Lake Park eager for chance to repeat
Pressure? What pressure?
Lake Park boys track coach Jay Ivory believes his Lancers will successfully defend their Class 3A championship this weekend in Charleston.
“The kids have been such great competitors all year. They’ve lived up to the pressure all year long, I really don’t have any reason to believe they won’t for one more meet, to be honest with you,” Ivory said.
When as juniors Zach Ziemek won the 2010 pole vault competition and finished second in triple jump, and twins Jermaine and Jeremy Kline went 1-3 in shot put and 2-3 in discus to deliver the Lancers their first state title since 1997, Lake Park was immediately installed as the 2011 favorite.
As seniors they have not coasted or plateaued.
Future Wisconsin decathlete Ziemek is tied for the top seed in 3A pole vault, at 15 feet, and has a 2½-foot edge over his closest triple jump pursuer out of sectionals. He could also score in long jump.
The South Carolina-bound Klines are seeded 1-3 in both shot put and discus, advantage Jermaine. Each has, at various points since the indoor season began, extended their 2010 personal bests — such as Jeremy Kline’s 67-6 shot put at the Upstate Eight Conference indoor meet.
Add three-time high jump qualifier Kevin Spejcher and long jumper Scott Filip and, as Ivory said after the York sectional, “That’s what we had last year and a little bit more.”
Others share that view.
“Lake Park is the team to beat and they’re even deeper than they were last year, to be honest,” said York coach Stan Reddel, whose Dukes have earned a trophy as a top-three school five of the last six years.
Its top sprinters tucked into three of their four qualifying relays, York may be hard-pressed to continue that string even with Jack Driggs shooting for what would be an extremely competitive distance double.
It’s still hard to argue with York’s 10 trophy finishes since 1996.
“What we’ve told the kids is we’re going down to have fun, and we have a pretty good record of being able to perform on the day,” Reddel said.
Plainfield South, Edwardsville, Belleville West and Prospect will be hoping Lake Park falters somehow, as will intriguing Wheaton Warrenville South.
Headed by the sprinter-jumper duo of Titus Davis and Charlie Pinedo, double field-event qualifier Alec Brazeau and four relays — including Collin Fedor, Christian Adams and Carl Anderson all back from a third-place 3,200 relay in 2010 — the Tigers qualified 16 entries at York.
In Class 2A, two-time defending state champion Hillcrest is the favorite until somebody beats the Hawks. Potential somebodies include usual suspects Cahokia, Springfield Lanphier and Rock Island, plus Belvidere North and Glenbard South.
One area coach gave Glenbard South the nod based solely on defending 2A 400-meter champion Garret Payne, who is seeded first in that event with a school-record time of 47.86 seconds run on his home track at last week’s sectional.
Payne also qualified in the 100 and 200 dashes and will run on one of the Raiders’ three qualifying relays, each of them in his wheelhouse should the need arise.
“I’d like to think we can be in the top five or six going into it,” said Glenbard South coach Andy Preuss. “We need things to go pretty well.”
Among them, the “Boesso Family” — Nick and Joe in shot put and discus, and high jump and triple jump, respectively; freshman wunderkind John Wold in the 800; sprinter Wesley Sanders; and hurdlers Affan Khan and Elven Walker.
“We could score quite a few points if things go well,” Preuss said.