By Michael Newman

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After two weeks of great running conditions, Mother Nature did a 180 degree turn on Friday and Saturday. Some meets were called off on Saturday. Other meets toughed it out. There were still some great performances that took place throughout Illinois and outside of the state involving Illinois athletes. Here is a summary of some of the action that took place from this past weekend.

 

Check out results from all around the state in the DyeStat Illinois TFX Meet Central.

 

 

Bob Cohoon Invitational @ Downers Grove South – Results

 

Weather deteriorated during the meet with rain hitting right before the start of the 200 Meter Dash Finals. It was a good thing that the meet was almost over. Kudos to the meet officials and Downers Grove South for completing this varsity meet under 3 ½ hours.

 

It did not matter to Neuqua Valley’s Ty Moss and Zac Espinosa what the conditions were like in this meet. They just went out and set new meet records. Moss was looking for a fast time in the 800 Meter Run. With a strong crosswind hampering efforts, it did not look like it would happen. Moss took out the first 400 in 55 seconds with Chris Torpy (Sandburg HS, Orland Park) on his side. Torpy tried to take the lead but Moss denied the move. Moss closed with a final 28 seconds winning in a new meet record 1:53.26. Torpy was second three seconds behind (1:56.50). Twenty minutes later, Espinosa took the blocks for the 400 Meter Dash. The weather did not bother him as he made up the stagger on the runners ahead of him by the first 200 meters. Espinosa’s margin of victory was almost two seconds ahead of Jibreel Brown (Sandburg HS, Orland Park) as he ran 48.58 to set a new meet record. The rain was coming down as both Espinosa and Moss took the track for the 1600 Meter Relay. Minooka had opened up a lead on Neuqua Valley, but a strong 49.1 third leg by Espinosa gave them the lead as he handed the baton to Moss who took it from there. His 49.0 anchor leg in a strong cross rain gave Neuqua Valley the win (3:22.37) four seconds ahead of Minooka.

 

Moss and Espinosa did not run in the 3200 Relay for their team. It gave a chance for some other Neuqua runners to “audition” for a spot in the quartet. It turned out to be a three team battle between Neuqua, Warren Township for the first 2000 meters of the race. A strong third leg by Downers North’s Joe Carter put the Trojans in good position as the final 800 meters were to be run. North’s Ryan Clevenger stayed close to Neuqua Valley’s Isaiah Robinson for most of the final leg before pulling away in the final 200 meters for a three second win ahead of Neuqua (8:00.28 – 8:03.87). Clevenger’s anchor leg was 1:57.5.

 

Most of the runners in the 1600 Meter Run were coming back off of doubles including Clevenger and Sean Torpy (Sandburg HS, Orland Park) who had run a 1:56.1 anchor for his team in the 3200 relay. The pace went out fast in 63 seconds and then died as a huge pack passed the 800 in 2:13. Torpy took over the leadership role on the third lap from Clevenger as the two started to stretch the pack. Torpy passed the 1200 in 3:18 as Sam Oh (Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire) and Connor Horn (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) challenged for the lead. Clevenger made his move on Torpy with less than 300 to go. Torpy reacted to Clevenger’s move and took off around the turn. He came home with a race winning 4:20.77 less than a second ahead of Clevenger. It was a close finish as only three seconds separated third through eighth place.

 

There was the same closeness in the 3200 Meter Run at the beginning of the meet. With 800 Meters to go, ten runners were within three seconds of each other with any of them in position to win. Irwin Loud (Oak Park-River Forest HS) was the first runner to make a move with 600 meters to go. That move was countered by Jack Lalonde (Downers Grove South HS) as he took the lead with 400 meters to go. Loud tried to make moves on Lalonde but the Downers junior refused to give up the lead. Loud made one final move with 100 meters to go which proved to be the difference. He crossed the line in a personal best 9:20.81 a little more than a second ahead of Lalonde. The Downers runner finished in 9:22.05 which was a 20 second personal best for him. Jared Borowsky (Stevenson HS, Lincolnshire) and Soren Knudsen (Minooka HS) were close behind in third and fourth. Only nine seconds separated the first eight places.

 

Minooka won the team championship against some of the top 3A teams in the state. The Indians scored 84 points with 5 event wins. Peter Andreano led the way for Minooka with field event wins in the High Jump (6-5) and the Long Jump (22-2 ¾). Justin Wolz won the 110 Meter High Hurdles (14.69). Minooka also controlled the sprint relays winning the 400 Meter Relay (43.10) a tenth of a second ahead of Bloomington and Lockport. The Indians also won the 800 Meter Relay (1:29.81) less than a second ahead of Neuqua Valley and Lockport.

 

Bloomington scored 78 points to finish second. Cary Lockhart had a great night winning both the 100 Meter Dash (10.71) and the 200 Meter Dash (21.75). Christian Neal and Eric Dreyer gave Bloomington a 1-2 finish in the 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles. Zach Bradford won the Pole Vault (14-0) and Coree Harrell won the Triple Jump (43-8 ¼) for two more wins for the Raiders.

 

 

Sue Pariseau Invitational @ Glenbard West – Results

 

Conditions were less than ideal as temperatures just climbed over 40 degrees with intermittent showers throughout the meet on Saturday. There were still some great performances in this meet. Judy Pendergast (Naperville North HS) broke away from Caitlin Shepard (Lake Zurich HS) just before the mile of the 3200 Meter Run. She ran the second fastest time in the state so far this season (10:43.36) as she finished 22 seconds ahead of teammate Sarah Schmitt (11:05.79). Lindsay Graham (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) missed her team’s first two invitational meets this outdoor season recovering from a slight calf strain. Her leg was not bothering her as she looked impressive in the two races that she was in. Glenbard West was even with Barrington and Naperville North when Graham took the baton in the final leg of the 3200 Meter Relay. Graham pulled away from her competition in the first 400 and rolled to a 2:18.6 anchor leg to give her team a seven second win in the race (9:33.45) ahead of Barrington.

 

It was the same story for Graham in the 1600 Meter Run towards the end of the meet. She broke away from the pack at 400 meters into the race and cruised to an eleven second win (5:01.03) ahead of Naperville North’s Claire Hamilton and Elly DeTurris.  Barrington won the team championship with 119 points with Geneva 34 points behind in second place. The Fillies have the athletes to contend for a state trophy next month in Charleston. They had three wins in the meet led by a win in the Triple Jump by Kelsey McLaurin and by Addison Coy in the 300 Meter Hurdles. Both were in the team’s victorious 1600 Meter Relay. The Fillies ran 4:02.95 to win the race by more than seven seconds ahead of Oak Park-River Forest.

 

 

McHenry County Championships @ Huntley – Results

 

Huntley’s Boys team showed that they could be in contention for a state trophy winning the McHenry County Championship with 160 points. McHenry was second with 125 points. Conner Boos powered the team winning the 200 Meter Dash (22.22) and was part of his team’s winning 400 Meter Relay (42.51) and 800 Meter Relay (1:30.17). Boss did finish third in the 100 Meter Dash as Jack Machometa (McHenry HS) ran 10.81 for the win six hundredths ahead of Josh Walker (Jacobs HS, Algonquin). Huntley’s other win came from Sean Patel in the Triple Jump (43-3 ¼).

 

In his first individual races back since his win in the 3200 Meter Run at the Arcadia Invitational two weeks ago, Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS) defended his titles in the 3200 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run. Reiser pulled away early to win the 3200 Meter Run (9:03.39) by close to 17 seconds ahead of Keagan Smith (Huntley HS) and Michael Hahndorf (McHenry HS). Reiser and Hahndorf gave McHenry a 1-2 finish in the 1600 Meter Run.  Reiser ran 4:20.85 to win by almost five seconds.

 

Michael Saxon (Cary-Grove HS) was the other double winner in the Boys Meet as he won the 110 Meter High Hurdles (14.69) ahead of Huntley’s Brennan Bell (14.90). Saxon also won the 300 Intermediate Hurdles (39.22) once again ahead of Bell (39.62). The weight events were exciting in this meet. Kyle Hedge (Crystal Lake South HS) had a 59-5 ½ seasonal best in winning the Shot Put by almost three feet ahead of Ricky Hurley (Cary-Grove HS). Hurley turned the tables in the Discus throwing 173-1 for the win. Isaac Jimenez (Huntley HS) was nine feet behind in second as Hedge was another foot back in third place.

 

It was close battle in the Girls Meet team competition. Cary-Grove ‘s win in the 1600 Meter Relay (4:12.59) ahead of host Huntley sealed the team championship as the Lady Trojans scored 153 points. Huntley was second only 6 ½ points behind (146 points).  Cary-Grove was powered by a double win by Morgan Schulz. In a highly anticipated matchup in the 800 Meter Run, Schulz won the race (2:14.93) more than a second ahead of defending 3A 800 state champion Lauren Van Vlierbergen (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) who ran a 2:16.44 outdoor seasonal best. Schulz came back to dominate in winning the 300 Hurdles (43.93) by almost four seconds ahead of Emily Schmidt (Huntley HS). Van Vlierbergen came back to win a tactical 1600 Meter Run. She ran 5:23.39 to win by four seconds ahead of Kiley Britten (Crystal Lake South HS) and Kate Jacobs (Woodstock HS). Earlier in the meet in the 3200 Meter Run, Jacobs ran a personal best 11:04.66 to win the race by four seconds ahead of Kaitlyn Allen (Marengo HS).

 

Macy Tramblay (Huntley HS) was a double winner in the meet winning the 100 Hurdles (14.87) and the Triple Jump (35-10 ½). Sophie Stricker (Harvard HS) was also victorious in two events winning the 400 Meter Dash (1:00.44) and the 200 Meter Dash (26.85). Her win in the 200 was only one hundredth of a second ahead of 100 Meter Dash winner Cassidy Lackovic (Huntley HS).

 

 

Winston Brown Invitational @ Edwardsville – Results

 

Cahokia won 10 out of 18 events to easily win the team championship with 184 points. Host Edwardsville was next with 136 points with Plainfield North finishing third. Edwardsville was again without Isaiah Michl who has been out since the Belleville West Invitational due to a hamstring injury. The Tigers should have him back by the time conference and sectional meets roll around.

 

Cahokia is finding a new star in Kevion Akins. The senior has been a 100/200 specialist. His last 2 races at 400 Meters have been great including the meet Saturday. He ran a personal best 48.59 (IL #4) to edge Demontez McCray (O’Fallon HS) by four hundredths of a second. Akins earlier in the meet won the 100 Meter Dash four hundredths of a second ahead of Devaughn Hrobowski (Plainfield North HS). Akins winning time of 11.25 was run into a strong headwind. Ja’Mari Ward once again gave his team a double win in the Long Jump (22-8) and the Triple Jump (46-4). Ward was also a part of his team’s winning 400 Meter Relay (42.07) that set a meet record and finished more than a second ahead of Collinsville. Ward anchored Cahokia’s 800 Meter Relay to a 1:30.30 ahead of Troy Triad (1:30.91).

 

Edwardsville received a win by AJ Epenesa in the Discus. The sophomore unleashed a final throw of 182-0 for his first career major invitational win. Wes Schoenthal also was victorious for Edwardsville winning the 800 Meter Run (1:56.69) by more than a second ahead of Spencer Phillips (O’Fallon HS). O’Fallon won the other three distance races led Dorrian Gordon’s win in the 1600 Meter Run. Gordon ran 4:22.71 to win the race by close to four seconds ahead of Jack Sebok (Plainfield North HS).

 

 

Lockport Girls Invitational - Results

 

Downers Grove South won the team championship Friday night with 72 points. Homewood-Flossmoor finished second with 64 ½ points. Ashley Raehsler (Lincoln-Way Central HS, New Lenox) was the meet’s only double winner as she won the Long Jump (17-9 ½) and the Triple Jump (36-4 ¾).

 

The hurdles perhaps were the spotlight events in this meet. Jayla Stewart (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) remained undefeated this season in the 100 Hurdles (14.23) as she won by more than a second ahead of Tineja Foy (Crete Monee HS). Annie Carlson (Westmont HS) ran the second fastest 1A time in the state in winning the 300 Hurdles (44.80) nipping Foy by 18 hundredths of a second (44.98).

 

Emma Moravec (Downers Grove North HS) ran the third fastest time in the state winning the 800 Meter Run (2:14.69) by more than three seconds ahead of Michaela Hackbarth (Downers Grove South HS). Emily Martin and Madison Ronzone gave Rosary High School a 1-2 finish in the 1600 Meter Run. Martin ran 5:08.01 to finish three seconds ahead of her teammate.  Antoinette Broughton (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) won the 100 Meter Dash (12.40). She finished fourth in the 200 Meter Dash behind the 25.26 winning time by Amber Jones (Rich South HS, Richton Park).

 

 

Alton Girls Invitational – Results

 

O’Fallon is showing that they could be in the mix for a trophy in Charleston by winning this meet Thursday evening. The Lady Panthers swept the relays in this meet. Their big win was in the 800 Meter Relay (1:43.01) as they won by five seconds ahead of East St. Louis-Senior in running the second fastest time in the state so far this season. O’Fallon also bested East St. Louis Senior in the 1600 Meter Relay winning by more than a second (4:01.28 – 4:02.56).

 

LaJarvia Brown (Alton HS) is great in the jumps and is now adding the 300 Hurdles to her repertoire. She ran the fifth fastest time in the state this season in that event (44.63) to win the race by less than a second ahead of Takya Buford (Cahokia HS). Brown won a close battle in the Long Jump defeating Mariya Hudson (Cahokia HS) by only two inches (18-8 – 18-6). Brown easily won the Triple Jump (40-3 ½) by four feet. Hudson was victorious in her three other events winning the 100 Meter Dash (12.12), 200 Meter Dash (24.87), and the state’s second fastest time (56.02) in winning the 400 Meter Dash.

 

 

Neuqua Valley Girls Invitational – Results

 

Host Neuqua Valley won the Varsity title of this meet with 112 points ahead of Naperville Central and Wheaton-Warrenville-South even though the Wildcats only won two events. Maya Neal won the 100 Hurdles (15.56) while teammate Olivia Griswold won the Shot Put. Griswold’s winning put (44-5, IL #3) was four feet ahead of second place defending 3A state champion Courtney Morgan (Metea Valley HS, Aurora). Morgan came back to win the Discus (123-2).

 

The sprint relays were close on the Neuqua Valley track. Waubonsie Valley held off Oswego East to win the 400 Meter Relay (49.79-50.14). Oswego East finished ahead of Waubonsie Valley in the 800 Meter Relay winning by four hundredths of a second (1:45.48-1:45.52). Waubonsie Valley came back to win the 1600 Meter Relay by more than a second ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South (4:13.49 – 4:14.81). Minooka won the other relay contested in this meet winning the 3200 Meter Relay (9:36.74, IL #7) by 23 seconds ahead of Benet Academy.

 

Ashleigh Wilson (Minooka HS) edged Samara Miller (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) by four hundredths of a second to win the 400 Meter Dash (58.82 – 58.86). Morgan Harris (Oswego East HS) won the 200 Meter Dash (25.25) a quarter of a second ahead of Wilson. Ashley Tutt (Minooka HS) won the 1600 Meter Run (5:15.59) by two seconds ahead of Caitlin Horn (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville). Sara Atkins (Wheaton-Warrenville South HS) ran a seasonal best 11:17.35 to win the 3200 Meter Run four seconds ahead of Maggie McClowry (Naperville Central HS).

 

 

Dan Horyn Invitational @ Niles North – Results

 

The spotlight race of this meet was the 1600 Meter Run where 7 of the fastest 12 times in the state were run in this race. Defending 1A 1600 & 3200 champion Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) used a strong final kick to outdistance Pavlo Hutsalyuk (Lane Tech HS, Chicago) to win the race. Davis, who had been out of competition for three weeks due to an injury, ran the third fastest time so far in the state (4:15.80) to win by more than a second ahead of Hutsalyuk (4:16.86). Jake Hoffert (Yorkville HS), Christian Swenson (Loyola Academy, Wilmette), and Charles Nash (Deerfield HS) finished 3-4-5 all running under 4:20.

 

Chris Douglas (Deerfield HS) was the meet’s only double winner when he won the 110 High Hurdles (14.59) and the 300 Intermediate Hurdles (38.79, IL #3) winning that race by almost three seconds.

 

 

Lake Zurich Bears Invitational - Results

 

Scotty Miller (Barrington HS) showed why he is one of the favorites in the 3A 100 Meter Dash at this meet as he ran 10.84 to easily win the race by almost four tenths of a second.  Cory Hertz (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) displayed his leg speed winning the 200 Meter Dash (21.55) by almost half a second ahead of Miller (22.10).

 

Konrad Eiring (Barrington HS) won two races winning the 800 Meter Run (1:58.06) and the 1600 Meter Run (4:29.99). Brian Griffin (Lake Zurich HS) has emerged in the past two weeks. He ran 4:21 in the 1600 last week to defeat teammate Matt Pereira at Warren. Griffin won the 3200 Meter Run (9:27.05) by fourteen seconds ahead of Bryce Richards (Mundelein HS). Ryan Mullen (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) had a big night in the weight events. He threw the third best throw in the state in the Discus (184-9) in winning the event. He also won the Shot Put (55-4, IL #10).

 

 

Palatine Girls Invitational – Results

 

Kelly O’Brien (Palatine HS) ignored the frigid conditions Saturday to run the fastest time in the state so far this season. Her 4:54.0 time was fifteen seconds ahead of Daly Galloway (Dwight HS) who broke her school record in the race.

 

O’Brien’s splits: 72.9 – 72.5 (2:25.4) – 74.9 (3:40.3) – 73.8 = 4:54.0

 

 

Red Grange Invitational @ Wheaton-Warrenville South – Results

 

Kahmari Montgomery (Plainfield Central HS) focused only on the 100 Meter Dash at this meet. He won the race (10.78) by sixteen hundredths of a second ahead of Vincent Gordon (Centennial HS, Champaign). Carl Klamm (Evanston Township HS) won both the 800 Meter Run (2:00.44) and the 400 Meter Dash (50.66). Graham Brown (Palatine HS) won a tactical 1600 Meter Run finishing less than a second ahead of Prospect’s Mike Anderson (4:24.65 – 4:25.26).

 

 

Tuscola Co-Ed Invitational – Results

 

Plenty of great performances in this 1A meet. Anna Sophia Keller (St. Anthony HS, Effingham) ran the fastest time in the state in running a solo 10:36.25 to win the 3200 Meter Run. She came back to run 5:00.56 to win the 1600 Meter Run by almost 200 meters. Jenny Kimbro (Jamaica COOP, Sidell) had another double win taking the 100 Hurdles (14.50) and winning the 300 Hurdles (43.60). Emily Neuhauser (Sullivan HS) was also victorious in two events winning the 100 Meter Dash (12.80) and the 200 Meter Dash (25.83).

 

Riley Smith had the top performance in the meet winning the Pole Vault (16-3) with the second best clearance so far this year in the state. Eric Ponder (Tuscola HS) captured the distance triple on his home track. He won the 3200 Meter Run (9:42.29), 800 Meter Run (2:01.82), and the 1600 Meter Run (4:38.98).

 

 

York Boys Invitational – Results

 

This small 4 team meet produced some top performances. This is the first year of competing in track & field for Torrain Haughton (Maine East HS, Park Ridge). The junior stepped into the state spotlight when he won the 800 Meter Run (1:54.04) with the state’s second fastest time in the event. Nick Fiene (Illiana Christian HS, Lansing) ran a personal best 1:54.92 to finish second. Colin DeYoung (Illiana Christian HS, Lansing) won the 3200 Meter Run (9:27.76) almost six seconds ahead of York’s Charlie Kern. His 9:33.32 is currently the fifth fastest time in the nation for a freshman. Steven Connor (Wheaton North HS) swept the hurdles winning the 110 Meter High Hurdles (14.81) and the 300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles (39.21, IL #11).