By Michael Newman

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The weather almost cooperated with most of the meets that were held in the past week. It looks good for this weekend’s Girls State Meet as well as Boys sectional competition.

Here is a look at some of the highlights at some of the meets that took place over the past week.

 

Big 12 Conference

Bloomington won the conference title with 123 points finishing ahead of Normal Community 97 points. Zach Bradford broke his own meet record clearing 17-3 to win the Pole Vault. Franky West of Normal Community ran an eye opening 10.75 (IL #8) to win the 100 Meter Dash. Bloomington’s Nick Doud was a double winner in the 3200 Meter Run (9:43.33) and the 1600 Meter Run (4:33.60). Quemarii Williams of Danville ran a season’s best 49.20 to win the 400 Meter Dash. Williams was also a part of Danville’s winning 3200 Meter Relay (8:09.21) and the 1600 Meter Relay (3:22.79). Phillip Hall, who was on Danville’s 3200 Meter Relay, came back to run 1:58.40 to win the 800 Meter Run.

 

Central State Eight

Conference newcomer Normal University was in charge winning the team title with 136 points. Springfield (119 points) and Chatham-Glenwood (97 points) finished second and third. The Pioneers power came from their distance runners. Jared Shuckman won both the 800 and 1600 Meter Run. In the 800, Shuckman ran 1:58.56 for the win ahead of MacArthur’s Micha Reed (2:00.71). Shuckman and teammate Matthew Zacharias easily won the 1600 Meter Run by 13 seconds ahead of the rest of the pack. Shuckman ran 4:20.22 ahead of Zacharias who ran 4:21.45. Zacharias anchored his team’s win in the 3200 Meter Relay (8:02.65) ahead of a good Chatham-Glenwood team (8:05.51). U-High also took the top two spots in the 3200 Meter Run with Cooper Wilken (10:09.22) ahead of teammate Dane Alexander (10:15.29).

Springfield’s Robert Williams had a double win in the hurdles running 14.86 to win the 110 Highs and 39.44 to win the 300 Intermediates. Ronald Reed of MacArthur doubled up in the sprints. Reed ran 10.95 to win the 100 Meter Dash by half a second. He came back to run 22.51 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Lanphier took the top two spots in the High Jump with Karl Wright clearing 6-5 for the win ahead of A’Jonte Lee (6-3). Lee also jumped a personal best 44-8 to win the Triple Jump.

The meet was dedicated to Rochester’s Josh Cable. The senior was involved in a house fire and was still hospitalized the day of the meet. He is improving but will not run the rest of this season. Teams from across the conference wore orange headbands (Rochester’s team color) to remember Cable.

 

Central Suburban League - North

Deerfield easily won the conference title Friday night at Maine East scoring 163 points. Host Maine East scored 113 points to finish second. Deerfield’s Wes Miller won both the 100 Meter Dash (11.28) and the 200 Meter Dash (23.18). Deerfield juniors Sam Liokumovich and Henry Boudreau took home the top two spots in both the Shot Put and the Discus. Liokumovich had a 53-0.5 mark to win the Shot Put ahead of Boudreau (51-8). It was Boudreau that got the win in the Discus (151-7) with Liokumovich second (147-10).

 

Central Suburban League – South

Evanston Township was in control in this meet scoring 174.5 points for the divisional win ahead of New Trier (123 points). Niles West’s John Cherian jumped 42-10.25 to win the Triple Jump and cleared 6-0 to win the High Jump. Albert Yen of New Trier won both hurdles races with a personal best 14.63 in the 110 Highs and a season best 38.99 in the 300 Intermediates.

Logan Singer of Evanston Township ran 1:57.68 to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of teammate Max Peterson. Maine South’s Tommy Brady ran 9:20.56 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of Niles North’s Conor Perreault (9:24.16). Jordan Theriault of Glenbrook South won the 1600 Meter Run (4:21.99) ahead of New Trier’s Ryan Shuckman (4:23.55).

 

Chicago Catholic League

The story of this meet was the four-win performance by Marmion Academy’s Seth Groom. We did not see this senior during the indoor season. Groom is coming on strong at just the right time. He started out by jumping 23-1 (IL #10) to win the Long Jump by close to two feet. He followed up with the state leading performance to win the Triple Jump (47-4.50). He then cleared 6-4 to win the High Jump. His day ended when he ran 22.11 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Loyola Academy’s win in the 1600 Meter Relay (3:30.80) ahead of St. Laurence (3:31.92) secured the league tie for Loyola Academy with St. Laurence. Both schools scored 122 points. Declan Ritzenthaler was the meet’s only other multiple event winner. He ran 15.40 to win the 110 Meter Hurdles as well as clearing 13-6 to win the Pole Vault.

 

DuPage Valley Conference

In the final DVC Meet with nine schools, it was still the same finish for Neuqua Valley. The Wildcats prevailed in near freezing temperatures to win the conference title with 190 points. Wheaton North (149.5 points) and Wheaton-Warrenville South (120 points) finished second and third.

The best of the race of the night came in the 800 Meter Run. Naperville Central’s Thomas Shilgalis took the pace out in 57.5 with Waubonsie Valley’s Wes York within a second of him. The two pulled away from the pack on the backstretch with Shilgalis pulling away from York in the final 200-meters. York made a charge in the final 100-meters almost catching the Naperville Central junior. It was Shilgalis that won (1:55.44, IL #4) but just by four hundredths of a second ahead of York (1:55.48, IL #5).

If it was not the 800 that was the highlight of the night, it then belonged to Tom Paprocki of Lake Park in the Pole Vault. The conditions were not the best for massive height clearances. Paprocki achieved a personal best clearing 15-9 (IL #2) to win the event.

Neuqua Valley’s Donovan Turner won both the 110 Meter Hurdles (14.52) and the 300 Meter Hurdles (38.79). Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Cedric Rowzee ran 10.97 to win the 100 Meter Dash and 22.45 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Zach Kinne of Neuqua Valley was impressive in winning the 1600 Meter Run. He ran the first 400-meters in 63.4 already pulling away from the rest of the pack. He ran a solo 4:18.78 to win the race by eight seconds ahead of Lake Park’s Colin Kirkham (4:26.48).

 

Fox Valley Conference

Huntley won the team title with 137 points without star sprinter Dubem Anikamadu who is out with an injury. Eric Mooney stepped in picking up two individual wins. Mooney ran 11.10 to win the 100 Meter Dash and 22.44 in winning the 200 Meter Dash. Mooney was also a part of Huntley’s winning 400 Meter Relay team that ran 42.74) winning by just six hundredths of a second to Dundee-Crown (42.80). Mooney was also on Huntley’s 800 Meter Relay that ran 1:31.41 for the win ahead of Dundee-Crown (1:31.69).

Crystal Lake South’s Jack Becker ran 9:28.86 to win the 3200 Meter Run with Huntley’s Ian Geisler eight seconds back in second (9:36.35). Zach Albrecht of Jacobs had the upper hand in the 1600 Meter Run as he won (4:22.33) ahead of Becker (4:25.60).

 

Mid-Suburban League

Barrington dominated this league championship Friday scoring 194 points for the win. Prospect (112.5 points), Hoffman Estates (107.5 points), and Fremd (101 points) finished second through fourth. Declan Rustay of Hoffman Estates was not affected by the chilly weather looking strong in winning two sprint races. Rustay ran 10.61 to easily win the 100 Meter Dash ahead of Buffalo Grove’s Andriy Mykulyanych (11.15). Rustay came back to run 21.68 to win the 200 Meter Dash by almost a full second.

Barrington’s Nick Laning picked up a double win in the 3200 Meter Run (9:36.31) and the 1600 Meter Run (4:25.27). Both races were tactical with Laning’s kick the difference. Laning finished ahead of Nate Cozine of Prospect by a second (4:26.15) and by a second ahead of Hersey’s Ryan Theisen (9:37.63).

Fremd’s Jaden Jackson won both hurdle races running 14.80 in the 110 Highs and 39.37 in the 300 Intermediates. Barrington’s Brad Warman went past 60-feet again with a 61-0 effort to win the Shot Put.

 

NIB-12 Conference

Great performances at this meet Friday night at Yorkville in which Kaneland scored 143.5 points to win the team title ahead of Yorkville (112 points). Nyrell Sullivan of Sterling had a great night running 10.57 (IL #3) to win the 100 Meter Dash. Jackson Torok of Yorkville, Tristan Bujaski of DeKalb, and Nic Davey of Morris were only separated by just one hundredth of a second for second through fourth with Torok running 10.81. Sullivan also had a 22-0 effort to win the Long Jump with Yorkville’s Peyton Frankenreider (21-10) finishing second. The rest of the night was perfect for Frankenreider. The senior leaped 45-6 to win the Triple Jump. He won both hurdle races running 14.42 (IL #5) in the 110 Highs and 39.02 in the 300 Hurdles.

Geneseo’s Nick Swartzendruber completed the “Mid-Distance Double” winning the 800 Meter Run (1:59.72) and the 400 Meter Dash (50.47). Kaneland’s Clayton Hannula left the meet with two victories winning the Shot Put (56-8) and the Discus (175-7).

Matthew Richtman of Kaneland pulled away for the win in the 3200 Meter Run (9:28.10) ahead of Sterling’s Jake Gebhardt (9:31.45). Stephen Poorten of Sycamore had the final word in the 1600 Meter Run winning in 4:28.68 ahead of Richtman (4:30.21), Gebhardt (4:31.22), and Kaneland’s Daniel Occhipinti (4:31.86).

 

NIC-10 Conference

Hononegah scored 113 points edging Belvidere North (109 points) for the conference championships. The story of this meet was the four individual wins from Freeport’s Deion McShane. The senior is on track for another great state meet like last season. McShane jumped 21-3 to win the Long Jump. He then went to the track winning his three other events. McShane won both hurdles races running a season’s best 14.28 in the 110 Highs and running 37.30 in the 300 Intermediates. McShane then ran 22.24 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

 

North Lake County Conference

Jason Thormo of Grant Community swept the sprints running 11.16 to win the 100 Meter Dash, 50.16 to win the 400 Meter Dash, and 22.46 to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Antioch scored 158 points to win the conference championships ahead of Grant Community (138 points). Charlie Smith picked up double wins for Antioch in the 3200 Meter Run (9:59.00) and 4:28.89 in the 1600 Meter Run. Antioch’s Matt Becker won both weight events with 51-10 in the Shot Put and 148-9 in the Discus.

 

 

North Suburban Conference

Stevenson won the conference crown on Saturday with 116 points ahead of Lake Zurich (100 points). Zion-Benton’s Jamir Gibson won both the Shot Put (54-2.25) and the Discus (160-0). Mundelein’s Bobby Nuzzio was the meet’s other double winner as he ran 11.04 to win the 100 Meter Dash and ran 51.28 to win the 400 Meter Dash. He was looking for a third win in the 200 Meter Dash but Nuzzio finished second behind Zion-Benton’s Cortez Sawyer (22.43). He did get that third win by jumping 21-8 to win the Long Jump.

Alex Tam of Libertyville pulled away to win the 1600 Meter Run (4:22.99) ahead of Lake Zurich’s Sean Ginn (4:25.38). Earlier in the meet, Ginn ran 2:00.13 to win the 800 Meter Run edging Libertyville’s Austin Becker by just 13 hundredths of a second (2:00.26)

 

Southwest Suburban Blue Division

Homewood-Flossmoor tuned up for this week’s sectional meet by winning the divisional title with 182.5 points and finishing ahead of Lockport Township (110 points) and Lincoln-Way East (92 points). The meet started on Tuesday at Lockport with John Meyer throwing a nation leading 70-6.5 to win the Shot Put and then throwing 184-10 to win the Discus (story).

Homewood-Flossmoor appears to be back in stride in the sprints with the return of Joshua Bridges and Jesuseun Adeyiga from injuries. The two took the top two spots in the 100 Meter Dash with Bridges (10.82) ahead of Adeyiga (10.90). The two also helped their relay team win the 400 Meter Relay with the fastest time in the state (41.65). The Vikings finished two seconds ahead of second-place Lincoln-Way East (43.67). HF’s Matthew Lewis-Banks won both hurdles events running 14.63 in the 110 Highs and 39.09 in the 300 Intermediates.

Homewood-Flossmoor’s EJ Burruss jumped 23-0.5 to win the Long Jump by just one-half inch ahead of Lockport’s Connor McCarthy. Quinton Stringfellow put a win on the board for the Vikings winning the Triple Jump (46-2) ahead of teammate Christian Reed (43-1). Grant Floyd won the 200 Meter Dash (22.01) just ahead of Lockport’s McCarthy (22.08). McCarthy earlier ran 49.45 to win the 400 Meter Dash.

Dylan Jacobs of Sandburg picked up another conference championship running 9:17.24 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of teammate Robbie Sieczkowski (9:46.27).

 

Southwest Suburban Prairie Conference

Plainfield North edged Minooka 115-107 for the team championship Thursday night at Joliet’s Memorial Stadium behind three individual wins from Marcellus Moore. The sophomore had another great night on the track starting with running 10.61 to win the 100 Meter Dash. He came back to win the 400 Meter Dash with the fastest time in the state (48.41). The race had added drama as Minooka’s Brandon Adams pulled up in the final 40-meters of the race with a hamstring injury. Adams ran 49.03 to finish third just behind Moore and Joliet West’s Dontae Rooks (48.75). The extent of the seriousness of the injury for the senior is not known. He is entered in the 200 and 400 for this Thursday’s sectional meet at Homewood-Flossmoor.

Moore ran 21.97 to win the 200 Meter Dash for his third win of the day. He also anchored Plainfield North’s relay team to the win in the 400 Meter Relay (41.99) ahead of Joliet West (42.54) and Minooka (42.85).

The Long Jump was dynamic with the top two performances in the state achieved. Plainfield East’s Bryan Keubeng jumped a wind legal 23-10 to win the event ahead of Plainfield Central’s Geremiah Lawson (23-9). Joliet West’s TJ Neal jumped a personal best 46-0 (IL #6) to win the Triple Jump.

Brandon Nelson of Oswego won both distance races. Nelson ran 9:13.55 to win the 3200 Meter Run edging Oswego East’s Matthew Blanco by less than two seconds (9:15.19). Nelson came back to run 4:23.48 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Romeoville’s Dan Ford (4:25.51).

 

Upstate Eight Conference

Batavia won their final conference championship with 142 points ahead of West Aurora (130 points). Batavia will join the newly formed Du-Kane Conference this fall. Sam Conger led the Bulldogs with a double win in the hurdles running 14.53 in the 110 Highs and 38.97 in the 300 Intermediates.

West Aurora’s Camron Donatlan jumped 22-9.25 to win the Long Jump and cleared 6-8 to win the High Jump. St. Charles East swept the distance races with Bob Liking running 9:30.74 to win the 3200 Meter Run and Aidan King running 4:23.19 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of teammate Campbell Koch (4:25.82) and Batavia’s Damian Rodriguez (4:25.86).

 

Western Big Six Conference

East Moline United scored 133 points to win the team title ahead of Moline (122 points). All eyes were on Courtney Lindsey as he ran two fast times in the sprints and helped Rock Island to wins in the relays. Lindsey ran a state leading 10.50 to win the 100 Meter Dash. He tied for the state lead as he ran 21.28 to win the 200 Meter Dash. Lindsey was also a part of Rock Island’s team in the 400 Meter Relay (42.49, IL #8) and 800 Meter Relay (1:29.43).

Jordan Johnson of Quincy threw 190-8 to win the Discus. East Moline’s Logan Francis was a triple winner clearing 6-6 in the High Jump, clearing 14-7 in the Pole Vault, and jumped 21-7 in winning the Long Jump.

Alleman’s Spencer Smith ran 9:57.04 to easily win the 3200 Meter Run by 24 seconds. Smith came back to run 4:21.64 to win the 1600 Meter Run.

 

WSC-Gold Championships

Downers Grove South won the conference title on their home track scoring 169 points ahead of Proviso East (117 points). Downers Grove South’s Jayden Lambert jumped a personal best 46-2.5 (IL #4) to win the Triple Jump. Proviso East’s Moses Bioash ran 11.22 to win the 100 Meter Dash and 50.73 to win the 400 Meter Dash. Brett Haffner of Hinsdale South ran 4:26.15 to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Downers Grove South’s Akhil Ghosh. Downers Grove South ran 8:06.44 to win the 3200 Meter Relay by four seconds ahead of Morton Township (8:10.73).

 

WSC-Silver Championships

Oak Park-River Forest Coach Tim Hasso admitted after the meet that his team was off today. The Huskies still did what they needed to do to win the team title Saturday morning with 136 points. Glenbard West finished second with 121 points. York, who had finished sixth in the indoor meet, finished third with 82.5 points.

The distance races were the highlight of the meet in this distance heavy conference. Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township took the lead in the first lap of the 3200 Meter Run and never looked back. Kilrea was clicking 67-68 second laps on his way to the win and the second-time this season that he has gone under nine-minutes for the distance (8:57.33). Downers Grove North’s Jacob Ridderhoff ran 9:16.77 to finish second. Glenbard West’s Cameron Benes pulled away from the pack in the final 250-meters of the 800 Meter Run. He won with a personal best 1:55.56 (IL #7) to win by almost three seconds ahead of York’s Daniel Klysh. Downers Grove North’s Miles Christensen took the lead in the first lap of the 1600 Meter Run and never gave it up. He won (4:19.17) ahead of Oak Park-River Forest’s Matt Vietzen (4:19.46). The top six runners in this race were within three seconds of each other. Downers Grove North at the beginning of the meet ran 7:54.83 (IL #3) to win the 3200 Meter Relay ahead of Hinsdale Central (7:57.42, IL #7) and Glenbard West (7:59.28).

Charlie Kern of York did not use blocks for his start in the 400 Meter Dash. Kern did catch Hinsdale Central’s Luke Skokna in the final 50-meters to win the race (50.02) ahead of Skokna. Kern’s teammate DeAndre Klein was in charge of the 100 Meter Dash winning in 10.77 (IL #9). Glenbard West held off York to win the 400 Meter Relay running 42.40 (IL #7) ahead of York’s 42.57. Lyons Township closed out the meet winning the 1600 Meter Relay (3:24.34) ahead of Oak Park-River Forest (3:25.24) and Glenbard West (3:25.38).

Alec Pierce of Glenbard West was the meet’s only multiple event winner. Pierce won both the Long Jump (21-2) and the Triple Jump (44-5.50). Pierce and Oak Park’s JT Lowder both jumped 21-2 both Pierce won on a second-best mark. Pierce ran 22.27 to win the 200 Meter Dash just eight-hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Joe Zydlo (22.35). Lowder ran a personal best 14.64 to win the 110 Meter Hurdles.