Nelson stars for Geneva Vikings at invitational

Andrew Nelson was the maestro for the opening event of the afternoon.

Dundee-Crown was in the midst of a brilliant run in the 3,200 relay, but the Geneva senior spoiled the Chargers' coronation. Running the final 800 meters in one minute and 53 seconds, Nelson overcame the Chargers' anchor leg to give the Vikings a win by five-hundredths of a second. The teams' final runners were 25 seconds ahead of third-place Niles North.

Nelson later returned in the 1,600-meter run and established a new meet record at the Geneva Track and Field Invitational with his blistering clocking of 4:16.21, bettering the old mile mark by five seconds. The brilliant performances enabled host Geneva to place second to Niles North, who had far too many horses in easing to the team title with 151 points.

McHenry was third with 93 points, six behind the hosts, followed by Burlington Central (75), St. Charles North (67), Dundee-Crown (43), Bishop McNamara (18) and West Chicago (12).

"My God!," said Geneva coach Gale Gross. "(The 3,200 relay) was an awesome race. You couldn't have asked anything more of them."

"I have to hand it to Chris (Higgins), Jake (Tauscher) and Nick (Pederson)," Nelson said of his teammates in their 7:58.58 clocking. "They got me in great position. There was no way I was going to let them down."

In the showdown in the open mile, Nelson established his will early, leading Dundee-Crown senior Anthony Marafin at every milestone to set the record. Marafin had to settle for second, even though he also broke the old record by three seconds with his 4:18.71.

Geneva had four other individual champions on the afternoon. Jay Graffagna captured the 200 meters in 23.38 seconds after falling short in the 100 dash; Jeff Foster had a late burst at 400 meters to win in 50.57, and Ryan Ahern emerged victorious in the 110 high hurdles with a 16.64 clocking.

Frank Boenzi, a returning medal winner in the shot put, destroyed the field with his heave of 56 feet even, and the junior was second in the discus with a throw of 152 even.

"I just try to improve little things, and hopefully (the shot) goes farther," Boenzi said. "It's the third meet (of the outdoor season for discus). I'm not too concerned. One-hundred and fifty-two (feet) is nothing to be ashamed of."

St. Charles North received running wins from Max Clink and Todd Vankerkhoff at 800 and 3,200 meters, respectively.

"I knew it was going to be tight for the first 600 meters," Clink said of his win in 1:56.28. "I figured I would be able to sprint it home."

"There were a lot of quality two-milers in the field," Vankerkhoff said.

T.J. Pasia was looking for redemption. The Burlington Central senior struggled in his two field events. But he more than made up for it with his head-turning leg of the Rockets' 800-meter relay.

Niles North sprinters were the dominant forces in its one-sided title, but the Rockets' quartet, which also showcased Kyle Kita, Tommy Gast and Nick Smith, rose to the challenge. Pasia was behind his Niles North counterpart when he received the baton, but his brilliant curve run enabled Smith to ease to the title in 1:32.34.

"We took it to them in the relays, and that's what matters," Pasia said. "We lost to Niles in the 4-by-1, and we're trying to get back at them."

Central had the top-two seeded pole vaulters in the competition, and Paco Wleklinski said his wars with teammate Joe Manzie was the difference in his event-winning effort of 13 feet, 6 inches.

"You are always competing," Wleklinski said. "You have someone you want to beat or he can beat you. It makes a huge difference. I wasn't quite there today. I know what I have to do to get better."

Aaron Reams' 44-foot, 3.5-inch effort in the triple jump was the lone title for Dundee-Crown.