Lake Zurich's Juras finally feeling just fine
CHARLESTON — The overwhelming feeling of being able to race at the state track and field championships — or even in a simple dual meet — was lost on Lake Zurich junior Pat Juras last season.
A blood disorder that ultimately was diagnosed as an iron deficiency prevented Juras from competing at all. An off-season of medication, training and recovery led to Juras' first trip to the state track and field championships at Eastern Illinois University and O' Brien Field in Charleston.
Competing in the 1,600-meter run, Juras not only qualified for today's Class 3A state finals in the event, he also eclipsed the school record that teammate Alex Brend had set and broken several times during the season.
“This is such a great feeling to know that I get to run tomorrow,” Juras said. “As a team down here, we had such great team spirit and it was real inspiring.”
Juras was just one portion of a very good day for the Bears, who will have representatives in the finals in four events.
Senior Alex Brend earned two spots in the finals. He finished fourth in the 800-meter run and still broke the school record in 1:53.02.
“That was just a really weird race,” Brend said. “I got pushed way outside and there was a lot of bumping back and forth, but I feel good and feel like I have a lot left for tomorrow.”
Brend broke a second school record as he joined Mike and Chris Rantis and Jacob Brinlee on the Bears' 1,600-meter relay. The 3:18.88 clocking was the third fastest in the prelims and shattered the school mark by over a second.
“I know we have 3:16 in us boys,” Brinlee said to his teammates after their heat. “We haven't had many times where we have been chasing people, so it was a new experience for me.”
Senior Mark Tabaka also earned a spot in the finals as finished sixth in the shot put prelims. Tabaka threw 56-0.25 on his last throw to make the finals.
“I just tried to treat this like any other meet,” Tabaka said. “Having played in the football championship game, it made it seem like just another meet.”
While the Bears were easy to spot on the track, Grayslake Central and senior Will Reed just wanted to get noticed. Sporting a pink headband and bright pink track spikes, Reed receive plenty of notice as the Rams were able to secure a finals berth in the 800-relay.
Jordan Bustos, Bryant Jennings, Jahard Nelson and Reed finished second in their heat in 1:30.02, but their effrt was good enough for seventh overall and a trip to the finals for the first time.
“I wanted to stand out and catch people's eyes,” Reed said of his flashy spikes. “We came down here as a group trying to get this relay into the finals. Now we just got to go out and do what we can do.”
Juniors Joel Valdivia and Luke Zygmunt also earned their first shots at medals with excellent performances in the shot put and in the 1,600-meter run.
Zygmunt ran a school-record 4:20.15 and is the fourth fastest from the prelims into the finals. Valdivia didn't quite get a personal best, but he is in third position heading into the finals with a best put of 54-3. Senior Bryant Jennings earned his second trip in a row to the finals with a 42-9 in the triple jump.
Lakes senior John Pfeiffer survived a rough day in the throwing events to earn Class 2A finals berths in both events. Pfeiffer was not his usually prolific self in the shot put, but still made the finals. He also earned a finals spot in the discus with a best effort of 155-2.
Stevenson senior Brandon Stryganek may have had the most unusual day of any competitor in Charleston. Stryganek, a heavy medal favorite in as many as four events, will have to settle for just one as he earned a spot in the 200-meter final — and even that was a struggle.
Battling through back spasms over the last two weeks, the usually explosive Stryganek ran 22.04 in the prelims to qualify for a second year in a row. Stryganek's day got off to a rough start when he false-started in the prelims of the 200 and did not advance out of the prelims in the 800-relay.
Grant had one of its best days at the state meet in school history as the Bulldogs placed three qualifiers in the finals. Junior Sean Wells took advantage of a stumble by another runner in the 300 hurdles to win his heat to get into the finals.
Sophomore Brandon Lombardino took down big brother Kyle in the discus with a best toss of 169-4. His best effort was a personal best and has Lombardino fourth in today's finals. Kyle won't be left out — he was the final qualifier in the shot put with a best effort of 53-1.5.
Other finals qualifiers included Warren senior Isaac Jean-Paul in the long jump and Libertyville senior Jeremy Birck in the high jump.