Locals off to fast start for indoor track season
Some of the usual suspects in area high school track and field are fast out of the blocks.
Glenbrook South senior Nathan Shapiro already has exceeded his seventh-place long jump distance from the 2021 boys Class 3A state finals.
On Feb. 26 at the Glenbrook South Relays, Shapiro went 7.18 meters, about 23 feet, 6¾ inches. That's nearly two feet farther than his best jump last June in Charleston.
Following Shapiro on Feb. 26 was Titans junior Ryan Shaefer at 7.04 meters, about 23-1. Between them, those marks entered the week ranking Nos. 1-2 in Illinois.
Coach Kurt Hasenstein said Shaefer qualified in his age group to compete at the New Balance Nationals this weekend at the Armory in New York.
Another returner from Glenbrook South's best-ever fifth-place Class 3A team finish last spring, on Feb. 26 senior Brian Hiltebrand ran 1 minute, 57 seconds in his 800-meter leg of the Titans' school- and facility-record 3,200-meter relay. Hiltebrand served as anchor for senior Michael Jerva, senior Lucas Houser and kid brother James Hiltebrand, a junior, who combined to run the distance in 8 minutes, 14.1 seconds.
In a quad meet March 3 at Glenbrook South, Hiltebrand set a 1,000-meter school record of 2:37.7. Pending qualification and entries-crunching at Batavia, both he and Jerva will run the 800 at Batavia's Distance Madness meet March 11. Hiltebrand finished fifth in the 800 outdoors at the 2021 IHSA 3A meet.
Titans sprinters also set a school and facility record in the four-by-160 relay Feb. 18 at Glenbrook South. Juniors Ben Freidinger and Schaefer and twin seniors Nathan and Noah Shapiro moved the baton in 1:13.4.
On the girls side, Glenbrook South coach Danny Zapler said senior Abby Milott has been looking good in the jumps.
The successor to all-state graduate Sydney Willits, Milott has a series of first-place finishes in long, triple and high jump, in which she placed 10th outdoors in Charleston in 2021.
Milott ranks among the state's top 20 in each event thus far indoors, twice recording better marks in high jump than what she did at the state meet.
Likewise, senior sprinter Hayden Nelson has won events at 50, 55, 200 and 300 meters. Nelson also joined Milott, Gabby DesRoberts and Saanya Shah on an 800 relay that won at Wheaton Warrenville South on Feb. 12.
The North Shore is again a boys distance-running hotbed, featuring returners Nick Falk of New Trier and Spencer Werner of Loyola.
A little over a month after Gatorade named Falk its 2021-22 male cross country runner of the year for Illinois, he ran what entering this week stood as the state's fastest 1,600-meter time.
At the Illinois Meet of Champions in the new Gately Park facility in Chicago, Falk ran the race in 4 minutes, 17.70 seconds, out-dueling Loyola senior Aidan Simon and Maine East senior Lukasz Iwanowski, among others.
Falk, joined on New Trier by seniors like George Cahill and Patrick Jamieson, will run the 1,600 and 3,200 at the New Balance Nationals, Trevians coach Andrew Schmitt said.
Jamieson, 16th in the 800 last year in Charleston, currently trails only Loyola's Werner indoors at the distance. At the Meet of Champions Werner ran 1:55.44 to Jamieson's 1:57.04.
Confident but not cocky, Werner can compete with the best in any of the three longest races in Illinois prep track. Third last year in the 3,200 and fourth in the 1,600 in Class 3A, he's currently among the top five statewide runners indoors at 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters.
New Trier junior Maeve Kelly advanced downstate as a sophomore last year in both throwing events, shot put and discus. She placed eighth and 15th, respectively, at the 3A meet.
She's back on target indoors in shot put, setting a program record of 12.49 meters, almost 41 feet, at Lakes Community High's D117 Winter Grand Prix on March 5. Entering this week that ranks second to Stevenson senior and, per Mile Split, Iowa State recruit Ella O'Neall's mark of 12.66 meters on Jan. 16.
Trevians girls coach Bob Spagnoli said Kelly will face O'Neall at an 18-team invite March 12 at Huntley, a battle between Nos. 1-2.