Boys track and field: Rustay, Cossio help Mid-Suburban League make sprint history
CHARLESTON - The narrative that the Mid-Suburban League is heavy on distance dominance and not so much on the sprint side is changing, and that is just fine with Hoffman Estates junior Declan Rustay.
In the 123rd edition of the boys track and field state championships at Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Rustay and the Hawks flew through the sprinting events in record-setting fashion.
The MSL captured state titles in the 100, 200 and 400 meters all in the same state meet for the first time in state history.
So much for the distance-dominant notion.
"We swept those three and it feels pretty good - the MSL is putting its name on the map in the sprints now," Rustay said. "I guess we are a sprinting conference now."
Rustay started the race to the medal stand with an earthshaking performance in the 100. As the top seed, he burst from the start line and blew away a star-studded field to earn his first state title in 10.54.
That was just the start.
In his final individual race, the 200, Rustay overcame a slow start and from the 150-meter mark forward blew the field away again, edging Brad Garron of Evanston to win in a personal- and school-best 21.57.
Between the two races, Rustay, Daniel Banahan, Dylan Kreuzer and Anijel Jones came within inches of winning the 800 relay, running 1:27.06 to 1:27.01 against champion Batavia.
That, and an eight-place finish from Fynn Alade in the high jump (6-5), lifted the Hawks to an overall fourth-place finish with 29 points.
Edwardsville won the Class 3A title followed by East St. Louis and Bloomington.
"That was just a jaw-dropping performance," Hoffman Estates coach Tyrone Jones said. "For him to finish in 21.57 in the 200 after seven races is just unbelievable."
For Rustay, it hadn't fully sunk in yet.
"I'm speechless about this whole weekend," Rustay said. "To finish top five in the state is really the cherry on top of the whole season for us."
The MSL conga line to the medal stand continued with Barrington junior Louis Cossio.
His signature event has been the 400 and in a race he wanted a medal in, he ran so smart that the only medal he deserved was the gold.
Halfway through the 400-meter final, Cossio had casually worked his way into the top six.
Into the final 100 meters, he picked his way through the pack to the front of the field.
And in the final few steps, Cossio held off Deonte Anderson of East St. Louis to win the Broncos' first individual boys title on the track in school history, finishing in 48.33.
"Coming down to the end I felt like I had (Anderson) but wasn't sure," Cossio said. "It's going to take a while for this one to sink in, that's for sure."
Barrington's throwers earned high marks, finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.
Junior Brad Warman moved up from 12th place to fourth overall with a best mark of 57-8.25 just ahead of senior John Stefan, who finished fifth with a best mark of 57-6.75.
The MSL haul in the shot put was headed by Fremd's Ethan Hanson. His mark of 62-7.25 earned a state runner-up medal for the Missouri-bound senior.
"My main motivation was to get second for coach (Jim) Aikens," Hanson said. "To get second and to see the joy on his face was what made me really happy."
Fremd junior Jaden Jackson ran the fastest 300 hurdles of his life, finishing second in the event with a school-record time of 38.06.
The Vikings' 3,200 relay team of Danny Peterson, Ed Worthem, Jack Buban and Luke Vogelgesang ran ninth in the event in 7:55.00.
The 3,200 relay has been a staple at Prospect and the Knights took their usual place on the medal stand again. The team of Nate Cozine, Jeff Snell, Sean Sanaghan and James Riordan ran a season-best 7:48.12 for a fifth-place finish.
"As our coaches have told us so many times, pressure is privilege," Sanaghan said. "There are teams that are happy to just get to the state meet. This was such a great experience - one I won't ever forget."
Knights senior Billy Matzek picked up a pair of medals in the throws, claiming a seventh-place finish in the shot put (56-3.5) and a sixth-place spot in the discus (173-1). Sophomore Michael Shafis picked up his second straight medal in high jump, clearing 6-6 and taking fifth.
Wheeling and its team of Jason Shannon, Lawrence Knish, Blake Greenburg and Sinai Rodriguez ran 1:28. 67 to finish seventh in the 800 relay.
Palatine senior John Elischer picked up his first medal in the 300 hurdles, running 38.55 and finishing fifth.