Kaneland, Burlington C. excel at Rochelle sectional
ROCHELLE — Every athlete was feeling the pressure to qualify for next week’s state meet at the Class 2A Rochelle boys track and field sectional Thursday, but the Kaneland pole vaulters were feeling special brand of tension as they attempted to continue a long, proud tradition.
For 29 straight years the Kaneland track team has sent a pole vaulter to the state meet in Charleston, but that streak was in jeopardy since no Knight this season had cleared the state qualifying standard of 13 feet, 3 inches.
Sophomore Kory Harner took care of that.
After matching his personal best of 12-9, Harner cleared 13-3 on his first attempt to qualify for state and keep Kaneland’s pole vault streak alive.
“All the pressure, all the stress is off me,” a relieved Harner said afterward. “The national anthem played right before I jumped. I was just shaking. Once I cleared it, I just had a big smile. I know all the tradition we have and I just wanted to keep it going. It feels awesome.”
Harner’s individual performance was one of many turned in by the Knights, who as a result won the sectional team title with 90 points. Burlington Central and Sterling tied for second place with 78 points apiece.
Kaneland led Burlington Central by 3 points heading into the final event of the evening, the 1,600-meter relay. While the Kaneland foursome of Brandon Cottier, Curtis Secrest, Taylor Andrews and Tommy Whittaker took the lead on Whittaker’s anchor leg and went on to win in 3:20.96, the Rockets were waylaid in their state bid when another runner fell and tripped Mike Gulik during the third lap of what looked to be a state qualifying run.
As a result of the controversy, the relay teams from Burlington Central and Dixon were allowed to rerun the race 15 minutes later, but the Rockets were forced to substitute for exhausted standouts Clint Kliem and Michael Kellenberger and did not qualify as a result.
“I’m disappointed the four-by-four didn’t make it, but I’m real proud of the guys for stepping out on the track and trying to run again,” Central coach Mike Schmidt said. “Overall, I think Clint, Mike (Gulik), Michael Kellenberger and Tre (Llanes) have a shot for the finals on Saturday at state, so that will be exciting.”
Kaneland’s Whittaker and Central’s Llanes — the latter of whom confirmed Thursday he has accepted a partial track and field scholarship from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — each qualified in four events.
Whittaker qualified in four events for the second straight year and reached state for the fourth straight season overall. Besides the 1,600-meter relay, he took part in the winning 400-meter relay, which set a Kaneland school record. He joined Andrews, Cottier and freshman Jesse Balluff to win in 42.76.
Whittaker also finished second in the 100 meter dash (11.21) and third in the 400 with a qualifying time o 50.15.
“It’s such an honor,” Whittaker said. “I wanted to try to get as many people downstate as I could and get the sectional title.”
Llanes won the triple jump (44-2½), broke his own school record by half an inch in winning the long jump (22-1) and he placed second in the 110-meter high hurdles (14.78). He also teamed with Kellenberger, Parker DeMoss and Tyler Panariello to finish third in the 400-meter relay in a state qualifying time of 43.43.
“I’m so excited,” Llanes said. “It was my senior year, so I thought why not qualify in all four.”
Central’s Clint Kliem, as one Rocket coach put it, was “a machine.” After winning the 800 in 1:57:67, just ahead of Gulik’s second-place finish in 1;58.66, Kliem returned to win the 1,600. He trailed Sterlings’s Dylan Harkness and Kaneland’s Trevor Holm heading into the gun lap, but he passed both in the final 250 meters to win in 4:25.23. Harkness was second and Holm qualified in third place with a time of 4:26.19.
“Originally, I was going to try to take it out first,” Kliem said, “but after the 800 I felt a little fatigue and made a new goal of just sitting comfortably behind whoever took it out until the last 250 (meters).”
Kliem later ran a 50.7 split during Central’s ill-fated 1,600-meter relay.
Kaneland’s Andrews qualified in the 400-meter relay and he made a return to state by winning the 110-meter high hurdles in 14:35, edging Llanes. However, he failed to qualify in the 300 intermediate hurdles after falling on the second hurdle. He finished sixth. Central’s Kellenberger (39.77) and Kaneland’s Dylan Nauert (40.43) both punched their state tickets in the event.
“God makes everything happen for a reason,” Andrews said. “I just forgot about it, went out in the four-by-four and took my frustration out in that race.”
Kaneland also qualified its 3,200-meter relay team, which finished fifth in 8:08.72.