Boys track and field: It's a FVC 3-peat for Huntley
It wasn't as dominant as past meets, but Huntley mustered enough points to secure a third straight Fox Valley Conference boys track and field championship Friday night in Huntley.
With 112 points, the Red Raiders were 19 points better than Jacobs, which scored 91 and finished second.
"I am super happy with winning the conference but I thought we could have done better in the sprints," said Huntley coach Jim Rolando. "After great performances at the (McHenry) county meet and at Lockport we had a little bit of a letdown tonight. It was a bit of wake up call. We now need to get to work for next week's sectionals."
Red Raider standout Dubem Anikamadu, who missed the 200 because of sickness, won the 100 in a time of 11.12.
"I didn't feel the best and I didn't run very well," said the Huntley junior. "I was a little off. I didn't get off to a good start and I just had enough to win."
Other individual first place efforts for the Red Raiders were Melvin Aninagyei (triple jump, 43 feet, ¼ inch) and Brian Bala (110 hurdles, 14.99).
Huntley also won the 400 relay (42.41) and the 800 relay (1:29.60).
Jacobs, which placed second, garnered 4 first-place finishes. Zach Albrecht ran away from the field on the last lap to win the 1,600 in a snappy time of 4:17.55. Crystal Lake South's Jack Becker was second with a clocking of 4:22.83.
"I timed it where I took the lead on the last lap," said the Jacobs sophomore. "I had to fight through some fatigue at the end but I felt pretty fresh at the finish."
Others claiming top accolades for the Golden Eagles were Aidan Ludlum (200, 22.48), Jermaine Maegdlin-Fergus (300 hurdles, 39.27) and Loren Strickland (long jump, 21-5½).
Crystal Lake South posted a third-place finish with 79 points.
Jon Prus nipped McHenry's Maki Mohr (1:56.45) at the finish line to win the 800 for the Gators in a time of 1:55.36.
"I went out really fast and wanted to pace myself a little in the second half but felt really good and kept going at the really fast pace," said Prus. "I have changed my pre-race preparation and I have isolated myself before the race with music. It worked tonight."
Other first-place winners for the Gators were Connor Buckner (400, 50.30) and Sam Peschke (pole vault, 13-7).
Dundee-Crown, which didn't land any first place finishers, finished fourth with 74 points. Second-place efforts came from Dylan Becker (long jump, 200), Ace Aclaro (triple jump), Kareem Dunner (high jump) and Meante Foster (100).
Cary-Grove finished sixth with 43 points. Andrew Stokes popped a throw of 56-2½ on his last toss of the night to win the shot put.
"It felt great," said Stokes. "Everything came together on that throw. I feel great going into sectionals."