What an absolutely amazing weekend we just finished!  As the coaches debriefed the weekend and reflected on the season, we all agreed that this was the BEST group of student-athletes and the best day #2 in terms of overall performance we have ever had!  We took a group of 20 outstanding young men down to Charleston, and while we have to say goodbye to 6 remarkable seniors, the core group of the team who will return next year represent a very bright future for our program.

We qualified 7 events to the IHSA State Championship Preliminaries on Friday, May 27, and 3 events made it to finals.  The 4 x 800 relay team of Mark Derrick (1:59.9), Josh Ferguson (1:59.5), Kevin Skrip (2:00.9), and Vincenzo Dal Pozzo (1:55.8) finished 15th overall on day #1 and unfortunately did not make the final 12 for Saturday.  The 4 x 100 team of Ryan Tomasi (11.0), Eric Metoyer (11.9), Matt Wytiaz (10.3), and Jacob Bender (10.3) faired the same as the 4 x 800 as the first exchange did not go as well as expected.  In the 400 dash, Jacob Bender smashed his heat with a commanding time of 48.70 to earn him a trip into the finals.  The 4 x 400 relay team of Matt Wytiaz (50.4), Ryan Tomasi (49.2), Vincenzo Dal Pozzo (50.7), and Jacob Bender (49.2) won their heat as well with a late surge by Jake to take the victory and earn our final event into Saturday’s competition.  Carlos Varela competed for the first time at State in the Discus.  While he fouled his first 2 attempts and finally scored a toss of 132-11, he gained invaluable experience for his eventual return next year.  Finally, Chad Prescher vaulted 13-6 to finish our his senior year of competition.

Day #2 began with Mark Derrick achieving the team’s first of 3 eventual All-State performances with the 3200.  He knew that to gain a place on the medal stand he would have to hurt a lot to get there.  Mark settled into the pack for the first mile and then made his move, getting all the way into 3rd place.  When the pack broke and speed came into play, Mark closed in 65.8 to earn a 6th place medal and a personal best performance of 9:14.48.  Jacob Bender was up next in the 400 dash.  Coach Saul had spoken with him at length about not taking a break on the back stretch, as well as believing he could be the State Champion.  Jake gave it his all and was charging harder than he has ever before on the final straightaway.  He achieved a personal best time of 48.04 and the runner-up position.  Our day ended, as it usually does, with the 4 x 400 relay.  Many naysayers had counted Neuqua Valley out after graduating many of our top athletes last year.  However, that was assuredly not the case as our boys were up for the challenge.  Matt Wytiaz led off in a blazing 50.0, his best time ever.  Ryan Tomasi (49.5) moved us into 2nd place and challenged for 1st before passing the baton to Vincenzo Dal Pozzo who left it all on the track with a 50.6.  Finally, Jacob Bender (48.8) took the baton and passed a few hapless souls before finishing in 5th place with an overall time of 3:18.97.

It was a great weekend and an even better season!  Congratualtions to the entire team on a job well done these past 6 months.  Also, special congratulations to Coach Jason Crowe of Plainfield South for having a hell of a weekend.  Not only did he coach the State Championship 4 x 400 relay, but he also became a new DAD to a baby boy!  Way to go, big guy!!!

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