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Libertyville's Barbian sharp in state prelims

CHARLESTON - Whether it has fully sunk in for Kevin Barbian doesn't really matter. All that matters for the Libertyville senior is that he has put together back-to-back performances the last two weeks that has him in position to earn medals in the shot put and discus.

A little over a month ago, Barbian was stuck in the 40s in the shot put and 140s in the discus. Following his performance during the Class 3A prelims at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Field, Barbian is in the 50-foot-plus and 160-foot-plus level that should earn him hardware today.

"I knew I could do this because I have steadily been improving," Barbian said. "Lots of the guys that I am competing against were peaking midway through season. I am peaking at the end."

Barbian improved on his personal best from last week by tossing the shot 54-6.5. He is seeded seventh heading into the finals. In the discus, while he didn't throw farther than his personal best mark of 168-10 last week, his toss of 159-1 got him into medal position. He is seeded eighth heading into the finals.

Barbian will see a familiar face in the finals, as Grant senior Jake Bychowski also qualified in the shot put. Bychowski's throw of 53-6.5 took the 12th and final spot in the finals.

It was an up-and-down day for Grant, but one constant was the performance by Illinois-bound senior Jonathan Wells. Wells qualified in for four events and made the finals in two - the high jump, which he won last year, and the long jump. He is seeded second in the long jump after leaping 22-10.5.

Illinois State-bound senior Kyle Hatton, Wells' teammate, battled through the roasting hot conditions to earn a repeat spot in the finals of the 800 run. Hatton, who finished ninth last year, is seeded fifth in the finals.

"This was hard today with the heat," Hatton said. "That race was so fast."

The Bulldogs narrowly missed the finals in two relays. The 800 relay team of Billy Sullivan, Octavian Wells, Jeremy Bredwood and Jonathan Wells ran a school-record 1:28.99. The 1,600 relay team also shattered a school mark, running 3:20.67. Hatton, Octavian Wells, Bredwood and Kemar Miller made up the relay team.

Lakes didn't leave anything to chance in the same 1,600 relay event. Junior Corey Hertz started and feisty Jake Balliu crossed the line with a school-record time of 3:19.96, which placed the Eagles in the ninth and final spot in the finals. Two other Eagles earned finals spots, as freshman Cameron Ruiz moved on in the long jump (22-0) and junior Ryan Mullen advanced in the shot put (54-3).

"When I came around the last turn, I knew I had to give it all I had," Balliu said. "This is a great group of guys."

Hertz had a full day, as earlier he qualified in the 400-meter dash. Hertz ran a school record 48.91 and needed to in a fast 400 race just to make the finals. He edged out Alex Shulga of Grayslake North, and because of the pace of the race, Shulga made the finals as well, running 49.20.

"This year I took the race that much more serious," Shulga said. "I came down here last year and thought I was fast enough, and I found out I had to work harder."

Shulga won't be the only Knight on the track today. Grayslake North junior Titus Booker had his finest day, as he qualified for the finals in a pair of events. Booker won his heat in the 200, breaking out a 21.55 clocking, which was fourth fastest out of prelims. In the 100, Booker took a lesson from last year's prelims and used it to earn a spot in the finals, running 10.68.

"I understood more of what it took and how hard it was," Booker said. "Last year I treated the prelims like prelims in a regular meet. I learned I cannot do that."

During the Class 2A session, Purdue-bound Vernon Hills senior Ben Mohrdieck left little to chance in the 1,600 run. Despite running in temperatures that were warmer than he had raced in all season, Mohrdieck ran to the front of the pack and never looked back. His time of 4:20.43 is the top seed.

"It was a good effort and I am happy with how I did today," Mohrdieck said. "Now I have to go and do it tomorrow."

Other athletes that competed in the prelims Friday included Bryce Richards of Mundelein; Adam Shurson of Warren; Sam Oh and Ki Hwan Kim of Stevenson; Max Roberts and Patrick Humen of Libertyville; Devyn Cedzidlo and Cooper Jazo of Lakes; Connor Gosel, Spencer Hirt and Demarcus Quick of Grayslake Central; Tyler Theel of Wauconda; David Biondo of Carmel; Richard Clark of Vernon Hills; and Tim Christian of Antioch. Relay teams from Warren, Antioch, Carmel, Vernon Hills and Grayslake Central also competed.

  Grant's Jonathan Wells, middle, runs between Belleville East's William Session, left, and Cary-Grove's Michael Saxon in the 110-meter high hurdles during the Class 3A boys track and field state preliminaries in Charleston on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Grant's Jonathan Wells crosses the finish line while competing in the 110-meter high hurdles during the Class 3A boys track and field state preliminaries in Charleston on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Grant's Kyle Hatton, left, runs alongside Mundelein's Bryce Richards in the 800-meter run during the Class 3A boys track and field state preliminaries in Charleston on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
  Libertyville's Maxwell Roberts crosses the finish in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles during the Class 3A boys track and field state preliminaries in Charleston on Friday. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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