Boys track and field: Lake Park's Michelini owns discus and shot put ring; Batavia cruises to DuKane Conference title
A slow group clap crescendoed around Tyler Michelini before he let out a ferocious last shot put attempt as white chalk dusted the air around him.
Michelini, the No. 1-ranked Lake Park senior in the state of Illinois for shot put according to Athletic.net, let out a roar that reminded everyone around him who was king of the ring.
His final attempt thudded with an eye-popping 19.75-meter finish to capture the DuKane Conference varsity shot put title on Thursday. Michelini also starred with a convincing victory in the discus with a 54.47-meter attempt in the finals.
With his senior season just weeks from being finished before moving on to a collegiate football career at Grand Valley State University, it doesn't take much to motivate him as a competitor beyond the following six words.
"I want to be the best," Michelini said. "It's that simple. I want to be the best at everything I do. I like to compete, no matter what it is, whether it's in the classroom, a backyard game or even if it's something as small as flipping a coin.
"I just want to win. I love the feeling that comes with wining. That's what drives me to still compete."
The natural expectations that come with results of his caliber don't bother him too much. Instead, he just relies on his internal belief in his abilities.
" ... I know what I can and can't do," Michelini said. "So, I like to stay calm, talk about things that don't really [revolve] around throwing, kind of helps me out ... as long as I can stay calm throughout the time waiting in between my throws, as soon as I get in the ring, I'll be able to lock in."
Lake Park senior Josh Brown also won the high jump with a 1.85-meter attempt.
Batavia, however, continued to flex its DuKane Conference dominance to capture its third consecutive title with 159 team points. Wheaton North followed in second (110) and St. Charles North third with 107 points.
Batavia won four individual events.
Bulldogs star sprinter Quintin Lowe blazed to a 9:36.43 finish in the 3,200-meter race, followed by junior teammate Ethan Storie (10:02.82) and St. Charles East's Greyson Ellensohn (10:06.14). Bulldogs senior Weston White took first in the 100-meter dash (10.92 seconds), followed by Geneva senior Karl Gattinger (11.11) and St. Charles North's Ayodele Bateye (11.14).
Eric Perkins also won the 400-meter dash (50.56 seconds) and long jump (6.48 meters) for Batavia.
"It feels really good to be making a legacy here with the Batavia track team," Lowe said. "It started when I was a freshman, the seniors, their season got cut short because of COVID-19. We could've done some great things that year. [I] just kind of carried that hunger the next three years. We've done great things.
"Our goal every season is to get the triple crown: [Kane] County, [DuKane] Conference and sectionals. It feels good to be two-thirds of the way [there]."
Wheaton North sophomore Aidan Murphy overtook St. Charles East's Mitch Garcia within the final 100 meters of the 1,600 for the stunning 4:21.43 first place finish.
" ... I just thought this is it; this is conference," Murphy said. "I kept some in the tank and I just [finished the job] ... it's amazing. I just really wanted to get a state qualifying [time] and I crushed that. So, I'm just happy. I'm ready for state."
Caleb Varney took third in shot put (15.42 meters) for the Falcons, while John Tarpeh (45.57 meters) and Nathaniel Stevens (44.81 meters) took third and fourth, respectively, in the discus.
Wheaton Warrenville South, which took fifth as a team, won the 4x800 relay; sophomore Amari Williams won the 110-meter hurdles with a 15.49-second finish. Tigers senior Colin Nelson also captured the 800 with a 1:55.85 finish.
St. Charles North captured the 4x100 relay in a photo finish with Batavia, a finish of 42.61 and 42.63 seconds, respectively. The North Stars also won the 4x200 relay (1:30.51) and the 4x400 relay (3:25.34).
North Stars senior thrower Henry Warsaw took second in discus (46.36 meters) and shot put (17.4 meters). North Stars senior Bryce Thomas captured the 300 hurdles title (38.95 seconds).
"I still got a lot more to go [with where I want to be]," Warsaw said. "I feel like I've got a lot more in the tank. I think I'm just starting to get my technique down and just starting to get some of the numbers that I set [as] my goal in the beginning of the season.
"I think the last couple meets, It was almost like I took one step back to re-evaluate and fix some things with my technique [flipping my hip faster on the turn] that I wasn't doing right that much."