Palatine runner-up at Carlin Nalley invite
It's been said before: Running a boys track team is like assembling a puzzle.
Lacking a key piece and using others out of place, coach John Nalley achieved something his Palatine Pirates did just once prior in 15 years attending the meet named for his father -- the 41st annual Carlin Nalley Track & Field Invitational, Saturday at Naperville North.
Without Tim "Mookie" Williams' all-state long jump and sprinting speed for all but the early 400-meter relay because of back pain, and entering defending state 800 winner Mat Smoody in the 3,200, Palatine still took third out of 24 Class AA schools in the two-class meet.
"I'm excited," John Nalley said. "We've only gotten third here once before and we got third today. So we can walk away with a plaque with my dad's name on it. That's always good."
Sequenced between its Mid-Suburban League West division title and this week's conference meet, Nalley had questions.
He got answers.
"We kind of played around with the lineup. To be in the hunt for the title was kind of a surprise because we weren't really sure that we were going to be doing something like that," said Nalley, whose squad followed Waubonsie Valley and Bolingbrook.
He saw sophomore Alex Bollman and senior Kevin O'Brien run second and third, respectively, in the 1,600.
Senior Alex Mourousias lopped 20 seconds off his 3,200 time to place fourth in that event.
"Those are some big performances for us," Nalley said. "And George Faber winning the (300) intermediates (hurdles)."
Faber edged Conant's Kyle Reid at the MSW meet. Saturday he beat St. Ignatius' Sal Salvato in a race between sub-40-second 300 hurdlers.
"I started freshman year and it's working freshman year to now. Four years later it's finally starting to pay off," Faber said. "I came out not an all-star hurdler or anything, just a normal guy coming out to practice every day doing all the little things. And everything pulls together."
Nick Busch, he of the Shaun "Flying Tomato" White locks, claimed the high jump title. Senior Sean McDonough took third, another question answered.
Busch admitted to worrying about slipping during the cold, rainy day, particularly attempting 6 feet, 6 inches. He found a dry spot at 6-4.
"I was praying that I'd just get some openings because it was so rainy," he said. "My 6-4, on my second jump, I got an opening so I just decided to go ahead and get it. And I cleared it."
Rolling Meadows also was not at full strength. Namely, state contender Ty Kirk had battled a week-long illness. Still, he won triple jump at 46 feet, 3½ inches, and was second in long jump at 20-6¼.
Teammate Stan Pheteau took second in the 110 hurdles. The senior three-sport athlete has worked to improve, coach Jim Voyles said.
"In indoor (Bolingbrook's Corvé Smith) beat me by probably a whole second," Pheteau said. "And I lost to him by maybe an inch or two today. Everything's progressing."