It's 'Prom Night' for Dundee-Crown at Kane County meet

Doubling seems to agree with Dundee-Crown mid-distance runner Nathan Prom.

On April 24 at the Peterson Prep Invitational at Kaneland, Prom shook off a sore groin to win the 800-meter race in meet record time and later came back to win the mile.

Friday night at the annual Kane County Boys Track Meet, held in windy conditions at West Aurora, Prom swept his two best events yet again by racing to victory in the 800 (1:55.96) and the mile (4:27.32).

In the 800, Prom was among a group of four bunched runners when he made his move after 500 meters. Boxed in, he found room to the outside, made his move to the front and never looked back. His time was three seconds faster than the second-place finisher and almost two seconds below this year's Class 3A state qualifying standard of 1:57.74.

"I wanted to win the 800 because I was seeded first," Prom said after running a leg for his 1,600-meter relay team, which finished sixth. "The mile I knew was just packed. I could have (finished) anywhere from first to tenth depending on how I ran. But I ran a pretty good race, so I was happy."

Prom outdistanced Zach Young of Marmion in the mile by 1.33 seconds.

"We talked all week about the possibility he could double, but it's tough to win both of them," Dundee-Crown coach Tom Smith said. "I thought he ran smart. Times aren't good with conditions, but he ran really good tactical races. He got it done. He's running very impressively right now."

West Aurora ran away with the team championship with 126.5 points, followed by Kaneland (103), Geneva (73), St. Charles North (68) and Dundee-Crown (28).

Elgin finished tenth and Larkin twelfth. Injuries and illnesses left Burlington Central's lineup decimated, and the Rockets finished last out of the 13 teams in attendance with 7 points. Cameron Ostrowski earned 6 of Central's points by finishing third in the high jump (6-foot-3).

Larkin sophomore Cyrus French gained 8 points for the Royals by finishing second in the 400 with a time of 51.36, second only to Derek Bus of Kaneland (51.12).

Elgin senior Adam Kuforiji, the defending Kane County champion in the 400, opted not to compete in order to attend his prom. Freshman Jeffrey Broger garnered 4 points for the Maroons by placing fourth in the 200 dash (23.40).