2012 highlights

Hinsdale Central senior Connor Furlong left Downers Grove South’s Bud Mohns Invitational April 14 with a special prize.

Furlong earned some redemption from what he felt was a disappointing indoor season as he won the 400-meter dash in a personal-best 50.40 seconds fully-automatic time and came back take fourth in the 200 in 23.35.

His performances also contributed to something else special – a second-place team plaque for the Red Devils in the eight-team field with 104 points, just 12 behind champion York.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve never gotten a plaque for varsity at any meet so that was really nice to see,” Furlong said. “I held it on the bus on the way back. I was like, ‘No one else is touching.’ ”

Many Red Devils had a hand in the success. Also winning events with personal records were junior Nick Piker in discus with 159 feet-10 1/2 inches on his final attempt to pull out the victory and seniors Ryan Callen (55-11 in shot put) and Ted Owens (800 in 2:00.21) with senior teammate Jack Feldman (2:00.84) a close second. Junior Alex Conte also was second in the 300 intermediate hurdles in a personal-best 41.11.

Piker’s throw is beyond the state-qualifying standard of 155-0, which would secure a state berth if accomplished at sectionals. Top-two sectional finishers also automatically qualify for state.

The Red Devils put many of their top relay performers in individual events to try and maximize team points, give them a chance at PRs and to give more athletes a chance to compete.

All four relays still earned team points for top-six finishes, combining for 11 points. Another key was several athletes performed well in their second events.

“We had some of the top guys do some individual stuff. But then our relays kind of held their own, too. They were still able to do well,”

Hinsdale Central head coach Jim Kupres said. “It was kind of one of those things where we wanted kids to have an opportunity to run some individual races.”

This was just the fifth top-two finish for the Red Devils in the 25-year history of the Bud Mohns Invite. Their last top-two finish had been when they won for the only time in 2004 by edging York 121-120.

This invite was the second-closest margin of victory. Besides riding its traditionally strong distance runners, York won for the seventh year in a row and 21st time overall with help from 18 points by going

1-2 in pole vault, an event in which the Red Devils don’t compete.

Hinsdale Central finished comfortably ahead of third- and fourth-place Lake Park (97.5 points) and Downers South (95), followed by Hinsdale South (53.5), Morton (53), Plainfield Central (32) and Andrew (7).

“We were looking at the past meet history. We were kind of like, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we got our name on (the program),’ and we went out there and did that,” Furlong said.

“We started off really strong at the beginning. Everyone was kind of thinking about indoor conference, when we kind of let things slide off at the end. This time we kept the momentum going, everyone kept cheering and people came back in their second race.”

Furlong (50.40) won the 400 by .68 over York senior Zach Locicero

(51.08) after having the No. 1 seed time at 51.00. At the indoor conference meet March 16, Furlong also was the No. 1 seed at 51.40 but ended up second in 52.03 and 11th in the 200 in 24.15.

“I felt like I could have run better (indoors), and today I think I went out there and actually kind of showed that a little bit,” Furlong said. “I didn’t do as well as I kind of hoped I would against those (top-rated guys indoors). At indoor conference, I was expecting a little more out of myself. I just didn’t have it. It was just an off day. I was kind of looking forward to the beginning of outdoors to kind of get a little bit of redemption. Today I feel like I did that.”

Probably the better feeling for Furlong was how pain-free the 400 was for Furlong, especially because the 2011 outdoor season was ruined by injuries after initially being hurt during the indoor conference meet.

After Furlong’s 400 victory, assistant coach Bill Glasner commented that Furlong appeared to be sticking with everybody else before finding a second gear the final 100 meters.

“It felt good to hear him say that. It was definitely a confidence booster because it felt really good to run,” Furlong said.

“Sophomore year, I remember at the end of 400s, the last 100, 75 meters, it would kind of be nagging, like my legs are kind of dying on me, and I didn’t have any of those problems today. Everything felt kind of smooth and relaxed and everything felt good.”

Furlong also entered the 400 with the proper mindset, maintaining his focus throughout warmups by keeping distractions from teammates on the sidelines to a minimum.

During a much more painful 200 final, mental focus also paid off for Furlong. He threw up right before the race and nearly wiped out at the finish but finished just .2 from his No. 2-prelim time in a field where no other finalist had to make the quick recovery from the 400.

Hinsdale Central senior Anthony Vicino also reached the 200 finals and was seventh (24.49).

“I just got in the blocks, cleared my head and I was just like, ‘I’ve got to get out there and just leave it on the track,’ ” Furlong said.

“I was so exhausted. For what it was, it was not bad. I was happy with it.”

Piker and Callen once again had their competitive juices flowing in the throws, especially with a field that included York senior Paul Golen, the indoor Silver shot champion, and Lake Park.

At the indoor Silver Meet, Golen won shot with a dramatic 54-10 on his last throw, which Callen followed with a then personal-best 54-7 for second.

On Saturday, Piker led discus most of the way with a personal-best

157-2 on his second throw in prelims. But in the last throw of finals, Golen took the lead with a 158-3.

Piker answered on the final throw with a 159-10 1/2, which was listed incorrectly as a 159-0 in the final results.

“I thought about indoor conference definitely, and it got me a little fired up. It was kind of my goal the whole time, just to not lose, come out strong,” Piker said. “I was really calm going into the last throw. To take first in the disc and then for Ryan to have a good day in the shot, it’s good to lift that burden from last time (at indoor conference). It feels pretty good right now.”

Piker came into the invite as the No. 2 seed with a personal best of

154-5 from the Hinsdale Relays April 7. Lake Park senior Danny Karlis was fourth (147-5) after entering with a top-seeded 159-3.

The two personal bests actually were Piker’s only throws that were in bounds, but he estimates that his other throws that were out of bounds to the right were in the 150s, if not the 160s.

“I had the best consistency I’ve had,” Piker said. “The fact that I’m throwing above state qualifying and to come in on the last throw and to come back against a senior I lost to at indoor conference definitely gives me confidence and everything, but I’m not going to yell around and dance about it.

“I just have to stay focused. The big goal is state. It’s good to win this meet, but Ryan and I are focused on bigger goals.”

Callen’s shot victory was less dramatic. He unleashed the 55-11 on his first attempt and won by 2-10 1/2 over Golen (53-1/2) with Piker third

(48-11 1/2). Callen’s best at the Hinsdale Relays was 49-5.

“Especially where we have prelims and finals, (my first throw) usually is almost like a safety throw. I focus on (getting a mark),” Callen said. “After I threw that 55-11, automatically the adrenaline was pumping me up. It was almost hard to focus after that because I had five more throws.

“(On Friday), I threw about 30 minutes and had one of my best days of the week so I was really confident going into the met. I knew if I really focused on my technique, good things would happen. Fortunately for me, it worked out and I got that PR.”

Callen admitted he did have flashbacks of another indoor Silver comeback by Golen, but he scratched all three of his throws in finals after they were shy of his best mark.

“I thought he was going to creep back up there,” Callen said. “I know we have a good rivalry. Had he gone out there and topped one of my throws, it might have sparked me to throw even farther.”

During warmups, Golen provided extra motivation when his throw nearly struck Callen as he was retrieving his shot.

“It got me a little fired up,” Callen said. “I got in the first couple of warmups, and they were going about 53, 54 feet. Once I got in the ring, I was already comfortable with throwing and let it fly.”

Owens and Feldman led the Red Devils’ double placewinners in individual events. With their 1-2 finish in the 800, Owens and Feldman have the Red Devils even more optimistic about returning to state in the 3,200 relay.

Feldman is the lone returnee from last year’s 3,200 relay state lineup. Owens spent most of his junior track season working his way back from an iron deficiency that was diagnosed following a disappointing cross country season.

“(For me, this 800 victory) has to fall pretty high up there,” Owens said. “I had my share of victories from freshman and sophomore year, but after (2011), it had been a while when I can really have a solid victory. This is a big race for me and I think it gives me confidence going forward that I can run with some of the best 800 runners in the state right now. It’s great to not only be improving like I was during last track season but really putting points on the board for the team.”

The kick that eluded Owens during his frustrating times carried him to victory Saturday. Feldman took the lead for most of the race with Plainfield Central senior Zane Kohon. Owens and York junior Matt Parks were close behind. The leaders crossed the halfway point around 60 seconds.

The leaders started to break the race open, but Owens tried to stay with Park, began to make his move with 200 meters left and took over first down the final straightaway. Feldman held off charging Downers South senior Jake Czyz (2:00.96) by .12 for second, and Park (2:02.00) was third. Kohon (2:03.66) ended up eighth.

“Into the last stretch, it was neck and neck and I was just trying to give it everything and hope I don’t have one of the York or DGS guys breathing down my neck,” Owens said. “(Parks) actually had beaten Jack and I in sophomore outdoor conference. This was a little bit of a payback. I was just trying to pace with him.”

Owens and Feldman later came back and helped the 1,600 relay finish sixth with juniors Phil Pielet and Adam Schwarz (3:35.21). Schwarz ran a 51.9 split coming off the 800 relay.

The Red Devils’ other distance runners did well. Senior Tom Lyons was third in the 3,200 in 9:40.73 – a personal best by five seconds – behind York’s Billy Clink (9:26.47) and Nate Mroz (9:26.52), and junior Mark Gesior was seventh in a personal-best 9:56.21.

In the 1,600, junior Ryan Somerfield ran a personal-best 4:28.93 for sixth, just .64 from fourth. The 3,200 relay of Mike Korompilas, Alec Wohlever, Gideon Ticho and Dylan Palo was fifth (8:29.37).

Conte took second in the 300 hurdles (41.11), just .43 behind Downers South’s senior Charles Chang (40.68), to edge his previous personal best of 40.90 manual time at the Hinsdale Relays.

In the 110 hurdles, seniors Reed Wigley (15.60) and Ryan Daleen

(15.91) were third and fifth.

The 400 relay Andre Nelson, Robert Liss, Vicino and Dan Hinspeter was third (44.42) with Vicino filling in for senior Dakota Limjuco, a late scratch with a tight calf.

Liss was fourth in the 100 (11.58), and the 800 relay with Marc Roszkowski, Schwarz, Hinspeter and Andrew Pyle was fifth (1:32.91).

Nelson (personal-best 41-3 in triple jump) and Hinspeter (20-1 in long

jump) both finished fourth. High jumper Matas Lapkas cleared a personal-best 5-4 to tie for seventh.

Standout senior 400/800 runner Max von Mallinckrodt remains out of the lineup with a hip injury.

BUD MOHN'S INVITE - APRIL 14

FROSH/SOPH

By: Bill Stone

Hinsdale Central sophomores Pat Callahan and Derek Roberts have been track teammates since their days at Hinsdale Middle School.

They usually compete together in relays for the Red Devils, but on April 14 they brought out the best in each other individually at Downers Grove South’s Bud Mohns Invitational.

Callahan won the 400-meter dash (52.52 seconds fully-automatic time) with Roberts second (52.65), and Roberts (23.47) and Callahan (23.82) later finished 2-3 in the 200 – all with personal records.

They were among many strong performances that carried the Red Devils to second place in the eight-team field for the first time in nine years with 111 points.

“Overall, it was a great meet for everyone. Across the board, everyone scored really well. Hopefully, we can carry that success over to our next meets,” Callahan said.

“I actually started celebrating right when I crossed the finish line (in the 400). I was really happy to win that. We both set a great PR.

I cut off probably two seconds from any of my splits in our relays, and it was nice to know that we scored 18 (team) points in just one race.”

Hinsdale Central finished second for the fourth time in the 25-year history of the invite and for the first time since three runner-up finishes from 2001-03.

York (149 points) won the invite for the third year in a row and 22nd time overall. Andrew (84) was third, followed by Lake Park (74), Downers South (46), Hinsdale South (35), Morton (34) and Plainfield Central (24). Hinsdale Central has never won the invite.

The Red Devils’ other invite title came from Kevin Huang’s personal-best 10:04.11 in the 3,200.

Also taking second were Victor Ciardelli (personal-best 43.03 in 300 intermediate hurdles), James Benak (38 feet-5 inches in triple jump) and the 3,200 relay (Sam MacKenzie, Matt McBrien, Aria Darbandi, Jack Griffin in 8:57.99) and 1,600 relay (Kealon Burke, Huang, Nigel Gachira, Jake Hall in 3:39.80). Benak was two inches behind first-place Bryce Sesemann of Hinsdale South.

“This was really the first meet where all of us jus had great times all around the board and really showed what we can do,” Roberts said.

“We’ve always had a great team, but it just seems like when one guy does well, the rest of the group doesn’t do as well.”

Going into the 400, Roberts (54.60) and Callahan (54.90) were seeded fourth and fifth, but they ended up both finishing at least a second ahead of the rest of the pack. They even threatened the oldest sophomore-level invite record of 52.1 manual-time (52.34 FAT

converted) back from 1987.

“Last year, my fastest ever open was 53.8 that I ran at sectionals, and now I just ran 52.6. I felt that was a good chunk of time, and I’m not even at sectionals yet,” Roberts said.

“Usually (Pat and I) run relays and we’ve always been so close. We always enjoy racing each other, but in each of our relays, we don’t get that option. It was fun because both races we were right next to each other. It pushes you.”

This is Callahan’s first year of outdoor track with the Red Devils.

Last spring, he played baseball, but a back injury sidelined him for about half of the season and the several late weekdays of games and travel made his reconsider.

“I take all honors classes. (Last spring) I’d have to skip school the next day to try and get my homework done. It was just not working out well.” Callahan said. “I didn’t want the same thing this year, and with track I knew I’d have some really good potential to run well.”

Last indoor season, Callahan usually ran relays while Roberts was in open events. When Callahan switched sports, Roberts often took his place in the relays. At HMS, they rarely raced against each other, partly because Roberts also was a high jumper.

“I wouldn’t have competition at my own level (without Callahan). Also just speaking on relay terms for the (800 relay), he’s irreplaceable right now,” Roberts said.

One big key to the Red Devils’ success at the invite was athletes running well in multiple events. Thanks to a swiftly run invite, Roberts and Callahan only had about 20 minutes between the 400 and the

200 finals, but Roberts still managed to finish just .07 behind 200 champion Greg Gornick of York (23.40), who did not run the 400.

Roberts (23.50) and Callahan (24.25) had the two fastest 200 times in prelims.

“I think I could have gone sub-23.00 if me and Pat had the rest. But we still got second and third. We can’t complain about that,” Roberts said.

With Callahan and Roberts in the 200, Huang was among those asked to compete in their place in the following 1,600 relay after earlier winning the 3,200 comfortably.

The 1,600 relay took second (3:39.80) as Burke (54.9), Huang (54.4), Gachira (55.2) and Hall (55.0) all ran personal-best splits. They were

4.25 seconds behind first-place York’s regular lineup (3:35.55) but

1.42 seconds ahead of third-place Lake Park.

Huang is another first-time outdoor track competitor who played tennis in 2011 but is coming off a strong cross country season that included competing at the state meet.

Earlier in the 800, fellow cross country runners Hall (2:06.99) and Gachira (2:07.34) took second and third to York freshman Matt Plowman (2:02.27).

“Actually, to be honest, I was kind of dreading (the 1,600 relay). I was hoping to be done with the 3,200 and getting a slice of pizza. It was good, though,” Huang said. “I think it shows that I can run the

3,200 and the 400 and hopefully in the 1,600 break 5:30 and 800 maybe breaking 2:00. That’s been the huge goal for the season.”

“For Kealon, I just kept telling him, ‘Run a 54 (split). Run a 54,’ ”

Roberts said. “It wasn’t a threat. It was more just encouraging him that he can run that and then he ran a 54 so it worked in the end. If he took it as a threat, it worked.”

There seemed to be little threat for Huang in the 3,200. Even though he doesn’t always run the event, he was the No. 1 seed in the race

(10:14) by 17 seconds.

Huang felt good and set the pace from the outset and only felt a serious threat with about 300 meters left. His 10:04.11 trimmed nearly

10 seconds from his seed time and won by six seconds, and perhaps with a stronger field may have reached his ultimate goal of breaking 10:00.

Second-place Nathan Dale of York (10:10.24) cut almost 27 seconds from his fifth-seeded time. Hinsdale Central freshman Josh Feldman held his seed and was seventh (10:56.09), just .32 from sixth.

“I knew that (I could win) if I wanted. I really wanted to see how much I could push it and break that 10:00. (Assistant coach Noah

Lawrence) was yelling splits, and I was trying to keep on pace, and I just barely missed it,” Huang said.

“During the end of the race, I felt like I definitely had a lot more energy. One thing I’m really trying to focus on is the form on my kick. Usually it gets all messed up and I’m swinging my arms from side to side.”

Another newcomer of sorts is Ciardelli, a sprinter exclusively last year who now is taking up hurdles.

In just his second meet with the 300 hurdles, his 43.03 was second to York’s Jarvis Hill (42.79) and a significant drop from his 44.9 manual-time April 3.

“I almost beat the kid who beat me at indoor conference in the 55 low hurdles so that was very exciting,” Ciardelli said. “I think just the experience of doing it once before and just drilling in practice (helped). I really put my mind to it when I was running that race and I executed really well.”

Ciardelli said choosing to focus on hurdles was an easy decision. He feels his training for football complements the strength and flexibility needed for the event. Although there are many strong hurdlers currently in the program under assistant coach Wes Wheeler, he and freshman Jake Hyland are the only ones on the frosh-soph level.

Ciardelli will make his 110 high hurdles debut Friday at the Lyons Township Relays. At the indoor conference meet, Ciardelli took third in the 55 lows but fell during the 55 highs prelims and did not reach the finals. Hill won both races.

“I always thought being a hurdler was the coolest thing. It’s been everything I thought it would be and better,” Ciardelli said. “The guys that I hurdle with are so much fun to be around and so nice and friendly. Not that the sprinters aren’t. It’s just a different mentality. It’s more of a team effort, everyone helping each other and focusing on each other’s form and giving encouragement.”

The 3,200 relay (8:57.99) took second to York (8:33.59) and was well ahead of third-place Andrew (9:05.26) with splits from McBrien (personal-best 2:01.3), MacKenzie (personal-best 2:10.4), Darbandi

(2:15.4) and Griffin (personal-best 2:21.6).

In high jump, Michael Shakir cleared a personal-best 5-6 to finish third behind two 5-8s.

Billy Magnesen’s personal-best 4:42.29 in the 1,600 earned third behind York’s Kyle Mattes (4:33.19) and Alex Bashqawi (4:37.48).

Nkemjika Nwosu (18-8 1/2) and Benak (18-5) were fourth and fifth in long jump.

Also taking fourth were Tristan Nevotone in discus (102-1), the 400 relay (Shawn Gollnick, Zach Hedayat, Tom Young, Jack Breslin in 48.48) and the 800 relay (James Reilly, Breslin, Young, Gollnick in 1:40.88).

Mark Potocki was seventh in shot (36-4 1/2).

Seeing Burke, Reilly, Breslin, Gollnick and Hedayat contributing as much as they are as freshman, like Roberts did in 2011, gives the Red Devils’ sprinters that much more encouragement.

“We’re glad to have fast freshmen. Looking at the potential for the next two years, it would be great to send a (1,600 relay or 800 relay) team downstate,” Callahan said.

“We have at least seven kids, maybe eight, who can run 54.00 or lower (in the 400). At the sophomore level, that’ll really help us out a lot to be able to make a relay and also put guys in open events and have the possibility of scoring in all of them.”

VARSITY

Track teams usually are allowed just two individual entries per event.

At the 12th annual Hinsdale Central Sophomore Invitational April 25, teams were allowed three, and the Red Devils especially took full advantage in the 3,200-meter run.

Sophomores Billy Magnesen and TJ Caveny and freshman Alex Domiano swept first, second and third place – all in personal-record times – as one of many highlights that helped the team finish second.

“It’s a lot more fun when you have all of your teammates run with you, and coming in 1-2-3, (Hinsdale Central distance coach Jim Westphal) said it was something he’s never really had before,” Magnesen said.

“It was a good race for us.”

Hinsdale Central’s other champions besides Magnesen (10 minutes, 3.5 seconds manual time) were sophomores Nigel Gachira (1,600 in 4:45.6) and Pat Callahan (400 in 53.2) and the 3,200 relay of sophomores Jake Hall, Gachira, Sam MacKenzie and Kevin Huang (8:30.7).

Huang, who competed in three races, also was second in the 800

(2:09.6) and took the Red Devils from fifth to second as anchor of the

1,600 relay with Kealon Burke, Hall and James Reilly (3:42.6).

Callahan came back with little rest to finish second in the 200 (23.3), just .1 from first.

The Red Devils (109 points) were just four points behind champion Libertyville (113), which won discus, triple jump and swept first through third in pole vault. Downers Grove South (101) was third, followed by Andrew (96), Hillcrest (89) and Willowbrook (45).

In their last major meet April 14, the Hinsdale Central sophomores also finished second (149 to 111 points to York) at Downers Grove South’s Bud Mohns Invitational, the Red Devils’ first runner-up finish there since 2003.

“It was a nice performance (at our invite), and I think we had a good chance of getting first place. This team is good enough where with second place, we may not be 100 percent happy with that,” Hinsdale Central head coach Jim Kupres said.

“The kids ran well, good performances. It’s not about only the wins and losses, but when you have a team that you know could win, you’d like to see them win it sometimes, too.”

The Red Devils couldn’t have done much better in the 3,200 as all three of their entries took advantage of great conditions.

Magnesen entered the race clearly as the No. 1 seed at 10:13, but his goal not only was winning but also breaking 10:00. Downers South’s David Fish took the race out hard and grabbed the early lead, but Magnesen held close and then took the lead on the fourth of eight laps. He ran the second mile with no competition. Magnesen (10:03.5) still followed with 4:59 first mile with a 5:04.

“Without anyone ahead of me to make me speed up, it was a little hard to stay with my goal time, but I ended up OK,” Magnesen said. “It’s kind of hard to focus when there’s no one near you, but the weather’s good so it was easy to get a good time today.”

Caveny (10:23.2) and Domiano (10:25.7), the No. 3 and 6 seeds, worked together to run PRs by three and a whopping 31 seconds, respectively.

They spent the first part of the race in fourth and fifth trailing Willowbrook’s Luke Caron, running about 5:09 for the first mile, but moved into second and third to stay with about 600 meters remaining.

“With the wind, it was easier to draft off somebody so we just stayed with (Caron) until the end and then just pulled away,” Caveny said.

“I’m happy with the time, but I feel like I could have gone faster because I was feeling good today and the weather was good.”

Domiano finished just ahead of Caron (10:26.3). Fish was sixth (10:54.3).

“If I hadn’t stayed with (Caveny), I probably wouldn’t have gone that fast because I probably wouldn’t have pushed myself as much,” Domiano said. “I was going to stay with TJ as long as I could, and I was expecting to drop off after like half of the race, but after more than half of the race, I was sticking with him so I decided just to push myself harder.”

Magnesen continues to progress after competing in cross country for the first time in the fall. Caveny and Domiano also are coming off strong cross country seasons.

“It was a nice depth-type showcase for the lower levels today,”

Westphal said. “The weather was perfect at that point. The wind picked it up a little bit, and it got cooler (as the meet progressed), but for a distance runner, that’s pretty ideal (conditions).

“Billy ran hard. (His splits) show that he’s ready to run well under

10:00 in a bigger meet with guys to pull him along because he did most of the work by himself. I thought TJ ran really well, really smart, and Domiano had a huge PR. In a distance race, if you can just latch on to somebody, just to kind of pull you, they do a lot of work for you.”

Huang had the team’s biggest workload, anchoring the 1,600 relay after two 800s. With often just one heat for many track events, the invite progressed quickly and made participating in multiple events even more challenging.

When he should have been most tired, Huang delivered a 54.6 anchor split for the 1,600 relay, taking the Red Devils from fifth to second (3:42.60), one second ahead of third-place Libertyville.

“That was definitely pretty tough. I was actually dying pretty hard that last 50 meters,” Huang said. “We’ve been doing a bunch of workouts just like that, where each (400) has to be sub-60. Mentally, I know I’ve been through so much more that this 400, no big deal.”

Huang said he could hear the footsteps from Libertyville and the other two teams he passed that finished within 2.1 seconds.

“We talk about being physically and mentally tough, running hard, competing hard, doubling (events). For Kevin to come back again, as hard as that is physiological, that’s mental toughness,” Westphal said. “Then to finish it off with the (1,600 relay), it’s not running as far as a 3,200, but you’re tired, and he held his own.”

Downers South easily won the 1,600 relay (3:37.9) with help from Jacob Amiri, who also dominated the 800 in an impressive meet-record 2:00.6 with Huang (2:09.6) second.

“That guy (Amiri) was nuts. I wasn’t even aware there was a guy like that out here,” Huang said. “I dropped a bunch of time (in my 800), but what was more important was my place. That’s all that really mattered today.”

As anchor for the 3,200 relay, Huang got the baton in second place, roughly 1.5 seconds behind Libertyville, but his personal-best 2:04.8 split gave the Red Devils the victory by 3.8 seconds over the Wildcats.

Hall (2:06.1) and Gachira (2:06.6) also had personal- or season-best splits. Working on his kick, Huang was persuaded to find his second gear with about 300 meters left to put the race away.

“It’s (assistant coach Noah Lawrence). Every time you hear him scream, you’ve got to go,” Huang said.

Gachira came back later to win the 1,600 by 2.3 seconds but was disappointed that he missed breaking 4:43 by just 2.6 seconds. At the halfway point, Gachira’s 2:22 split was second to Caron (3rd, 4:48.2) before taking the lead early during a 74-second third lap.

“I was trying to get 70s for each (lap) split, but I think the third lap I slowed down a lot. I think I hung on a little bit too long (to make my move), but I’m still happy win the win,” Gachira said.

Gachira did have a breakthrough, though. He competed with his neon yellow-green racing spikes for the first time since early in the indoor season and seemed to benefit from them.

“Usually I’ve been wearing my racing flats because sometimes these get uncomfortable. I think I’m going to start using them from now on because I’m not experiencing problems anymore,” Gachira said. “It wasn’t too hot, too cold, my shoes weren’t bothering me. I wish I went maybe a little bit harder, planned it better, but it was a perfect scenario for me.”

Callahan had far from the perfect scenario, but he gutted out the victory in the 400 (53.2) over Downers South’s Ross Netzel (53.25) with Hinsdale Central’s Derek Roberts third (53.4).

Callahan had won the sophomore-level 400 race the Mohns Invite in

52.52 fully-automatic time with Roberts second in 52.65. Netzel was not in that race.

“It’s nice to win, but I would have liked to have gotten a better time than (at Downers South). It would have been nice to go closer to 52.0, but you can’t get it every day,” Callahan said.

With little time to recover, Callahan came back in the 200 to take a close second to Willowbrook’s Matt Burns (23.2). Roberts scratched from the race after throwing up after the 400 and feeling stiffness.

Callahan threw up after the 200.

“Twenty minutes of rest after a 400, it’s just not sufficient,”

Callahan said. “I ran better in the 200 than I did (at Downers South,

24.25 for second place) actually, so that was a little bit redeeming, but still not quite where I’d like to be.”

Sophomore James Benak had one of his best overall jumping days, taking third in triple jump (39-3 1/2) and fifth in long jump (18-9). Both distances were outdoor or season bests.

“I didn’t do as well as I hoped (in long jump) distance-wise because I took off at the back of the board. Where I placed I wasn’t too happy, but I’m pleased that I could have gotten much higher, like upper 19s,”

Benak said.

“(In triple jump), I’ve been in a little bit of a slump lately, getting lower 38s, so I’m kind of glad that I’m getting back up to the mid-39s. I think it’s muscle memory from so much practice. I tried not to think at all.”

The 800 relay of James Reilly, Tom Young, Alex Wang and Kealon Burke was fourth (1:40.2), and the 400 relay of Zach Hedayat, Jack Breslin, Young and Shawn Gollnick was fifth (48.0).

Aria Darbandi (2:14.5) and Matt Tobia (2:18.0) were fifth and sixth in the 800 with personal-best times, and freshman Matt McBrien was fifth in the 1,600 (4:51.8).

Also finishing fifth were throwers Tristan Nevotne (personal-best

105-1 1/2 in discus) and Mark Potocki (outdoor-best 35-6 1/2 in shot).

Finishing sixth were Victor Ciardelli (300 intermediate hurdles in

46.2) and Wang (personal-best 34-10 in triple jump), who was seeded 11th. Wang joined the 800 relay in place of Gollnick, who had to leave early.

“We did well, a lot better than we’ve done (here) in the past. It’s a good group of sophomores and freshmen. These guys have a lot of promise for this year and years to come,” Kupres said.

“The big emphasis is for the kids to keep themselves motivated week by week. You can’t ever rest or take this (training) a little easier because each week gets harder and harder and (other) kids get faster and faster.”

Devil's 4th at McCarthy

By: Bill Stone

Hinsdale Central senior Alex Kerekes came to the first day of freshman football practice wearing a tank top, immediately earning the nickname Rocky from coaches.

Just like Rocky Balboa, the fictional boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone, Kerekes is quite a battler, especially when it comes to throwing the discus.

“You look out there and everybody is a good six inches taller. He’s

5-7 with short arms and legs,” Hinsdale Central throws coach Brian Griffin said. “He’s not how you would build a discus thrower at all, but for him to go out and be competitive and effective is really a testament to his hard work and to not make excuses, just come out and get the job done.”

On May 4, Kerekes had his best performance so far when he threw a personal-best 129 feet to finish fourth at the Red Devils’ 62nd annual McCarthy Memorial Invitational at Dickinson Field, the varsity’s only home meet this season.

Kerekes, seeded 11th and in the first of two flights, threw a personal-record distance by nine feet, also 29 feet further than his personal best coming into his senior year. Throwers were given four attempts with no finals.

“I was the smallest guy, and I still got fourth,” Kerekes said.

“Definitely, you’ve got to bring the intensity. I’ve had a lot of complications personally so it’s been helping actually towards throwing. I’m one foot under what I wanted to be at, but now I have a new goal, which is 150. At the rate I keep going up, if I keep it consistent, I’ll be at least near it.”

Several other Red Devils had encouraging performances heading into the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet Friday at Lyons Township.

Senior Connor Furlong won the 400-meter dash in 51.0 seconds manual time, and senior Ryan Callen (48-3 1/2) and junior Nick Piker (47-6

1/2) finished 1-2 in shot put despite shorter distances than usual.

Senior Jack Feldman pulled out second in the 1,600 (4:28.9) and sophomore Nkemjika Nwosu was second in triple with a sophomore-school record 42-7.

The Red Devils (69 points) were third, three points behind third-place Downers Grove North (72).

Oak Park-River Forest (114) won the invite for the sixth year in a row, 20 points ahead of second-place Downers Grove South (94).

Hinsdale South (59) was fifth, followed by Bloom (48), LT (32), Lincoln-Way Central (31), Lincoln-Way West (21) and Palatine (18).

“I think our guys are getting excited for the conference meet so hopefully we’ll have some better performances, go from there, and get ready for sectionals (May 17 at Lockport),” Hinsdale Central head coach Jim Kupres said.

Attitudes and work ethics like Kerekes will help. The four-year track member not only overachieves in getting the most out of his physical gifts but also despite working 28 hours a week at Hinsdale Hospital -- four hours three days a week and 16 hours on the weekend. He did get this past weekend off from work to attend the school prom Saturday.

“(The schedule) is very exhausting, trying to fit a girlfriend in with that, too,” Kerekes said. “Last year (quitting track) crossed my mind, but as of this year, it’s probably the only thing that’s fun for me right now. There’s maybe one or two classes in school, but other than that, this is what makes me sort of feel good so I like doing it.”

As a lineman for freshman football, Kerekes joined the shot put group for track that spring and has been with the throwers since. With Callen and Piker forming a solid 1-2 combination in shot, Kerekes has moved into the No. 2 spot behind Piker in discus, an event Callen rarely competes. Griffin said Kerekes probably also could have been the team’s No. 3 shot putter but has opted to focus on discus.

“As a coach, it’s one of my prouder moments seeing him place and throw that (129-0) just because he’s worked so hard for it,” Griffin said.

“His explosiveness and just his attention to detail (are his strengths). He’ll work his technique until he gets it right and he’ll keep working and working. He’s probably one of our best spinners (in the ring) just because he’s worked really hard at it. When I give him an idea or suggestion, he’ll work to fix it and he’s in control of his body enough to fix it.”

Kerekes said Griffin sets a good example about working hard to earn what you want. He’s also been mentored by other throwers, such as 2011 graduate Bobby O’Mullen, a three-sport athlete who has helped organize a football team at Loyola University.

“He’s like an older brother for me,” Kerekes said. “Even this past week, when I had troubles, he called me. He’s like, ‘What’s up? How are you? Let’s talk about it.”

When it comes to throwing, Kerekes feels he’s at his best alone and tries to isolate himself mentally during competition. To compensate for practice time loss because of his job, Kerekes often practices alone on the weekends. He practices in the late afternoon because that best replicates when he would compete, helping him adjust to the angle of the sun that would be in his face.

“He’s easily one of the most dedicated kids on the team and one of the most dedicated teammates I’ve ever had,” Callen said. “Coach Griff gave a speech Friday after the meet and said if you could think of the prototypical disc thrower, Rocky’s the exact opposite. The reason that he throws as far as he does isn’t because of any physical gifts or anything. It’s pure hard work. Every time I see that kid, he’s giving it his all.”

The McCarthy Invite worked out well for the other throwers. Callen and Piker held their 1-2 seeds in shot, and despite their shorter distances, Piker pulled out second place by 6 1/4 inches.

“That was the first meet that I ever got to use (our new discus) ring,” Callen said. “(Winning) was emotional in a lot of ways because that was the first and last time that I’ll get to throw in that particular ring in a meet. I wish I could have thrown better, but it was still nice.”

The No. 1 seed in discus, Piker scratched all four of his throws. His first three went slightly out of bounds to the right.

“I’m pretty sure I would have won the competition with any of my first three throws, and then my last one just slipped right out of my hand,”

Piker said.

Piker took 100 throws into the rain Sunday to fix his delivery. He’s also finally starting to feel better after battling illness the past couple of weeks.

“I’m pretty sure I’ve fixed the problem, and Coach Griffin and I were watching film (Monday). We were just confirming it,” Piker said. “I’d rather of had a slump the past two, three weeks and then started to go up now, when it actually sort of matters (more). It’s good to be on the up side of it now.”

Furlong also feels that he’s got a lot more in him. The No. 2 seed in the 400 to Bloom sophomore James Harriel, Furlong defeated Harriel by

1.2 seconds. Three more sophomores were third through fifth.

“It’s always nice to win. That’s a pretty good feeling. I was not particularly happy with the time, but it is what it is,” Furlong said.

“(Winning at home) definitely felt good. The last time, for the most part really the only time, we competed on our home track. I’m going to miss it so going out on a win is kind of nice.”

Furlong is hoping to break 50 seconds for the first time at the Silver Meet on his quest for a state berth. After an injury-filled 2011, just being able to compete is a blessing.

“It’s a lot nicer than it was last year being on the sidelines watching,” Furlong said. “I think I’m in a pretty good place right now and every time I run, I feel good so that’s saying something. Across the board, there will be good competition (at the Silver Meet). I’m not really going in looking to win. I’m looking to run as fast as I can.”

Feldman also gained inspiration from his final home meet in the 1,600.

While the overwhelming favorite was OPRF senior all-state candidate Malachy Schrobilgen, third earlier in the 800 (1:58.7), Feldman led a large trail pack for the first two laps.

During the third lap, Feldman was passed by three or four runners. He still was fifth with 200 meters left.

“I remember thinking to myself, ‘There’s too many people here watching on the home course. I’m not going to let myself get fifth or something,’ and so I made the move and never looked back,” Feldman said.

While Schrobilgen (4:12.1) won easily, Feldman (4:28.9) edged Palatine’s Christian Zambrano for second with Downers South’s Ben Eaton (4:30.3) fourth.

“It’s probably my best kick this season,” Feldman said. “I had been missing out on my kick the past couple of races. I sort of died, unable to finish really strong, but this time I finished really strong.”

Nwosu proved to be a cut above before and after the invite. On Friday, he shared the No. 10 seed at 38-0, but his 42-7 took second to OPRF senior Carl Heinz (43-9) and broke the sophomore school record of 41-0 held by John Sandeen from 2006.

Nwosu actually broke the record on his third jump (41-6) but his improvement on his final attempt lifted him from fifth to second, one inch ahead of third-place OPRF senior Johnel Holmes.

Nwosu was just coming back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the Red Devils’ sophomore invitational.

“Basically the key was to get plenty of rest because I got about two weeks of good rest and I ate a good breakfast, a good lunch so I was ready to go,” Nwosu said. “I knew at some point I was going to get that (sophomore record), but it was frustrating when I couldn’t so I was pretty happy.

“I felt pretty good. I just felt the vibe going inside of me. I felt really good and I felt like I was ready so I got the job done. I’m going to do the same exact things, and whatever it is, maybe it’ll help me again to break some more records.”

Hinsdale Central sophomore James Benak also broke 40 feet for the first time with an eighth-place 40-1. The varsity outdoor triple jump record is 44-11 by Tom Dundzilla from 1982.

“I give a lot of credit to (first-year Hinsdale Central jumps coach Bill Glasner). He knows the jumps and he does a great job with the kids,” Kupres said. “Nkemjika has a lot of talent and when he does what Bill asks him to do, he can be pretty successful.”

Nwosu opened with a 40-11 followed by a scratch when he decided to begin his run-through back another four feet. He stuck with a further starting point his final two attempts.

“I wasn’t actually expecting to break the record until they told me that (first jump) was close enough,” said Nwosu, who celebrated his feat by shaving his head over the weekend.

“I normally (shave) it, but I just went even more, super short. It was a victory thing, just a weird thing to do. I just had to do it because I broke a record.”

Tom Lyons was third in the 3,200 (9:41.9), just seconds shy of his personal best.

The 3,200 relay of Ryan Somerfield, Feldman, Neil Pedersen and Ted Owens took third (8:08.6) after being in no-man’s land most of the race behind frontrunners Downers South (8:01.1) and Palatine (8:02.1) and well ahead of fourth-place Downers North (8:17.4).

The Red Devils were in contention for the lead before the handoff between Somerfield (team-best 2:00.8 split) and Feldman (2:01.7).

Owens had a 2:00.9 anchor, and Pedersen ran 2:05.0.

“(Somerfield) was coming in lane 1, but I was standing in lane 2, and we were sort of not communicating and we messed it up,” Feldman said.

“We lost contact, which hurt us. We could have run a lot faster.”

Junior and first-year high jumper Rigas Pappas achieved a new PR for the second week in a row, clearing 5-10 on his second of three tries to tie for fourth after clearing 5-8 for the first time one his third attempt the previous weekend at the Lincoln-Way West Invite.

Based on seeds, Pappas ended up being the first of the 14 competitors and cleared 5-2, 5-4, 5-6 and 5-8 prior to 5-10. Pappas was disappointed that on his final attempt at 6-0, he scratched by deciding to pass at the end of the run-through but crossing under the bar to break the plane.

“My momentum carried me under. My footing wasn’t right,” Pappas said.

“I felt like my legs were shocked, too, because I started at 5-2, I had to 5-4, 5-6, 5-8, 5-10 and 6-0. For the next meet, (jumps coach Nick Gebhart) decided I’ll start at 5-6.

“In the beginning, I didn’t feel warmed up as well, but once I got my first jump, my legs were actually really warm. They felt good all the way up until like 5-8, and then 5-10 I kind of had to push myself really hard. I feel like I’ve been getting a little bit better form and from bending my back. For conference, I’d like to get (6-0), maybe 6-2.”

Seniors Ryan Daleen (15.1) and Reed Wigley (15.7) were fifth and sixth in the 110 high hurdles, and junior Mike Korompilas was fifth in the

800 (2:00.2).

The 400 relay of Teddy Kwasigroch, Andrew Pyle, Dakota Limjuco and Robert Liss was seventh (44.63) after comfortably beating three other teams in the slower of the two heats.The Red Devils were just .51 from fifth-place LT, which competed in the second heat.

“I had a little bit of trouble the last couple of weeks with my hip, but I think I’ll come back,” Limjuco said.

“We ended up with a pretty good time. I felt pretty good coming off that (third) leg. Andrew ran a really good second leg. He was able to put me in pretty good position, and Rob brought it home. It was nice to be able to run a good time, win the heat.”

Owens was seventh in the 1,600 (4:36.6), .5 from sixth, and 300 intermediate hurdler Alex Conte was awarded seventh in 40.9, a time shared by the fifth- through eighth-place finishers.

The 800 relay, hoping to build upon its victory at Lincoln-Way West, was felled by a dropped baton.

The Red Devils will need all of the points they can muster at the Silver Meet. While indoor Silver champion OPRF will try to end perennial power York’s streak of consecutive outdoor titles at nine, the Red Devils hope to be embroiled in a battle for a top-three finish.

Last season, the varsity (57 points) and sophomores (75) both were fifth. The sophomores were three points from fourth and 10 from third.

“I think it’s going to be open for third place between us, Downers North, LT, Glenbard West. Whoever has some performances that weren’t expected will probably pull off third,” Kupres said.

Warrior Invitational

By: Bill Stone

Senior Connor Furlong and his Hinsdale Central 800-meter relay teammates put lots of effort into preparation at Lincoln-Way West’s Warrior Invitational Friday.

For the second invite in a row, the Red Devils were subjected to cold and windy conditions. While other competitors were seeking shelter, the relay runners were among several Red Devils going through their regular warmup regimen on the infield.

“You have to do the whole warmup every time to get your legs ready to go. Even though you feel more tired because you’re doing more work, ultimately your legs are looser and it’s a lot better that way,” Furlong said. “You’re thinking, ‘I’m still warm from the first race. I’ll just do a quick five-minute, 10-minute warmup.’ That just doesn’t work. I’ve done it a few times. I know I did it at indoor conference. It does not work out well. The warmup is overlooked by a lot of guys, especially the younger ones. That’s what I’ve figured out, spend a little bit more time doing it, less injuries.”

Once the race started, Furlong faced another challenge for which he wasn’t prepared. When Furlong received the baton for the anchor leg, he was too far ahead.

Junior Andrew Pyle, senior Dan Hinspeter, junior Ryan Schwarz and Furlong won in 1 minute, 30.9 seconds manual time, not only impressive considering the conditions but because they beat the rest of the field by 2.7 seconds.

“We smoked everybody. That was a good feeling,” Furlong said.

“I like to be behind people. I like to chase people throughout the race. It’s not fast for me running by myself the entire way because I can’t tell if I’m really pushing myself as hard as I could. I just got the baton and the second half of the curve I was like, ‘I’m going to give everything right here, just put everything on the line, and hopefully something good will happen.’ And it did.”

The Red Devils won four events in finishing a strong second (151 points) to Thornton (159) for the second year in a row at the invite.

Homewood-Flossmoor (84) was third, followed by Providence (73), Romeoville (64), Lincoln-Way Central (53), Lincoln-Way North (40), Bradley-Bourbonnais (32) and the host Warriors (26).

The invite adds frosh-soph level races for the four relays and allows three entries per event rather than the usual two. The Red Devils took advantage to finish 1-2-3 in the 1,600 with seniors Tom Lyons (4:31.8), Jack Feldman (4:33.0) and Ted Owens (4:33.1).

Also winning were senior Ryan Callen in shot put (52 feet-5 inches) and sophomore Nigel Gachira in the 3,200 (10:28.7). Callen won by 5 3/4 inches, and Gachira won by 9.9 seconds.

The Red Devils went 2-3-4 in the 800 with Ryan Somerfield (2:02.0), Neil Pedersen (2:04.7) and Kevin Huang (2:05.9).

Also finishing second were the 400 relay (Teddy Kwasigroch, Pyle, Derek Limjuco, Robert Liss in 44.5), frosh-soph 3,200 relay (Matt McBrien, Billy Magnesen, Sam MacKenzie, Aria Darbandi in 9:02.4), frosh-soph 800 relay (James Reilly, Victor Ciardelli, Tom Young, Kealon Burke in 1:39.1) and frosh-soph 1,600 relay (Burke, Reilly, Jake Hall, Gachira in 3:46.2).

Had the frosh-soph relays not been included in the invite, Thornton would have won by 18 points (139 to 121). “Overall, there were some nice performances so it’ll be fun to see how they’ll do when the weather is a little nicer,” Hinsdale Central head coach Jim Kupres said.

“Something we’ve been emphasizing for the past couple of weeks is being focused, and part of being focused is warming up properly and not standing around, waiting until the last minute. One thing I told them after their first race was just continue to move around, don’t sit around too much. They’re doing a much better job of preparing themselves for the races.”

The invite includes an added incentive for event champions – free T-shirts. The Red Devils also won four events last year, but the six underclassmen who were among those first-place efforts did not add to their T-shirt collections Friday. Other returnees with T-shirts on their minds did. “In the (1,600), I was thinking with coming 200 in, ‘(Feldman) wants that T-shirt as bad as I do so I’m going to going to fight him for it,’ ” Lyons said. “I remember last year at this meet, when I was hurt and not able to run, I was like, ‘They’ve got T-shirts,’ ” Furlong added. “I never had a T-shirt. That was one thing on my mind before that (800 relay).”

Friday was the first time the 800 relay lineup competed together.

Hinspeter and Furlong have been relative mainstays while Pyle and Schwarz were added to the group. The relay improved upon their third-place 1:34.22 fully-automatic time in similar conditions at the Lyons Township Relays April 20 and equaled their fourth-place 1:30.9 manual time at the Hinsdale Relays April 7 at Hinsdale South. Hinspeter and Furlong competed in both of those previous relays, and Schwarz also raced at Hinsdale South.

“I have really high hopes that at sectionals we can actually qualify for state,” Hinspeter said. “I didn’t even know we were getting a T-shirt. The motivation for me was the first-place medal. We usually get third or fourth because we’re running against Downers South and Hinsdale South. With the time we ran today, we could have probably beat them. There’s still small things we can fix and change. Right now, we’re fighting up the hill and once we qualify for state, then it’s all downhill.” Pyle got a late start to the track season after wrestling. Pyle, who also plays football, also rejoined the sport after not competing in 2011. He recalled the exhaustion upon his return at just the midway point of his first 100-meter dash at practice.

On Friday, Pyle had the added challenge of being moved to the first leg. He spent significant time at practice coming out of the starting block. “I really haven’t gotten out of the block all year. It’s a little different. Hopefully, I can get a little better, work on that for the weeks to come,” Pyle said. The Red Devils spent significant practice time Thursday working on handoffs, and their three clicked Friday. Perhaps the most important one was the third – a first-place Schwarz running directly into the wind as he gave the baton to Furlong. The handoff increased the Red Devils’ advantage significantly. “Our handoffs were literally perfect today,” Schwarz said. “It’s a lot of motivation, winning by that much. And the T-shirt is a good bonus.” “Seeing Ryan in first and then Furlong finishing off, that was exciting. I got pumped up,” Pyle said. “You get tight after the race, but once you see the guys, you’re pumped up again. You run to the finish line, give them high fives and stuff.”

Hinspeter found his second wind during the race. He initially was concerned after already taking fourth in long jump (20-8) by equaling his personal best from the LT Relays.

The difference was his warmup. He also got a boost coming down the straightaway before the handoff, where he caught another runner and gave the baton in Schwarz in a dead heat for the lead. “Mentally, my legs were dead from long jump, and then warming up, I re-psyched myself and after that, I just got better and better. The race started and I just took off,” Hinspeter said. In the 1,600, the Red Devils finished 1-2-3 as expected from the seeding and just missed their goal of all breaking 4:30 despite the weather. Feldman set the tone as usual by going out hard and leading most of the way, but Lyons remained a stride behind most of the race. They covered the first 800 meters in the 2:14-2:15 range.

“That’s how I like to run the races. The wind definitely made it harder (to lead),” Feldman said. “I had to push through that wind. It took a good amount of energy out of me.”

With 300 meters to go, Lyons began his move for the front. He finally began pulling away with about 80 meters left. “We were kind of joking around before the race we’d all just sit on Jack and then kick to the finish. It’s funny that’s what actually happened,” Lyons said.

“(Winning is) something that I haven’t done in the varsity race, and at an invitational. Definitely I feel good about it, but going into the race, I knew we’d all be in a tight pack so I was fine as long as we all finished together.”

The finish was somewhat reminiscent of Downers Grove South’s Bud Mohns Invite April 14, where Feldman led most of the 800 race only to be passed by Owens at the end but still battle to hold onto second place. Owens was second in the 1,600 at last year’s Warrior Invite but in a slower 4:38.3. Third much of the race, Owens appeared to be fading in the final lap before putting on a strong kick that took third by more than a second and nearly caught Feldman.

“I guess that’s a little bit of the 800 speed showing. I’m used to running a first lap and a last lap (for 800 meters). It’s hard to get the middle two paced,” Owens said. “I probably could have shaved a second or two if I tried to stay on Jack and Tom. I just felt like I had a lot left in the end. But when you go 1-2-3, 24 points for the team, it’s hard to do much better.” The races also were a boost to Lyons as he eyes qualifying for state in the 3,200 and Feldman and Owens in the 1,600 and 800 individually and as they try to help the 3,200 relay.

In Friday’s 3,200 relay, Mike Korompilas, Alec Wohlever, Jake Hall and Will Meyer were third (8:34.0). Korompilas, the only varsity regular in the relay, ran a team-best 2:05.3 split.

Like the 1,600, the 800 had three of the Red Devils’ runners from their cross country lineup at the state meet in November. In the Red Devils’ 2-3-4 finish, Somerfield (2:02.0) and Pedersen (2:04.7) ran personal bests, and Huang (2:05.9) held tough as a sophomore battling a slight illness. Somerfield was a stride behind Lincoln-Way West’s Mark Pedziwiatr (1:59.2) before he pulled away in the final 250 meters. “I kind of lost focus a little bit at the end, but that’s something I can definitely work on,” Somerfield said. “Just to get competition, kind of against (my teammates), was just really great, and then just having fast competition from other teams really pulled us along despite the weather. It’s nice to get a quality, one event (at an

invite) and just give it your all in that one.” Pedersen won the 1,600 at last year’s Warrior Invite (4:34.9) but is working back from mononucleosis this season. He dropped 2.1 seconds from his 800 split at the LT Relays that he ran with a sizeable lead. Huang kicked into third with 200 meters left before Pedersen caught Huang with 75 meters to go. “I might have left a little bit too much for the end, but overall I’m pretty happy with it,” Pedersen said. “We all kind of do that (at practices). That last interval, try to gun it. I guess it pays off in the races. I was just happy to have competition (this week).” Although the meet weather was frustrating again, Somerfield noted that the distance runners have had good, often beautiful, weather for their significant workouts at practice. “I’d rather have the quality times in the workouts because that’s how you race. I’d rather get two workouts in good weather because at the meet, it’s all about your competition and not really about the times,”

Pedersen said. Callen overcame tough conditions – and a tough throwing schedule – to win shot (52-5). The shot and discus prelims came with little warning, but Callen and junior Nick Piker managed to make the finals. The entire discus competition then took place before the shot finals occurred. “I’m used to throwing prelims and going (right) into finals. I had a chance to sit there and stay warm and make sure I was loose for finals,” Callen said.

Still, Callen managed to get two 52-foot throws in finals. His first attempt in finals was measured later by Callen and throws coach Brian Griffin to be a career-best 57-footer, but Callen scratched. “It had to be the farthest throw in my life,” Callen said. “I finished the throw and saw it land and I was so excited that my toe nicked the corner of the toe board. It was upsetting, but I also knew I had some good throws in me.”

Before the lengthy shot schedule, Callen hoped to leave the meet early so his family could be on their way to attend the Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) spring football game Saturday afternoon. Callen will play football for the RedHawks next season.

“I thought we’d get on the road about 5 p.m., and we didn’t pull out until 7:45 p.m. We ended up getting into Oxford at 2 in the morning,” Callen said.

“The game wasn’t until noon so I had a chance to sleep in. It started raining and it was as cold as the night before (at the meet) so that actually delayed the game a little bit. I got a chance to go inside and hang out with the coaches and catch up with all of the recruits and players.” The schedule also was rough on Piker because he was entered in both events. Piker finished fifth in shot (48-10 1/4) and sixth in discus (124-5).

“(Piker) was basically trying to stay warm for 2 hours, 20 minutes,” Griffin said.

“Ryan had a real good day, a very consistent day for being cold. There was a long, long gap between initial throws and finals for the top shot throwers, which is just ridiculous.”

The 400 relay (44.5) finished second to Thornton (42.5) and just ahead of Bradley-Bourbonnais (44.8). In frosh-soph action, the Red Devils’ 800 relay (1:39.1), 1,600 relay (3:46.2), 3,200 relay (9:02.4) were second to Homewood-Flossmoor (1:38.5), Thornton (3:44.3) and Lincoln-Way Central (8:54.1) respectively. The frosh-soph 400 relay (James Benak, Reilly, Alex Wang, Victor Ciardelli in 47.3) was third.

Gachira, who ran by himself in dominating the 3,200, showed his competitive edge as the anchor in the 1,600 relay, holding off third-place Romeoville down the stretch by .4. Reilly ran his third frosh-soph relay of the meet in place of Huang.In hurdles, juniors Alex Conte (40.8) and Phil Pielet (42.0) were third and sixth in the 300 intermediate hurdles, and Ryan Daleen

(15.1) was fifth in the 110 high hurdles with Reed Wigley and Conte (15.2) tying for sixth.

Conte continues to close on the 300 hurdles state-qualifying standard of 39.84 FAT.

Rigas Pappas cleared a personal-best 5-8 to finish fourth in high jump, and Benak was fourth in triple jump (39-3), just one-half inch from what he jumped in the Red Devils’ sophomore invite two days earlier. Reaching the finals of their events and taking seventh were Andre Nelson (38-4 in triple jump) and Marc Roszkowski (22.9 in 200).

Achilles Bezanis just missed the discus finals, but his ninth-place throw of 115 feet was a personal best in competition by roughly 10 feet.

LT RELAYS

By: Bill Stone

Dropping temperatures and howling winds made the 29th annual Lyons Township Relays a chilling challenge for senior Dan Hinspeter and his Hinsdale Central boys track teammates Friday.

“(The varsity 800-meter relay) running into the wind, it was actually pretty cold,” Hinspeter said. “For long jump, we were jumping with the wind so if anything, it would have sped me up for my run-through. I had to change my mark so that I would hit the board.”

Despite the lousy conditions, Hinspeter was among several Red Devils who had personal-best or strong performances in Western Springs.

Hinsdale Central (70.5 points) finished fifth among nine teams in the format of 15 varsity and frosh-soph track events and five field events that compile best performances from four entries, except for three in pole vault.

The Red Devils’ lone victory was the shot put relay of Nick Piker, Ryan Callen, Mark Potocki and Warren Chetosky, who combined for 168

feet-8 inches.

Taking second were the frosh-soph 400 relay (James Benak, Victor Ciardelli, James Reilly, Shawn Gollnick in 47.12 seconds fully-automatic time) and the frosh-soph 800 relay (Pat Callahan, Gollnick, Kealon Burke, Derek Roberts in 1:36.67).

LT (119 points) won its invite for the sixth year in a row, followed by Thornton (98), St. Charles North (85) and Deerfield (84).

Plainfield South (68.5), Conant (57.5), Maine South (55) and St.

Charles East (42.5) were sixth through 10th.

The Red Devils did not compete in the pole vault relay and the weightmen’s 400 relay. So as not to possibly cause or aggravate slight injuries as conditions deteriorated, the Red Devils also were late scratches for the frosh-soph and varsity 1,600 relays.

“Overall, with the conditions and stuff, and the kids have been working hard this week, they had some good performances,” Hinsdale Central coach Jim Kupres said. “When the weather’s like this, it’s kind of hard to really get up for it.”

Competitors in shot, discus, long jump and triple jump were allowed just three attempts.

In the long jump relay, Hinspeter, whose previous best was 20-7, opened with a personal-record 20-8 and finished with a 20-7 1/2 to post the fourth-longest individual performance at the invite.

The relay, which also included Andre Nelson, James Benak and Nkemjika Nwosu was fourth (77-1 1/4), one-half inch behind third-place LT.

“I wasn’t expecting to set a PR in the conditions today so I did a lot better than I expected,” Hinspeter said. “Even with the conditions, everyone else had to jump in the same conditions.”

What’s even more encouraging was that Hinspeter’s 20-8 came despite taking off behind the board. Hinspeter said jumps coach Bill Glasner estimated that the jump actually was in the mid-21s.

Although he still is distant from the state-qualifying standard of 22-3, Hinspeter should be in contention for an automatic berth with a top-two finish at the Class 3A Lockport Sectional. The longest recorded jump by anyone who will compete at the sectional currently is 20-11.

“I’m just going to have to work and beat that kid. I’m doing a lot better than I expected coming into the season,” Hinspeter said. “I feel like if I would have had finals today (and three more attempts), I definitely would have jumped 21.”

In the shot relay, Piker (52-2) and Callen (51-9) had the top two individual performers at the invite, followed by Potocki (34-3) and Chetosky (30-6).

The Red Devils won by 5-8 over Maine South after Callen got his distance after two scratches. Piker also had the top distance in discus (142-8), but the Red Devils’ relay were ninth (369-7), 96 feet from first place, after having to count three scratches for one of its totals.

The frosh-soph 800 relay was 1.22 seconds behind LT (1:35.05) and the frosh-soph 400 relay was 1.7 seconds behind LT.

Other encouraging performances came from the third-place varsity 800 relay (Hinspeter, Marc Roszkowski, Robert Liss, Connor Furlong in 1:34.22), the varsity 3,200 relay (Jack Feldman, Ryan Somerfield, Michael Korompilas, Ted Owens in 8:24.27), and the 1,600 sprint medley relay (3:49.60) with legs from Gideon Ticho (400 meters), Zane Ziesmer (200), Andrew Pyle (200) and Neil Pedersen (800).

The varsity 800 relay was just .21 behind second-place LT while the varsity 3,200 relay was just .11 behind second-place Plainfield South and 1.72 seconds behind victorious Maine South, which won thanks to a

2:00 anchor leg from senior Michal Filipczak, the state runner-up in the 800 at the 2011 state meet in 1:53.49.

Owens ran a 2:03.5 anchor leg with negative splits for his 400s (63,

60 seconds) with other splits by Somerfield (2:05.6), Korompilas

(2:07.5) and Feldman (2:07.9).

Owens got the baton from Korompilas a close second to Plainfield South. By the final lap, the race was a tight pack of four with Conant, Plainfield South, Owens and Filipczak.

With 100 meters left, Filipczak moved into the lead while Owens passed Plainfield South for second. Conant was fourth (8:27.82).

“Ted ran well again today. To negative split like he did in these conditions, that’s pretty solid,” assistant coach Jim Westphal said.

“(We just need to) keep chipping away and stay healthy.

“The lineup for now is pretty solid. It’s just a matter of getting in a good race and those times will drop pretty soon. It’s just a matter of good weather and good competition. Tonight, it was good competition. The weather just didn’t lend itself to running fast.”

Before the weather turned, the Red Devils had gone into the invite hoping to break 8:00, right at the state-qualifying standard of

8:00.04 FAT. The same foursome ran 8:11.95 to finish third at the indoor conference meet.

Somerfield later ran a 2:04 leg in the 800 for the fourth-place 4,000 distance medley relay (11:11.46) with Feldman (1,200), Anthony Vicino

(400) and Tom Lyons (1,600), whose 4:37 anchor leg was just five seconds from his PR.

“I’m confident that I can run a lot faster this year if I keep putting in the work that I have been putting in and giving my best,”

Somerfield said.

“Obviously, we’d love to run a little bit better (for the 3,200 relay), but we ran the best as we could given the conditions, and that’s all you can ask for. A lot guys are coming along. All of us are really running similar times and we’re all kind of moving up.”

That includes Pedersen, who ran a season-best 2:06.8 for his 800 anchor in the SMR despite tough conditions. Besides the wind, the Red Devils were seeded in the slower heat and easily took first place by

20 seconds.

Even with Pedersen running his entire anchor alone, the Red Devils finished just behind the top-two finishers from the faster heat – 1.07 seconds behind second-place St. Charles North and 1.26 behind champion Deerfield.

“Just imagine someone’s behind you. That’s all you’ve got to do,”

Pedersen said. “I kind of wish there had been more competition or we had been in the fast heat, but we can’t really change our seed time. I think if there were competition (for us), we would have won – absolutely.”

Pedersen competed at the state cross country meet for the Red Devils, but he was diagnosed with mononucleosis in early February. He couldn’t do training for nearly a month and then only a couple of miles daily.

He never competed during the indoor season.

“Without exercise and all of the weight you lose because you don’t eat anything, it was difficult getting back,” Pedersen said. “Definitely I’m getting back into shape. Coach (Westphal) has me on a really good training plan and it’s exciting. I think I’m going to get back into the (3,200 relay) and see what we can do, just getting better every week.”

Also rising to the occasion in the SMR was Ziesmer. After being part of the 110 high hurdles shuttle relay, he came right back in the second heat of the following event and stepped into the 200 leg for Teddy Kwasigroch, who had a sore hamstring muscle.

“Zane finished the 110s and five minutes later ran the 200 for the sprint medley. He took one for the team,” Kupres said. “He did a great job.”

In the long jump relay, Nelson contributed by competing in the event – for the first time. A fourth-year track member who used to exclusively sprint, Nelson became interested in triple jump after trying the event during the summer with the Zephyrs Track Club.

With a fourth long jumper needed to fill out the relay Friday, Nelson gave long jump a try. His first attempt was an impressive 18-11 1/4 to join Hinspeter and Benak and Nwosu, who each jumped 18-7.

“Coach (Glasner) was just like, ‘Get out there, whatever you can jump, you can jump.’ I felt like I could do better, but that (18-11 1/4) ended up being my best jump of the day,” Nelson said. “The adrenaline was pumping. I wasn’t really thinking much because I didn’t know what to do. I just went with my triple jump approach and just kind of whatever happened, happened.”

Nelson had a personal-best 41-3 in triple jump at Downers Grove South’s Bud Mohns Invitational April 7. He was disappointed that his best distance Friday was 39-1 1/2, but now he may continue to compete in long jump as Benak and Nwosu usually are on the frosh-soph level.

The triple jump relay, which also included Benak, Nwosu and Alex Wang, was sixth (147-3/4). Benak jumped 38-1 1/4.

“I’ve gone good week, bad week so this was another down week (with triple jump), but we’ve been working hard. Hopefully come May we ease up a little, we’re a little fresher, we get some more pop,” Nelson said.

“(Glasner) said if I want to keep long jumping that I can go ahead and try it. It was fun. You feel the pound after jumping again and again, but I’ll get out there, get a few jumps and see how it goes.”

Also taking fourth were the frosh-soph 3,200 relay of Sam MacKenzie, TJ Caveny, Alex Domiano and Matt McBrien (9:19.24) and the Class 1,600 relay of freshman James Reilly, sophomore Ciardelli, junior Phil Pielet and senior Ryan Daleen (3:46.34).

Finishing fifth were the 4-by-1,600 relay (Kevin Huang, Billy Magnesen, Jake Hall in Nigel Gachira 19:30.17) and the 110 hurdles shuttle relay (Daleen, Reed Wigley, Ziesmer, Pielet in 1:08.14).

The varsity 400 relay (Kwasigroch, Pyle, Grady Tomlinson in Ryan Schwarz in 45.24) was sixth.

The high jump relay of Rigas Pappas, Rokas Venckus and Michael Shakir tied for seventh (10-8) with Pappas equaling his personal best of 5-6.

He just missed clearing his final attempt at 5-8.

“Just the back of my foot clipped it, so next time,” Pappas said.

Pappas, a junior, joined the team for the first time just two weeks ago after some time off from basketball.

“(High jump coach Nick Gebhart) asked me and I thought it would be good for basketball to help me with training,” Pappas said. “It’s been hard. I can jump, but the technique, it’s about being flexible. It’s hard for me to bend my back into a curve that it has to be. I haven’t gotten a set mark of where I should start, which is another problem we’ve got to fix.”

Hinsdale Central Sophomore Invitational

By: Bill Stone

Frosh/Soph - West Suburban Outdoor Conference - Silver Division

1st Place

By: Bill Stone

Hinsdale Central sophomore Derek Roberts was exhausted after Friday’s West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet.

Like many of his teammates, he excelled in multiple events, pulling out the 200-meter dash after finishing 1-2 in the 400 with championship sophomore teammate Pat Callahan.

Several Red Devils found a second, even a third and fourth wind, throughout the meet – and especially afterwards. There was plenty of jumping and hollering on Lyons Township’s Bennett Field after it was announced that the Red Devils had just won the conference title by just .5 of one point, 155 to 154.5 over York, in Western Springs.

This is the first outdoor sophomore conference title in program history.

“It’s huge. This definitely feels great,” Roberts said. “All of us ran well. It’s just so hard to get first. There’s always a team that somehow beats you. I talked to a York kid last night and said some of their kids were moving up to varsity so we have no excuse not to win this.”

“Oh my gosh, by .5, you can’t get any better than that. Honestly, it was the best feeling in the world,” added sophomore Kevin Huang, who won the 1,600 after anchoring the second-place 3,200 relay. “Fifth place, sixth place, everything matters. It was just great. I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”

The Red Devils captured six events and went 1-2 in two of them, Callahan (51.27 seconds fully-automatic time) and Roberts (51.38) in the 200 and Huang (4:35.08) and sophomore Nigel Gachira

(4:36.17) in the 1,600.

Roberts (200 in 23.40) and sophomores Jake Hall (800 in 2:06.12) and James Benak (20 feet-4 1/2 inches in long jump) also were conference champions. Also taking second were sophomore Victor Ciardelli (300 intermediate hurdles in 17.87), Callahan in the 100 (11.75), Benak in triple jump (40-9 1/2) and the 3,200 relay of Gachira, Hall, sophomore Sam MacKenzie and Huang (8:25.76).

“The fact that it was half a point just blew me away. That was unbelievable,” Hinsdale Central coach Jim Kupres said.

“One thing (assistant coach Noah Lawrence) said to the whole team was there wasn’t one person. Everyone contributed in their own way. You could go event by event and say, ‘This guy did it. This guy did it.’ A total team effort.”

Oak Park-River Forest (86.5 points) was third, followed by Glenbard West (63), Downers Grove North (53), Lyons Township (45) and Proviso West (1).

Last year, the Red Devils were fifth with 75 points, 10 points from third. At the indoor Silver Meet March 16 at York, Hinsdale Central was sixth with 63 points. York, which scored 137 points to win the indoor conference meet by 53 points, promoted three key athletes to the varsity level Friday.

Winning conference titles on the varsity also is hard. OPRF’s victory with 156 points ended the streak of York’s nine straight championships. Hinsdale Central hasn’t won the varsity outdoor title since 2002, when assistant coach Lawrence was graduating from Grinnell College after competing in both track and cross country there and for York High School.

“This is exactly what we’ve always wanted. Coach Lawrence’s dream was to finally beat York, and we’re glad we finally got it for him,” Huang said.

Over the 18 events, Hinsdale Central entries finished one place ahead of York four times, and Roberts was part of two of them.

Benak, Hall and sophomore Nkemjika Nwosu were part of three top-six finishes either individually or in relays, and Roberts, Huang, Callahan, Gachira, Ciardelli, sophomore Tom Young and freshmen Jack Breslin, Kealon Burke and James Reilly contributed to two each.

Sophomores Shawn Gollnick, Tristan Nevotne, Michael Shakir and Rokas Venckus and freshman Zach Hedayat also were point scorers.

Great competition and great conditions with little or no wind -- for pretty much the first time at an outdoor meet this season -- also resulted in many personal records. Some of the athletes will get at least one more meet by joining the lineup at the Class 3A Lockport Sectional Thursday.

“We had no idea going in that we had a chance to win it,” Kupres said.

“It was exciting, a lot of great finishes at the end, the last 100 meters, guys kicking guys down. Looking at indoors, in (their) second races, (sophomore and varsity) guys weren’t finishing the meet. Today, they finished. They all came back in second events and performed well and did a great job.”

After taking second to Callahan and just ahead of York’s Greg Gornick by .63, Roberts beat Gornick for the 200 crown by just .03.

“I’m used to getting second a lot. It kind of sucks, but I gave it my all, fought through the pain, and got a first,” Roberts said.

“I finished (the 400) and felt like crap. I was sitting down and (my

hamstring) was just on fire. Then Coach Lawrence came up to me and said the sophomore team has a chance to do something that’s never been done. They needed me to step up for the 200 so that got me a little motivated. I got calmed down and felt good by the time the race got started.”

Callahan’s winning 51.27 in the 400 was slightly bittersweet in that it just missed the sophomore school record of 51.0 manual time (51.24 FAT converted) by Mark Gragg in 1985. Callahan was edged for the 100 title by York’s Josh Farrar by just .04 (11.71 to 11.75) with Nwosu sixth (11.97).

“Winning (the 400), 1-2 (with Roberts), that was great,” Callahan said. “Maybe sectionals, if (Kupres) puts me in an open (400), that would be great (to break the record there).

“I didn’t even think about (a conference title) coming into here. I just come into every meet, trying to do my best, hopefully I can win it. It’s cool, though. It’s nice to know that I ran the fastest out of the sophomores in the 400.”

Huang (4:35.08) and Gachira (4:36.17) pulled off another 1-2 in the

1,600 by finishing more than three seconds ahead of the rest of the field and both setting PRs.

Huang put on one of his now patented kicks in the final 300 meters to prevail after Gachira was a close second most of the race, the first 800 behind Downers North’s Jared Spilky (3rd, 4:39.56).

“Nigel and I going 1-2, that was awesome. We knew (it was possible,”

Huang said. “He knew right away that, ‘I’m going to stick right on you, get first or second.’ It’s just the way it happened. We ran the race perfectly as much as we wanted to.”

A former tennis player, Huang competed in track for the first time this spring after a strong cross country season that included competing at the 3A state meet. Gachira’s only cross country race was at the sophomore conference meet because he was a September transfer to Hinsdale Central from Downers North and, under IHSA transfer rules, had to wait to compete at least 30 days.

Earlier in the meet, Gachira (2:02.4) and Huang (2:02.3) ran personal-best splits on the first and final legs of the 3,200 relay (8:25.76), which finished second to York (8:24.73).

“When I finished, I was surprised I went 2:02. I was really happy about that. I was longing for a PR because I haven’t PRed in a long time,” Gachira said.

For the 1,600, Huang entered the race seeded first at 4:38 along with LT’s Henry Hostettler. Although just seven seconds behind at 4:35, Gachira found himself sharing the seventh seed. Hostettler was seventh (4:41.99).

“I knew I would not be satisfied if I didn’t get top two so my plan the whole race was just to stick within 5 meters of the top guys the whole time,” Gachira said.

“I was counting on (Huang) to be up top. He was counting on me so we kind of stuck together. I was going to try and outkick him because I haven’t beaten Kevin all year. We’re kind of like a rivalry. I really wanted to beat him today, but his kick was really strong. Hopefully, I’ll get him sometime. I’m happy to end it on a good note. I don’t know (if I’ll compete at sectionals) so I just raced today like it was my last race.”

Magnesen pulled out a strong kick of his own to emerge from a four-runner pack to win the 3,200 (9:54.48) over York’s Nathan Dale (9:55.90), OPRF’s Pierce Sheehan (9:56.30) and York’s Connor York (9:57.53).

In a congested trail pack, Caveny (10:12.09) also finished strong to pull out fifth place by 1.64 seconds.

A first-year track runner and former soccer player, Magnesen ran a personal record by 10 seconds and Caveny by 11 seconds.

“It always is (fun to win). I was just glad that I was able to run a PR, and hopefully I’ll be able to improve on it,” Magnesen said.

“(Sheehan) seemed to have it going to last lap so he pulled ahead a little. Going around the last turn, I just thought, ‘It sure would feel good to win conference.’ I was able to use whatever I had left to outkick the (other three guys). I was coming down the final straightaway, and it was exciting. You could finally hear the fans. I always try to think positive, thinking I can do it, but it’s pretty exciting for it to actually happen.”

Caveny also had a satisfying finish. He surpassed his target time of

10:11 and he held off Downers North’s Marc Mathy (10:13.73), who beat him by two places in the 3,200 at the indoor Silver Meet (10:16.48 to 10:26.53). Downers North’s Ryan Clevenger, sixth indoors by .34 ahead of Caveny, was ninth Friday (10:30.44).

“The last time in conference, I got outkicked in the final straightaway from someone behind me. I was just scared that would happen again so I just had to kick all out,” Caveny said. “I feel like I’ve met all of my goals and I’ve just gradually improved, mostly in the longer distances. I was happy with the season.”

Hall also proved to be a battler in the 800. In the back of a five-person pack with less than 200 meters left, Hall turned it on the final 100, battled back and forth with OPRF’s Sam Demarce down the stretch and finally prevailed by .26 (2:06.12 to 2:06.34).

“I don’t know how I caught (Demarce), but I did. Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to win,” Hall said.

“I was third place up to 200 (meters left), dropped back to fifth and then came up on the outside. With 100 to go, that’s when I started going. It was really nice to win.”

Hall has bounced back from an injury-plagued freshman season, where his season bests of 2:17 in the 800 and 5:03 in the 1,600 both occurred indoors.

On Friday, Hall bounced back from the earlier 3,200 relay. He was disappointed with his second-leg split of 2:08.6, which would have finished seventh in the open race.

He later found another gear to complete a rare three-race performance.

He joined three freshmen (Burke, Breslin and anchor Reilly) for the third leg of the third-place 1,600 relay (3:39.25), which held off fourth-place LT by .26.

“I was really down until I warmed up (for the 800) and noticed I felt a lot better than the first one (for the 3,200 relay),” Hall said. “I felt a lot more ready and that gave me a lot more confidence. I just wanted to do well, see what I could do on my second one and redeem myself.”

Benak had two personal records in winning long jump (20-4 1/2) by two inches over Nwosu and taking second in triple jump (40-9 1/2) in his first year in the event.

He improved upon his previous best long jump of 18-9 1/4 at Hinsdale Central’s McCarthy Invitational May 4 and from finishing eighth at last year’s sophomore Silver Meet (17-9 1/2). In triple jump, he received a boost from breaking 40 feet for the first time at the McCarthy Invite (40-1, 8th place).

“Forty feet is a big barrier,” Benak said. “I just think resting up did me a lot of good (for both jumps) and all of that hard work during the season paid off. This is the time where it pays off.”

Nwosu finished third in triple jump (40-3) after a sophomore school-record 42-7 triple jump for second at the McCarthy Invite and fourth in long jump (20-2 1/4). He also competed in the 100 for only the second time this season and he thought it affected his jumping, but he picked up sixth in the finals (12.08) for a crucial team point.

“In the middle of (long jump), I had the 100 and then run back, the thing for triple jump. It really took its toll,” Nwosu said.

Ciardelli, whose primary event is the 300 hurdles, also came through for team points. Making a rare appearance in the 110 hurdles, Ciardelli took third place after being seeded third at 17.2. With only eight total entries, there were no preliminaries.

“I don’t know if it helped me (later for the 300 hurdles), but it kind of helped my morale. It fired me up to win the 300s,” Ciardelli said.

Ciardelli nearly won the 300s but by .3 finished second to York’s Jarvis Hill (42.50 to personal-best 42.80), nearly two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Hill earlier won the 110s in 16.29.

“Definitely, (it was) one of my best races,” Ciardelli said. “I almost had (Hill). I was going really high over the hurdles. I should have been going lower, but I had fun.”

A converted sprinter, Ciardelli tried hurdles for the first time this season. Besides practice, he’s been working on his 300 hurdles endurance on his own at Dickinson Field Saturday nights. To improve his stamina for the end of races, he has been running sprints and setting up only the final three hurdles on the track but after a full-out open sprint the first part of the distance.

“(Dickinson is) like a second home to me,” Ciardelli said with a laugh. “I feel that’s really paid off. I get myself really tired, run as fast as I can and try to go over (those final hurdles) so I can get my legs up. On other races, I’d always fall short (at the end), and today I totally improved that and I didn’t really fall behind there.”

The 800 relay was third (Breslin, Burke, Reilly, Young in 1:37.22), Shakir and Venckus shared third in high jump (5-4), the 400 relay was fourth (Benak, Young, Hedayat, Gollnick in 46.39) and Nevotne was fifth in discus (107-3), beating his previous best by two inches.

“The other freshmen have motivated me (this season), James, Jack and Zach. They just kept pushing me. We kind of stay with each other, try to get better with each other,” Burke said.

“I learned a lot from this, more individual skills and how you can improve but also team skills. There’s a bunch of different personalities that help you become a well-rounded kid. I met some new friends and improved my skills socially and physically. Track’s really fun. I’m going to definitely do it all four years and hopefully I’ll improve my times a lot and keep my friends that I’ve met this year.”

Improvement is on the mind of the freshmen and sophomores and making the most of opportunities. Shakir is looking forward to a consistent offseason of training after being a late move-in to Hinsdale last summer, missing the start of football.

Shakir moved from Texas after living in south suburban Orland Park in eighth grade. In Texas, he competed in track but only as training for football. In his first year of high jump for the Red Devils, he cleared as high as 5-6 in his second meet indoors and twice outdoors.

“I try to work on technique and go hard. I don’t worry about 5-6 but worry about technique. High jump is all form so it’s really hard,”

Shakir said.

“(My goal is) get better mentally because it’s all mental. One meet I’ll feel really good mentally and feel like I can jump 5-8, 5-6 easily, and one day I’ll feel bad. I have to do better than this year.

I have football and I might go to high jump camp during the summer and work on long jump and triple jump, too.”