Boys track and field: Hoffman Estates claims West crown; Prospect tops in East
During the nine years Tyrone Jones has been the boys track and field head coach at Hoffman Estates, the Hawks have been a program looking to ascend to the top of the Mid-Suburban West.
On paper, prior to this season, Jones believed his Hawks had what it took to be among the elites in the West.
Consider that belief confirmed.
Tuesday night at Conant for the MSL West Divisional meet, Hoffman Estates amassed 178 points to win the team title for the first time since the MSL went to divisional meets - and for the first time in Jones' tenure.
"For a long time we have been at the bottom or near the bottom," Jones said. "We have great admiration for the Palatines and Fremds and Barringtons of the world, and we are striving to get to that level."
Hoffman did it with a nice combination of youth and experience. Seniors Nathan Otto and Shiv Patel teamed with Jack Worman and Danny Contreras to start the meet with a win in the 3,200 relay (8:31.85). Worman later won the 1,600 (4:28.78), with Patel finishing third (4:32.05).
"We were really led tonight by our seniors," Jones said. "They set the tone and made tonight a real priority for this team."
Hoffman also won six individual events and the 400 relay.
Fremd and Barrington battled for second, with the Broncos winning the 1600 relay (3:32.26) and the Vikings taking top honors in the 800 from Danny Peterson (2:01.07) and the 300 hurdles from sophomore Jaden Jackson (40.38). Fremd also took field event wins in the high jump, and shot put. Palatine ran a season-best 1:30.25 to win the 800 relay.
Prospect best in East: Prospect senior Karsen LeComte has had a rather busy last few days. On Monday, he committed to Nebraska for track and field. And on Tuesday night, he helped lead his Knights team to another Mid-Suburban East title.
LeComte took top honors in the 3,200-meter run (9:35.88) and the 1,600 (4:23.99), completing the always challenging distance-double. His two wins were part of a wild night that saw the Knights hold off Wheeling and former Prospect coach Mike Kamedula's Wildcats. Prospect finished with 207 points to 167 for the runner-up Wildcats.
"It started for us winning the indoor and building toward May," said Prospect coach Frank Amendola, who will be stepping down at the end of this season. His replacement was announced this week, and it's former Knights competitor Jay Renaud.
Balance was also key for Prospect, as the Knights won field event titles in the shot put from Billy Matzek (52-4), James Estrella in the pole vault (13-0) and Michael Shafis in the high jump (6-2).
The runner-up Wildcats took top honors in the 400 relay (43.62) and the 800 relay (1:31.65). Sprints were the thing for Wheeling as Dylan Draka and Jason Shannon finished 1-2 in the 100.
Another top performance came from Danny Dalenberg of host Elk Grove. He won the discus with a personal best 163-0.
Jared Polfuss of Hersey was a multi-event winner, taking the 200 (23.13) and the triple jump (43-5).