Boys track and field: Winning finish for Mid-Suburban champion Prospect
Whether it really needed to win the 1,600-meter relay or not, well, Prospect just decided to go out and win it anyway.
It's that "Everything to Win" motto that the Knights' boys track and field team has lived by so far this season, and that same spirit carried their quartet across the finish line in the final event of the rain-delayed Mid-Suburban League track and field championship meet at Rolling Meadows.
The meet started on Friday, but heavy rains and lightning moved the remainder of the meet to Saturday morning.
When senior Luke Filipec crossed the finish line first to end the 1,600-meter relay, Prospect had claimed the race along with the MSL title. Their back-and-forth battle with Hoffman Estates ended with Prospect scoring 156 points to 138 for the runner-up and MSL West Division champion Hawks. Wheeling ran third (95), followed by Palatine (91) and defending meet champion Barrington (86).
"We wanted to come out and finish on a high note," said Filipec, who was joined by Kevin Sherwood, Matt Cozine and Jason Terry on the relay. "I just know there at the end that I had to keep going for my team."
It wasn't the first-place finishes that pushed the Knights over the top. Finishes like Anthony Kies taking fifth in the 200 (23.13) and Jack O'Connell taking third in the 1,600 (4:27.11) made huge differences in the stretch run for Prospect.
"We asked our kids to come into this weekend and make their goals and dreams a memory," said Prospect coach Frank Mirandola whose team won its first conference title since 2011. "The kids knew that they might not win the races they were in, but it was about helping the team accomplish what we set out to do."
Prospect did have its fair share of wins too. Cozine took the top spot in the 800 (1:56.05) and Nebraska-bound senior Karsen LeComte won the 1,600, a day after winning the 3,200. His 4:21.83 finished just ahead of Danny Peterson of Fremd (4:23.98).
Valuable points also came in the shot put, where junior Billy Matzek had his best day of the season, throwing 55 feet, 10 inches to finish second. Barrington junior John Stefan, who admitted the very talented field that also included Ethan Hanson of Fremd pushed him over the top, won the event with a personal best throw of 56-0.5.
"I got relaxed after the first one and I knew I could put together some good throws," Stefan said. "The throw felt really good - definitely one of my better feeling throws of the year."
In hot pursuit of the Knights throughout the two-day adventure was Hoffman Estates. Sophomore Declan Rustay was a big reason why, as he took home triumphs in the 100 (11.08), 200 (22.67) and the 400 (49.46).
But Rustay certainly had help. The field events were a big boost to the Hawks as senior Jelyn Hill won the high jump by clearing 6-7 and the long jump with a leap of 22-0.5. Sophomore Anijel Jones' second-place finish (21-9) added valuable points.
"I just told our kids that I was proud of how they responded to some things that were kind of out of the ordinary for us," Hoffman coach Ty Jones said. "I tip my hat to Prospect. They gave a great effort and I thought our kids did as well."
One of the top performances in the meet occurred Friday night, indoors after the rains had come and pushed the triple jump inside. Hersey senior and Oklahoma State-bound Jared Polfuss broke the Huskies' school record by winning the triple jump with a leap of 45-2.25. He bested the top effort from Elk Grove senior Azeez Alabi (44-2.25). Polfuss also ran a season-best 50.62 in his second place finish in the 400.
"He is the kind of kid that you can't help but root for," Hersey coach Ken Blazek said. "I was so happy for him to get that mark last night. Then to come back and perform as well as he did in the 400 was an impressive effort."
Other individual conference champions included Victor Olaitan of Schaumburg in the 110 high hurdles (15.53), Jaden Jackson of Fremd in the 300 hurdles (40.44), and Danny Dalenberg of Elk Grove in the discus (152-7.5). Wheeling won the 800 relay, as the team of Dylan Draka, Jason Shannon, Lawrence Knish and Blake Greenberg finished in1:31.69.