Huntley's Popenfoose lets mammoth throw fly

Huntley's Marcus Popenfoose joined elite company with his discus throw of 192 feet, 10 inches at the Cary-Grove boys track Invite on Saturday.

According to IHSA records, it was the fifth longest discus throw in state history. Lake Park senior Dan Block holds the state record with his April 2008 throw of 201-8.

Popenfoose's heave also rates as the sixth-best discus throw in the nation this year, according to Dyestats. The 6-foot-2, 255-pound junior said he expects further improvement.

"I actually feel this is a really good starting point for this year," Popenfoose said. "It was a good throw and it had a lot of pull on it, but I'm still technically unsound right now and I have a lot to clean up still. If me and (throws) coach (Chris Maxedon) get together and keep working on stuff, even better throws will come."

The weather conditions were ripe for good results Saturday.

"There was a just a little headwind, which was perfect," Huntley coach Jim Rolando said. "As a junior Marcus is so much smarter about where his release point is and how to judge the wind compared to when he was a freshman or sophomore. And Chris Maxedon has done a great job with him and our younger throwers, too."

Popenfoose also won the shot competition with a put of 58-1, which tied him for No. 22 in the nation this season.

Overall, Huntley won two relays and triple-jumping cousins CJ Ayemoba (40-3) and Asama Itseumah (40-1) each surpassed the previous school record of 40 feet to lead the Red Raiders (88 points) to a second-place finish behind champion Belvidere North (144).

Cary-Grove finished third in the eight-team invite with 69 points. The Trojans won the 1,600 and 3,200-meter relays, and Phil Fairleigh took the title in the 1,600 with a time of 4:28.5.