Although the weather was still uncooperative this past Tuesday, many members of the team, some of whom were racing for the very last time this season, rose to the occasion and performed their very best.

Roland Dewgard stepped into a 4 x 800 relay and ran an impressive 2:12.3.  Not bad for a runner who is primarily a sprinter.  Kevin Seyller represented the team well in the open 800 with a time of 2:14.5.  Julius Garcia dominated the 400, popping a 51.9!  He will definitely be in contention for a spot at the IHSA Sectional meet in two weeks.  Dennis Thurow (53.2) and Aaron Dierking (56.4) were not too far behind.  The 1600 was packed with 21 of our guys, and it was loaded with personal bests.  Justin Hunt has emerged from the pack as a very reliable runner.  He finished the race in 5:08.8.  Gerard Lamb was just in front of him at 5:06.1.  These are very respectable times considering the rain and cold were rolling in as the night wore on.  Over on the field, Matt Hughes leaped 5-3 in the high jump, Brad Mikulecky laid down an 18-1 in the long jump, and Carlos Varela continued his solid throwing ways with a toss of 131-9 in the discus.

Over on the Varsity level, there were strong performances in the 3200 as Matt Coyne (9:58.8) and Hirsh Gaikwad (9:59.9) both broke the 10:00 barrier.  Congratulations to them on this fine accomplishment!  Ryan Tomasi (11.4) and Gbenga Okubadejo (11.6) battled it out in the 100 with Ryan just edging him out at the end.  Ryan has some amazing leg speed, and it was very evident here tonight.  Zach Coffel made a triumphant return to competition in the 400 as he ran 57.3…not bad for sitting our for several weeks with illness.  The 1600 was just as impressive here as it was on the Frosh / Soph level.  Josh Ferguson won the race in 4:31.5, followed closely by Andrew Tout (4:32.9) and Josh Antonson (4:34.2).  The highlight of the race was clearly the performance of freshman Nick Bushelle who smashed his personal best time with a new record of 4:33.2.  He is not that far off the school record of 4:25 currently held by graduate Danny Pawola.  In the field events, Chad Prescher is making stark improvements, jumping 13-6 in the pole vault.  Zach McKibbin continues to perform well in the shot put with a throw of 39-7.  And Austin Li looked very good in the triple jump, leaping 36-10.

The season is going to get very interesting in the next several weeks.  We head to Lake Park on May 12th for our Conference meet, and then it’s off to Plainfield North for the IHSA Sectional Championship on May 20th.  Here’s hoping for good weather and even better performances!