I am extremely proud of both the Frosh / Soph and Varsity competitors for showing up in a big way on Thursday evening at the first ever UEC Valley Division Championship meet.  While we may not have walked away with a victory on either level, I can honestly say that I was not disappointed in one single performance…our guys rose to the occasion and gave Lake Park a run for their money.

We came within only 4 points of victory on the Frosh / Soph level.  The 4 x 800 relay team of Brendan O’Connor (2:05.7), Robbie Hohlman (2:11.3), Mike Baker (2:13.4), and Nick Bushelle (2:07.0) easily won that event.  The last three runners were specifically instructed to coast to victory and save themselves for later events because we were so far ahead of the pack.  Mike Whaley became the Conference champion in the 3200 with a hard fought win over some very close competitors from Metea Valley and Lake Park.  He finished the race in 10:28.65, and he is going to be a major contributor to the distance crew in the next two years.  Ernest Edwards finished in 2nd place in the 110 hurdles in 16.97.   He was just edged out at the line.  Mike Baker brought home a victory in the 800.  He may not have been ecstatic about his time, but a win is a win, especially at a big meet like this.  Roland Dewgard (52.12) and Nick Rafacz (52.64) finished 1st and 2nd, respectively, in the 400.  They dominated the field from the shot of the gun and are paving the way for this team’s continued success in the 4 x 400 relay.  Brendan O’Connor (4:41.68) and Nick Bushelle (4:42.91) ran stride for stride for the entire 1600 and brought the team another 18 points with 1st and 2nd place.  The 4 x 400 relay wrapped up the evening and did so with a great come-from-behind victory from Dennis Thurow, who was tactically superior by patiently waiting for 150 meters to go and blasting past the Metea Valley runner on his way to the finish line.  Josh Prescher (11-3) finished third in the Pole Vault, Matt Hughes (5-5) and Ray Kuykendall (5-5) finished 4th and 5th, respectively, the High Jump, and Danny Loughery took away a 6th place finish in the Discus, throwing 113-8.

The Varsity level proved equally as successful as the Frosh / Soph squad.  The line-up the coaching staff put together was created to accrue as many points as we could to make a strong run at Lake Park.  We came within only 6 points of victory.  Our first victory came in the 4 x 800 relay as Mark Derrick (2:01.2), Josh Antonson (2:05.4), Joel Lynn (2:06.5), and Taylor Soltys (2:06.2) cruised to an easy victory.  Taylor got challenged in his second lap, but his endurance and speed was no match for Bartlett’s hapless runner.  Eric Metoyer (11.0), Matt Wytiaz (10.4), Markieze Mitchell (11.9) and Gbenga Okubadejo (10.3) came home with 3rd place in the 4 x 100 relay.  This is not our usual line-up for this relay, but they performed very well in this high pressure situation of Conference.  Matt Coyne had the race of his life in the 3200.  He fought for position for the entire race and could have finished anywhere in the top pack.  He charged the straightaway and was gaining on Waubonsie’s David Groebber, eventually taking the runner-up position.  Well done, Matt!  The workhorse of the entire night clearly was Jacob Bender.  We entered him in the 100, 200 and 400 with hopes that he could amass 30 points in those events.  Jake did not disappiont…he won each of those events handily.  Matt Wytiaz showed that he has a lot of racing still to do this season.  He took 3rd place in the 400 with a phenomenal time of 51.08.  Mark Derrick (4:27.07) and Taylor Soltys (4:30.66) captured an additional 18 points for the team by taking 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the 1600.  The field event competitors showed up strongly for us as well.  Chad Prescher (13-9) finished 2nd in the Pole Vault, Markieze Mitchell (20-4) took home 3rd place in the Long Jump, and Tim Heinz (6-1) finished 3rd in High Jump.  And, yes, Tim is only a freshman!

On Thursday, May 19, we travel to Plainfield North High School to compete in the IHSA Sectional Championship.  Please come out and support our men as we march toward State competition!