Boys track and field: Grayslake Central makes it 3 straight NLCC titles
Try as they may, there was absolutely no stopping Grayslake Central from winning its third straight Northern Lake County Conference boys track championship Thursday night at Antioch.
The powerful Rams started off strong and they never looked back as they cruised to the team title by a very comfortable 175 to 96 margin over runner-up rival Grayslake North. The host Sequoits were a close third with 91.5 points while Lakes placed fourth in the eight-team meet with 77.5 points.
Grayslake Central junior Trey Sato won the 800-meter run in 1:54.25 and the 1,600 in 4:23.96. The Rams' 4x800 relay team of John Vagnoni, Camden Heavelyn, Adan Cordova, and Duncan Jones rolled to first place in 8:22.57 while teammate William Welty (10:19.03) won the 3,200.
Grayslake Central also got first-place finishes from Sean Mullen in both the 110 hurdles (15.66) and 300 hurdles (41.90), Kaiden Miller in the long jump (6.48 meters) and triple jump (13.50 meters), and Jaydin Kante (15.50 meters) in the shot put.
"All of the kids were focused and ready to roll. This is a hard working group of kids, and they represent Grayslake Central very well," said Grayslake Central coach Brent Pitt. "It's a team effort. You don't win just off first places, even the sixth-places are as important as the first-places and the kids know that."
Grayslake North's Zach Weitgenant won the 400-meter run in 51.06. He also placed second in the 200 by .04 seconds to North Chicago's Matthew Brooks, and second in the 100 by .01 seconds to Brooks. The Knights also got a first from Gavin Mercier (42.65 meters) in the discus.
"I thought it was a good meet, it was a great day weather-wise, and we did what we expected to do," said Grayslake North coach Tyler Woolard. "We're looking to grow the program, and this is a step in the right direction."
Antioch's 4x100 relay team of Deven Floyd-Pickett, Martin Cohen, Payton Holmes, and Joey Neumann placed first in 43.39. The Sequiots' same four runners also won the 4x200 relay in 1:29.76. Antioch's team of Holmes, Cohen, Tyler Wolfe, and Ademide Adegboyega also won the 4x400 in 3:24.92. Grant placed second in the 4x200.
"I'm extremely happy because they worked so hard and I'm so proud of them," said Antioch coach Darnell Rios. "They've got a really good shot of making state in the 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4. They just have to stay healthy and stay focused."
Defending Class 2A state pole vault champion Paul Migas of Lakes took first place with a vault of 15-feet, 2 inches.
"We finally had good conditions outside today, but I was disappointed with the height," said Migas, who has a career-high vault of 16-feet, 1 inch. "The key for me in two weeks are the two new poles I'm getting which will obviously help me get more pop off the top."
Wauconda's Kosta Zografos won high jump with a leap of 6-feet, 7.5 inches. Grant coach Nick Nenni is optimistic that his 4x200 team can make a push for a berth to state.
"They didn't have a great handoff, but they just ran incredible," Nenni said. "I think they are in the hunt for state, I think they will be seeded fourth next week at sectionals."