Elgin's Adam Kuforiji sparkles in 400 again at invitational

For the second straight year, West Aurora edged Geneva in one of the longest running invitationals in the state of Illinois - the Kane County boys track and field meet.

The Blackhawks scored 101.5 points and displayed the team balance that has made them one of the area's strongest squads this spring.

Elgin's Adam Kuforiji continued his impressive season by winning the 400 meters in 49.84, making up several meters over the last 200 to pull out the victory.

"Down there on the curb I had a bit of distance to make up and I was thinking that I should have started out faster, but I was able to turn it on and make up the ground," Kuforiji said.

Dundee-Crown won the 3,200 relay and the Chargers' Aaron Reams won the triple jump. Burlington Central's Paco Wleklinski won the pole vault.

"I was hoping that I was going to do pretty good, but then it got hot outside," Reams said. "It wasn't my best, but I still have time to work more on my form."

Geneva was second with 78, Batavia third with 77.50, Marmion fourth with 74, and Kaneland fifth with 62.

West Aurora coach Cortney Lamb reviews the history of the meet with his team each year, which is one of the reasons the Blackhawks look forward to it.

"It's a great meet. It's a great meet to be a part of and all of the other teams that come here are very good teams," Lamb said. "We've been in this meet for 91 years now, so it's really something to look forward to. We really emphasize this one and make sure we highlight it on the calendar every year."

Senior standout Josh Zinzer has competed in this meet for the past four years and indicated that it helps provide a good measure of the talent he'll see at the sectional in two weeks.

"This race features some of the best runners in the area," Zinzer said. "The relay teams are great, so it's a good preparation for the sectional."

Zinzer won the 100 in a time of 10.98 and finished second in the 200 in 22.27. Marcus Waller entered the meet as the fifth ranked 110-meter hurdler, and was still third after the preliminaries. However, the sophomore hurdler found another gear when it counted to win the race and establish a new personal record of 15.09 in the process.

"It's a great feeling," Waller said. "I was hoping for fifth place, but this is a great feeling."

Waller also finished second in the 300-meter hurdles in a time of 39.57.