Boys track and field: Barrington repeats MSL championship
The 59th Mid-Suburban League boys track and field championships at Barrington Thursday would be held under ideal conditions with temperatures in the high 70s and sunny skies at the beginning of the meet.
Those conditions continued into the night with the temperature dropping into the mid-60s by its conclusion under a clear night sky.
It set the stage to see if there could be a challenger for top team honors alongside Prospect and the host Broncos who had captured MSL divisional meet titles a couple of weeks before.
And when the lights at Frederick/Motor Werks Auto Group Field at Barrington Community Stadium were finally turned off it would be Barrington earning a repeat MSL crown as it outpaced the Knights 134.5-123.
Hersey (91 points), Fremd (72 points), and Palatine (66 points) rounded out the top five.
"The Mid-Suburban just in track and field overall is one of the top conferences in the state," Broncos coach Todd Kuklinski said of winning the program's ninth title since 2003.
"Prospect is such a great team. Hersey is such a great team. Proud of my guys. We battled all night (as) we had some adversity going through, but you're never going to win this meet without going through some adversity and the kids battled back and did some great things."
After taking the 4x100 relay (41.53), defending state 3,200 titlist Joe Bregenzer became the first Bronco individual to win an event coming in at 9:23.95.
The Wisconsin recruit talked of keeping himself properly hydrated to deal with potential cramping.
"Cooler weather suits distance runners better, but no excuses," Bregenzer said.
"At the end of the day we all were dealing with the same conditions. I did everything I could to make sure I was prepared for the heat. I had a job to score points for my team and I didn't want the heat from preventing me to do that."
His senior teammate Mark McGinn (1:56.11) captured the 800 followed by fellow senior Ryan Fahey winning the high jump (6-02.75) to become the third solo winner for Barrington. That was followed by junior Adam Lyon's win in the 400 (48.65) and another pair of relay triumphs in the 4x200 (1:28.83) and 4x400 (3:22.59).
Junior Nathan Cichy's win in the 110 hurdles (14.77) led East Division champion Prospect's night.
Cichy, a recent Harvard commit, enjoyed competing in this weather.
"No wind, too, (which) is awesome especially for hurdles because you can lose your footing sometimes. I feel like I'm in a great spot," Cichy said.
"It teaches you to live in the moment (because) it's crazy how fast the time has gone."
Hersey senior Logan Farrell was living in his moment as he captured both the discus title with a heave of 169-02 and the shot put 58-10.25).
Farrell, an Illinois football recruit, had his senior season on the gridiron canceled by a knee injury, and he cherished his performances Wednesday.
"I had a good day,“ Farrell said. ”Got lucky (and) blessed to come and compete. These are the most important meets coming up. I mean, it's been a great three years. Hopefully, it can be a great last three weeks."