Scouting Fox Valley boys track and field

There are multiple storylines to keep Fox Valley boys track and field fans intrigued this spring.

Will Wisconsin-bound Dundee-Crown senior Anthony Manfrin, who missed last season with a hip injury, continue to show the form that carried him the indoor 3,200-meter title at the Illinois Prep Top Times meet last weekend?

Can Bartlett top last year’s fourth-place finish in the Upstate Eight Conference with three state qualifiers back in the fold?

Can ultra-talented Burlington Central senior Tre Llanes outduel nemesis Vernon Carter of Cahokia for a Class 2A state title in any of the three events in which they lock horns?

And can perennial Fox Valley Conference contenders Jacobs, Dundee-Crown and Huntley challenge Crystal Lake Central and McHenry, a pair of teams that appear to be loaded with talent?

Here’s a closer look at how the local teams shape up in 2011.

Bartlett: Fourth-year coach Eric Kramer welcomes back three returning state qualifiers: seniors Brian Polubinski (shot put) and Femi Oyewole (high jump) and junior Kevin Bauers (discus).

Oyewole cleared 6-1 in the high jump at last year’s sectional to qualify for the Class 3A meet. At the same sectional Bauers topped his previous personal best in the discus by five feet and surpassed the qualifying standard of 155-0 by 25 inches.

The Hawks are deep in returning relay candidates, including Zach Karys, Connor Rachford, Aaron Everson, Josafat Gonzalez, Nasir Almasri, Jordan Barile, Robert Trotter and Kevin Kibler. They will be joined by new relay candidates A.J. Bilyeu (the school’s fleet-footed junior quarterback), Alex Quintana and basketball player Chris Baumann.

The team boasts additional field strength with the returns of Tynan Johnson, a jumper and sprinter and thrower Zach Shriver. Johnson’s indoor leap of 22-6½ made him the top seed entering last weekend’s Prep Top Times meet at Illinois Wesleyan. He jumped 22-2½ to finish third in Class 3A.

“The strengths of our team are the field events and relays,” Kramer said.”

Burlington Central: The Rockets are primed for what could be one of the most successful boys track and field seasons in school history, led by Tre Llanes, a returning state qualifier in three events.

The Central senior finished third in Class 2A in the triple jump last season (46-1), and he also qualified in the long jump and high hurdles.

Normally, such a high finish as a junior in an event like the triple jump would make the returnee a favorite the following season, however, the two jumpers who finished ahead of Llanes (Vernon Carter of Cahokia and Cornelius Thomas of Peoria) are also back.

Llanes was a triple medalist last weekend at the Illinois Prep Top Times indoor meet in Bloomington. He finished second in the 55-meter hurdles (7.82 seconds), fourth in the triple jump (44-4½) and fifth in the long jump (21-2¼).

“He’s something else,” Burlington Central coach Mike Schmidt said. “He’s really a great athlete and unique in that he excels in a lot of very different skill events.”

Junior Clint Kliem finished eighth in Class 2A in the mile at the Top Times meet (4:30.95), and he ran the best split of any runner for Burlington’s third-place 3,200-meter relay team, which also included juniors Mike Gulik, Joe Gannon and Mason Creal. Kleim, who has gone downstate in cross country the past three years, can run the 800, 1,600 or 3,200.

Gulik and Kliem were also members of Central’s 1,600-meter relay team, which took sixth Saturday. Gulik also runs the open 800, the event in which he finished sixth at Top Times (2:01.44). Senior Mike Kellenberger finished fourth in the 55 hurdles (7.89) and has a chance to medal in the 110s at Charleston.

Sprinters Tyler Panariello and Parker DeMoss are two more top-notch sprinters expected to take part in multiple events and relays.

“This is definitely one of the better teams I’ve had, no question,” Schmidt said. “We won indoor conference handily and we’ve beaten 42 of the 44 teams we’ve run against. Our big thing is we have to stay healthy and have the guys we know we can count on continue to produce.”

Cary-Grove: The question is how high will high jumper Anthony Golowach go?

As a junior last season, he cleared 6-feet, 9 inches to set the Fox Valley Conference meet record. Golowach cleared 6-3 at the Illinois Prep Top Times indoor meet last week to place seventh in Class 3A.

“He’s already gotten 6-6 a few times this year,” Holter said. “He’ll run the 200 and the 400 as well.” Golowach qualified for the state meet in the 200 two years ago.

“He could qualify in all three events if he wants to,” Holter added.

Cary-Grove’s 17-year coach believes he has the makings of a sub-3:20 1,600-meter relay team with Golowach, senior Ryan Borys and juniors Max Anderson and John Pearl.

A thrower to keep an eye on is junior Josh Freeman. He has surpassed the state qualifying throw for the discus in practices and has approached the state mark in shot put.

“Josh will do well in the throws and we’re a little improved in our jumps, but our strength is in the sprints,” Holter said. “Overall, as a team we’ll be a little better than last year. We have a good nucleus and the attitude.”

Crystal Lake South: Head coach Rich Eschman has been associated with CL South track about as long as his seniors have been alive. He was head coach from 1993-2000 and returns to that post after spending the last 10 years as an assistant.

“We have good numbers out,” Eschman said of the program’s 91 athletes. “We will be very young. We think that we have some talented guys at the frosh-soph level. Our weakness is experience.”

Though the senior class isn’t deep, its top layer is talent rich. Matt Biederwolf finished fourth in the sectional in the 800 last year (1:56.60), qualifying for state in that event in addition to two relays.

Seniors Kenny King and John Sullivan each gained experience at the state meet by taking part in qualifying relays. Other returning Gators to watch are seniors Chaz Barnett (pole vault, sprints) and Kyle Enos (throws) and juniors Brad Walovitch (sprints), Brian Roesslein (distance) and Andrew Stumpner (throws).

Dundee-Crown: Wisconsin-bound senior Anthony Manfrin answered any questions about his health last week by winning the 3,200-meter race at the Prep Top Times race in Bloomington in 9:13.14. Manfrin’s junior season was erased by a hip injury.

“He’s running really well and had a really nice indoor season,” Chargers coach Tom Smith said. “He’s had great workouts because he’s training smart. He’s trying not to overdo it because the challenge is to stay at that level all year and be healthy. Then the sky’s the limit.”

Manfrin wasn’t the only successful Charger in Bloomington last Saturday. Senior Max Kittle finished seventh in the 55-meter high hurdles (7.82), which bettered his seed time of 8.10.

Senior Andrew Knapik finished 11th in the 3,200 at Top Times (9:33.44). He finished third in the Fox Valley Conference in cross country season and should be one of the area’s best distance runners, said his coach.

Ardian Asani qualified for the state indoor meet in the long jump with a leap of 6-4. He has surpassed 21 feet on three occasions this season, Smith said.

“The better we do in our relays, the higher spot we’ll have in the conference,” Smith said.

Elgin: The Maroons don’t boast any returning state qualifiers, but potential exists in the form of a large throwing contingent and a pair of young milers.

Chris Porras is a hardworking sophomore coming off a solid cross-country season last fall. He is joined by freshman Emilio Mancha. Both runners broke five minutes in the mile at the Upstate Eight Conference meet recently.

“Chris is really working hard and showing a lot of team leadership,” Elgin coach Kevin Cleveland said. “Emilio is really coming on. Being that young you really don’t know how much he’s going to improve during the season.

“We’re kind of a young team. We have just a handful of upperclassman sprinters and distance runners, so we’re rebuilding on that end.”

With state finalist sprinter Adam Kuforiji lost to graduation, the team’s only returning sprinter is DeVante King, a junior who will compete in the 200 and high hurdles.

A number of football players have swelled the throwing ranks. Returning junior Jorge Zavala and senior Ryan Visaysouk are the team’s most likely point gainers.

Derek Moorman came on late last year, according to Cleveland, and is in the process of going from “basketball shape to track shape.” He’ll run the 200 and 400.

Hampshire: The Hampshire roster of 30 is populated by several young faces as the program undergoes a youth movement.

“Most of the team is freshmen and sophomores, so getting experience is very important to us this season,”10th-year coach Steve Bruhn said. The younger athletes can follow the example of junior distance runner Jared Butler, who is among the hardest workers on the team, according to his coach. Butler will run the 800 and longer distances.

“He never cuts short a workout,” Bruhn said. “His determination will get him really good results.”

Junior Peter Sonnefeldt has come a long way since learning the triple jump last season. He should net the Whip-Purs points at meets this season and has an outside shot to nab a Class 2A state berth.

Senior Andrew Sim is a technically sound jumper who will compete in the long and triple. Fellow senior Rich Reiter, in only his second year in track, will run the 800.

Huntley: The post-Popenfoose era begins at Huntley. It’s a new landscape for the Red Raiders, who for the last several seasons were virtually guaranteed 20 points in each meet from top shot and discus thrower Marcus Popenfoose, now on scholarship at Auburn.

A pair of seniors will lead the way: sprinter Andrue Wright and middle distance runner Nathan Kennedy. But they are rare veterans on a team with few.

“It is a transition year for many of the juniors and seniors who have played a smaller role at the varsity level in the past but will be asked to contribute much more this season,” said Huntley coach Jim Rolando, whose team finished fourth in the sectional last season. “How they respond to the challenges will determine the level of success we see at both individual and team levels.”

Jacobs: The Golden Eagles have been among the Fox Valley Conference’s elite boys track and field programs for most of coach Jason Borhart’s eight seasons, and an influx of sprinters could keep Jacobs among the league’s upper echelon.

Football coach Bill Mitz, who previously coached track at Stevenson, has joined the staff as sprinters coach.

“Having him on staff has been very beneficial because we’re getting the numbers,” Borhart said. “We’re getting sprinters that we haven’t had in the program.”

Two state qualifiers return in the same event. Senior Joey Cieniewicz and junior Will Hennessy each competed in the 800 at state last year. Cieniewicz will also run the 400. Hennessy will “dabble in the mile,” according to his coach.

Borhart said two-miler Nick Ellingsen has run well indoors and could reach a state-qualifying time by season’s end.

“Outside of our top two or three we’ll be a very inexperienced team,” Borhart said. “But I think we’ll have a decent sprint crew with all the football guys we have out. And most of those guys are juniors, so I think we’ll be able to put together some decent relays.”

Larkin: The Larkin developmental program begun two years ago by coach Mike Scianna is bearing some fruit.

The Royals still don’t have the depth to compete for team titles, but a couple of strong individual athletes have emerged: senior triple jumper Lamonte Norwood and junior 400 runner Cyrus French.

Norwood enjoyed a breakout indoor season. One jump at the Fenton Invitational broke a triple jump record that had stood for over 30 years. Needing a leap of 44 feet, 3 inches to qualify for the indoor Prep Top Times meet at Illinois Wesleyan this month, Norwood jumped 44-8.

“He was ranked sixth and ended up taking fourth,” Scianna said of Norwood’s best Top Times jump of 44-2. “And on that jump his foot was a foot behind the board. That was big for him and for us.”

French missed qualifying for state by .2 seconds last year after cramping in the final turn. His coach hopes French can eclipse 50 seconds this spring.

Another improving athlete is 800 runner Dan Runzel, who could merit a state bid by the time he’s a senior if he continues to show progress, his coach said.

St. Edward: David Greer, the school’s director of development, takes over the boys track and field program, helped by longtime program assistant coach Mike Olenek.

The Green Wave should competitive in several events, starting with throws. Junior Evan Finnane will try to follow in brother Shane’s footsteps and qualify for state.

“He’s really looking strong,” Greer said. “He’s trimmed down and he’s pure muscle.”

Senior Mark Olenek is the team’s fastest sprinter. He’s nursing an early season groin injury, but Mike Olenek said he expects Mark to recover and have a productive season.

Mark Olenek, seniors Sam Pozezinski and Kip Guerrero and junior Danny Jaimes (200, 400) could form the nucleus of some competitive relay teams, particularly the 800 relay.

Sophomore Kevin Olenek will run the 200, 400 and the high hurdles.

A newcomer to watch is freshman John Danner, whose junior sister Audrey has twice qualified for the girls state meet. John will compete in the 800 and possibly the 3,200-meter relay.

“He was so fast in cross country season,” Greer said. “He won several races so it will be interesting to see how he does once he gets onto the track.

“As a team, we should be stronger than last year.”

South Elgin: Second-year coach Anthony LaRue is jazzed about the direction of Storm boys track and field.

“The strength in our program is the excitement I see in the younger athletes we have on this team,” he said. “We are becoming more focused.

Sprints coach Cam Culpepper has a deep group to choose from, including returnees Greg Griffin (400, 400 relay, 1,600 relay), Juan Alcantara (200, 300, pole vault) and newcomers Jeff Broger (sprints), Zach Gross (sprint relays), Brad Birchfield (100, sprint relays), Tommy Asa (sprints) Kihleal Smith and freshman James Dockens.

Distance runners for the Storm include Greg Griffin (1,600), Duncan and Francisco Gonzalez (3,200, 1,600, distance relays).

Eugenio Passarelli and Lucas Basham are returning throwers and Griffin (high jump) could also contribute in the field.

Though LaRue has set the goal of finishing ahead of the other four schools from Elgin Area School District U-46 at the UEC meet, he keeps the building program’s goals attainable.

“I want to be the best team that we can be,” he said. “The greatest measuring stick for performance is yourself.”

Streamwood: Coming off a ninth-place finish in the Upstate Eight Conference, the Sabres aim to move up and send some team members to the state meet in Charleston in the process.

However, Streamwood lacks experience in general.

“Overall, we are a young team,” seventh-year coach Weert Goldenstein said. “This is nice in that we’ll have a lot of returning athletes over the next couple of years, but it could hurt us somewhat this year due to a lack of experience.”

Speedy Blake Holder returns, as does Jhoan Lino, Joel Pinto, Steven Sandoval, Terrell Campbell, Francisco Donoso and Justin King.

Goldenstein also expects contributions from Sean Patterson, Parnell Gillespie, Ryan Ashenhurst, Tyler Crawley and William Troman.

Westminster Christian: The Warriors gained some state experience last season, particularly their youngest member.

Travis Battle was a freshman when he ran the fastest split of any of the four Warriors entered in the 400-meter relay at Charleston. He returns as a sophomore to run the 100 and 200, as does talented junior Josh Beachler, who wasn’t 100 percent at sectional time last season.

Another runner likely to make a state push is senior Steven Hoefflich who only ran the 800 in two meets last season but still turned in a time of 2:03.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that if he’d run the 800 all year, he’d have made it downstate,” Warriors coach Larry Cochran said.

Ian Dutcher missed qualifying for state by inches in the shot put and could make it as a senior.

“We only have about 10 guys, but we’re still looking to do big in the (Northeast Athletic) conference,” Cochran said. “We were seventh in the sectional last year, and we’ve got to keep moving up.”