Neuqua Valley helps itself to sectional

Even the best runners can use a little help from their friends.

Neuqua Valley's Connor Horn had already qualified for next week's state meet in the 3,200-meter run at Thursday's Class 3A Plainfield North sectional, held at Plainfield Central. The 1,600 came and he didn't have tons left. Teammate Dan Weiss took the reins and pulled Horn along to his second qualification.

"Connor did the distance double, and that's no easy thing to do. So we knew that his race was going to have to be pretty strategic. I knew I couldn't base my race off of him," said Weiss, who ran 4 minutes, 18.33 seconds to Horn's 4:18.95.

"Basically what happened, we just ran our own races and than on that third lap we got closer together and then we started pushing through together. Then that last lap, it was just 'go.'"

"I told him before the race that he'd have to be bold," Horn said, "and he definitely did that."

The Wildcats qualified 11 positions, earning the sectional title with 90.50 points to 77.50 for Plainfield East and 77 for Minooka. It was Neuqua's fifth sectional title, the first since repeat wins in 2009 and 2010 which prefaced top-three Class 3A finishes.

The Wildcats suffered few upsets. Ty Moss and Zac Espinosa each will try to repeat 2014 all-state runs in the 800 and 400, respectively, and Moss anchored qualifying 1,600 and 3,200 relays, Isaiah Robinson also running on each.

Neuqua junior Tom Cwiok yelled and jumped into the arms of throws coach Dave Ricca after sending the discus 156 feet, 11 inches to make it on his last throw.

"I just tried to stay as confident as possible," Cwiok said.

Another discus qualifier, Naperville North's Matt Frey, admitted he wasn't very confident coming in. That quickly dissipated. His first attempt soared 150 feet and his second got it done at 156-10.

"As soon as I got the 150 I knew that I was going to get it, I just had to whip it harder," said Frey, to be joined in Charleston by Huskies pole vaulter Mark Egan and 3,200 runners John Klaiber and Kerry Gschwendtner.

Waubonsie Valley surprised by qualifying its 800 relay of Haneef Spikener, Tristan Sutton, Charles Burke and JaQuere Williams, and also registered with hurdler pals Tyler Kirkwood in the 110 lows and Jeff Penny in the 300 intermediates.

For a second straight week Kirkwood smacked the last hurdle, a shoe flying high over the finish line before he rolled in at second place.

"Technically," said Warriors coach Kevin Rafferty jokingly, "if you use the first shoe that comes across he might have been the winner."

Naperville Central's Kyle Hilton was third in that 300 hurdles race, but his time of 39.75 seconds also will have him competing next week in Charleston, the Redhawks' sole qualifier. Like Kirkwood, Hilton wasn't clean, but clean enough.

"Last week I fell down over the last hurdle," Hilton said, "so I was a little worried when I clipped that last one at the end. But, it feels good."