Neuqua dethrones 2-time state champs
Lake Park, with its seemingly unlimited arsenal in field events, had a comfortable lead on Neuqua Valley in the team race of the Upstate Eight Conference indoor boys track and field meet Friday evening in Batavia.
But the two-time defending Class 3A state champion Lancers were unprepared for what came next — especially the fast heat of the 400-meter dash.
Jake Bender, the Wildcats’ reigning state runner-up in the event, set a new league record with his 50.26-second time.
But, even more important, teammate Nick Rafacz came in second at 51.12.
The resulting 18 team points unleashed an avalanche that carried Neuqua Valley to the championship of the 14-team meet with 110 points.
Lake Park was only able to muster 10 more points over the final three events to finish second with 76.
Metea Valley edged three-event champion Waubonsie Valley out for third, with St. Charles East doing likewise to its sister school, St. Charles North, for fifth.
Bartlett was the trendsetter for the five Elgin U-46 schools with its seventh-place result. Geneva, Batavia, Streamwood, Larkin, South Elgin and East Aurora rounded out the team scores as Elgin failed to place any competitors in the top six.
“No question that (Neuqua Valley) sweeping the quarter was the turning point for them,” Lake Park coach Jay Ivory said. “Hats off to Neuqua Valley — they ran a great meet.”
“I didn’t expect Nick to get second place for us,” said Bender, who came back moments later to deny Larkin junior Jalen Griffin by three one-hundredths to win the 200 dash in 22.97. “Those were big points for us. I’m going to help my team in whatever way I can to get a state championship.”
Bender was a sprint-relay state champion two years ago as a sophomore.
Mark Derrick and Drew Smith followed the 400 sweep with 12 more points at 1,600 meters for Neuqua Valley, and the Wildcats’ plurality only surged over the Lancers with a 16-0 run at 200 meters.
“We just kept racking up the points,” Neuqua Valley acting coach Jaime Janota said. “That was something (Lake Park) couldn’t deal with.”
Seasoned cross country team state champions Derrick and Taylor Soltys powered the Wildcats’ 3,200 relay to an easy win to start the meet.
The Wildcats’ unrelenting closing drive overshadowed a brilliant night by Lake Park jumper and hurdler Scott Fillip.
The Lancers’ junior followed his win in the long jump at 22 feet, 9.25 inches with an another championship effort of 44-9 in the triple jump.
Filip ended with 36 individual points after placing third in the high jump and nipping three runners at the wire to win the 55 hurdles in 7.9.
“There is no way a set of human eyes could have picked a winner,” Filip said after edging out Bartlett sophomore Alex Bailey and St. Chares East senior Nick Devor by three one-hundredths. “I had the best start out of the blocks. I eventually fought them all off until the end.”
Lake Park junior Tim Ehrhardt captured the Lancers’ third field event with a 14-6 night in pole vault.
Metea Valley twin brothers Joe and Matt Stewart gave new meaning to the term sibling rivalry.
The former led nearly wire-to-wire at 3,200 meters with his brother placing runner-up.
“We were seeded the top (two), so we kind of expected it,” Joe Stewart said. “We pushed off each other very well. I’m happy with the time (9:37.03).”
Waubonsie Valley weightman Jamaal Bearden was the class of the shot-put ring with his personal-record throw of 54.5.
The Warriors also won the 800- and 1,600-meter relays behind Kyle Schaffer, Kyle Neese, Daniel Waldron, D Gray, Kyle Cluver, Johnno Burke and Austin Ameri.
Jake Mazanke defended his crown at 800 meters in style for St. Charles East.
The Saints’ senior put it in high gear at the start of the race and never looked back in turning back runner-up Kevin Skrip of Neuqua Valley by nearly two and a half seconds.
“I’m going to run my race,” Mazanke said after breaking the two-minute barrier (1:59.24) but failing short of his record-setting time (1:58.7) of a year ago. “Whatever happens, happens. I want to score points for my team. That’s the most important thing.”
Mazanke later teamed with Carter Reading — third in the open 400 meters for St. Charles East — as part of the Saints’ fourth-place team in the meet-closing 1,600 relay.
Peter Archibald returned with a vengeance for Geneva in claiming the Vikings’ lone title with his dramatic win over Derrick in the 1,600 run.
The Vikings’ distance leader missed the entire outdoor season last year with a stress fracture to his left shin.
But the drama was fervor-pitched when Archibald and Derrick crossed the gun lap shoulder to shoulder.
Derrick tried a quick darting move to break to the outside, but Archibald counteracted with a burst with 150 meters to go, taking a lead he would not relinquish in claiming the title at 4:26.52.
Derrick was clocked in 4:27.36.
“I knew (Derrick) was a very competitive runner,” Archibald said. “He was definitely putting a huge move over the last two laps. I didn’t know if I had it in me (to match his aggression). I can’t wait to run against this field (outdoors).”
The Vikings’ other top individual performance was turned in by junior Michael Bianchina with his third-place result at 3,200 meters.
Zac Miller placed in the hurdles, Nathan Wendt did likewise in the open 800, and Kevin Carlson was sixth in the shot put to account for the Vikings’ sole point in the field.
But Geneva still finished 4 points better than Batavia, which articulated consistency in the lower medal-winners to account for its 21 points.
Brandon Clabough set one of five Batavia program records by clearing 14 feet in the pole vault to finish second in the event.
The senior later became the lone Batavia athlete to place in more than one individual event with his verdict in the 55 hurdles.
Jake Pollack (high jump), Austin Lewis (shot put), Michael Moffatt (triple jump), Chris Orlow (1,600 run), Chris Spadafora (3,200 run) and Alex DiVerde (800 run) all scored for the host Bulldogs.
“I feel good about where we sit going outdoors,” Batavia coach Dennis Piron said. “(Sprinter Marquise Jenkins) is just scratching the surface of what he can do.”
Oshay Hodges’ anchor leg for St. Charles North closed out a successful night for the North Stars’ senior.
Hodges ran the final leg on the North Stars’ runner-up mile relay quartet after earlier snaring the only field event title for a local athlete.
Hodges’ 6-6 performance in the high jump was two inches better than Lake Park senior Kevin Spejcher for top honors.
“I wanted to get 6-8,” Hodges said. “It was my first time jumping since December. I’m just a little rusty. I was pleased but not satisfied.”
Bartlett accrued 24 of its 26 points on the basis of three second-place finishes.
“We did better than what we were supposed to (according to the seeds),” Bartlett coach Eric Kramer said.
Junior Connor Rachford anchored the Hawks’ 3,200 relay to second place, and Bailey came up agonizingly close to Filip in the 55 hurdles.
Kevin Bauers’ 53-3.5 heave in the shot put was not only a new career best also worth 8 points to Bartlett as a team.
Blake Holder made sure Streamwood would not leave empty-handed.
The Sabres’ junior, coming off a state appearance in the 100 meters last season, redeemed himself of a razor-thin loss of a year ago to claim the only local title: the 55 dash in 6.49 seconds.
“I lost by three one-hundredths (of a second last year),” Holder said after a convincing victory. “I have been working really hard. I wanted to go out there and see how (my work ethic) translated to the track.”
Holder accounted for all of the Sabres’ individual points with a fourth-place result at 200 meters; the Sabres’ 800 relay was sixth its final of 15 points.
Jalen Griffen held the same distinction for Larkin.
In the finals of the 200 dash, the Larkin junior, who earlier finished third to Holder at 55 meters, was pitted against Bender for league supremacy.
The Neuqua Valley senior leaned at the tape to deny Griffen by three one-hundredths, 22.97-23.0.
“It was really close,” Griffen said. “I was a little nervous at first. Once you get going you get the energy to move. The nerves kick in.”
South Elgin sprinter Zach Gross was the third local entrant in the finals at 55 meters; he finished fifth and later helped the 800 relay team to a third-place result.