Team effort nets W. Aurora 2nd
A second-place finish behind Wheaton North at the DuPage Valley Conference boys track meet is still top-flight.
Especially with how West Aurora got there.
There were the usual suspects -- sprinter Josh Zinzer, high jumper Aviance King, weight men Kevin Costin and Jayson Eddy, hurdler Marcus Waller.
What pleased West Aurora coach Cortney Lamb as well were the Steve McMullens, the Phil Lindgens, the Alex Chollets and Parrish McGees -- the supporting cast who helped lift the Blackhawks toward the top.
"We weren't going to catch Wheaton North," said Lamb, whose Blackhawks earned 101 points to Wheaton North's 153. "They're just too deep and they have a great, great team. But those little points from people we weren't expecting, I think pushed us into second."
"The usual suspects" include West Aurora's sprint relays. Zinzer anchored the winning 400 and 800 relays, but guys like McMullen, Darron Guyton, Leon Spears and Markus Cocroft got him the baton. On a windy day, they broke decade-long meet records with fully automated times of 41.88 seconds and 1:28.09, respectively.
"Our relays both dropped down to our best time this season," said Zinzer, who added a 200 dash victory at 22.22 seconds. "We just keep getting better, and that's what we need to do when it comes down to it at the end."
Waller took second in a grueling 300 hurdles, while King set a new personal record in high jump. After being unable to expand upon the 6-foot-7 height he achieved twice during the indoor season, the 2008 state qualifier battled Naperville Central's Russell Petty at 6-8. Petty edged out the junior, though both attempted 6-10.
"It's a friendly competition," King said. "I've been jumping against him since sophomore year, and we've been going at it since then.
"I just wanted to come out here and get a PR before sectionals," King said. "Maybe I can do it again or get higher at sectionals."
Costin won discus by nearly 13 feet, at 159-9, then went 1-2 with Eddy in shot put.
Throwing the shot 52-7.5, Costin avenged a half-inch deficit to DVC indoor winner Joe Allen of Wheaton North.
"I just wanted to come out here and show that I could compete a lot better," Costin said. "You just have bad days sometimes. I guess that was just one of them. I hope that doesn't come at state, though."
West Aurora has to get there first. Lamb thinks plenty will.
"It's a great meet to get us ready for the (Plainfield Central) sectional meet," the coach said. "I think we're going to go in there with a lot of confidence with the opportunity to qualify quite a few people for the state meet."