Boys track and field: Athletes test boundaries at Arnold Invitational
The most dramatic moment of Glenbard West's 38th Jim Arnold Boys Track Invite came before Saturday's meet truly began.
On a run-through Lake Park senior pole vaulter Tommy Paprocki bounced off the pit cushions onto the ground, landing on the back of his neck or head.
"Honestly," he said later, "in the heat of the moment I don't remember."
First prone then sitting several minutes while his parents, Lake Park coach Jay Ivory and Lancers vault coach Doug Juraska observed a trainer's ministrations, Paprocki considered scratching out - before persevering to win the event at an even 14 feet.
"I took that one up, I completed the vault and I just felt how far I was going and I was like, I am not landing in this (pit)," said Paprocki, crushing a 15-foot, 180-pound pole like never before. "I remember I looked down, I saw myself going right to the edge of the mat and I tried to still land on it but my feet hit the very corner and it kind of flipped me backwards."
Host coach Jon Schweighardt ordered two additional cushions placed behind the pit. Paprocki's teammates Zach Frye, Michael Shuff and Drew Sheetz stood behind even those armed with football dummy pads.
"Believe it or not after that happened it actually made me more confident. Usually my only fear in vault is that the poles I'm going on I won't be able to bend," Paprocki said. "The fact that I was able to get so far in, I missed the entire pit, kind of reassured me."
Potential calamity averted, Oak Park proceeded to win the meet with 126 points followed by Glenbard West (96), Batavia (73), Wheaton North (58) and Lowell, Indiana (55). Lake Park placed ninth in the 14-team meet, Glenbard South tied for 10th. Lockport's John Meyer threw the shot put 69 feet, 9 inches to set a meet record.
Glenbard West's Tyquan Cox, Joe Zydlo, Jack Kreissler and Alec Pierce won the 800-meter relay, and Hilltoppers senior Cam Benes dealt Wheaton North's Joey Simon his first defeat this season in the open 800, indoors or out. Running 1 minute, 58.23 seconds to Simon's 1:58.60, Benes paced behind the Bradley recruit before kicking with about 300 left.
"Going into it I was kind of thinking, maybe stick behind 1-2, right there, and the second lap just give it all I've got. I tried to follow through with that," said Benes, whose teammate, Rory Cavan, finished second in the 3,200 with Cox and Pierce going 2-3 in the 200.
In the 1,600 Wheaton North's Connor Zydek broke from the pack before Lowell's Alec Fleming reeled in Zydek and Cavan. Zydek enjoyed the strong move that scored second-place points for the Falcons, along with Simon and surging 300-meter hurdler, junior Eli Odell.
"I knew that leading the entire race wasn't going to be the way for me to do that," he said. "I know I got nipped at the line, but I'm really proud of the way I raced. I feel it's a great way for me to go."
Class 2A squad Glenbard South battled these Class 3A noisemakers. Raiders junior Stevan Plavsic ran in the third of four 110 hurdles heats but his time of 16.45 seconds placed fifth overall.
"Definitely for this meet it shows you who's out there," Plavsic said. "It really gets you to start thinking, like, how good are you? Which can be negative, can be positive, but for me it's just like, having fun. You can't put yourself down. You've just got to keep going, keep going up from there."