Batavia wins West Aurora sectional

The Batavia boys track and field team completed the triple crown of team titles in Aurora on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs produced a pair of champions at the Class 3A West Aurora sectional en route to the team championship with 76 points.

The latest Batavia championship comes in the aftermath of victories at Kane County and the Upstate Eight River.

St. Charles East and West Aurora were not only second and third, respectively, but also tied each other with the most number of qualifiers to the state finals next weekend in Charleston. The longtime powers had six each.

Batavia senior Peyton Piron denied St. Charles East hurdler Kyle Decker a second title in the longer edition of the event, the 300-meter intermediates, by seven one-hundredths of a second.

"I don't think I have ever been so nervous at the start of the race," said Piron, who was timed in 39.02 seconds. "The thing about this sport is, you have only chance to come off the (starting) line. It is a feeling like none other (to win a close race)."

The only other Batavia champion was Ryan Wieties, who exceeded his seed time by almost two seconds, to capture the 800 in 1:56.49.

Decker earlier won the 110 high hurdles to earn a second straight bid to Eastern Illinois University.

"It felt like a really good race," said Decker, who won in 14.85. "The vibe of the meet really helped me. With the four-by-eight team winning the first event, it just set the tone for me."

The Saints' 1,600 relay, which Decker was a member of, also claimed a team championship for the Saints.

Then again, it hardly came as a surprise as bookend legs Devon Kelly and Joe Komlanc swept the open 400 for the Saints.

West Aurora could be dangerous at the state meet behind triple jumpers Chris Walker and DaVion Cross as well as miler Connor McCue.

Walker, the defending state runner-up, and Cross - also a state finalist last year - will undoubtedly be high on the state seed list after soaring almost 47 feet each.

Walker went 46-10.5 to deny his sophomore teammate by three-plus inches.

"The expectation for them all year has been to get back down there," West Aurora coach Cortney Lamb said. "It was pretty awesome to see them do that."

McCue had the fourth-fastest 1,600 time in the state this spring. The junior was never tested in his 4:20.32 time.

"I'm never overconfident," McCue said of his glaring seed-time advantage. "I don't underestimate anyone. The second you step on that line, anything is possible."

McCue defeated Brady Bobbit in the event. But the Marmion senior will close out his career with state appearance after earlier winning the 3,200 for the Cadets, who finished fourth as a team.

"For the double I didn't want to go out too fast (in the 3,200) or I would have been running by myself," Bobbit said.

Josh Peloch earned the lone title for St. Charles North with his 15-foot clearance in the pole vault.

It was a banner night for a pair of seniors: Bartlett sprinter Bryce Petty and Elgin hurdler and long jumper Jordan Smith.

The duo advanced to the state preliminaries in three events each Thursday night.

Petty anchored two sprint relays to qualifying berths and later added a runner-up finish at 200 meters.

"The four-by-two felt great because it was for a sectional championship," Petty said. "(In the 200) that's where I feel my best: in the final 100 (meters)."

Smith, meanwhile, captured the long jump, was runner-up in the high hurdles and made the state-qualifying mark in the 300 hurdles for the Maroons.

"He came to play tonight," Elgin coach Drew Smith said.

"I owe it all to my coaches," Smith said. "I would not be here without them. Also, a salute to my teammates for all their support."

Bartlett had the best finish among the Elgin-area programs; the Hawks also paced area schools with four total qualifiers.

Daniel Danek won the discus with a throw of 165-01 for the Hawks.

"When it came off my hand, I figured it was state-qualifying - around 156, 157," Danek said. "When they said 165, I just went crazy."

Streamwood high jumper Jelyn Hill is state bound after capturing the event at 6-7.

"It was a good feeling to be going downstate for the first time," Hill said. "It was nice to accomplish something."