Seager builds on prior performance at Scott Invitational
For his first outdoor track meet of the season, Ty Seager's goals were pretty high.
"My goal was just try to start where I left off and kind of build from there," said the Wheaton Academy junior.
That was a tall order at Friday's 22nd annual Gus Scott Invitational at Naperville North, considering Seager is a returning Class 2A all-stater in both the 100- and 200-meter dash.
Yet at this coed, three-level meet filled with Class 3A schools including top-three boys teams Oak Park, Waubonsie Valley and Naperville North, Seager was named the most outstanding male athlete.
Seager won the A-level 100 dash in 11.03 seconds, beating burners like Waubonsie's Jacquere Williams, and quickly made up the stagger in the 200 to win that in 22.28 just ahead of second-place Williams.
"The way he runs transfers directly to the state meet," said admiring Oak Park coach Tim Hasso, whose boys won the their half of the meet with 476 total points to 373.5 for Waubonsie Valley and 338.50 for Naperville North.
Cary-Grove's 432 points beat closest pursuers St. Charles East (400), Naperville North (377), Benet (307) and Waubonsie Valley (265) on the girls side.
"I was excited to see where I stand," said Seager, who also anchored the Warriors' 1,600-meter relay shortly after the 200.
"There were some fast guys in the both the 100 and the 200. Yeah, there were some fast guys and just to come out on a great night and give it all I had was a joy."
Naperville North brought the distance as expected. Not only did the Huskies' Kerry Gschwendtner win the A-level 3,200 run and John Klaiber finish second in the 1,600, the Naperville North girls swept all three levels of the 3,200. Claire Hamilton, Sarah Schmitt and Emily Hamilton - Claire's senior sister - ran as a lead pack, all by their lonesome.
"We do our workouts on this track every single day and it feels like home. When I'm on the first lap I'm thinking, 'it's just a workout, Claire.' It's just a faster-paced workout," said the sophomore Hamilton, who won in 10 minutes, 59.76 seconds.
"They ran exactly what we set out for them to run," said Huskies distance coach Dan Iverson, who has 28 girls under six minutes in the 1,600.
Naperville North's freshman Saffilla Allie topped Waubonsie's Brion Hughes in the girls A-level 400, and among Waubonsie boys Tyler Kirkwood, Jeff Penny and Kyle Schroeder each won their levels of the 110 hurdles with personal-best times.
On the girls side Benet was led by Ali Munson, who won A-level pole vault at 11 feet, 2 inches; and jumper Emma Jones. Sean O'Connor won the A-level shot put and finished second in discus.
"It was actually bigger than my goal coming in today," Munson said of her vault. "My goal was 10-6 and I've been struggling a little bit with my new technique, and I surprised myself today, to be honest."