Neuqua Valley finds some answers
Neuqua Valley boys track coach Mike Kennedy said he usually runs a sectional-style lineup at Downers Grove South's Bob Cohoon Invitational.
Not on Friday, though. Still too many questions, "too many parts" to settle on a definitive lineup, Kennedy said. For this state trophy candidate, that's OK.
"It does add a little bit of pressure, but it's a good thing overall, I think," said Nebraska-bound senior Kyle Bender, anchor of an 800-meter relay that trailed only Minooka, which repeated as overall winner of the 26th annual Cohoon Invite.
"A lot of experimenting, yeah," said sophomore Isaiah Robinson, another of the pieces along with such Wildcats as Jacob Sampson, Kevin Sager, Caleb Ferguson and Jake McEneaney.
Robinson said the Neuqua brain trust signed him up for the "Ty Moss special" - 3,200 relay, open 800 and 1,600 relay.
In that first event Neuqua trailed only Downers Grove North's quality foursome of Jack Diamond, Zac Christensen, Joe Carter and Ryan Clevenger, the latter returning to run 4 minutes, 21.25 seconds in the 1,600, good for second. Neuqua's Connor Horn took fourth.
Robinson didn't like his 800 and returned to "redeem myself" in a winning 1,600 relay with Sampson, Zac Espinosa and Moss at 3:22.37.
"They were trying to try me out today to see if I can triple in the future, at sectionals and state, and it was a great experience," Robinson said.
As for the actual Ty Moss, he was special in setting a meet record in the 800 at 1:53.26. The Stanford-bound Espinosa added a meet record in the 400, 48.58 seconds.
"I thought I was going to break 47 (seconds)," Espinosa exclaimed to Kennedy and assistant Jaime Janota.
Bloomington was second in the team standings, Neuqua third and Downers Grove North tied for sixth, all in the top half of the 16-team meet that included Downers South, Hinsdale South, Glenbard North and Benet.
The shot put saw a DuPage County top-three finish of Downers North's Nick Janicki and Max Sale followed by Benet's Frank Scheck, a solid personal-record and state-qualifying distance 156-11.
Downers South's Nick Kersting also set a PR in the 110 hurdles, a second-place 14.82 seconds, while Glenbard North's Jace James did the same in a second-place 300 hurdles run of 40.28.
Hinsdale South junior Dylan Boye placed second in both long jump and triple jump, only his third triple jump competition.
Boye set a new personal best in triple jump at 43-0½ and saw he can go farther in both events, fouling on a possible 23-foot long jump and 44-foot triple.
"That's something I've been struggling with and it's something I struggled with today," Boye said. "A lot of my jumps I was back (on his mark) at least 6 inches, so when I finally tried to move up on that last one I ended in a foul. It's a fight, but we keep fighting."
Warren tied for sixth place with Downers Grove North, Stevenson just behind.
Warren senior Joe Haight placed second in the 200 at 22.04 seconds, trailing only the meet-record 21.75 of Bloomington's Gary Lockhart. Haight and teammate Isaac Walker each made the finals of the 100 dash, the seniors each scoring at 11.21 and 11.30 seconds, respectively.
Matt Sladek, in shot put, added another second place for Warren, surpassing state-qualifying distance at 52 feet, 10 inches.
Stevenson's Tim Vestuto finished third in that 100 dash, at 10.98 seconds, and took third in the 400 at 50.62. followed by Warren's Walker.
Stevenson junior Jared Borowsky finished like he started - strong. The junior, running with senior Sam Oh in both the 3,200 and the 1,600, led the first race for a bit, fell back and then surged to third at 9:22.35.
In the 1,600 Borowsky duplicated his kick and his finish, third at 4:22.08, then ran on the 1,600 relay.
A "relaxed day" at school and "some really chill music" on the bus ride to Downers Grove helped get Borowsky's mind straight for success.
"I brought a heavy-duty sleeping bag because it's cold, laid in that for about an hour and just got ready for my race," he said. "I just think that the whole day being mentally prepared was really what helped me get through this."