Ready for the important stuff
Back in business.
After an outdoor season of evaluation by their Hall of Fame coaches, of mixing and matching, grooming underclassmen and processing relay splits, Wheaton Warrenville South and York enter Friday's Class 3A Lake Park sectional each bearing a newfound head of steam.
York and "newfound" don't seem to mesh. Yet York graduated most of the athletes who paced its 2009 Class 3A state title. The Dukes' 2010 outdoor results were merely mortal until last week's West Suburban Silver victory over respected Oak Park. A 2-point win, but a biggie.
"The way it worked out, the kids really stepped up and the kids improved," said York coach Stan Reddel, who will have both his top distance runners, Jack Driggs and Andrew Smith, doubling in the 1,600 and 3,200.
At the Silver meet, a newly concocted 1,600-meter relay of Kevin Dunne, Trey Kelly, Kevin Adamik and Will Sullivan ran 3 minutes, 21.1 seconds to break a 57-year-old meet record, Reddel said. That looks good to go. He hopes the rest of the boys are, too.
"We told them the main thing was to be ready by the end of May. And as of last week that has proved well so far."
Neuqua Valley, which highlights the West Aurora sectional, has worn the 3A favorite label all season. Second to York in 2009, the Wildcats returned a core of Aryan Avant, Aaron Beattie, Cale Brown, Kyle Pembrook, Jamere Morrison, Thaddeus Johnson and David Wing while adding potential Saturday finalist Steve Carron.
The matriculation to Penn State of distance star Danny Pawola has been alleviated by numbers from this rare track program that makes cuts - numbers who include James Krist, Jaffar Mahmoud and Jordan Lagomarcino.
Even while running experimental lineups, Mike Kennedy's Wildcats always looked good. York and Wheaton Warrenville South have jelled more recently.
Reddel, the Tigers' Ken Helberg and their great assistants know exactly what they're doing in lineup tinkering. Even when they say they don't.
"That's the hardest part about being a coach. We still don't have all the answers," said Helberg, a two-time state champion like Reddel.
(In a related aside, Reddel said his 1984 state champion Walther Lutheran squad didn't win either conference or sectional titles, waiting till the end to put it all together.)
On Monday, for example, Helberg was debating what to do with senior Kevin Piraino, who's seeking a third straight state triple jump berth. Run the senior also in the 200 where he's excelled all season, or put him in the 1,600 relay for just the second time?
Helberg's picks clicked last week, even on the fly. The Tigers used depth and strength in relays and field events to cruise to the DuPage Valley Conference over crosstown power Wheaton North.
Helberg's difficulty in making sectional choices is compounded by injury questions (Andrew Dabisch, Max Heyden) and depth. A distance squad that stretches from A (Aaron Peck) to Z (Colin Zimmerman) might theoretically qualify A and B 3,200 relays.
"They're not easy decisions," Helberg said, speaking for coaches everywhere. "You just kind of look at all the data you have and make a decision and hope it works out. Sectionals are a tough night - it's the only night they can qualify, and you hope and pray the weather's going to be decent."