Tough conditions take their toll
CHARLESTON -- The tough ending to the season on a brutally tough day at the Class AA state track and field championships at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium will likely linger for Lakes seniors Andrew Stein and Jon DeGrave.
But when the pain passes, the two figureheads of the Eagles track program will have plenty of good memories to recall.
Stein and DeGrave competed at state for the second straight year, and despite not making the finals, both will leave Lakes holding a combined three school records -- not to mention several other marks that could stand the test of time.
"Jon and Andrew have set the bar for this program," said Lakes coach Kurt Rowells. "They have worked real hard, and getting to state is the reward for that hard work."
Stein and DeGrave suffered through a long day that featured three-plus hours of weather delays and continual bad conditions including heavy rain and cold winds.
Stevenson may have come the closest of any team in the area to earning a berth in the state finals.
The Patriots' 3,200-meter relay team of Oliver Rose, Johan Laker, Tyler Bartlow and Ben Kluvers were among the leaders through two legs of their heat on Friday before the pace picked up and Stevenson couldn't catch up.
The team finished in 8:07.57 -- ninth in their heat. The race overall was slower than in past years because of the bad weather, but the Patriots couldn't hold on.
"It was hard because we have run better," Bartlow said.
Mundelein ran the team of Alex Mena, Matt Hoffmeyer, Dom Jouzitis and Robbie Munnings in the 3,200-relay.
Mundelein seniors Jamell Ross and Adam Bassett also knew what it was like to have a close call. Ross struggled in the long jump, much like the rest of his flight. Competing on a wet runway into 20-plus mile an hour winds, Ross was only able to muster a best effort of 20-8½ to finish out of finals consideration.
Bassett cleared 6-4 in a high jump competition that was moved inside because of the weather, but he could not hit the required 6-5 to earn a finals berth.
The best hope for area competitors figured to be in the 800-meter run, with the likes of Warren junior Karsen Green, Grant senior Derek Hall and Grayslake Central senior Jarod Zygmunt.
But Green finished 11th in the heat, Zygmunt 12th and Hall 13th.
Senior Pawel Zurkowski in the shot put joined Hall in competition. Zurkowski mustered up a best effort of 51-2 in his first state meet.
Antioch also knew a little about a near-miss. Senior Lamarr Pottinger was racing step-for-step in the 110-meter high hurdles with eventual heat winner Ryan Miller of East St. Louis. With three hurdles remaining, Pottinger tripped badly over a hurdle, throwing off his steps and forcing a fifth-place finish in his heat. Teammate Tyler Woolard finished seventh in his heat of the discus.
Grayslake North had its best representation ever at the state meet, with senior Nick Lane competing in the 1,600-meter run and senior Brian Verwijst in the pole vault.
Lane struggled in his second trip to state, running eighth in the fastest heat of the event (4:29.59).
Verwijst narrowly missing a berth in the finals. His 13-3 clearance is a personal best and was the best in his flight.
The bad days were not just on the track, as Vernon Hills senior Zach Wheeler found out. Wheeler, who had been over 14 feet consistently over the last month, struggled when the competition moved indoors and failed to hit the mandatory 14-3 clearance needed to make finals.
Wauconda junior Garrett Dorsey competed in his first state meet in the 400-meter dash. He finished fifth in his heat in 50.91.