If you take a deck of playing cards and throw them up in the air and watch them scatter to the ground, that would be symbolic of how the girls distance races may pan out during the high school track season this spring.

There is no dominant female among this year's crop of milers and two-milers (1,600 and 3,200 meters), now that Erika Odlaug of Deerfield has graduated and York's Maria Cicero has been running for Boston University. Dundee-Crown senior Amanda Domich (photo) thinks that lack of a gold standard to follow is making for a highly competitive season.

"I think the competition compared to last year is more intense," Domich said. "All the two-milers are intense athletes and it's a dogfight out there. I can't pick out one person [that will dominate]. I also think Odlaug and Cicero left their standards so high that everyone wants to work to those standards."

Domich should be part of a strong group of distance runners in her own right. She finished fifth in state cross-country and showed her tenacity when she overcame a huge gap in the 3,200 at the indoor Illinois Prep Top Times meet at Champaign in March. Trailing Schaumburg's Laura Pearson by as much as 200 meters, Domich was able to catch up and pass Pearson to finish second in 11:12.96. Pearson placed third in 11:17.81.

State Class AA cross-country champion Samantha Polock of Wheaton North will go for her third consecutive state title in the 800 meters, but Falcon coach Ken Fasshauer said she also will run the 1,600. Polock, who will run at Illinois, almost won the mile at last year's state meet, but Fasshauer said she made a "serious tactical mistake" that prevented her from winning. Polock may be the runner to beat in the mile.

But among downstate runners, Carbondale's Caitlin Chrisman should not be ignored, especially since her third-place state cross-country finish in November. Even though Chrisman said she doesn't have much quality competition during the season--at least not until the state meet in May--she relies on meets like Top Times to gauge her progress. To stay competitive, she also runs in 5K road races.

"I don't run against these (Chicago area) people much and I don't know what they do, but I have to know what my strong events are, like the 3,200,'' Chrisman said after she won the two-mile at Top Times in 10:53.93. "There's not as many two-milers down south as there is up north. There's always people that can be better, but I try to run my best."

The boys races are more clear-cut. Edwardsville senior Stephen Pifer, who has worked with the legendary Craig Virgin, is the favorite in the 1,600 and 3,200 meters. Pifer, who won the AA state cross-country title, gave a glimpse of how he'd run at the state meet when he won both the mile and two-mile at Top Times. Pifer almost set a meet record in the two-mile (3,200) with a time of 8:59.72. Tim Keller of West Chicago holds the meet record with an 8:58.96.

"I wish I would have [watched the clock for the record] a little more," Pifer said after the race. "It's my personal best and I didn't really back off for that meet."

Although he placed second in that 3,200 race, Stevenson senior Micky Cobrin used Pifer as incentive to run a personal best 9:01.45, 33 seconds better than his previous PR. He believes that a sub-nine minute performance is within his reach.

"I'd still love to break nine, but now that I have this time I don't have to push any more races until it's important,'' said Cobrin, who will continue his career at UCLA. "When you see guys that are crying holding [championship] trophies, that's what this feels like now that I've done it. The first set of goals in my life is through, and I can leave high school saying I accomplished something."

And Pifer ended up using Cobrin as incentive for his own PR.

"I knew he's a great competitor and I knew he had the heart to be one of the best guys in the state,'' Pifer said. "I wouldn't have broken nine minutes if he hadn't been there."

But Lake Zurich senior Sam Romanoski may throw a monkey wrench into Pifer's plans of two more state titles. Romanoski, who signed to run track and cross-country with Loyola, is back running track after battling lingering bronchitis during indoor season. Romanoski finished third at state cross-country despite that bronchitis. In his first meet of the season, the Bloom indoor invitational March 22, Romanoski won the 1,600 and 3,200.

Other local distance runners to watch are Glenbard South's Chris Honig and Eric MacTaggart, Naperville North's Dan Curran, Lockport's Jeremy Williams and Lyons' Ryan Kuphall.

Tina Akouris covers high school sports for the Chicago Sun-Times.