Three-peat for Barrington won't be easy

As the two-time defending champion of the Jim Nagel Mid Suburban League Indoor Invitational, Barrington would seem to be the favorite -- at least on paper.

However, with the track and field cast that Palatine returns this year plus strong teams at Hersey, host Wheeling and Schaumburg, the battle for a three-peat will be anything but easy for the Broncos.

Barrington will try and win for the third straight year Saturday at Wheeling.

The Broncos and eight other schools will start field events at 9:30 a.m., with finals on the track slated for 11 a.m.

The Broncos were hit hard by graduation, losing standouts like Brian LeSeur, Nick Magiera and Andre Anderson.

But with Jayson Taylor and Sam Ojuri in the fold, Barrington will hardly back down from the other competitors.

"Everyone is talking about Palatine and Rolling Meadows and other teams in the conference this year," said Barrington coach Todd Kuklinski. "That's fine by us because we believe we have a good team that can compete with anyone."

Ojuri is another sprinter in a long line of good ones for the Broncos, but his task will be anything but easy with the challenges of Wheeling's Phil Rifkin, Deonte Hackler of Schaumburg and Elk Grove's Jason Zerfahs.

In the field events, the throws are wide open -- with Peter Rothbart of Wheeling and Dan Fallon of Fremd expected to challenge in the shot put.

Tim Williams of Palatine and Pawel Zurkowski of Elk Grove will be two of the top jumpers at Wheeling in the long and triple jumps.

Wheeling's Abel Rangel will also be a factor in the long jump as a two-time state qualifier.

Ed Anderson of Palatine is just another Pirate who should help vault the Pirates to the top in the team race.

Senior Mat Smoody is expected to compete, which should make for fast 400- and 800-meter competitions.

Hersey senior Kevin Havel will have his first chance to show off his skills in the final Nagel run of his brilliant four-year career.

Havel's specialties are the mile and 3,200-meter runs, and he likely will contribute on a Huskies relay.

Prospect and Rolling Meadows will also compete at Wheeling, giving the Knights and Mustangs a chance to show their talent before the outdoor campaign starts in three weeks.

Palatine challenged Barrington in 2007 for the team title, but it could be the Broncos chasing the Pirates this year.