WW South spreads success around in DuPage County win
The DuPage County Boys Track Championship is not to be missed - unless you've got a wife earning her doctoral degree the same night.
That was Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ken Helberg's lot on Friday. As he saw his wife, Paula, walk the walk at Northern Illinois University, his Tigers won the 78th DuPage County meet.
Collecting 115 points to dethrone defending champ York (105 points) and top host Lake Park (102), WW South scored in 14 of 18 events, double-scoring in five, and clinched on Lukas Looby and Dan Walsh's 1-2 pole vault finish.
"We knew that we had a chance to score in a lot of events, and that's what we had to do," said Tigers assistant Denny Walker who, conferring with Helberg by phone, believed it was WW South's first county title since 1999.
Looby and Kevin Piraino, who won triple jump, were the Tigers' sole champions. But the Black and Orange excelled throughout, placing in all four relays while notching big points from Matt McAndrews in the 1,600, hurdlers Phabian Clark, Joe Krob and Dan Vitale, 800-meter man Kyle O'Malley and long jumper Charlie Pinedo.
"We're not going to get as many firsts maybe as some other teams," Walker said, "but we've got some good depth and I think that was the difference."
When York fails to win county it may be considered an upset, but WW South is certainly no upstart. That title was held for Glenbard West's 400-meter relay of Nick Burrello, Chris Phillips, Justice Odom and freshman anchor Kendall Johnson. Their time of 43.74 seconds won the event for the first time in Hilltoppers coach Kurt Frazier's 16 years with the program.
"We've been PR'ing every meet and we're starting to get the idea that, you know, we can do this," Burrello said. "For the first time we're breaking records, getting first place. It's just amazing."
Fellow Hilltopper, sophomore Mike Lederhouse, pushed York's Jack Driggs in the 1,600 until Driggs kicked to win at 4 minutes, 26.47 seconds. Lake Park's Steve Krauss took third.
"It's always fun to win county," Driggs admitted.
Mist and blanket-inducing cold limited Lake Park high jumpers Kevin Spejcher and Demetrios Layne to 6-foot-5 and 6-3, respectively, in first- and second-place finishes. Likewise, Naperville North went 1-2 in the 3,200 with Bob Guthrie and Tyler Jermann. The Huskies, a solid sixth-place, also enjoyed Antonio Owens' long jump victory.
Glenbard South's Wesley Sanders edged 110 hurdles winner C.J. Jossell of Wheaton North in the 200, while West Chicago senior Matt Kubik earned the fictional title of fastest man in the county.
Kubik, also tied with Walsh for second in pole vault, lowered his 100-meter personal best to 10.84 seconds, beating Glenbard South's Garret Payne and Sanders.
"I haven't run this (event) since sophomore year," said the muscular Kubik. "Then I ran in the Geneva Invite and took first. I've been sticking with it and it's been very prosperous."
Payne, lifting the Raiders to fourth place ahead of Wheaton North, won the 400 per usual and returned for a stirring anchor leg of the 1,600 relay. The junior made up a nearly 20-meter deficit to win at the wire.
An admitted "big meet" racer, Anthony Jordan of Willowbrook, won the 300 hurdles while the biggest athlete in Roselle, Lake Park's Jermaine Kline, threw his first discus 183 feet, 4 inches and his second 195-3 to break former teammate and state champion Dan Block's county record. Kline also won shot put at 62-61/4.
"I threw my first one, and it was a solid throw," Kline said. "And I just kept on improving after that, so I felt happy every throw. I just carried my happiness over to shot."