Boys track and field: Hersey emerges on top after tight battle at Grayslake Central sectional

It was a race to the finish for the championship of the Class 3A Grayslake Central boys track and field sectional Friday night.

And it was Hersey that captured its third sectional title in school history with 108 points. Lake Zurich edged Barrington 86-84 for second place followed by the host Rams (74 points) in fourth, Warren (68 points) in fifth, and Dundee-Crown (66 points) in sixth.

The top two finishers in each event advanced to state next weekend along with any athletes who made the IHSA state cut-off times and distances.

"All season long our goal was to get as many kids in as many events as possible to the state meet, and the kids have done everything I asked of them," said Hersey coach Jim Voyles. 'We'll be running full throttle (in 4x800) to make the finals, and we're not going there for anything but to medal."

The 100-meter dash was as close as it gets as Dundee-Crown's Oreoluwa Sobodu (10.63 seconds) beat Lake Zurich's Nick Gast by .01 seconds for first place. Also heading to state in the 100 are Barrington's Lamar Osterhues, Grayslake Central's Ken-Ye Pendleton, and Warren's Chris McBride. McBride won the triple jump (13.60 meters).

The Chargers also got a first-place from Kyle Brents (1.98 meters) in the high jump. Hersey teammates Jackson Travis and Pete Franczyk also made state in the high jump along with Palatine's Andrew Schellenbach. Brents placed second in the triple jump.

"I'm grateful to my coaches for putting me in the position to win," said Sobodu, who will compete at UW-Oshkosh next year. "The goal for everything (at state) is to place, and we just have to get those handoffs down in the 4x100."

Sobodu also won the 200 in 21.37 seconds followed by Pendleton in second. Gast, Warren's Weston Locke, and Buffalo Grove's Anton Zweig are also headed to state.

Osterhues (7.06 meters) won the long jump over runner-up Travis. Brents, Warren's Jakobe Jones-Tolbert, and Lake Zurich's Oroderhowho Akpoigbe also made state in the long jump.

The Broncos also got a first place from Jett Kohanzo (16.96 meters) in the shot put and Hayden Dahlin (4.60 meters) in the pole vault.

"We had a great meet, our 4x100 went 41.84 and we had four sectional champs," said Barrington coach Todd Kuklinski. "I'm just hoping to get good weather (at state), and it would be nice to run a meet in 70 degrees."

Grayslake Central's Sam Ullrich, Hersey's Sawyer Koruba, Palatine's Jaylen Maiden, Grayslake Central's Jack Patten, and Hersey's Dean Costopoulos also made state in the shot put. Dundee-Crown's Rylan Schmidt also made state in the pole vault.

Wauconda junior Mason Reigner (1:56.80) edged freshman Dylan Reigner by .26 seconds for first place in the 800. Libertyville's Thomas Chudy, Hersey's Aidan Korb, Palatine's James O'Sullivan, and Libertyville's Trace Whildin also made state in the 800.

Palatine's Alex Krieg won the 3,200 in 9:12.95, and he will be joined at state by Lake Zurich's Karanveer Patil, Mundelein's Elijah Mendoza, and Lake Zurich's Luke Marshall.

Warren's Jackson Wiklund was the 110-meter champion (14.34 seconds) while Grayslake Central's Daniel Sachuk, Lake Zurich's Ian Schmeltzer, and Hersey's Chase Parisi are also headed to state. Sachuk won the 300 hurdles in 39.01 seconds while Warren's Jackson Wiklund, Vernon Hills' Joshua Benson, and Parisi reached state.

Barrington's 4x100 relay team of Osterhues, Hayden Dahlin, Adam Lyon, and Michael Trachtenberg won in 41.84. The host Rams, Dundee-Crown, and Lake Zurich also made state in the 4x100.

Grayslake Central's 4x200 squad of Pendleton, Ray Ray Wright, Everett Ciokajlo, and Andy Monzanga won the 4x200 in 1:28.26. Lake Zurich and Barrington also made state in the 4x200.

Hersey's 4x800 team of Elliot Baik, Gabriel Gronski, Brandon Rugg, and Mateus Salomao won in 7:50.58. Mundelein and Libertyville are also heading to Charleston in the 4x800.

Palatine's duo of Eliaz Egbe (51.56 meters) and Evan Downer went 1-2 in the discus. Vernon Hills' Jack Gutowski (48.43 seconds) won the 400 while Barrington's Adam Lyon, Warren's Jake Donahue, and Hersey's Riccardo Bonaccorsi also made it downstate.

Lake Zurich's Gordy Libby won the 1,600 (4:17.28), and Hersey's Gabriel Gronski, Barrington's Kyle Kroupa, and Hersey's Elliot Baik are also headed for state. Vernon Hills took second in the 4x400 to make state.