Glenbrook South has a state champ in boys track, and fifth-place team finish
Ryan Faut's championship effort led Glenbrook South to a program-best fifth-place finish at the Illinois High School Association Class 3A boys state track and field finals June 19 in Charleston.
The Titans senior won the discus competition with a school-record throw of 178 feet, 11 inches, or 54.54 meters, and placed sixth in shot put at 16.56 meters.
Faut's 14 points joined Nathan Shapiro's 9 total points in long jump and 300-meter hurdles and Brian Hiltebrand's 5 in the 800-meter run, while teammates Noah Shapiro and Stefan West shared in the achievement at Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Field.
Glenbrook South's 28 points were just 8 away from Class 3A champion Neuqua Valley's 36 points in a balanced, low-scoring meet. Minooka (34), Normal Community West (33) and Edwardsville (30) - which got all its points from sprinter Brandon Battle's victories in the 100, 200 and 400 dashes - followed the champion Wildcats.
It was the Titans' first time in the top 10.
"Obviously I'm extremely happy for our kids and our program and our school," said coach Kurt Hasenstein, whose summer camp began Monday. "We've always had a strong track program, we've done quite well over the years, but to be able to finish fifth in state and stay up with the top teams is a thrill for me personally.
"But I'm actually more thrilled for the kids in our program, because it rubber stamps what we've done, our process. I think it reinforces to our kids now, and the younger kids in the program, that when you go through the process and do the right things, that good things will happen."
Such as Faut in discus.
"I was pretty nervous starting off, but I had pretty good warm-up throws, so I knew that I was going to get at least one in that was pretty good," Faut said.
That came with his third of four attempts, in which he surpassed the Titans' prior discus record of 178-7 feet set by Max Leonard's fifth-place throw at the 2012 state meet.
The fifth seed in discus, after Faut uncorked his winning mark he then had to watch while his competitors attacked.
"It's nervousness, but I've just got to sit back, be patient. I can't force anybody to throw worse than me," said Faut, whose farthest shot put effort - 16.56 meters, about 54 feet, 4 inches - came on his first attempt.
"I've been working hard, lifting, throwing over the summer, stuff like that. It pays off in the end, and it's pretty satisfying," he said.
Headed to throw at the University of South Alabama, which recently fielded a second-team NCAA Division I discus thrower, Faut said he'd "make sure" the Jaguars would be notified of his title.
Glenbrook South throws coach Shawn Schleizer gushed over Faut's performance.
"Ryan is the greatest thrower that ever went to Glenbrook South," Schleizer said. "All-state in the shot put, all-state in the discus, school record-holder in the discus and second all-time in the shot."
Nathan Shapiro first launched himself 6.68 meters in long jump, about 21 feet, 11 inches, then set a personal record in the 300 hurdles at 39.17 seconds, good for fourth place.
Shapiro fouled on his first three attempts in long jump before soaring to seventh on his last try.
"I really wasn't that nervous, because I'd been jumping well and I knew I could just back up and get one on the board and that would do well," he said.
"For my final, fourth jump I got a clap going," Shapiro said. "I'd never done that before. I was really happy that there were a lot of GBS fans that came out to support, like a lot of other members of the track team. I was happy, they got a good clap going. And yeah, I just hit the board well. It wasn't really my best jump, but I'm happy with it."
Hiltebrand, seeded 20th of 28 entries in the 800, ran in the first of two heats, with runners who recorded faster sectional times running in the second.
The junior came around the first 400 meters in second place but fell back to sixth. In an athletic move with only about 50 meters remaining, Hiltebrand bounded outside from within the chase pack and made a final surge back into second place in his heat, good for fifth overall.
"I was like, I'll give it a shot," Hiltebrand said.
"It turned out great for him, and for us," said Hasenstein, who hadn't been banking on points from the 800.
Senior Stefan West finished 16th in triple jump and junior Noah Shapiro, Nathan's twin brother, placed 13th in the 200 dash and in a whopping, 35-man field, tied for 15th in high jump at 1.90 meters.
In the 400-meter run, Glenbrook North senior Graham Paterson did as Hiltebrand did two events prior - earn all-state status from a "slower" heat.
As at the Glenbrook South sectional, Paterson ran in a heat with Loyola's Austin Cabanban. Unlike that day Cabanban won Heat 2 at 49.26 seconds to Paterson's third-place 50.02.
Yet after all three heats were run Cabanban was fourth overall and Paterson eighth.
"Not very often do you get to see an athlete realize his potential the way you had hoped," said Glenbrook North coach Sean Brandt. "Graham put in the time for four years and we got to see his hard work pay off on Saturday. None of the coaches were surprised, because we knew he could beat some of the kids in the 'fast heat.'
"It's been a pleasure to coach him for four years and we could not be happier he finished on such a high note," Brandt said.
A junior, Cabanban also anchored Loyola's sixth-place 1,600-meter relay with Frank Miedema, Harry Wood Prince and Seichi Shinozaki, securing the Ramblers' eighth-place team finish with 23 points.
Fellow Loyola junior Spencer Werner placed third in the 3,200 at 9 minutes, 16.65 seconds. Almost exactly two hours later he finished fourth in the 1,600 with a personal-record of 4:13.60.
Werner executed one of his patented kicks over the last 280 meters of that metric mile to secure his position, and was happy with his two all-state performances.
"Two years ago," he said, "I did nothing."
Familiar foes from New Trier, senior Charlie Siebert and junior Nick Falk, again ran against Werner in the fast heat of the 3,200. Siebert placed fourth and Falk eighth.