High hurdles race could highlight NSC meet
When the lights are at their brightest and the stakes are the highest, Antioch senior Lamarr Pottinger seems to be at his best.
With the Sequoits hosting the North Suburban Conference track and field meet today, it will provide Pottinger with one more chance to shine on his home track.
Prelims in the field events will start at 4 p.m. with track prelims slated for a 4:30 p.m. start. If all goes well, finals on the track should start by 6 p.m.
Pottinger's final home meet will start in the long jump, but the event everyone will be waiting for should race about 6:15 p.m. or so -- the 110-meter high hurdles.
In what should be the best individual race of the night, Pottinger will compete in a loaded field that will feature Marcell Kirkmanbey of Lakes, Pat Callan of Libertyville and Mike Ellis of Lake Forest.
Pottinger and Kirkmanbey battled last week at the Lake County Invitational with Kirkmanbey edging out Pottinger by .02. Both were state qualifiers a year ago.
Elsewhere on the track, the 3,200 relay figures to be a great battle between top-seed and team contender Lake Forest, Stevenson and up-and-coming Lake Zurich.
Led by senior Mickey Stott, Lake Zurich popped off its fastest time of the season last week of 8:06 and is within three seconds of qualifying for state. The Bears will get that chance in a week at the Palatine sectional.
The 300 intermediate hurdles should be a great battle between two of the top distance hurdlers in the state -- Jon DeGrave of Lakes and Vernon George of Zion-Benton.
DeGrave is the top seed and one of the fastest in the area this spring with a school-record time of 39.3. George, who has one of the best long jumps this spring and is the top seed in that event, will be step-for-step with DeGrave.
In the sprinting events, keep an eye on up-and-coming sprinter Leonard Brady of Warren and senior standout Jamell Ross of Mundelein. Both should be there in the 100 and 200 finals.
Ross is also the second seed behind George in the long jump. His 22-7 effort at the county meet last week was his personal best by nearly a foot.
Wauconda junior Garrett Dorsey will get his toughest test of the season when Arius Hunt of Zion-Benton lines up in the lane next to him in the fast heat of the 400 dash. Dorsey is less than a second away from the state-qualifying mark, while Hunt is one of the top 400 runners in the state.
Adam Bassett of Mundelein, Kirkmanbey and Jeremy Birck of Libertyville will battle for the top height in the high jump. Bassett is the top seed, but injuries have slowed the senior. Birck won the county meet last week with a PR of 6-2.
Mundelein will also have the feature runner in the 800. Alex Mena is the top seed and should hook up in a good battle with Warren's Carson Greene.
Zion-Benton is the overwhelming favorite in the team race. The Zee Bees won the NSC Lake Division this spring, edging out Lake Forest.
Lakes won the NSC Prairie Division and should also stay in the mix.