Wheaton North runs away from the pack

It was not a surprise to see Wheaton North standout Bradley Dowell cruise to the 800-meter title at Friday's DuPage Valley Conference boys indoor track meet, but the battle for second was indeed somewhat of a surprise.

While Dowell was blazing his way to a 2:01.72 winning time, a tight battle for second place saw runners from Naperville Central, Glenbard North and Wheaton Warrenville South packed together near the front headed into the final lap. But Dowell's teammate Patrick Bomher blew past that group on the final lap to finish second in 2:06.57.

That 1-2 finish in the 800 was just one of many great efforts by the Falcons. They topped the field with 162 points, easily distancing themselves from runner-up Lake Park (92) and third-place WW South (69).

"The competition was really good and it was great to see Bomher get second," said Dowell, who also was part of Wheaton North's championship mile relay team. "I was really happy to see him in second. That was probably the best part of the race."

The Falcons, who are the three-time defending outdoor DVC champs, had plenty of highlights at the indoor season finale, including Steven Connor's school-record time of 51.27 in the 400 and a pair of titles from sprinter Ben Moore, who won the 55 dash and the 200. Connor also took first in the 55 hurdles, with Glenbard North's Luke Siperly second.

"For this meet the only goal was to get a PR, a personal record," Falcons coach Don Helberg explained. "Up and down the lineup they just kept getting PRs. I told them, you go out and get a PR and everything else takes care of itself. I'm really proud of them. It's a good way to close out the indoor season and gain some momentum for outdoors."

Naperville North, fourth in the team standings with 64 points, flashed its usual muscle in the distances with John Klaiber turning in a solid time of 9:27.09 to win the 3,200, and then having Klaiber take third in the mile, where teammate Kerry Gshwedntner won in 4:28.74.

"I definitely was feeling the 800 from earlier, and I was basically running by myself and I didn't get pushed too much," said Gshwedntner, who earlier teamed with Aiden Blecke, Martin Smith and Ryan Drendel to help the Huskies win the 3,200 relay. "But training has been going great. It's still indoors and I'm really looking forward to outdoor when we get some fresh air."

Naperville North expects big things out of its distance runners this spring, and they plan to deliver.

"The 2-mile was a really, really good race," said Klaiber, who beat Naperville Central runner-up Scott Hicks by 10 seconds. "It was a five-second PR and two seconds under the state qualifying. So for being indoor season to already be at that level is a great way to build momentum for the outdoor season."

Lake Park, the defending conference indoor champion, had its share of highlights, including a 1-2-3 finish in the shot put won by Dylan Scheirich, a win in the 800 relay, and an exciting pole vault title from Lucas Bennett. The Lancers vaulter cleared 14 feet to edge runner-up Matt Contreras of Wheaton North and third-place finisher Mark Egan of Naperville North.