Boys track preview
Mid-Suburban League meet
Where: Conant High School
When: Today, preliminaries at 4 p.m.; finals at 6:30 p.m.
Front-runners: Barrington and Buffalo Grove have already won the West and East Divisions this season and are the favorites to dethrone Palatine. Barrington has won three titles since 2003, including back to back in 2006-07. BG last captured the team title in 2001, behind former football standout and current Baltimore Raven Tommy Zbikowski.
Disrupters: Things never go as planned. and while the Bison and Broncos are the considerable favorites, Conant, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Fremd will all play pivotal roles in who wins the team race.
Individuals to watch: Two of the biggest names that will run on their home track for the final time are Iowa-bound Conant seniors Jeff Thode and Kyle Reid. Both figure to be busy in four events. Thode will anchor the Cougars' 3,200 relay, run the 800, 1,600 and anchor the 1,600 relay. Reid will hit the pole vault as the No. 2 seed, tackle both hurdles races and finish in the 1,600 relay.
For Barrington, all eyes figure to be on Loyola-bound senior Ryan Mangone. He has the best 800 time in the state this spring and the second-best 400 time. Mangone will also anchor the Broncos' top-seeded 1,600 relay and run on the 3,200 relay.
Fremd senior Alex Roark will handle the sprints (100, 200, 400 and anchor 400 relay).
Relays: The 3,200 relay is always a signature race at this meet and should be again. Prospect holds the top seed, but Barrington, Conant, Hersey, Palatine and Meadows will all challenge the talented Knights. The 400 relay just got better with healthy Fremd senior Justin Fujii back. Barrington, Wheeling and top-seeded Buffalo Grove will compete in what should be a great battle. The 1,600 relay could end up being the best event. Barrington is the top seed, with Mangone, Kevin Crowley, Billy Odell and Eric Schneider leading the way. BG will be right there with Conant.
Sprints: Roark has emerged as a serious title contender in the 200, but the 100 and 400 look to be the best races. Senior Steve Miller of Buffalo Grove and Barrington senior Sam Ojuri should have a great battle in the 100. The 400 figures to be a great race, with Mangone the heavy favorite. The 200 with Jason Taylor of Barrington and Dionte Hackler of Schaumburg should also be a battle.
Distance: Thode will look to run wild one more time, which should make for interesting second-place battles in the 800 and 1,600. Mangone, Schneider, Angelos Karkalis of Rolling Meadows and Tyler Fuchs of Conant should battle in the 800. The mile could be a fun battle, with Pat Lesiewicz of Schaumburg and Palatine's Alec Bollman in the mix.
Field events: A month ago, the shot put looked like a two-horse race between Matt Babicz of Prospect and Alan Baxter of Buffalo Grove. Now that the Bobeks (Jeff and Brian) from Fremd have emerged as serious contenders, the shot could be the best field event. The discus could be more one-sided, as Babicz has been the most consistent all season. BG senior Matt Newman, Meadows senior Mick Viken and Hoffman Estates senior Cory Smith are top seeds in the high jump, pole vault and long jump, respectively.
Don't-miss, Part I: Even though it isn't scheduled to start until 10:45 p.m., stick around for the 1,600 relay. BG edged a hard charging Mangone in the only battle this year between the Bison and Barrington at the Palatine Relays. Barrington is the top seed, and with Mangone on the last leg, the Broncos are never out of it.
Don't-miss, Part II: The 100 has lost a little luster over the past few seasons, but this year the spark is back. Miller, Roark and Ojuri are the known commodities. James Kurtz of Wheeling, Conant's Kendall Lane and James Blackmon of BG should make for a fantastic 10 seconds.
- Jeff Newton