Prospect's Batcha nails down three state berths
It was a particularly good day to be a Knight at the Loyola Class 3A boys track and field sectional Thursday.
It was an even better day for Prospect junior Nick Batcha.
Of the four events in which Batcha competed in, he qualified for state in three - including winning the long jump. His second-to-last jump of 22-10.5 broke the school record of 22-9 set by John Astreides in 2009 and eclipsed the Loyola stadium record.
"I was thinking about my events all day today," said Batcha, who admitted he was a bit nervous. "But then I hit my first jump and my first jump in finals was better and everything was good form there."
In the team race, Evanston won the sectional title with 111 points. Prospect was fourth with 54 and Hersey finished ninth (21).
Batcha qualified in the 100 by finishing fourth in an elite finals heat that featured defending outdoor champion and Stanford-bound Colin Hepburn of Glenbrook South.
Then it was time for Batcha to bring some teammates with him.
In the long storied history of Prospect track and field, no team has been as quick as the team of Batcha, Nick Meersman, Vito Anzalone and Joe Mack in the 800 relay - and the foursome took that to another level Thursday.
The group shattered a 28-year-old school mark by running 1:28.77 to earn a state berth.
"I ran on the relay just one other time this year and I didn't do so well, so I didn't want to let my teammates down this time," Batcha said.
The day would not have been complete without the Knights qualifying in the 3,200 relay. Mike Thill, Albert Ciolek, Kellen Strobel and Matt Ashton ran a season-best 7:50.27 to finish second behind New Trier and grab a state spot.
"Coach just told us to go for 8-flat and if we end up faster just go for it," said Strobel, who will be making his first trip to the state meet.
Just behind the Knights were the Mid-Suburban League champion Huskies. Hersey was faster than a week ago, running 7:53.06. But junior Nate Knautz believes the Huskies can go faster.
"I think we all felt like we could have done better," Knautz said. "We were still two seconds faster, and I know we are looking forward to next week."
Hersey featured one other qualifier when sophomore Mark Balmes put the shot 52-11.5 to earn his first state trip.
Other Prospect qualifiers came in the 800-meter run, the 1,600 meter run and the 3,200 meter run. Senior Pat Ford was impressive in his second-place finish, running a personal-best 1:56.62 in the 800. Senior Kenny Halloran battled in a tough mile field before finishing in a personal-best 4:21.60.
In the 3,200, junior Greg Netols dropped a whopping 22 seconds to qualify with a personal-best 9:30.73.