Boys track and field: Lakes' Migas wins second straight state pole vault title
CHARLESTON - Lakes junior Paul Migas doubled his pleasure at state on Saturday afternoon.
But his ultimate goal is to add an elusive triple state first-place medal next spring.
At Eastern Illinois University's O'Brien Stadium, Migas soared to his second consecutive Class 2A state championship in the pole vault to put himself in a position to catch former Lakes' track and football star Cameron Ruiz.
With two state titles on his resume, Migas said he's focused on equalizing Ruiz's three individual state championships. Ruiz won two state titles in the triple jump and notched a championship in the long jump in 2016 and 2017.
On Saturday, Migas won the state title with a top vault of 4.91 meters to set a school record, breaking the old mark set by Cooper Jazo, who attended Saturday's state meet and starred at Illinois. A year ago, Migas captured his first state title with a vault of 4.70 meters.
"This one is a lot more special," Migas said. "This was a very hard season for me. I struggled a lot, and the weather was bad this year. After state last year to the start of this season, all I focused on was my run and try and get my run down. That was a hard challenge. I trusted my coaches. Everyone supported me throughout this season.
"I just stayed clean and positive this weekend and did not focus on anything else but myself and having fun at the competition. I attacked and executed. I did everything I wanted to do this weekend. It feels great to win again, especially since the only other person from (Lakes) to win three times is Cameron Ruiz. I'm going for that next year. I'm super happy and pumped and thankful to have this opportunity."
Lakes junior Payton Whitehead blazed to a personal-record time of 1:54.27 to collect a third-place medal in the 800.
"I felt good and we were out so quick," Whitehead said. "I've never ran that fast before. I learned a lot. This is a good opportunity for next year. It was like walking with giants. I'm happy to be here and loved being here."
Carmel junior De'vion Reynolds managed to receive a ninth-place medal in the 2A long jump.
In 3A, Homewood-Flossmoor won the team championship with 58 points. Warren had a strong showing with an eighth-place finish with 31 points.
Glenbrook South senior Ryan Schaefer, an Illinois State recruit, was all smiles following his second-place effort in the 3A long jump (6.83 meters). That was just the beginning of his prolific day.
"I'm super happy with second place and consistency was the key," Schaefer said of his second-place effort. "I did four events on Friday, so I knew I was going to be tired. I'm super happy to compete and get second."
A few hours later, Schaefer capped his storied career with a first-place time in the 300 hurdles (38.34), which he admitted surprised him a bit.
"I ran a sloppy race and even cut myself," Schaefer said. "I'm shocked. I wasn't expecting to win. Coming into this weekend, I didn't think I had it in me. I'm really happy with it. I hit a couple of hurdles and saw a few kids fall in the race before me, so I was scared. I just tried to run my own race, and knew then I couldn't lose. Winning a state title is really something I'm proud of."
Stevenson senior Marcus Caselberry notched a pair of fourth-place state medals, in the 110 (14.82) and 300 hurdles (38.70). Vernon Hills senior Jake Slavish placed seventh in the 300 hurdles. "I took it lighter on Friday but I wanted to take my last high school 300 (hard) and sprinted the whole thing," Caselberry said, a North Central recruit. "I came to the second-to-last hurdle and hurdled with my other leg. I never did that before. I lost everything. But I got two medals. I really would've liked that first-place medal in the 300."
Warren senior Caleb Levy equaled his third-place showing in the 3A 800 from last season. The Iowa signee clocked a PR time of 1:52.96.
"It wasn't what I came here for, but went out there and give it everything, so that's all I can ask for," Levy said. "I feel like I wanted to get out faster this year, but it was a much deeper feeling. I'm happy with today. I'm really happy with my high school season, a lot of highs and lows but I'm happy."
Warren senior Jaden Turner, who will play football at Iowa Western, started a busy day with a third-place medal in the long jump (6.80). Turner said he was satisfied with his showing, especially since he started the event as a sophomore.
"Third place is not what I wanted to come out and be in third in state is something to say," Turner said. "I didn't even run track in my freshman year."
Warren junior Aiden Porreca made a name for himself with a fourth-place medal in the discus with a personal-record toss of 51.61. Stevenson junior Ethan Aghakhan finished ninth in the discus.
Warren had two big efforts in the relays, taking fourth in the 800 and fifth in the 400 relays.
Prospect's Dominik Balenda took seventh in the 400 in a time of 49.57 seconds, while Glenbrook North's John Ihrke ended in sixth in the 800 (1:53.99). Wauconda junior Kosta Zografos earned third place in the high jump (1.98). In the pole vault, Schaumburg senior Esad Sengun was fourth and Grayslake Central's Sean Mullen ended in sixth.
Grayslake Central junior Trey Sato had a solid day with a fifth-place medal in the 1,600, while running the anchor leg of the Rams' second-place 1,600 relay that included John Vagnoni, Elliott Bond and Evan Richardson. Vernon Hills took fifth in the final event of the state meet.
"I feel pretty good about how we did in the relay," Sato said. "I can't complain about fifth in the mile. This is my third time at state. I was sick last year at state. I'm going to take it all in and adapt for next year. I'll get stronger and hopefully close out and finish the deal in the relay and mile."
Lake Zurich's Dylan Myers claimed fifth in the 3,200 in a time of 9:14.51, with Conant senior Vijay Krishnamoorthi snaring an eighth-place medal (9:17) and Barrington's Joe Bregenzer taking ninth.