Boys track and field: Hersey’s Farrell brings home state discus title; Grayslake Central’s relays shine
CHARLESTON — Hersey senior Logan Farrell required some assistance to the top of the state podium on Saturday afternoon.
It was a fitting conclusion to a 12-month odyssey that Farrell, a once promising recruit with endless possibilities due to his size, athleticism and IQ. Since the end of last season, Farrell suffered a dramatic knee injury that caused him to miss his entire football season.
After winning the Class 3A state discus state title on Saturday, Farrell calmly waited for his name to be called to have the first-place medal placed around his neck at the top of the blue podium. Wearing a heavy knee brace, Farrell extended each hand out wide, letting a pair of fellow placers — one on each side of him — to slowly pull him up to the top of the podium. He also placed fourth in the shot put (18.47), setting personal records in both events.
Farrell was all smiles after tossing winning the discus with a top heave of 60.01 meters at EIU’s O’Brien Stadium. Lake Park junior Rodrigo Gonzalez took eighth in the discus (52.22). Farrell committed to North Carolina to play football, but during his rehab, he decommitted and eventually signed with Illinois.
“Taking a year off and not playing, I’m ready to compete in football,” Farrell said, a tight end. “From 2024 to 2025, it’s been one of the most eventful times of my entire life. I tore my ACL last summer…I really messed up my knee in a 7-on-7, dislocating my kneecap, fractured my femur, tore my ACL, PCL and both meniscuses…Illinois stuck with me through my knee and told me I would be back. I did it.
“I was really looking forward to competing this year in track. I started throwing at end of indoor. I came down here and PRs in both shot put and discus.”
At 260 pounds, Farrell said he has to “get down in the lean line” after weighing 235 pounds last season. He spent most of his time focusing on track, not football. His track results on Saturday made all the hard work and pain worthwhile.
“I knew I wanted to come down and do this after coming so close my junior year,” Farrell said. “I had some unfinished business. It was a lot of hard work in the dark that people don’t see or understand. I’m reaping the benefits of that. I’m super happy and blessed to come out here in a super talented field and win it.”
Palatine’s Carter Hayes claimed second place in the 3A 3,200 run (9:01) to beat Fremd’s Rory Gaan, who took third (9:06). Palatine junior Alexander King notched fourth (9:11) and Barrington senior Joe Bregenzer managed sixth (9:14), while Fremd’s Jack Jennings was seventh (9:16) in the heavy Mid-Suburban League filled event.
“I knew the guys to beat would be tough, so I had to get around and go for it,” Hayes said. “Going into the last lap, it felt good until I got hit by a wind in the back stretch. That hurt a lot, but I fought through it to get second. It was a rough race.”
In the 1,600, Hersey junior Mateus Salomao placed seventh with a time of 1:55, with Lake Zurich junior Cameron Libby taking eighth and Antioch’s Carson Lanners ending in ninth. Antioch senior Brandon Marks claimed fifth in the 300 hurdles, Naperville North’s Edward Mumford was seventh and Schaumburg’s Ray Black placed ninth.
Grayslake Central had a big day in relays, as the 4x200 group of Rashad Smith, Kenye Pendleton, Johnathan Lapidus and Andy Monzanga finished in fourth (1:28).
Grayslake Central’s 4x100 meter relay of Smith, Everett Ciokajlo, Jaden Privitt and Pendleton earned a fifth-place medal. Maine South’s relay was sixth and York ended in eighth. The Rams also had a fourth-place finisher in the high jump in Christian Jaimes (2.02). Buffalo Grove sophomore Taras Kilchitski is a promising underclassman, finishing in fourth place in the long jump (6.93). Lake Zurich senior Connor Strauss placed fifth in the triple jump (14.37).
“I’m little disappointed because I went into the day third, so disappointing I fell because I had it in me,” Strauss said. “I have to take a step back and look at the grand scheme of things, just from my progression since my freshman year means a lot.”
Barrington junior Hayden Dahlin had a productive day with a fourth-place medal in the pole vault (4.60). Lakes junior William Mercure placed sixth and Prospect junior Jack Kruger managed ninth.
“This meet I kept my composure and stayed calm because I was more used to it than last year and the year before here,” Dahlin said. “This motivating me a lot. I’m hoping to get top three next year.”