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Boys track: Carr-Jones blazes a trail downstate

If only all of track and field were as simple as Addison Trail hurdler Jordyn Carr-Jones suggested at Friday's Class 3A Wheaton Warrenville South sectional.

"When my coach (Bruce Kelsay) told me the past two weeks that I've been running state-qualifying time it made me think I'm a state-qualifying runner, so I've got to run it," the junior said.

Easy-peasy, he qualified in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing behind Glenbard North 110/300 winner Jace James and before someone even more special - Carr-Jones' mother, Lashawnto, in from Colorado, the first time she'd seen her son run.

"Just having my mom here is so electrifying," said Carr-Jones, to be joined at next weekend's state meet by teammate Darrion Conrad, the 200 dash winner.

Much was electrifying at the sectional, the last for WW South coach Ken Helberg and won by his brother Don's Wheaton North Falcons with 87 points. Particularly in field events.

Seven pole vaulters met the qualifying standard of 13 feet, 7 inches, led by Lake Park's Ethan Koval at 15-3. Six long jumpers made it including Devion Hodges of Glenbard North at 23 feet, 10¼ inches and Lake Park's Dan Spejcher at 22-9 as his brother Kevin, an Iowa senior fresh off a Big Ten high jump title, looked on. Wheaton North high jumper Devante Pearson was the day's first state qualifier, at 6-3.

WW South's Blaze Barista punched his long jump ticket too, a happy bonus to his main event - a triple jump of 46 feet, 10¼ inches that broke Kevin Piraino's school-record 46-7 from 2010.

"It's just all the work in practice that I do," said the senior, who'll run track and play football at Dubuque. "I worked on second phase all week and I finally put it together and I jumped the school record. I knew I could do it."

Lake Park's Chago Basso, Dylan Scheirich and Austin Lynch, and Wheaton North's Andy Andersen, Dan Webber and Marcus Gustaveson locked up all downstate discus and shot put slots. Basso qualified in each.

As at the DuPage County Meet, York took the distance events anchored by Charlie Kern and Max Denning, while Glenbard West qualified all four relays and saw Jake Kravas win the 100 with Rhonale "J.T." Terrell advancing in the 200.

A senior who transferred from Tinley Park, Terrell ran on three downstate relays there before adding to the Hilltoppers' house of speed that includes qualifying 300 hurdler Vince Divenere.

"That's my original family," Terrell said, "but this is a brotherhood that works."

Vastly improved Erik Stubner (100) and Joey Zubak (300) of WW South and Wheaton North's Jordan Hennings (1,600) will run in Charleston, and so will the principals of Friday's best race.

Wheaton North's Adam Terrini did what no athlete has done this season - beat Glenbard East's Patrick Mikel at 400 meters. Both advanced well under the 50.13 standard as did WW South's Brandon Bell.

"I was just trying to keep up with him, just trying to run with him, stay with him as close as possible and then for the last 75 meters or so that's when I was really just giving it all I had left, trying to pass him up, and I just got him at the end," Terrini said.

"My mind was saying, just give it all you have."

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