State meet at end of era

This weekend will be the end of an era in track and field in Illinois.

After the final runner crosses the finish line in the 1,600-meter relay finals on Saturday in Charleston, the two-class system will come to an end.

This weekend will also mark the end of another era in track and field.

One of the most decorated runners to ever come out of the Mid-Suburban League will race for the final time on the blue track at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium.

Senior Kevin Havel will compete in his fourth and final state meet, and the question is, just what will he do?

Havel qualified in the 1,600- and 3,200-meter runs, but the potential of the Stanford-signee running on the Huskies' 3,200-meter relay team also is there.

"We are weighing all of the options there, but the relay is certainly a possibility," said Hersey coach Ken Blazek.

Hersey comes in with the second fastest time out of the sectionals to Conant and has run the fastest time this season in the event with Havel on board.

The Huskies will join the Cougars, Stevenson, Rolling Meadows and perennial medal winner Prospect in the race that will kick off the Class AA session today.

The 115th edition of the oldest track and field state meet in the nation will open with the Class AA prelims in the field events and running events starting at 1 p.m. The finals are Saturday and scheduled to start at 11 a.m. in the field and noon on the track.

If Havel does run on the relay, it can only add more intrigue to the 1,600-meter run later in the afternoon.

Havel will be in the spotlight, but he will share it with Conant junior Jeff Thode and fellow Stanford signee and top-seed from the sectionals Chris Derrick of Neuqua Valley.

For as good as Havel and Derrick have been all season, it's Thode who has the best time in the state this year and among the 10 fastest times in the nation. His 4:10.8 clocking shattered the Mid-Suburban League record two weeks ago.

Erik Stanton of Hersey and Tyler Hinckley of Conant will also race in what should be the signature contest of Friday's prelims.

Senior Nick Lane of Grayslake North has designs on racing in the finals as well. With each week, the Wisconsin-Milwaukee-bound Lane has gotten better.

Lane seemingly runs without fear and runs very well tactically, which should be a huge benefit as the 1,600 field can be crowded. Lane ran at state last spring in the 3,200-meter run but failed to medal. He should be right there in the battle for a top-12 spot and a chance to race in the finals on Saturday.

Field events figure to be the spot that could produce the most medals for the area, particularly in the jumping events.

Seniors Ty Kirk of Rolling Meadows and Tim Williams of Palatine are returning medalists from a year ago and should figure prominently in the medal hunt this weekend.

Kirk was a runner-up finisher in the triple jump and should have his legs back after just getting over a case of mono. Kirk is also a top-five seed in the long jump where he will again lock horns with Williams.

Williams looked sharp last week in both jumps and should be in the title hunt in both events this weekend.

Jamell Ross of Mundelein, Joey Baterdene of Hoffman Estates, Michael Karwowski of Elk Grove and Andrew Stein of Lakes will all compete in the long jump.

Williams is also a key figure for the Pirates on the track. His contributions to the 800 and 1,600 relays could make Williams a busy man on Friday and Saturday.

The Pirates' 1,600 relay team had the second-fastest time out of the sectionals and will certainly be a medal contender with Mat Smoody, Dan Sutton and Matt Wiggan joining him.

The Pirates aim to be in the team race with Smoody and Williams leading the way. Smoody is seeking to become the Pirates' first repeat state champion since Andy Merutka won the shot put in 1961 and '62.

Smoody captured the 800-meter run at state last year.

The 800 will be the most well-represented event at state for local competitors.

Derek Hall of Grant, Ryan Mangone of Barrington, Karsen Green of Warren and Jarod Zygmunt of Grayslake Central all qualified and all ran very fast times. Repeat efforts could turn the finals in the 800 into a Lake County invitational in that event.

Repeating was what Pat Ziegenfuss of Prospect was hoping for last week at the sectional, and he came through with two wins.

After winning conference titles in both hurdles races the week before, Ziegenfuss ran a pair of season bests in the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles.

Though he has some work to do, Ziegenfuss has an excellent chance to race twice this weekend in each event.

Lakes is represented at state by its largest contingent in the short three-year history of the program. While Stein will jump in the long and triple jumps as the new school record-holder in both events, DeGrave will be in the hunt for a medal in the 300 intermediate hurdles.

Earlier in the day, Antioch senior Lamarr Pottinger will look to atone for his first appearance at state last spring.

Pottinger had a hurdle from another lane knocked into his lane, causing him to cross the lane line and forcing a disqualification. This time Pottinger is in the hunt for a medal.

While Pottinger will be looking to make amends for last season, Wauconda junior Garrett Dorsey will be competing in his first state meet.

Dorsey ran a personal best 49.84 at sectionals last week in the 400-meter dash. In what should be one of the faster and tougher races at state this spring, Dorsey will be in for a stern test in order to make the finals.