropped off the last lap for a 5:28 clocking, taking 13th place.

“I was not feeling too hot this week, a little sore,” Lovett said. “But, it’s fun to be here. It’s a high energy place.”