WW South's Piraino extends record by a hair
That Biblical hero Samson has nothing on Kevin Piraino.
Samson cuts his hair and falls apart. The Wheaton Warrenville South athlete gets clipped, he comes out stronger.
Even when Piraino resembled the fifth Beatle circa 1968 while setting the Tigers' triple-jump mark of 45 feet, 111/2 inches as a sophomore, that was mid-May 2008.
On a mid-April Saturday at West Aurora's 10th annual John Bell Invite, the sheared senior extended his school record to 46-21/2.
He's also emerged as a sprinter, placing fourth in the 200-meter dash and leading off a third-place 800 relay to help the Tigers to second place overall behind a strong West Aurora team and ahead of a Neuqua Valley squad experimenting with its state-caliber lineup.
We all know, of course, hair length has nothing to do with time and distance. Off-season work does, and positive mental attitude.
"Since I've lifted a lot more I've been a lot more consistent and have been getting better," said Piraino, joining Tigers field event winners Dan Walsh in pole vault and Titus Davis in long jump. Brian Welker and Mike Kroeger went 3-4 in discus, while on the track Matt McAndrews took second in the 3,200 run.
"I jumped over the summer," Piraino said, "and the guy I was jumping with (North Central College national qualifier Justin McQuality) showed me that it's a lot more mental than I think it is. If I just can try to be more confident I can do better."
That will almost certainly be the case for Neuqua Valley (77.5 points). A week after winning Schaumburg with 142 points, the Wildcats finished behind Bell three-peater West Aurora (86) and WW South (78). Naperville Central and Willowbrook also competed.
Neuqua coach Mike Kennedy mixed up relay groups and sent one of Illinois' best 400 runners, Aryan Avant, into the 800 along with exciting newcomer Steve Carron. They finished 1-2, Avant surpassing the soccer convert the last 180 meters.
"I'm just trying to keep up with him, actually," said Carron, with Matt Wytiaz, Parker Howard and Jamere Morrison on Neuqua's sole relay champ, the 1,600.
"He'll be right there by me," said Avant, among Carron's several new mentors. "I think that's what they're going to do, is probably put me in the same races as him so we can stay together."
In perhaps the day's greatest duel, Neuqua's Aaron Beattie and Downers Grove North's Brian Llamas bumped shoulder to shoulder the last 50 meters for the open 1,600 title. Llamas just edged the University of Washington signee in a sub-4:21 battle.
Llamas' heroics - he also rallied to give fourth-place Downers North the 3,200 relay - joined solid outings by Trojans sprinters TaSean Jackson and Rob Lott, jumper Kameron Rush and hurdler Mitch Witek, second in the 300 hurdles in a sharp 39.81.
"He had a 1:58 split in the (relay), and now he does this," Downers North distance coach Will Kupisch boasted of Llamas. "I told him, just think if you would have made the bus this morning, you would have had a better time."