Bartlett's Karys has state's best long jump

Bartlett boys jumping star Dan Karys has made quite an impression this season.

Karys currently owns the state's top reported long jump in Class 3A (23 feet, 9 inches; second overall reported jump in the state regardless of class). Bartlett coach Jeff Bral said Karys' mark is among the top 20 reported in the country.

"He's a good jumper," said Bral. "He's also top 5 in the triple jump. Dan is our anchor. He's kind of doing everything for us."

But Karys is far from the only Bartlett track athlete making noise this season.

"I'm pleased with where our other events are going," said Bral.

Josh Hasenberg and Semi Oyewole have both cleared 6-feet in the high jump.

"I expect a lot more from them once we really get rolling here," said Bral.

Sophomore Chris Baumann has hit over 42-feet in the triple jump, while Gianni Pietanza has thrown 146-4 in the discus.

Jasen Massey has been a constant in the 100 and 200 for the Hawks, while Mike Romack has excelled in the 300 hurdles.

Bartlett's 800 and 1,600 relay teams have also been flourishing. The 800 team features Baumann, Massey, Zach Konstanzer and Karys, while the 1,600 team is made up of Josafat Gonzalez, Robert Trotter or Hasenberg, Konstanzer and Karys. Karys has run under 50 seconds in a split in the 1,600 relay.

Bartlett will head to the Crystal Lake Central invitational Friday.

"We are expecting some good things," said Bral. "This is the first time we are going to the meet with a full team (Bartlett's prom is on Saturday this year)."

Huntley boys: Red Raiders coach Jim Rolando likes how the second-half of April has been shaping up for his team.

"We competed well at the Cary-Grove invite and the Freeport invite and were pleased with our overall performance at the county meet last weekend," said Rolando. "We have a number of younger guys who are stepping into various events for us and making big improvements as the season has progressed. In fact, we had more freshmen than seniors compete in the county meet."

At Freeport (third-place finish), Huntley won both the 400 and 800 relays (breaking the school record in the 400 relay while running in the slow heat). Alex Beruscha won the 1,00 and set a new school and meet record in the process. Throws standout Marcus Popenfoose won both the shot and discus and broke the meet record in both events.

Huntley's 400 and 800 relay teams also won McHenry County titles. The 400 relay team features Josh Sivila, Tor Larkin, Jeremy Hansen and Matt Hammer, while the 800 team has Larkin, Hansen, Hammer and Brandon Luczak.

"We were pleased with our times especially since the wind was blowing at least 20 miles per hour with even bigger gusts at various times," said Rolando of the county effort.

Popenfoose won the shot and discus at count and established a new county record in the discus. Beruscha took third in the highly competitive 1,600. Huntley was third as a team at county.

"We projected that we could score between 60 and 70 points and we finished with 65," said Rolando.

Asama Itseumah and CJ Ayemoba have also been key contributors. Itseumah has broken the school records in the long jump and triple jump, while Ayemoba, a freshman, has also excelled in both the long and triple jumps. Itseumah and Ayemoba are cousins.

Huntley also has no shortage of key runners in the 100 and 200 races. Four different sprinters have run close to the school record in the 100, while 3 runners have broken the old school record in the 200. Hansen was the first to run school-record time earlier in the season, Hammer then broke the 200 record in the finals at county (Hansen again ran faster than the old school record in that meet). And in a recent triangular, Larkin came within 0.1 of the school record in both the 100 and 200.

"It's been a fun time trying to keep the school records page updated on our bulletin board," said Rolando.

Burlington Central boys: The Rockets will head to the competitive Crystal Lake Central invitational today. The Rockets won the CLC title in 2007.

"There are a lot of good schools there," said Central coach Mike Schmidt. "It's always a competitive meet.

The Rockets will really kick things into high gear with the Kane County meet scheduled for next Friday at Streamwood (Larkin hosting).

Central recently took second at its own Rocket Relays and lost to Richmond in a triangular meet (Central did not have its full lineup).

On the individual front, Paco Wleklinski recently set the school record in the pole vault (14-3), while Mitch Plumb has seen his 400 time drop into the 51s.

Schmidt has also been pleased with the progress of Brogan Petersen.

"Brogan has really stepped up," said Schmidt, of his 400 and 800 runner. "His 400 split is in the 52s and that's a big move for him. He's really bringing down his 800 time. He's come a long way."

Cary-Grove boys: The Trojans have no shortage of individual standouts this season.

Distance star Phil Fairleigh has run as low as 9:31 in the 3,200. Joe Ryan has been a standout in the 400, while Bill Roth has also been solid in the 3,200. Ryan Psenka has gone in the 159s in the discus, while the trio of Eddy Gibbons, Ryan Gustafson and Kai Rikardsen have run well in both the 800 and the 1,600.

"We're solid individually," said Holter. "We lack a little bit in depth, but we've got some younger guys who are developing very well."

Dundee-Crown boys: D-C coach Tom Smith was thrilled with his 3,200 relay team's effort at the Kaneland meet recently. That group (Dan Magnant, Jon Magnant, Nathan Prom and Mike Wiechmann) finished second. The relay was missing standout Anthony Manfrin.

D-C was fourth as a team at Kaneland with 10 points separating the first 4 teams.

Aaron Reams won the triple jump and was second in the high hurdles to keep his recent hot streak going.

Smith also said Justin Walden and Ian Salvatini have added to the team's sprint relay depth, while Keldrin Franz has been a help in the field and on the track. John Holliday recently threw a personal-best 130-0 in the discus.

At the frosh-soph level, Smith cited strong performances from Robert Medina, Ryan Saylor and Mike Rice in the middle distances, along with Ryan Smith in the distance races, Rene Celis in the shot, Jared Prom in the discus and Mike Adkins in the sprints.

Larkin boys: Larkin recently hosted a meet against Bartlett and St. Charles East and had success on the frosh-soph level. Francisco Gonzales and Dan Runzel took first and second respectively in the 3,200. Gonzales also won the mile and Runzel won the 800. Cyrus French won the 400. French, Gonzales, Runzel and Chris Skonjeczy won the 1,600 relay. Skonjeczy also won the 100. Brent Cooks won the 200. Larkin also won the 400 and 800 relays. The team also saw great improvements from Mike Herbald and Roland Johnson in the shot put and discus.

Larkin will host a meet next Tuesday that will include a featured race for some of the school's special needs kids.