West Aurora leads local teams

If familiarity does breed contempt, West Aurora will gladly accept the consequences.

At the Class AA West Aurora boys track and field sectional Friday night, the Blackhawks, with sprinter Josh Zinzer carrying its symbolic torch, qualified six individuals and two relays to the state finals next weekend to lead the area teams.

"It really helped to be at home," said West Aurora senior Joel Vincent, the lone area champion who won the triple jump with an effort of 45 feet, 11 inches.

West Aurora led the four area teams with 59 points to finish fourth in the 20-team field.

Marmion had two individual qualifiers, while Batavia and Aurora Central Catholic had one apiece.

It was Zinzer, however, who was the emotional leader for West Aurora.

The junior began his night with a brilliant anchor leg in the 800-meter relay to make the state-qualifying mark by four one-hundredths.

Zinzer then gave Bolingbrook two-event winner Kayode Adegoke all he could handle in the open 200 meters, nearly overtaking the Raiders' 100 champion down the stretch.

Then, with little rest, Zinzer ran the second leg of the Blackhawks' mile relay to another runner-up finish and a return engagement to Charleston, where the quartet was sixth last spring.

"Running against the best guys in the state helps," Zinzer said. "You can't hold anything back (in the sectional). I was watching the clock the whole way down the backstretch (of the 800 relay)."

"He's a stud," West Aurora coach Cortney Lamb said of Zinzer. "That's just the type of kid he is, a great competitor and team guy."

Tony Knight anchored the West Aurora 1,600 relay, and the senior also made the state cut in the open 400 meters with his second-place result.

"I'm happy," Knight said. "I'm 2-for-2 (in events qualified)."

The Blackhawks were also strong in the field; in addition to the championship performance from Vincent, Juan Perez shattered his personal record, as did Kevin Costin, in the shot put.

Aviance King was the final West Aurora qualifier, soaring 6 feet, 4 inches in the high jump to place second.

With his 57-foot-plus throw, Perez exceeded his seed distance by more than four feet.

"It was a crazy night in the shot," West Aurora weight coach Bob Fowler said.

There were five at-large qualifiers in the event, including Marmion junior Joe Weber, who hit the state mark on the exact number -- 52-9.

"There was some controversy," said Weber, noting his qualifying effort landed on the hash mark. "I though they were going to take it away from me."

The meet referee adjudged the throw to be allowable, and the Cadets later had a second qualifier when Josh Stein made a late surge in the 1,600 run.

"That is my best time ever in the mile," Stein said after crossing in 4:19.62. "I feel pretty good about that."

In its first year as a AA school, Aurora Central senior earned the distinction of an at-large berth in the high jump.

The night could not have been much worse for Batavia.

Junior standout Bai Kabba was injured in the 400 relay, but his teammates -- Andy Thomas, Dan Skinner, and Erich Zeddies -- still rallied to provide the Bulldogs' only state qualifying event.

"A lot of close calls," Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. "(Kabba) didn't look like himself. These kids deserved better than this."