Last night, our Varsity team competed at the IHSA Sectional Championship, hosted by Plainfield North. From the moment we arrived, the meet had a festive feel; it was apparent that the staff over there had gone to great lengths to prepare the stadium for an exciting night. With the weather also cooperating, the stadium was buzzing with excitement as teams arrived. Meet Results

The field events opened with a personal best high jump mark from sophomore Ray Kuykendall (5’7″). It wasn’t long before reports of another PR rolled in, this time from senior Paul Berkowitz in the long jump (20’9″). But our team was sparked to life by sophomore Carlos Verela‘s state-qualifying mark of 156-4 in the discus. Carlos is the first qualifier from our throws program in a decade, and shows a great deal of promise. When this result was posted on our team’s Facebook page, alum O.J. Oshinowo (Class of 2001) commented back that his school record of 170-1 might soon be broken!

Vincenzo Dal Pozzo finishing the 4x800 - Ankle intact!

One of the most promising preliminary running performances was from senior Matt Feliciano in the 110 high hurdles, as he qualified for the finals with a personal best 15.80 (FAT). After getting some of the younger members of our team a chance to race in the prelims, it wasn’t long before our athletes would start to punch their tickets for a trip to the state meet. The entries in the 4×800 relay promised a thrilling competition, and with Vincenzo Dal Pozzo‘s ankle in question from an injury he sustained in PE volleyball just a week earlier, all members of this squad committed to running with heart. Sophomore Alekh Meka lead the race and came charging down the stretch in his final lap in the mix. When he handed the baton to all-stater Josh Ferguson, the race came back together a little with NV, West Aurora, and Minooka in the lead. After Josh’s 1:59, junior Kevin Skrip kept it close and broke the 2:00 barrier as well. With one leg of the race left, Vincenzo took over the baton and took off with Minooka’s anchor as they slowly pulled away from West Aurora with about 300m left in the race. They finished second in 7:54.86, well under the qualifying mark.

Our 4×100 relay was the next event on the track, and our team had committed to focusing our varsity sprinters on this race. A week of meticulous hand-off practice paid off as we exchanged the baton almost flawlessly around the track, coming in at 42.60 and finishing in 4th place. The quartet of Ryan Tomasi, Eric Metoyer, Matt Wytiaz, and Jacob Bender had earned their berth at the state meet in a true team effort. As the finals for the 110 hurdles were run, Matt Feliciano‘s race was obstructed by another competitor’s hurdle, and a judge ruled that he would get to re-run the race later in the meet – but his second attempt would have to wait until junior Mark Derrick dominated the 3200. Looking comfortable, Mark kept both shoes on and cruised to a qualifying time and victory in 9:20.41. Matt was back on the track before long, and completed his third run of the hurdles that night, but was shy of the qualifying standard.

Ryan Tomasi starts the 4x100 relay

It might have appeared that our 4×200 relay of three freshman and one sophomore would have had their hands full against some solid varsity competition, as their entry mark had them seeded as the last team in the meet. However, this team of James Sampson, Nick Rafacz, Roland Dewgard, and Dennis Thurow did not disappoint, as they were one shaky exchange away from a frosh/soph school record in 1:34.25 – good enough for 10th overall. All earned spots as alternates on state-qualifying relays and will make the trip to Charleston next weekend.

Immediately following this relay was the open 400 – a highly anticipated event featuring Jake and Sheldon Magee, two of the top runners in the state. Before their showdown, however, we were treated to sophomore Julius Garcia‘s performance of 51.25. He won his heat, and his time eventually placed him sixth overall in this loaded field. As the final heat began, both of the top competitors were even for about 250 meters. Shelton pulled away from Jake a little in the next 50, maintained, and was able to hold off a late catch by Jake in the final 20 to win out in 48.08. Jake’s new PR of 48.55 was just as impressive, and the re-match next weekend will no doubt be thrilling. Just after this race came news of Chad Prescher‘s win in the pole vault, qualifying him for the state meet with a jump of 13-9. The list of participants for next week’s state championship continued to grow.

As the meet drew nearer to it’s end, our frosh-soph duo of Nick Bushelle and Brendan O’Connor stepped up to the level of competition needed to run times like 4:27.91 and 4:30.17, respectively. There was a clear moment in this race where the lead pack seperated from the rest of the field. Rather than choosing to hang back and look good with a fancy kick, I was proud that both young men chose to risk a dead-legged final 20 meters in exchange for some impressive times. Brendon is an alternate on the 4×800, and earned a well-deserved trip to the state meet with this race.

Finally, the meet drew to a close with a 4×400 relay featuring a stacked field. Plainfield South, Plainfield North, Minooka, and our team, along with Plainfield Central, were all in the hunt, having run qualifying times already this season. Matt Wytiaz, Ryan Tomasi, and Kevin Skrip got us out and into the race. Each of them ran smart races that positioned them well into their exchanges. After a much anticipated week of rest, their times have begun to drop, and by the time Jake got the baton in a battle for 5th place, it wasn’t long before he charged to the finish in an authoritative 3rd in 3:21.81, well below qualifying. We are really looking forward to next weekend’s race on the big blue track. A remarkable 5 teams qualified from this event: special congratulations to Minooka for an impressive 2nd place finish in 3:17.79, and to Plainfield South‘s quartet who ran an astounding 3:16.45. Jason Crowe and his team claimed a hard-earned sectional championship with 102 points and will be a force to be reckoned with in the team battle in the finals.

This was a great meet from start to finish, and it was evident that the preparations made by Tony Holler and the rest of the Plainfield North staff made this a memorable night for everyone there. In all, we qualified 19 young men to make the trip down to the state meet next weekend. A year ago, when the majority of our team was made up of state finalists and state champions – almost all of whom graduated – it would seem unlikely that we’d be loading up the buses with just as many guys. However, this is a true testament to how these young men believe in each other and what accomplishments hard work, moderation, and cosistencey can yield. These young men have written their own story this season as they’ve made sacrafices and choices to be healthy and look out for one another. On behalf of our coaching staff, we are proud of these young men and gratefully humbled by their abilities. Without a doubt, we are looking forward to seeing how this group writes it’s chapter of our team’s state story next weekend.

See our team’s entire history at the state meet, as well as a list of this year’s events and qualifiers. Click here.

Neuqua’s Derrick Makes a Name for Himself in The Chicago Daily Herald by Dave Oberhelman

Boys’ Track Recap in the Naperville Patch by Paul Johnson