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DyeStat Illinois Weekend Recap – February 16, 2015Published by
By Michael Newman
Last weekend was better than the week before in regards to meets in Illinois. That trend will continue naturally as get closer to the IHSA State Meets in May.
Here is a look at some of the meets that took place throughout Illinois the past weekend. The recap of the Proviso West Panther Relays can be found here. Results of all the Illinois Meets can be found in Illinois Meet Central.
Proviso West Boys Quintangular The night before the Panther Relays, there was some great performances in this meet with Hersey, Prospect, Palatine, York, and host Proviso West participating. Palatine controlled the distance races winning all four individual races. The biggest was the return of Graham Brown. He contracted mononucleosis towards the end of the 2014 indoor season that plagued him most of the outdoor season. He still did qualify for the state meet in the 1600. He did not rest after track instead going right into training for cross country. He discovered that the mononucleosis came back just after the Mid Suburban League Meet. He struggled through the next few weeks finishing sixteenth at the 3A state meet.
He took a month off from training and is now completely healthy. That was evident in the 1600 Friday night. He had the lead from the start and was never threatened. He ran an indoor PR of 4:24.1 to finish ahead of York’s Matt Plowman (4:28.1) and Charlie Kern (4:34.9).
“This feels great. It was eating me alive when I was sick,” Brown said after his race. “I really do not have a chip on my shoulder. I feel like I belong with the elite runners. I have the same goals as last year.” Brown is looking forward to making it to Arcadia this April and then on to bigger things when we get to May.
The biggest surprise was the 3200 Run when Zach Michael (Palatine HS) pulled away from all-state runner David Rodriguez (Hersey HS, Arlington Heights) in the last 800 meters to win the race. Michael ran negative splits going through the 1600 in 4:59 some three seconds behind Rodriguez. The Palatine junior finished in 9:52.5 nearly five seconds ahead of Rodriguez. For Michael, this race was a huge breakthrough. At last fall’s Schaumburg Sectional, he finished 120th. Rodriguez acknowledged that he was recovering from some minor injuries. His first race of the season was a rust buster.
Brian Leonard (Palatine HS) ran an indoor PR (2:06.7) to hold off Prospect’s Tommy Riordan to win the 800 Meter Run. Gavin Falotico (Palatine HS) was never challenged in the 600 Meter Run. He ran 1:26.6 (IL #2) to win by more than six seconds. Palatine also received a win by Jake Larocca in the Pole Vault. He cleared an indoor PR of 14-3 to win the event. York showed some of their mid-distance strength by taking the top two spots in the 3200 relay. Their winning team (8:24.4, IL #3) was anchored by Matt Plowman who ran a 1:59 anchor split.
The biggest surprise early in this season has to be that of JaShaun Steward (Proviso West HS, Hillside) in the horizontal jumps. The junior is in his first season of track. He is the brother of all-state high jumper Jamante Steward. Looking at his first two meets, it is evident that there are bigger things ahead for him. In Friday’s Triple Jump, he soared to a 45-6 huge PR. The week before he had jumped 42-10.
“I think he could do some great things. We thought it would be next year. It could be this,” said Proviso West jumps coach Andy Pavlou. “We started conservative with JuSean in his first meet only giving him a ten step run up. This week we moved it back to twelve steps. We will move it back a little more giving him a little more comfortable on the runway.” I think we could see some big things from him once he gets to a full approach.
Defending 3A 1600 Meter Champion Annie Zaher (Central HS, Hinsdale) started off the 2015 track season where she left off in Charleston. On Hinsdale’s 160 Meter track, she won the 1600 Meter Run in an Illinois seasonal best (5:03.7). Judy Pendergast (North HS, Naperville) was less than two seconds behind in second place (5:05.5). The top six runners in this race were 5:22 or faster.
Lonnell Poole Invitational at Bloom Andy Jatis (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox) has become comfortable in the Bloom Fieldhouse runway. Last week at the Bloom Vaultpoleooza, he cleared 15-6 to win the event. He went higher in this meet clearing a PR 16-0 to easily win the event. Elijah Douglas (Crete-Monee HS) took the early lead on the IL TFX Leaderboard in the 55 Meter Hurdles. He won the race (7.98) ahead of second place Pat Karys (Bartlett HS). Douglas, who finished 3rd last spring in the Long Jump, was dominant Saturday in the event jumping 22-4 (IL #2) for the win.
Morton Boys Meet #1 The top performance on this small 160 Meter Track occurred in the 600 Meter Run. Neuqua Valley swept the first three places led by the 1:25.7 (IL #1) performance by Ty Moss. Zac Espinosa and Kyle Bender finished 2-3. Matt Szelazek (Leyden HS, Franklin Park) was a double winner in the 800 (2:03.9) and the 1600 (4:43.5).
Whitney Young Invitational #1 Daniel Santino (St. Ignatius Prep, Chicago) turned in one of the top performances in this co-ed meet. The junior pulled away from teammate Kallin Khan to win by ten seconds in the 3200 Meter Run (9:37.60, IL #2). Whitney Young captured the other distance races in the Boys meet. Kevin Ma ran 2:02.28 (IL #2) to win the 800 Meter Run by five seconds. Keduse Worku ran 4:33.83 to win the 1600 Meter Run. The top seven runners were under 4:50 in that race. Freshman Amira Young (Whitney Young HS, Chicago) was the athlete to watch in the Girls Meet. She won the 60 Meter Dash (7.95, IL #6) and the 200 Meter Dash (25.92, IL #6). She was also a part of Whitney Young’s winning 4 x 200 that ran 1:48.20 and is currently the fastest state time in that event.
Homewood-Flossmoor Boys Quad #1 The new field house at Homewood-Flossmoor is already producing some fast performances. The host Vikings ran 1:33.34 (IL #1) to win the 4 x 200 Meter Relay two seconds ahead of Thornton. Marcus Jones (Brother Rice HS, Chicago) sizzled a 7.08 (IL #4) to win the 60 Meter Dash. Sal Flight (Fenwick HS, Oak Park) was injured most of the cross country season. The top returnee in the 2A 1600 looks to be 100% healthy. He easily won the 1600 Meter Run in this meet (4:33.32, IL #4). Alex Daubon (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) cleared 6-6 (IL #3) to win the High Jump.
Driscoll Invitational @ York Meagan Biddle and Alonda Aguirre (Hoffman Estates HS) tied in winning the 3200 Meter Run (11:39.3, IL #2). Abby Waltz (York HS, Elmhurst) started off her season with a win in the Pole Vault clearing 11-0 (IL #11).
Wheaton North Girls Meet #1 Caroline Arlasky (Glenbard South HS, Glen Ellyn) ran the current fastest state time when she won the 3200 Meter Run (11:37.7) on the 178 Meter track. Hannah Schilb (North HS, St. Charles) took the early state lead in the Long Jump when she won the event with a 17-8 ½ jump.
OSU Buckeye HS Open #4 at Columbus, Ohio Kathleen Young (Warrensburg-Latham HS) traveled east to Ohio and came back with two good performances in the weight events. Currently ranked eighth nationally in the Shot Put, the defending 1A champion won the event with a 46-8 put. She finished sixth in the weight throw, but an established a new personal best (34-5).
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