Boys track and field: Prospect's team effort nets MSL crown

While defending its Mid-Suburban League boys track championship on Thursday night at Elk Grove High School, Prospect's seventh-year coach Jay Renaud could not be all that surprised.

"I think we have a better team this season so it was definitely a goal," he said after watching his Knights win the title for the third time in the last four meets. "We felt pretty good about our 2020 team, too (which didn't get to compete due to COVID-19)."

Prospect led the 12-team field with 170.5 points followed by Barrington (101.5), Schaumburg (95.5,) and Hersey (79).

The Knights had five individual champions, including Jack Berman (100 meters), Jaylen Calhoun (high jump), Dominik Balenda (400 meters), Luke Holtmeier (long jump with 21-5 distance) and Liam Westfallen, who netted 18 points for his team with a first-place finish in the 300 hurdles (40.44) and second in the 110 hurdles to Rolling Meadows champ Noah Heiber (15:39).

"The team is doing really well," Westfallen said. "I think we are going to be a force in the sectional (next Thursday at Deerfield) and maybe we'll even do well at state."

Renaud liked the Knights' overall effort.

"I think our hurdlers were really good," he said. "Those guys and our 800 guys scored a bunch of points. The 100 was great. I can't necessarily single out one thing. I think we stepped up in a lot of ways."

Calhoun stepped up with a personal-best of 6-1.

"There were four jumpers going for 6-1," Renaud said. "And Jason cleared it in his last attempt to get the win so that was impressive to do it under a little bit of pressure."

"I definitely feel like I can do better but I am proud of this," said Calhoun, who had an injured hip flexor last season when he went 5-8 in the meet. "I feel like I can still get the state qualifying mark which is 6-3. I'm very proud of all my meets this season because compared to last year I've made a lot of improvement."

Berman, a standout receiver who will play football at Navy, won the 100 with a season-best time of 10:95.

"Jack is looking real good right now and I think he is just going to get better over the next two days," Renaud said. "I was very impressed by him."

The 1600-meter race might was the most impressive event of the evening as Fremd's Theodore Cunningham prevailed with a time of 4:16.19 in a race featuring 10 personal records, including three sophomores (fourth, fifth and sixth) who were all under 4:23.

Conant coach John Powers came up with the right mix in the 4x800.

For the first time all season, he paired juniors Jayden Patel, Gaven Cropin, Connor Ariunbart and senior Vijay Krishnamoorthi for the 4x800 and they produced the seventh best time in Illinois with a 7:56.27.

"We knew we were capable of something," Powers said of his runners who were seeded No. 3. "Exactly what, we weren't sure or how it would roll. We put them together to give us some confidence for the sectional and to help our ability to qualify, and I think we got that accomplished."

Other champs were Hersey's Cameron Donner (158.80 in the 800 meters), Hersey's Will Nolan (personal record 16.99 in the shot put), Gus Dammann (PR 146-02 in the discus), Schaumburg's Esad Sengun (PR 15.09 in the pole vault), Schaumburg's Michael Gbenyo (PR 43.03 in the triple jump) and Barrington's 4x200 (David Marian, Travois Soto, Matthew Marusich, Oscar Wright), Barrington's 4x100 (David Marian, Noah Lewandowski, Luke Hall and Oscar Wright) and Schaumburg's Alex Valencia (PR 22.55 in the 200 over teammate Omarion Jones, who finished in 22.60).