Jacobs, Cary-Grove's Hurley shine at FVC meet
It is almost scary how good Ricky Hurley could be by the time the outdoor track and field season wraps up in late May.
The Cary-Grove junior, despite 3 scratches in 6 throws, claimed his second consecutive Fox Valley Conference indoor shot put championship with a heave of 57.05 Wednesday during the conference meet at Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville.
"I did everything right on my 57-foot throw," said Hurley. "I took a deep breath then another deep breath and blocked everything out of my mind. I knew it was a very good throw when I released it."
Jacobs, with two first-place winners, claimed the team title with a score 105. Huntley was second with a score of 88.
Claiming top honors for the Golden Eagles were Josh Walker (200, 24.24) and Dylan Rogers (400, 54.24).
"It was a good way to culminate the indoor season," said Jacobs coach Jason Borhart. "It was a good team effort and we had some very good individual efforts. We can now
train and recover from some injuries and get ready for the outdoor season."
Finishing second, Huntley got first-place efforts from Brennen Bell (55 high hurdles, 8.09) and Keagan Smith (1,600, 4:36.4).
Smith, who trailed Crystal Lake Central's Ryan Pitner heading into the final lap, passed Pitner to take home the top prize.
"I wasn't scared when I got behind," said Smith. "I knew I had enough kick to finish."
Grayslake Central claimed 3 firsts to finish third with a score of 86.
DeMarcus Quick won the long jump (20.25) for the Rams while Kacey Adams snared the triple jump (42-7.25) and Jacob Wiggins outran the field in the 55 intermediate hurdles (7.93).
Dundee-Crown placed fifth with a score of 49. The lone first place effort for the Chargers came from their 6,400 relay team which took top honors in a time of 1:16.52.
Crystal Lake South was seventh with a score of 36. The Gators' best finish was the 3,200 relay team, which crossed the finish line in a clocking of 8:29.12.
Cary-Grove, led by Hurley's effort, was in eighth with 35 points.
Grayslake North, with a first-place finish from Titus Booker (55 dash, 6.62) was 11th with 23 points.
Hampshire, with 16 points, placed 12th. Brandon Bowen was the top place finisher for the Whip-Purs placing second in the high jump with a leap of 5-11.