Prom stops Lisle short
Always leave them wanting more. It’s a showbiz staple.
It did not extend to Lisle’s performance in the 44th Carlin Nalley Track and Field Invitational on Saturday. Not according to Lions coach Ken Jakalski.
Lisle’s promising start was pre-empted by prom, yet Jakalski enjoyed the results even without some of his best runners finishing what they started.
“What they did compete in, they really competed in hard, and we’re really happy about that,” said Jakalski, whose Lions tied Westmont for third place in the 1A portion of the two-tier, 36-team boys meet.
For an eighth straight year Oregon won the small-school meet. Bolingbrook won the 2-3A level, which Jakalski called “a fitting tribute” since Raiders coach Art Pahl volunteered to host after a conflict at Benedictine University.
“It is what it is,” Jakalski said. “You climb the mountain and wherever you get to you stop at that point and appreciate how far you’ve come.”
His Lions led 1A for a bit. They scored in the early 3,200- and 400-meter relays as did distance runners Alex Begley and Jefferson Chan, and sprinters Tyler Young and Nick Rizzotti.
The big points were gained by jumpers Anthony Ventrella and Levi Smith, and throwers Dan Wroble and Terrance Allen, who combined for 51 points spanning four events.
Wroble added 2 feet to his personal best in shot put, with a final throw three-quarters of an inch past Oregon’s Jake Ferencak. Wroble led from the first throw until Ferencak applied pressure on his last.
“I could see the other mark from the other kid,” Wroble said of the official’s measurement. “They were right next to each other. I was just excited when he read it.”
Before he left for prom with soccer player Nicole Urban, triple jump winner Ventrella lamented this was the last of his four Nalley Invites.
“It’s sad, you know?” he asked. “This is one of the best meets in the state, I’d say, beside the state finals. Very competitive, so it’s always a good test to see how good you’re going to do before the state finals.”
Finishing in the middle of the 1A portion were Timothy Christian, led by Luke Washington, Jake Hooker and Brody Bilthouse; and Immaculate Conception, with Dan Vatch, Vitino Labadessa and relay runners like Patrick Kirby and Cody Kotlow.
Hooker took third in both the 110 and 300 hurdles, sprawling onto the track, flat-out gassed, after pushing it in the second race.
“A lot of people have told me it’s the worst race in the meet,” Hooker said. “It’s still a sprint, but it’s like the farthest you can go without dying.”
Wheaton Academy was unable to score in the 2-3A portion despite good turns on the track by Matt Ruff, Widi Moestopo and Joel Swick, while Benet placed tenth.
Hard to believe given his quality career, but not until Saturday did Redwings senior Eliot “E.J.” Howe earn any Nalley medals. In his finale he finished first in triple jump, third in long jump.
“I’ve never showed up very well at this meet,” he said.
Benet also scored with Kevin Doyle in high jump, Hunter Miller in the 400 plus a 400 relay of Howe, Doyle, Eddie Moline and Peter Butler. And, as with Tom Berg and Joe Langhenry, Benet saw some things as it seeks a sixth straight East Suburban Catholic Conference title.
“Across the board we have guys in every event that I think will do pretty well, and today they showed me that they can run against very good competition,” said coach Pat Marshall. “We’ve got a lot of thinking to do tonight.”