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Boys track and field: Batavia leaving UEC on top

The Batavia boys track and field team went out on top at Millennium Field in Streamwood Thursday.

The Bulldogs won a sixth straight Upstate Eight crown in their final appearance in a conference they entered in 2010-11. Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles North and St. Charles East join the new DuKane Conference next season.

The Bulldogs won any way you cut it. Scored as one UEC meet of 13 schools, they finished with 142 points. West Aurora, fueled by a slew of field-event victories, finished with 130 points, followed by St. Charles East (96), Geneva (90) and South Elgin (75).

Scored as a two-division meet, Batavia ran away with the UEC River title, outscoring second-place Geneva 175-119.

What does domination from a team standpoint feel like?

"It feels great, actually," Batavia senior Sam Conger said after winning both hurdles races. "And to be able to do my part and score 20 points for my team is just insane."

Conger won the 110 high hurdles in 14.53 seconds. The time didn't approach his personal best of 14.32 FAT, but it was a solid bounce-back after a false start in the event at the Kane County Meet a week earlier. He likewise breezed to victory in the 300 intermediate hurdles in 38.97.

The Bulldogs posted wins across the board. Senior Elijah Green won the discus (152-4) and sophomore Adam Kennedy won the 800 in 1:58.38. They opened the track portion of the meet with a victory in the 3,200-meter relay (8:12.95) and closed it by blowing away the field in the 1,600-meter relay, thanks to the foursome of senior Reggie Phillips, Kennedy and sophomores Joey Knanishu and Julian Davis.

"We can run it better," said leadoff man Phillips, who handed the baton to Kennedy with a 5-step lead. "We can run it better, for sure."

West Aurora challenged Batavia for UEC superiority by dominating the field events. Two-time defending Class 3A state champion Cam Donatlan won the high jump. The Wyoming-bound senior cleared 6 feet, 8 inches to best Villanova recruit Peter Willis of St. Charles North (6-6). No other competitor cleared 5-11. Donatlan had the bar set at 7-1 after he cleared 6-8 but was unable to better his personal best of 7 feet.

The three-sport star also won the long jump by 7.5 inches with a distance of 22 feet, 9.25 inches. "I'm hopeful I can win the long jump at state, too," Donatlan said.

West Aurora junior Moshe Rogers placed first in triple jump (44-3.5) while junior teammate Davaris Cheeks took second (43-3). Senior Reece Mavros won the shot put by almost two feet with a heave of 52-4, and junior pole vaulter Andre Stapleton-Jones cleared 14-6 on his first try to win against St. Charles North's Gil Braglia, who cleared the same height.

"I was hoping for 15 feet, but I've been really sore and I've been stuck at 14-6," Stapleton-Jones said of his personal best, set last week at the county meet. "A little close but not there."

Braglia improved his personal best by a foot. "It's crazy," the St. Charles North junior said. "We've been working on it in practice all week and that was my second time ever jumping on that pole so it was kind of weird. I'm very, very surprised."

St. Charles East scored multiple victories on the track. Sophomore Bob Liking won the 3,200 in 9:30.74, senior Charlie Wade took first in the 400 (49.07) and sophomore Aiden King won the 1,600 (4:23.19) by making his move at the start of the bell lap.

"I stayed with the pack for the most part," King said. "The last lap I looked up and saw the clock and realized it wouldn't be the time I wanted. So I had to sprint and I went."

South Elgin won the 400-meter relay in 42.73 and the 800-meter relay in 1:30.32.

"It was really satisfying," said South Elgin junior Jake Todd, who led off both relays. "We do relay handoffs and blocks and we've really put in a lot of work to come out here and perform well during championship season."

Geneva junior Andrew Olenek prevailed in the 100-meter dash in 11.26, just ahead of South Elgin senior Desmond Lockett (11.30).

West Chicago senior Zenen Cardenas won the 200-meter dash in 22.29 seconds and placed second in the 400.

"It's kind of weird to run the open 400 and then come back and run the 200," said Cardenas, who never ran the 200 until this season. "Where it's at in the meet gives me just enough time to recover and I feel like I'm warmed up."

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