Kaneland’s hurdlers start fast
Kaneland’s stable of hurdlers remains intact even after graduating Logan Markuson.
Particularly in the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, where this past Saturday one of Markuson’s program records went down.
At a three-tier meet at East Moline, Taylor Andrews finished second in the event and also took second in the 110 high hurdles, the event Andrews placed fifth in last year at the Class 2A state meet.
Andrews has company. He is one of three Knights who have broken 43 seconds in the 300 hurdles. Sophomore Chad Swieca is one of them, as is freshman Dylan Nauert.
In his first 300 race on Saturday, Nauert ran it in 42.13 to break Markuson’s freshman record of 42.4. More impressive is the fact that Nauert’s mark was fully-automated. Add the standard .24-second adjustment to Markuson’s manual time, and Nauert has the edge at 42.13 to Markuson’s approximate 42.64.
“That’s pretty impressive,” said Kaneland coach Eric Baron, who noted it’ll also help this weekend at another A-B-C meet at Ottawa.
Baron also pointed out the impressive meet Tommy Whittaker had at East Moline.
The senior placed second in the 400 dash, third in the 200 and fifth in the 100. He also ran on a 400-meter relay that trailed only tough Rock Island and United Township.
Upping the ante:Except in field events, where athletes continually hone their form and produce personal-best efforts, Tuesday track meets generally are informal affairs. They are nearly live training sessions where coaches will experiment with relay lineups and where, for example, a distance runner might run a 400 to build speed while a sprinter might go 800 meters for endurance training.Geneva#146;s Gale Gross hopes to raise the stakes of the Tuesday meet.Saturday at Batavia#146;s Les Hodge Meet, Gross said he#146;d planned to have a trophy for the winner of this Tuesday#146;s coed dual meet with St. Charles East. The trophy would be a traveling trophy that would be held by the winner for the year, until the following year#146;s version.#147;Down the road,#148; Gross said, he#146;s hoping to do the same thing in a weekday meet against rival Batavia, traveling trophy included.Weekend invites are still the place to run top lineups. A little extra oomph during the week can#146;t hurt, Gross said, to #147;spike the competition level up a bit.#148;Injury bug:Geneva#146;s Ryan Ahern was disappointed not to have faced either of his top competitors in the hurdles races last Saturday at Batavia. Batavia#146;s Rob Mohr and Ahern#146;s teammate, Tom Frederick, both were resting injuries. Mohr (oblique) said he#146;ll be back this Saturday at Glenbard West, while Frederick (hamstring) may also run at the Vikings#146; home meet on Saturday.Meanwhile, St. Charles North coach Don Spencer was greeted by unpleasant news Saturday before the Les Hodge invite. His fastest short sprinter, Alec Eickert, suffered an ankle injury on Friday in a pickup basketball game. Leg problems continue to plague North Stars jumper Daniel Washington, who qualified for Class 3A long jump last year. Washington#146;s pal, fellow St. Charles North jumper Oshay Hodges, said Washington hopes to return with a bang April 21 at Lyons Twp.Peas in a pod:Batavia juniors Brandon Clabough and Bennett Hartmann are never too far away from each other in pole vault standings.On their home turf Saturday they finished in a tie for first, at 13 feet, their personal best. At the Upstate Eight Conference indoor meet there was a slight gap with Hartmann at 13 and Clabough at 12 feet, 6 inches. In the 2010 outdoor season Hartmann#146;s best effort was 12-3 at sectionals, while Clabough#146;s was 12 feet a few weeks earlier.#147;We are always close,#148; said Clabough, a kicker on the Bulldogs football team. #147;It#146;s good to have someone right next to you to have good competition, to try to become better to beat him.#148;Perhaps if they combined their strengths they#146;d equal one 26-foot pole vaulter.Clabough said he relies more on speed and power to muscle himself up there, while Hartmann is a technique guy. #147;If I just work on my technique I should become better,#148; Clabough said. #147;(Speed is) probably the thing he should work on.#148;Mr. Versatile:On Saturday at Batavia, St. Charles North#146;s Ben Hodges ran in two sprint relays, the 200-meter dash, and threw discus.Normally a sprinter-jumper type, he finished in seventh place in discus with a throw of 126 feet, 2frac14; inches. Not bad for a start. Hodges worked on the spin technique with North Stars throws coach Kenton Kemeny only the day before. #147;It#146;s my first time doing discus, so I was pretty happy with the result,#148; said Hodges, a football running back who will be playing at Augustana.Hodges once played rugby, until during his sophomore year when he injured a shoulder in practice, and in a game suffered a concussion #147;and busted my teeth up a little.#148;Track and field is a little safer.#147;I love track,#148; Hodges said. #147;I first started doing it my freshman year just to keep me in shape for football, kind of a second season for training just for football. But I ended up falling in love with it.#148;