Neuqua likes look of possible state preview
It's a bold statement, but Friday's 21st annual Bob Cohoon Invitational offered a window into what just might happen at the boys state track meet in Charleston next month.
"Today will be a really good foray," said Neuqua Valley's Aaron Beattie, who led the 3,200-meter run from start to finish at Downers Grove South.
"The smoke will settle down a little bit after today and we'll see who's still standing," said Beattie, a Washington recruit who ran a personal-best 9 minutes, 8 seconds.
Neuqua Valley, the 2009 Class 3A runner-up, stood tall against fellow favorite Oak Park, amassing 139.33 points to the Huskies' 111. Downers Grove South - which had beaten Neuqua Valley twice indoors - placed third with 88 points, Downers Grove North fourth with 57.
Look at it this way - defending 3A champ York's 50 points took fifth. Oak Park set or tied four meet records, but when sprinter Devin Banks' leg tightened after a 10.5-second 100-meter win, Neuqua capitalized.
"There are great teams here and because the meet is so fast you really have to be ready and you have to be deep," Wildcats coach Mike Kennedy said less than three hours after field events began. "You have to have a whole bunch of athletes ready to go, ready to be fresh. That's really important, and that's what we were able to do here."
Along with Beattie's victory, Aryan Avant won the 400, finished second in the 200 and joined Cale Brown, Steve Carron and Jamere Morrison in a first-place 1,600 relay.
Morrison anchored a first-place 800 relay and Kyle Pembrook survived a hard high jump landing to win the 300 hurdles in 40.3 seconds.
Downers Grove North junior Brian Llamas made up 15 meters on the last leg of the 3,200 relay, as Trojans Andrew Montague, Mark Pfeiffer, Shane Zemel and Llamas recorded a sterling time of 7:55.
Later, Llamas - inspired earlier by a video of Billy Mills' 1964 Olympic 10,000-meter win - caught York's Andrew Smith in the open 1,600 and beat the Duke with a finish-line lean, clocking a personal-best 4:17.7.
"He had a great kick," Llamas said. "I thought he was going to get me. But I don't know ... I don't know where this kick came from."
Trojans distance coach Will Kupisch had an idea: "You can't beat a guy with heart. He's got it right now and it's contagious."
Downers South showed variety. Tyler Rocco won both discus and shot put with marks of 171 feet, 7 inches and 53-61/4, respectively, while Chris Madison's 1:57.8 in the 800 surpassed Carron in the 800. Among the state's top jumpers, Shane Molidor went 22-91/2 to win long jump while Jason Jozaites won the 110 hurdles at 14.7 seconds.
Hinsdale South all-stater Devin Lee took second in triple jump. Glenbard North's Mike Cosentino was second in pole vault behind York's sole champion, Nick Sgarbossa.
Glenbard North sophomore Malcolm Heard trailed Pembrook and Jozaites in the 300 hurdles. Just 5-foot-6, he doesn't find those hurdles too high.
"Not really," Heard said. "Just don't wimp out."