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Hertz so good for Lakes at Top Times

BLOOMINGTON - Lakes senior Corey Hertz didn't like the taste he had in his mouth after the 60-meter dash prelims.

The Northern Iowa-bound Hertz failed to make the finals in the event and chose to take it out on the rest of the field in the 400 dash.

In the final heat of the 400 at the Illinois Prep Top Times meet at Illinois Wesleyan University's Shirk Center on Saturday, Hertz shot out of the blocks, waited until the stagger was made up and blew past the rest of the field for the win in a blistering 49.02.

The winning time was the fastest indoor time in the state this spring.

"My goal was to hit the cut-in early to conserve energy," Hertz said. "That way I didn't have to expend any energy trying to pass people."

And about the 60-meter dash?

"The 60 helped me on my start and got me ready for this race," Hertz said. "This was a huge goal for me. I was thinking about it all break long."

Hertz's teammate Cooper Jazo battled as well, clearing a personal-best 14 feet, 6 inches in the pole vault to place fourth. Palatine senior Jake La Rocca cleared 15 feet and finished second.

On the track, Saturday was a proving ground of sorts for Barrington senior Konrad Eiring. After a 2014 season that was marred by injuries, Eiring looked all the way back as he ran to an impressive victory in the 800 run. His time of 1:56.82 held off a hard charge from Jacobs' Matt Goldby (1:57.32).

"I was hoping to go out a little faster, but it was really nice to have people to run with," Eiring said. "I have had a few races where I have pretty much run by myself, so this was a good challenge today."

One athlete who is still challenging himself to hit the magical 60-foot mark in the shot put is Crystal Lake South senior Kyle Hedge. While he didn't his 60 Saturday, his throw of 56-10.75 was good enough for the win. Fox Valley Conference rival Ricky Hurley of Cary-Grove was fifth (55-1.5). Dylan Scheirich of Lake Park led a group of four Lancer throwers by finishing third (55-3).

"I'm still chasing 60 feet since last year," Hedge said. "I'm excited to get outdoors in good rings with good weather, hopefully."

Another runner who can't wait to get outside is Huntley's Keagan Smith. The junior, who has been among the fastest milers in the state during the indoor season, showed again that he is just that with an impressive win in the 1,600.

Smith battled with the likes of Mundelein senior Bryce Richards and a large pack of runners before pulling away with 400 meters to go. Smith took the lead back from Richards on the final lap and held off a hard charge to win in a personal-best 4:16.86. The time also was good enough for an indoor school record at Huntley.

"I usually go out and get passed with 800 meters left," Smith said. "I felt really tired but still felt like I had something left there in the end."

Richards was second in a personal-best 4:17.39.

In the Class 2A session, Vernon Hills senior Noah Agnew cleared 6-6 to win the high jump.

On the track in the 2A session, Lucas Ege of Burlington Central ran into a familiar foe in Korrion Session of Cahokia. Session edged Ege in the 60 hurdles, 8.18 to 8.21.

In the 800 relay, Ege, Jason Berango, Bradley Sorensen and Trevor Davidson ran 1:34.55 to finish third.

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