Track and field: Batavia 800-meter relay back on track

Decorea McAlister is a new face on the defending Class 3A 800-meter track state champion.

But the junior has grand ambitions to continue the Batavia tradition in the event.

Thursday evening at the Bulldog Relays, McAlister, the Upstate Eight Conference 55-meter champion in the boys dash over the weekend, teamed with another newcomer in 200 indoor conference champion Julian Davis.

With Jeremiah Evers and Reggie Phillips - the Bulldogs' two returning sprinters from the first relay state champion in program history - returning to the fold, the quartet cruised to the title in one minute, 32.28 seconds.

"I want to be on that state team," McAlister said. "Jeremiah has been helping me out a lot. I call him coach J."

At the non-scored coed meet in Batavia, there were fine performances from multiple returning state qualifiers from both genders.

There were three traditional indoor relays - the 1,600 and 3,200 joined the 800 - as well as medleys in sprints and distance races.

In the sprint medley relay, Davis and Evers ran their customary 200 legs on yet another victorious Batavia relay.

Sean Adams and Zach Flitsch brought the Bulldogs home in a winning time of 3:42.57 as the two seniors retained the team lead with their 400 and 800 runs.

The 1,600 relay was an all-underclass affair for the Bulldogs' third championship unit.

Anthony Bradley, the lone freshman, collaborated with sophomores Damian Rodriquez, Joey Knanishu and Adam Kennedy to sweep the field in 3:33.46.

"The main focus was getting the sophomore (team) record at our school," said Kennedy.

The distance-medley relay, however, belonged to Glenbard West.

Will O'Brien opened the Hilltoppers' cause by running the first-leg distance of 1,200 meters.

Ian Repking had the honors at 400 meters, and junior Rory Cavan provided Luke Malek with a 10-meter cushion on the 1,600 anchor leg with his blistering burst at 800 meters.

"The difference for us was we had a lot of confidence," said Cavan. "(The event) ended up working well for us."

Malek said the pre-race uncertainty was eroded quickly.

"We weren't totally sure what the competition would be like," Malek said. "I just knew that I had to maintain (the lead when I received the baton)."

The Hilltoppers defeated Oswego East by almost six seconds with their winning effort of 10:52.42.

Glenbard West (8:18.12) was second to Conant in the 3,200 relay; Cavan was also prominently featured in the Hilltoppers' runner-up 1,600 relay as well.

In the girls division, West Aurora junior star Dajour Miles once again found the Batavia indoor facilities to her liking.

The defending 400 state champion who captured three dashes at the Upstate Eight indoor championship on Saturday, Miles overcame a 15-meter deficit on the anchor leg to power the Blackhawks' 1,600 relay in a season-best time of 4:03.74.

Rashida Naylor, Savannah Ming and Victoria Spagnola were also on the West Aurora championship quartet.

"(I had) to close the gap, run a smart race," said Miles. "I felt strong mentally and physically."

Miles also turned in brilliant legs on the Blackhawks' runner-up 800 relay and sprint medley relay.

West Aurora has a deep sophomore class as Nia Wood, Alyssa Mayhew and Annabelle Behrens also made important contributions.

Batavia was runner-up in the 3,200 relay and third in the 1,600 race behind senior leaders Marygrace Golden and Tori Ortiz.

In the sprint medley, Rosary senior Brooke Delahanty showcased her 800-meter skills on the anchor leg.

The Loyola-bound Delahanty, fifth last year in Class 2A, passed three runners to help the Royals to second place.

"It was a big confidence-booster for Saturday (where Delahanty is in three events at Top Times in Bloomington)," she said. "It's not every day that I get to run with sprinters."

But Glenbard East bested the field behind three returning state qualifiers - Keonnah Weaver, Brenna Peters and Cailyn Biegalski - and promising freshman Lauren Huber to win the event in 4:14.94.

"I just really wanted to go out hard and be confident for myself," said anchor Biegalski, who turned a deficit at the start of the 800 leg into a comfortable victory in 4:14.94.

"We set the meet record last year and broke it this year," said Peters. "It's still indoor, but it's a transition to outdoor."