League meets set to kick off
Boys conference track meets start with the East Suburban Catholic jumping and pole vault events held at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Notre Dame in Niles. Throwing and track events start at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Carmel in Mundelein, where Benet Academy hopes to end the host’s one-year title reign. The Redwings won the ESCC every year from 2005-10.
Starting in 1991, either Wheaton Warrenville South or Wheaton North has won every DuPage Valley Conference title. The two-time defending WW South Tigers hope to fend off runaway 2012 indoor champ Wheaton North starting at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Naperville North.
Lisle, which annually vied for the Interstate Eight title before the conference expanded and accepted larger schools, finished fourth in 2011. At 4 p.m. Thursday, Sandwich defends its title at Seneca.
Last year Glenbard South won its first Metro Suburban Conference title by 142 points. The Raiders will be overwhelming favorites again this year on their home track at 4 p.m. Friday.
The Suburban Christian Conference championships start at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Marmion in Aurora. The host Cadets have won seven straight SCC titles, snapping an even longer skein by St. Francis.
Lake Park coach Jay Ivory couldn’t recall the last time the Lancers won the Upstate Eight Conference title after his squad pulled off the 2011 UEC Valley victory. Neuqua Valley aims to derail Lake Park at this year’s UEC Valley meet at 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Streamwood. (The UEC River will go 3:30 p.m. Thursday at Geneva, the 2011 champion.)
The West Suburban Gold meet is usually tightly contested. Morton won the indoor meet by 2 points over Downers Grove South. The Mustangs, though, have won the outdoor contest each year since 2008, when Hinsdale South won by a point over Morton. The Gold meet starts at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Downers South.
York has won the West Suburban Silver 17 of the last 18 years including the last nine straight seasons. Coach Stan Reddel’s legendary Dukes look to hold off Oak Park starting at 4:30 p.m. at Lyons Twp. in LaGrange.
Little big man:
Perhaps a short high jumper’s accomplishments shouldn’t seem so astonishing when a taller one such as Lake Park’s Kevin Spejcher also clears heights well over his head.
Still, watching Benet’s 5-foot-2 Max Zinski attack the bar seems amazing. The freshman has cleared 5 feet, 7 inches once, at Benet, and at 5-6 he placed in the middle of the pack of large-school jumpers Saturday at the Carlin Nalley Invitational in Lisle. (Immaculate Conception’s 5-foot-9 Dan Vatch won the Class 1A portion at 6-1.)
“This year I’d like to get 5-8 for conference,” Zinski said. “And for next year, keep going up — maybe 5-11 or 6.”
Two high jumpers were ahead of him at St. Michael’s Parish School in Wheaton, so Zinski’s efforts were contained mainly to practice. At meets he’d do long jump and sprints, but nowadays he sticks to high jump unless Benet coach Pat Marshall enters him in a sprint to mix it up.
Zinski went 4-11 in the one eighth-grade meet he competed in, and started this year at 5-2. Jumping with teammate James Hickey, Zinski has missed his share of attempts but has climbed the ladder to his 5-7 personal best.
“It’s kind of like you need to miss a certain amount of times before you go up that extra 1 or 2 inches,” he said.
To us earthbound admirers, the ability to jump higher than oneself is extraordinary. It’s just another day to Zinski.
“I’ve been doing a lot of sports, I’ve been lifting with my legs a lot. That could explain it,” he said.
They’re No. 1:
At a meet May 1 with Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley, the Neuqua Valley foursome of Taylor Soltys, Andy Martinez, Jake Bender and Mark Derrick ran the distance medley (legs of 1,200, 400, 800 and 1,600 meters) in 10 minutes, 18.9 seconds. That’s the best in Illinois and 25th in the nation.
Welcome to the club:
Naperville Central made its debut at the DuPage County Championships last Friday after years at Conant’s invite. It was a nice change of pace according to Redhawks senior Adam Spaccapaniccia.
“I always heard this was really good competition and I was excited to hear we were going this year, mix it up a little bit. And it’s good because we’re seeing a lot of our own conference (teams) here,” said Spaccapaniccia, a 400-meter man.
“It’s good because it prepares us for the DVC the next week and we’ll see some of these teams in sectionals. It’ll give us a good feel of where we stand.”
At the county meet Naperville Central placed ninth on the varsity level, trailing only champion Wheaton North and Wheaton Warrenville South among DuPage Valley Conference teams. (The Redhawks sophomores placed fifth behind York, Lake Park and the two Wheatons.)
The bottom line is after a rough stretch, Naperville Central is again closer to the top than the bottom of the DVC.
“We’re definitely improving,” Spaccapaniccia said. “We were at Prospect last week and got third overall; the year before that we got eighth or something, so we’re improving. That’s definitely a change of pace, which is good.”