Kane repeat: West is best

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

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."

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

Blackhawks coach Cortney Lamb reviews the history of the meet with his team each year, which is one of the reasons they 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."

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.

The Blackhawks won the 800 and 1600 relays, junior Aviance King was second in the high jump, and Kevin Costin was second in both the shot put and discus.

Geneva junior Frank Boenzi won the shot put and discuss.

"There is so much competition at this meet," Boenzi said. "Me and the kid from West Aurroa (Costin) were going at it pretty good. I've been working on being more consistent and I think I'm still trying to get that down."

Vikings senior Andrew Nelson ran a new personal record time in the 3,200 (9:16.59), which would have been a new meet record if it wasn't for Marmion's Andrew Larsen. Larsen set the meet record with a time of 9:08.92 - 11 seconds faster than the previous record set by Mike McDonnell in 2006.

Nelson and Larsen have been competing against each other since the cross country season, which has created a mutual respect.

"I just set a new PR by 16 seconds, so it's very exciting," Larsen said. "I was just trying to get a win, but Nelson is a stud and I was just trying to hold him off."

Nelson did capture a win in the 1,600, edging out Dundee-Crown sophomore Anthony Manfrin over the last 400 meters to secure the victory.

"The two mile (3200) really taxed my legs, so I was just trying to hang in there," Nelson said. "I found an extra gear and was able to hang on at the end. This is such a great meet. It's so competitive with guys like Anthony (Manfrin) and Andrew Larsen."

Batavia senior J.R. Kabba finished second in the 100 to Zinzer, but came back motivated for the 200 and found something extra for the win.

"I was a little angry running the 200 because Zinzer got me in the 100," Kabba said. "My coach was behind me the whole time coaching me and helping me when I was in my blocks, so I was able to get a good start off the blocks."

Kaneland junior Logan Markuson was second in the 110-meter hurdles and pole vault, and won the 300 hurdles.

"Waller ran a great race today and really pushed me," Markuson said. "It's nice to have all of this great competition in one place and it's great to be able to run against these guys."

Knights Nick Sinon cleared 6 feet, 8 inches to win the high jump, which set a new personal record for the junior.

St. Charles North senior Max Clink won the 800 in 1:55.43, nearly setting a new meet record in the process. Marmion's Oscar Aguinaga darted out to start the race and held the lead after the first 400 meters. Clink appeared boxed in between Geneva's Drew Hickey and the Chargers Nathan Prom as Aguinaga began to separate from the pack.

However, Clink was able to find an opening and turned on the jets over the last 200 meters to complete the comeback victory.

"He (Aguinaga) took control of that race early, and then I got a little boxed in," Clink said. "It worked out and opened up, so I just kicked it home and it all worked out."

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

"I was hoping that I was 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."

Elgin's Adam Kuforiji won the 400 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.