Boys track and field: Team effort sparks Batavia in prelims
CHARLESTON - Batavia senior Julian Davis said Bulldogs athletics is all about team. Examples came Friday.
In Class 3A preliminaries of the 125th boys track and field state finals at Eastern Illinois University, Batavia advanced its 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays into Saturday's finals.
"Everything we do at Batavia is all about the team," said Davis, who like Trevor Tousana ran in both the 800 and 1,600 races. "So coming down here we're just focusing on our group, making sure we're hydrated the best we can be and overall everyone's here just trying to compete for Batavia."
"Yeah, we're just trying to compete, it's simple," Tousana noted.
Adam Kennedy even pulled himself out of the open 800 to make himself available for Saturday relays.
When it was suggested beating DuKane Conference rival St. Charles East might also be a goal, that was shot down.
"We're just trying to beat any team that's in our way," Tousana said.
In the 3,200 relay that will include the Saints. Entering O'Brien Field, St. Charles East and Batavia were seeded Nos. 1-2 in the event. Saturday's finals will include both teams as well as Huntley, led off by junior Ian Geisler.
"We want to qualify, we want to make the finals, but it's hard to find that balance between going super hard and making it to finals," Saints sophomore Luke Schildmeyer said before the final 3,200 field had been set. The Saints advanced at 7 minutes, 58.83 seconds; Batavia ran 7:53.54 pursued by Huntley in the same heat at 7:56.94.
"We've got to mentally prepare to be running two races in two days," said St. Charles East senior Bennett Melone. "It's not something we've done before, so we have got to be ready for that."
Cary-Grove thrower Jason Petko looks ready. The senior sits seventh in shot put at 56 feet, ΒΌ inch, and fourth in discus at 172-8.
Marks from preliminary throws carry over to finals, as they do in horizontal jumps - where Geneva's Onyi Ukaobasi advanced in long jump and West Aurora's Moshe Rogers and Geneva's Lawi Djuma reached finals in triple jump.
Pole vault advanced 12 boys who cleared 14 feet, including Marmion's Andrew Saloga, St. Charles North's Gilbert Braglia and Kaneland's Nate Bermes, who may have had the most vocal cheering section at O'Brien Field.
In addition to his grandparents and mother, Bermas credited "an unexpected crowd."
"We have a lot of students from Kaneland come down here. That's helping me a lot. I wasn't expecting it, it's great though. I was really happy when I was hearing the cheers," Bermes said. It also helped Kaneland's Daniel Occhipinti advance in the 1,600, and Austin Adams in the 800.
Larkin's Jahari Stubbs advanced in the 300-meter hurdles at 38.56 seconds, winning his heat with the second-fastest time overall.
"I felt strong the whole time," Stubbs said. "I knew I had to get a better start than I do usually, because I usually kind of take it easy and then try to make up ground in the last 100 meters."
Joining South Elgin by advancing in the 400 relay and Batavia in the 800 relay, Dundee-Crown will run in both on Saturday. Dylan Becker, Alex Miller and Jason Miller ran on each sprint relay for the Chargers. In 2018 that wasn't the case.
"We didn't even qualify," Becker said. "This is a good feeling."
In Class 2A, Burlington Central ran the fifth fastest time in the 3,200 relay and the seventh fastest in the 1,600 relay to set up possible all-state performances.
Rockets senior Connor Wagner ran the 110-meter hurdles in 15.03 seconds to make the finals. Hours later he added his second final berth in the 300, going 39.53 seconds in preliminaries.
Being a typical middle-lane hurdler due to his fast times, running the 110s in Lane 9 will be unfamiliar to Wagner. He's up for it.
"It'll work out pretty well," Wagner said. "It's just a normal race. I just won't have anybody to my right so it won't be too bad."
The state experience isn't only great for those who advance to the finals. Huntley's Antonio Passarelli was unable to qualify in the 400 or 800 relays, or in the 200, but poured himself into them.
"I was thinking about everything my coach has said to me, everything my pop said to me, everything my mom, my sister and especially those seniors that are leaving that won't have another opportunity to get a race in high school. I mean, I just tried to dump it out all on the track for them and run as fast as I could."