Track and field: Mundelein's Nuzzo living a dream with sprint school record
CHARLESTON - Dreaming big has never been a problem for Mundelein junior Bobby Nuzzo.
Instead of dreaming about running at the state meet in the 100-meter dash, Nuzzo lived it.
As part of the Class 3A prelims on Friday at the state track and field championships at Eastern Illinois' O'Brien Field, Nuzzo competed for the first time and took full advantage of his dream.
In lane seven of the third prelim heat, Nuzzo used the healthy wind gust at his back and the comfortably warm 80-plus degree temperatures to win the event in a school-record 10.68.
He broke his own record, set just two weeks ago.
"This was such a relief," Nuzzo said. "I am so happy that all the work I put in this season paid off. I won my heat at state - it just feels awesome."
That awesome feeling wasn't lost on many of the area competitors Friday.
Antioch senior Landon Keefover also was successful in his heat in the 110 high hurdles.
The Nebraska-bound Keefover avoided a sluggish start to breeze through the field and win his heat in a quick 14.26.
He is the No. 2 qualifier behind defending state champion and current state-record holder Travis Anderson of Edwardsville.
"Slow start for sure, but once I got to the halfway point, I felt comfortable and knew I had the race," Keefover said. "Now the focus is on trying to get Travis tommorrow in the finals."
A veteran team - Lake Zurich - has positioned itself well for big things on Saturday.
The Bears' top-seeded relay team of Brian and Kyle Griffith, Matt Pereira and Kyle Fitzgerald ran the second-fastest prelim time of 7:48.56.
Only Neuqua Valley, which won the heat, is between the Bears and a state title in the event.
"Today was about getting through to Saturday," Brian Griffith said. "When I saw Isaiah (Robinson of Neuqua Valley) right there with me, I knew we had a fast time and we would be in. Now we have to ramp it back up and get ready to run faster tommorrow."
Both Griffiths also earned qualifying spots in the 1,600.
Kyle has the 10th-fastest time into the finals at 4:18.24. Brian ran second in his heat, qualifying in 4:18.00.
The race also took Grayslake Central senior Jack Aho into the finals as he ran 4:18.07.
"It turned into a pack race," Kyle Griffith said of the 1,600. "At the end I felt like I had to go to get the pace going and I was glad that I did."
Lake Zurich senior Jake Stevens also earned a finals spot in the pole vault. He cleared 14-6 and will vault for a Class 3A medal on Saturday.
Aidan Williamson of Vernon Hills also put his work in during the Class 2A session in the pole vault. He cleared 13-3 to earn a shot at a medal.
The Cougars' 3,200-relay team also will be represented in Saturday's finals running 8:06.93. Nick Mohrdieck, Shane Williamson, Stephen Auw and Tim Krashevsky will represent the Cougars in the finals.
A spot in the state finals has become a regular occurrence for Lakes senior Cameron Ruiz.
For the fourth consecutive year, he will compete for a medal. He will do so as the top seed and defending state champion in the triple jump and as the second seed and defending state champion in the long jump.
Ruiz put in a full day's work this week, taking all three jumps in both events.
His best triple jump effort of 48-7.5 put him in prime spot to defend his title. His best long jump mark of 23-7.5 has him behind Davion Cross of West Aurora (23-11.25).
"This means a lot to me because I had to look deep because I was facing adversity and I had to overcome the hamstring injury," said the Northwestern-bound Ruiz. "It means a lot to me that I have my coaches and parents pulling for me."
Warren junior Brandon Ellis punched his ticket to the finals in the long jump by clearing the required 6-4 without a miss.
Stevenson earned a pair of qualifiers into the finals. Much like he did at the sectional meet the week before, senior Jordan Eng hit his best jump on his first attempt. Eng jumped 22-5.75 to finish third in his flight and earn a shot at a state medal.
Teammate Anand Batbaar continued to improve in the shot put.
His best mark of 54-3.5 was nearly a 2-foot improvement from his personal best of a week ago earning him a spot in the state finals.
Other area athletes who competed on Friday included Jonathon Powell and Noah Lukz of Stevenson, McNemon Vincent and James Hommer of Vernon Hills, Nick Garcia and Jeff Milostan of Lakes, Henry Halverson and Josh Polark of Grant, Alex Moran and Liam O'Connell of Grayslake North, Alex Tam of Libertyville and Francisco Villanueva of Round Lake.