Geneva shines at sectional

Geneva's Joe Augustine has been too busy winning sprints and jumping events recently to participate in the Vikings' 1,600-meter relay.

Friday at the Streamwood boys track sectional, the 6-foot-6 senior returned to his favorite event.

Running anchor behind Jeff Foster, Storm Obuchowski and Drew Hickey, Augustine helped the unit qualify for next week's state meet in Charleston.

"Coming into here, unbelievable teams," said Augustine, whose second-place finishes in long jump and the 400 also punched his downstate ticket.

Drew Isbell and Andrew Nelson joined Obuchowski and Hickey in a qualifying 3,200 relay, with Nelson advancing in the 1,600.

"We really haven't seen Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North and the talent they have, but it's just unbelievable," Augustine said. "We pushed each other -- I've been pushed like I haven't been all year with these teams."

Geneva pushed back, placing second to sectional champ Wheaton North. St. Charles North finished sixth, and St. Charles East 10th.

But place matters little at sectional. It's about time and distance.

Geneva's Frank Boenzi had the length in shot put, not the discus. Despite being the top discus seed he came up less than 2 feet short. He rectified that in shot put: 52 feet, 11 inches, two inches over the standard.

"It wasn't my best throw here, but I'm saving it for state," the sophomore said. "I just hit a slump today, but I'll get out of it and I'll throw better at state, hopefully."

For a uneasy few moments, St. Charles East sprinter Keenen Sellers didn't know where he stood after a 100-meter dash in which he vied for the crucial runner-up spot with Streamwood's Ikenna Aghade.

Sellers eventually was named the second state qualifier, and he also earned a spot in the 200 for a second straight year.

"Adrenaline's flowing, the heart was pounding," Sellers said of the hand-timed 100 final. "Like, I didn't know what happened. I just told myself I was going to go out there, run as fast as I could and whatever happens, happens."

As fast as Sellers was in the sprints, St. Charles North went out in distance.

North Stars Scott Speare, Steve Miller, Max Clink and Chris DeSilva teamed up to win the 3,200 relay in a crisp 7 minutes, 52.87 seconds.

They then dispersed to send both Miller and Clink downstate in the 800 and DeSilva in the 1,600, which he won in 4:17.61.

Topping it off, St. Charles North senior Mike Strasser won the open 3,200 and Rhett Morici also qualified.

"It's going to be fun to go downstate and just see what happens. We learned last year you really can't control what other teams do," said North Stars coach Kevin Harrington.

"But I'll tell you what, our kids have a chip on their shoulder and they're ready to run as well as we've seen them run yet."