Burlington Central off to a flying start
Another year and another strong Burlington Central boys track team.
The Rockets came charging out of the gates at the recent Geneva and Batavia invitationals and fared well against teams they will see in the postseason.
Central took fourth at Geneva. Paco Wleklinski won the pole vault at 13-6, while the Rockets' 800 relay team of Kyle Kita, Tom Gast, TJ Pasia and Nick Smith won in a time of 1:32.24.
At the forefront at Batavia was junior Kita who won the 100 and the 200 and was part of Central's 400 and 800 first-place relays.
"He's always been real talented," said Central coach Mike Schmidt. "Last year, he really didn't get to compete a lot. This year he's healthy and fully committed. He's working hard and is committed to track. He's got a lot going for him."
Kita was part of a 400 team that included Gast, Pasia and Smith. Mitch Plumb replaced Pasia in the 800. Both teams were already close to Class 2A state-qualifying times.
Central also received key contributions from Smith (second in the 100), Tre Llanes (won the 110 hurdles), Joe Manzie (pole vault winner) and Wleklinski (second in pole vault).
Smith anchored both relay teams and had to come from behind in both races.
"He's really improved from last year," said Schmidt. "Last year was his first year in track and he was raw and didn't have much form. He's fixed some issues and really improved. He was third in the 4-by-2 when he got the baton and was second in the 4-by-1."
Central also excelled in a recent meet against Dixon, Oregon and Byron. Central won the meet with 93 points, bettering the 89-point effort of Dixon (which is in Central's sectional). Oregon is perennially Central's key rival in the Big Northern Conference.
Smith ran 10.75 in the 100 and 21.97 in the 200. Llanes won the 110 hurdles in 15.72.
"We ran very well," said Schmidt, whose team hosts the annual Rocket Relays Thursday.
Jacobs boys: The Jacobs boys team took third at the Riverside-Brookfield meet recently. Jake Lawson led the way for the Golden Eagles by clearing 13-6 in the pole vault.
"Other than that we are waiting to get healthy and see what our young kids can do," said Jacobs coach Jason Borhart. "We have a good group of seniors and juniors and we have some promising young/new athletes that we are excited to see what they can do."
Jacobs just got hurdler Danny Trevor back from a sprained ankle he suffered at the Prep Top Times indoor meet. Trevor competed at the Gus Scott Invitational at Naperville North this past weekend.
Dundee-Crown boys: Dundee-Crown came away with numerous highlights from the Geneva invitational.
D-C's 3,200 relay team ran 7:59.01 (FAT). That team includes Dan Magnant, Nathan Prom, Jon Magnant and Anthony Manfrin.
"That is an awesome time for this time of the year," said D-C coach Tom Smith. "We broke the meet record, yet finished in an exciting race with Geneva. We feel great about it because we know Geneva has one of the better 3,200 teams in the state."
Manfrin also set the D-C school record in the 1,600 with a time of 4:18.3.
"What a great day he had," said Smith.
Aaron Reams won the triple jump.
"Aaron has been very consistent the last 10 days-all jumps in the 40s and most of them 43-44 and his 45-0 1/4 (gave him) a great week of jumps," said Smith.
Jon Keable ran a personal-record (10:10.2) in the 3,200.
"A great sophomore time," said Smith.
Sophomore Max Kittle also continues to improve and made the finals of the 110 high hurdles.
Smith was also impressed with his team's showings in a dual meet against Cary-Grove and at the Conant Relays. D-C was second at Conant.
"We got off to a good start. I was pleased with our performance in the tough conditions at Cary," said Smith. "The (Conant) meet was a mix of varsity and frosh-soph events and I like the way or guys competed. We got a lot from a lot of guys at all levels."
In addition to the Geneva standouts, the Chargers have also been aided by the likes of Paul Smith (3,200) and Mike Wiechmann (big time drop in the 1,600).
Prom has also been valuable in other areas.
"Nathan has run great - everything from the 400 to the 1,600 - he seems very determined," said Smith. "I am extra pleased with our 4-by-4 right now (Prom, Dan Magnant, Keldrin Franz and Justin Walden). Keldrin and Justin are both seniors and are stepping up big."
Junior Matt Hellyer has been a mainstay in the sprint relays and the 200.
"Each week I see us getting better. The guys are working hard right now even though the weather has been a challenge," said Smith.
Larkin boys: Senior team captain Tyler Ortman clocked in at 42 seconds in the 300 hurdles in a recent meet with Huntley, Hampshire and St. Edward, while freshman Francisco Gonzalez broke 5 minutes in the mile in the same meet (4:59). Freshman Dan Runzel went 2:17 in the 800, while sophomore Chris Skonieczny ran 25.0 in the 200. Senior Fernando Alvarez ran 52.5 in the 400. Freshman Jalen Griffin went 11.5 in the 100 and the 3,200 relay team of freshmen Francisco Gonzales, Cyrus French and Runzel and sophomore Sam Hunley won the event.
"We've got some things to build on here," said Larkin coach Mike Scianna.
At the recent Geneva invitational, Larkin took third at the frosh-soph level. Gonzales won the 800. Brent Cook won the 100 and French won the 400. Larkin did not have any participants in 9 different events, yet still took third out of 12 teams.
Elgin boys: Junior Adam Kuforiji won 2 out of the 3 relays he was involved with at the Conant relays meet. Coach Kevin Cleveland reported Kuforiji ran a 50.1 split in the 400 (he had run 51.1 indoors).
Kuroriji also took first in the 400 (50.0) and was third in the 200 (22.7) at the Naperville North Gus Scott Classic.
Cleveland has also been pleased with the likes of juniors Hector Hernandez (shot put) and Ricardo Mancha (distance), along with sophomores Will Wood (200, 400) and Francisco Flores (400). Dennis Moore has also been a key contributor in the 100 and long jump.
"We've got a lot of young guys, but it's been encouraging," said Cleveland. "The kids we have are working really hard and keep improving at every meet."