Record finish for Thode
CHARLESTON - It's become a fact this track season and even during the cross-country season that when Conant senior Jeff Thode puts his mind to something, he usually does what he sets out to do.
So in the finals of the much-anticipated 1,600-meter run at the state track and field championships at Eastern Illinois University and O'Brien Field, Thode had a couple of goals in mind, and he was determined to achieve both of them.
The Iowa-bound Thode took the race out early and never let anyone get close. Coming through at an early blistering pace of 2:02 for the first half mile and 3:05 at 1,200-meters, Thode turned the race into his own personal mission.
When he came down the home stretch, Thode and the field brought the crowd at O'Brien Field to its feet. The roar only got lauder when Thode crossed the line as a state champion and a state record holder. The previous record of 4:07.45 set by Mark Deady of Stevenson in 1985 was replaced by Thode's mark of 4:05.17. The time is also the fastest in the nation this year.
"Well the time was almost my goal time," Thode said with a sheepish grin. "I was expecting someone else in the race to go out with me through 300, 400 meters and no one did."
The rest of the field benefitted from the fast pace as well, including Prospect senior Chris Hayek. Hayek finished down the pack from Thode and runner-up Zach Dahleen of Sandburg, but his time of 4:13.39 established a school mark for the Illinois-bound Hayek.
Hayek is also one of the most decorated medalists in Prospect history. His two medals at state this weekend gives the Illinois-bound Hayek four medals, tying Clark Wilson for most in school history.
Prospect earned a third consecutive medal in the 3,200 relay by placing fourth overall. Pat Ford, Ryan Lynch and Albert Ciolek joined Hayek on the relay.
As a team, Prospect finished in a tie for ninth in the team race. York captured its first state championship since 2000 and third overall. Hillcrest cruised to the Class AA title while Oregon captured the Class A title.
While Thode was able to complete his mission in the 1,600, the 800 didn't exactly go as planned. The race was billed as a battle between Thode and Barrington senior Ryan Mangone. Through the first 600 meters the race was exactly that. But evidently someone forgot to tell Maine South senior Ryan Lynn about all of this.
With just under 200 meters to go, Lynn snuck up on Thode and Mangone and passed them both. Before either runner knew what had happened, it was too late.
"(Lynn) was there and then he was past us," Mangone said. "I was focusing on Thode and felt like I was going to be able to put it into gear and break from Thode. Then the Maine South guy came out of nowhere."
Mangone finished second in the 800 and Thode dropped to fifth overall.
While the day was odd for Thode and Mangone in that race, the day almost was a disaster for Rolling Meadows senior Mick Viken. As the top overall seed in the pole vault, Viken came in at 15-3.Typically this is an easy height for a vaulter that is consistently over 16 feet, but it turned out to be a struggle on Saturday.
After successive misses at that height, Viken was facing the real possibility of not making a height at all and not earning a medal. Instead, he calmly cleared the height on his last attempt and rolled from there. The Wisconsin-bound Viken ultimately cleared 16-10 to establish a school record.
"Mentally and physically, those early jumps took a lot out of me because 15-3 is kind of a nonchalant height for me," said Viken. "I just zoned in on that third attempt and cruised from there."
The victory also marked the first pole vault gold medal in the Viken family. With Don and Dave in attendance, the victory was much sweeter for Mick Viken.
"Today was about my coaches and my two brothers," Viken said. "(Dave and Don) didn't get a chance to win a title down here so I really wanted to get one for them too."
Saturday was also moving day for seniors Matt Newman of Buffalo Grove and Matt Babicz of Prospect.
Babicz had already earned a medal in the shot put, but had his sights set on big things in the discus. On his final attempt of his Prospect career, Babicz just let the disc fly and hit a best throw of 176-8, moving up to third overall in the event.
"My coaches just told me to just have fun and let it all go on my last throw," Babicz said. "Most guys train for each meet, but we trained for this day and I wanted to put everything into one last throw."
Newman had a much better day in the Saturday finals cruising through the heights until he hit 6-11. Newman, who just recently signed with Iowa, earned his third consecutive medal in the event, this time with a runner-up finish.
Other medal winners on Saturday included, Matt Perez of Hoffman Estates with a fifth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run, Alec Bollman of Palatine (eighth in the 1,600), Jeff Bobek of Fremd (eighth in the discus), Erick Louis Charles of Rolling Meadows (fourth in the shot), Alan Baxter of Buffalo Grove (seventh in the shot), Kyle Reid of Conant (eighth in the 300 hurdles) and Mangone, who followed up his second-place finish in the 800 with a sixth-placed effort in the 400.