Track & Field: Barrington, Palatine's Brown stellar at Palatine Relays

Palatine's Superman didn't need a phone booth Saturday.

A wrestling room sufficed.

Pirates senior Josh Brown pulled off a remarkable double at his school, winning the 110-meter hurdles in 15.98 at the Palatine Relays and - less than a half-hour later - changing into a singlet inside the building before needing only 13 seconds to pin a 170-pound Niles North Viking in a wrestling dual.

Brown, also an all-conference defensive lineman in football, then returned (minus a red cape) to Chic Anderson Stadium to spring for more long and triple jumps. He had also helped the Pirates' 400-meter relay (with David Burchett, Jacob Bostick and Dominik Ball) zip to a first-place time of 44.48.

"Josh is a true three-sport athlete," Palatine track coach John Nalley said. "At one point this spring he was either competing or training in all three sports.

"I told him (Saturday morning) he could wear his singlet while jumping for us if that would make his day easier."

Barrington's teams, meanwhile, produced singular efforts in the 88th edition of the meet. Barrington's boys topped the field with a 74-point total, ahead of runner-up Palatine (42), Lake Zurich (34) and Mundelein (18). Barrington's girls earned 68 points to runner-up Palatine's 50. LZ (34) and Fremd (16) finished 3-4.

Barrington's busy Broncos had captured the Stevenson Relays Thursday night, two days after defeating Conant in a dual.

"It's all about the guys getting opportunities to compete," Barrington coach Todd Kuklinski said. "It's a crazy schedule, but we're using it to figure things out and get ourselves ready for bigger meets."

Kuklinski's crew won a pair of relays (3,200, 1,600) and received first-place showings from Alfredo Arnieri (1,600, 4:33.1), Nate Goodman (high jump, 5 feet, 8¾ inches), Ikki Takahashi (long jump, 20-10) and Andrew Pacini (shot put, 49-2¼). Joey Furlong, Jack Fitzpatrick, Gavin Sarkar and Ben DeWeerdt combined legs to win the 3,200 relay (8:16.06), and DeWeerdt - already a 10-year triathlete - anchored the 1,600 quartet (also Sarkar, Takahashi and AJ Van Vuren) to a victorious 3:36.05.

The blistering 800-meter quartet of Barrington Fillies Sofia Rosenzweig, Kathleen Baker, Brooke Husby and Clare Gourdie clocked a first-place time of 1:47.14 on a chilly, windy, cloudy day. Rosenzweig also collected gold in the triple jump (35-7¼), and Husby scooted to a triumph in the 110 hurdles (16.12). Coach Jody Gitelis' other winners included Claire Kavanagh (discus, 130-8) and Rosenzweig, Baker, Bre Dunn and Lucy Ordway (1,600 relay, 4:12.56).

"Happy to be here - we all are," Gitelis said. "Our team's attitudes are phenomenal. I'm impressed with our hardworking girls, and they're enjoying the chances to compete in a season."

Lake Zurich's girls team was invited to compete at the Palatine Relays for the first time.

"And now I want to stay in it," said Bears coach Jeremy Kauffman, whose quartet of Hayley Burk, Ruby Lueras, Ginger Mirabelli and Brooke Johnston skipped to a 21-plus-second rout in the 3,200 relay (9:46.8).

The Bears' 800 relay of Audrey Pratt, Rayna Kauffman, Riley Betz and Casey Ledinsky later finished third in 1:47.66, which ranks second in program history. Johnston, a sophomore, sped to a meet-best 5:08.82 in the 1,600, and AJ Burke, another sophomore, piloted herself to a height of 10-4 to win the pole vault.

A pair of Bears left the meet as champions in the boys' segment. Senior Nicholas Soto won the 300 hurdles in 42.51, while classmate Charles DiCanio's 139-1 discus fling bettered the runner-up's distance by nearly 12 feet.

Bostick's medal haul for Palatine also included a gold in the triple jump (44-7); teammate Damian Zych cleared 11-2¼ to win the pole vault; and Pirates Ball, Anthony Westfall, Gentry Mabry and Patrick McClanahan connected for first-place honors in the 1,600 sprint medley relay (3:43.15).

Senior Alli Gerdes emerged as a two-time victor for Palatine's girls, leaping 16-9¼ in the long jump and anchoring the 400 relay (season-best 49.66; with Mia Foy, Jocie Waddington and Kaci Wimer).

"That relay ran an awesome race," Pirates coach Ruth Spethmann said. "It was exciting, so many of our athletes taking advantage of their opportunities today."

Palatine seniors Laura Seeberger, Anya Ball and Kylee Stammer took first place in the 300 hurdles (48.16), high jump (5-3) and shot put (36-7½), respectively.

Fremd's top result came in the 1,600 sprint medley relay (1st, 4:32.53 - Danielle Lyons, Kiera White, Katie Kuehn and Amanda Markham).

Mundelein's boys stood out in the 800 relay, with Saul Garcia, DeAngelo McClellin, Cole Bradshaw and Marcel Siepko collaborating for a first-place 1:34.21.