Fortunes change at WW South sectional
Phabian Clark picked himself up. Literally and then figuratively.
The first time was not pleasant. The Wheaton Warrenville South senior led his preliminary heat of the 110-meter hurdles until tripping over the second-to-last hurdle. He got up and finished but too late to reach the finals.
Among several triumphs of redemption at Friday’s Class 3A Wheaton Warrenville South boys track sectional, Clark made good next time out. In the fast heat of the 400-meter dash, he topped three higher-seeded runners to place second, at 50.04 seconds, and reach next week’s state meet in Charleston.
“Coming into the meet I was just more worried about the 110s, but it didn’t go my way,” Clark said. “I focused all my anger to this race and used that to my advantage ... I’m not going to let that race stop me from reaching my goals.”
That included anchoring the Tigers’ 1,600 relay. Clark gave it his all in a fourth-place finish just under the qualifying standard.
Glenbard West’s Mike Lederhouse did it the other way. The Hilltoppers were unable to qualify their 3,200 relay, Lederhouse visibly upset. He took it out on the field in the 1,600 run, his time of 4 minutes, 13.56 seconds winning an event that also saw WW South’s Derek Anderson, Wheaton North’s Aidan Askin and York’s Chris May and Billy Clink also make the cut.
“My coaches told me I need to get it out of my mind because you can’t be focusing on things in the past,” Lederhouse said. “I have no control over them, so I was really just trying to move on and remember that I still have another race to do and another chance to get downstate.”
Wheaton North capitalized on its chances. Coach Don Helberg’s Falcons won the 16-team sectional with 117 points, ahead of two-time defending Class 3A champion Lake Park (91) and York (68).
The Falcons qualified all four relays and saw Zach Gordon pull off the state’s best long jump, of 24 feet, 2½ inches, before he won the 200. Brett Kohler took the 300 hurdles, Falcon pole vaulters Dale Hollinger and David Rudman both advanced, and the throws duo of Christian Hollinger and Mack Spaulding qualified in both shot put and discus.
“Some of our friends come to meets just to watch us mess with each other and joke around and just compete,” Hollinger said after busting a personal-best discus mark of 171-5. “We do a lot of trash talking between the two of us. I mean, it helps us push each other.”
Lake Park qualified two relays and 10 out of a possible 12 field-event athletes, including Shawn Koch, the junior who soared 47 feet, 8 inches, Illinois’ best by nearly 5 inches. Not bad for a guy in his first full season.
“I’ve just been stuck at 46 the last few meets, which isn’t too bad,” he said. “I’m just trying to climb the ladder like everyone else. Just trying to improve.”
Perhaps the most disaffected sectional champion was Glenbard North’s Jordan Simmons. The senior, another first-year man, ran the fastest 100 dash preliminary time, and won the final in 10.95 seconds, .04 ahead of Wheaton North’s Patrick Sharp. Simmons crossed the line and kept going, straight to the Panthers’ team camp where he’d left his pizza.
“We’re really proud of him,” coach Mark Karwowski said, “but he’s pretty hungry right now.”
A little more than three weeks ago Glenbard East’s Markel Brackett was recuperating from a groin pull. Friday night he was a state qualifier in the 200, trailing only Gordon.
“I pulled something out of me that I never thought I could do,” Brackett said.
Four days after hurting himself, Brackett told Rams coach Jack Brady he felt fine, ready to run. Brady said wait a week and heal.
“I’m glad he did that,” the ecstatic Brackett said, “because I’m going to state, baby!”