Boys indoor track and field: Lake Zurich edges Stevenson for NSC championship
The North Suburban Conference boys indoor track and field meet came down to the final event Saturday as Lake Zurich and host Stevenson battled it out for the championship.
The Bears held a slim 124-122 lead after 14 of the 15 events were completed. But Lake Zurich finished third in the 1,600-meter relay to fourth for the Patriots to take home the NSC title by a 130-126 margin.
Mundelein placed third with 77 points while Libertyville’s 58 points placed fourth. Warren competed at the powerful Bob Nihells Classic in Naperville on Saturday.
Lake Zurich senior Nick Gast won the 60-meter dash in 6.98 seconds. Senior teammate Cameron Libby won the 800 in 2:00.66. The Bears also got a first from Yahzrel Griffin (8.22 seconds) in the 60-yard hurdles, Ian Schmeltzer (8.72 seconds) in the 60-meter hurdles, and Rocco DiCanio (41-4.75) in the shot put.
“Stevenson jumped out to a 43-12 lead after the field events, and once the track events started we came through,” said Lake Zurich coach Todd Anderson. “Everybody worked hard today. It was outstanding to see some of our guys come back from injuries, and we just battled event by event.”
The Bears finished about seven seconds ahead of the Patriots in the 1,600 relay.
“On the handoff the Stevenson guy left a little bit of a gap,” said Libby, who ran the anchor leg of the 1,600 relay. “I think we're going to do well this year, and I know we've worked hard, so I'm excited to see how it goes.”
Stevenson's 800 relay team of freshman Mkhai Agee, Mlakhai Agee, Ishaan Thirumalaivasan and Jaydan Lopez won in 1:34.40.
The Pats also got first-place finishes from Anthony Adams in the shot put (49-7.5), Andrei Konstantinidis in the long jump (22-11.25), Thirumalaivasan (13.30 meters) in the triple jump, and freshman Mlakhai Agee in the 200 (22.70 seconds).
“Lake Zurich has a really strong upperclassmen group, and our guys who are scoring points are mainly freshmen and sophomores,” said Stevenson coach Scott Sommers. “We started off the meet with a bang with a ton of points in the field events, and we've really put an emphasis on developing guys in those events.”
Mundelein teammates Elijah Mendoza (9:50.19) and Aidan Sweet went 1-2 in the 3,200-meter run. The Mustangs' 3,200 relay team of Andrew Weaver, Erick Cordova, Advik Sharma, and Nathan McCreight won in 8:13.47. The Mustangs also won the 1,600 relay in 3:34.58 behind McCreight, Weaver, Brandon Newell and Izic Miller. Sweet won the 1,600 in 4:31.38.
“Our time was really good in the 4x800, and I've got seven different guys I can plug in there,” said Mundelein coach Kurt Rutz. “Our two guys in the 3,200 can both make state, and last year our 4x800 went to state so they should be able to make it again.”
Libertyville junior Sebastian Atencio soared to the high jump crown with a leap of 6-2. The Wildcats’ all junior 3,200 relay team of Filip Vojvodic, Jack Steffe, Trace Whildin and Thomas Chudy placed second.