Boys track and field: Neuqua Valley surprises - and it doesn't
Owning a personal record in long jump less than the state-qualifying standard, Neuqua Valley senior Norman Dong wasn't at all confident he'd reach the mark at the Class 3A Plainfield North boys track sectional on Thursday.
"I did not expect myself to qualify today. I was just trying to get 21 feet or something like that, because this past season I've been only jumping like 20-feet, 9-ish and below," he said.
His teammate, Ife Oketona, thought otherwise.
"This morning when I saw him I'm like, get ready to qualify for state," Oketona said.
Both were ready. On a fast runway with a tail wind - which adversely affected running events - Dong set four new personal bests including his top mark of 22 feet, 5¾ inches. Oketona also reached next week's state meet in Charleston a second straight year with a top mark of 23-6, one of several new Neuqua school records.
"I'm still trying to process it. It's a lot to take in," Dong said.
Surprises like that are what make track sectionals so special. Waubonsie Valley senior Damion Curry was the first DuPage County athlete to qualify, in high jump at 6-2. He'd done that before, but not at this stage.
"Normally I choke at sectionals," said Curry, who had been in two before. "But I really felt something good this time. I went out there and it instantly felt right."
Field events felt right for a lot of boys. Six long jumpers, four triple jumpers including Neuqua returning qualifier McKenzie "Mac" Mitchell with a program-record 46-5¼ and teammate Daniel Osafo at 44-8. Six pole vaulters made it including Neuqua downstate returner Alex Kiefer, and five discus throwers.
Waubonsie Valley's Zac Lyons and Mantaj Singh each qualified in discus while Neuqua sophomore Matt Appel won the event at 163 feet, 6 inches, and also won shot put at 53-3. Singh qualified at 52-9½.
"There was a lot of pressure coming in, but I just had to calm myself down, pretend it was just another meet," said the 5-foot-10, 225-pound Appel, the Wildcats' frosh-soph record holder in both events.
"He and I didn't have a good day today," Singh said of Lyons despite each attaining the grail, "but our little Appel did."
Dipping temperatures and what Neuqua coach Mike Kennedy called an "unfortunate" wind made track events less generous. The minimum of two state qualifiers per event was the norm for all track events over 200 meters.
Neuqua's Tyler Bombacino, Ryan Kennedy, Danny Winek and Dakota Getty won the 3,200 relay, and shortly after Zach Kinne qualified in the open 3,200 at 9 minutes, 13.72 seconds. Sprinter Myles Gascon just made it in the 100 dash, at 10.92 seconds.
Neuqua's Donovan Turner was the next local qualifier with a sparkling time of 14.08 seconds in the 110 high hurdles, and he returned to win the 300s in a school-record time of 38.52 seconds.
"All the hard work I've put in to try to become better at the sport, it's paid off," said Turner, a junior and former lacrosse player.
At the gun lap of the 1,600, Winek broke from fifth place to qualify in the runner-up slot, proving that as he said, "I have a lot of confidence in my kick."
Neuqua Valley, whose 127 points doubled up second-place Plainfield North's 63 to earn the Wildcats' seventh sectional title, also sent down its 1,600 relay of Kel Foley, Kai Larson, Patrick Hoffmann and Turner.
Waubonsie Valley's Wes York, seventh in the 3A 800 in 2017, won a dogfight at 1:58.54 seconds. "I love this sport," he said.
His teammate Lyons agreed.
"There's just something about the meet, the atmosphere, that turns people on," Lyons said.