Lake Park on track for title
Eighty-nine field event points for Lake Park’s boys track team is not a surprise. The defending Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division champion needed contributions elsewhere to fend off Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley — and got them.
Victories in the 400- and 800-meter relays bolstered Lake Park’s repeat title, 156 points to 140 for Neuqua and 90 for Waubonsie on a sparkling Thursday at Streamwood’s Millennium Field. The Lancers’ braintrust had predicted a 14-point deficit to Neuqua based on seeds.
“So many kids stepped up today in such a big way,” coach Jay Ivory said.
Scott Filip won long jump at 23 feet, 3¾ inches, the 110-meter hurdles at 14.93 seconds and ran legs on those relays along with Demetri Alimissis, Shawn Koch, Marcus Jegede and Mike Amerlan.
“I love the chemistry that we have. We’ve all been friends since my freshman year and we’ve got Dimitri who’ll be leaving soon,” Filip said of the lone senior. “We build bonds here on these relay teams, and it means a lot to all of us.”
Lake Park went 1-2 in high jump (Kevin Spejcher, Derrick Smith), long jump (Filip, Jegede), pole vault (Tim Ehrhardt, Smith) and triple jump (Koch, Amerlan). On his last discus throw Scott Karlis yanked a 19-foot personal-record 170-footer to beat Neuqua’s Carlos Varela, whose 167-4 was his PR.
Spejcher equaled his best when he set a UEC record high jump of 6-11, a height he last cleared in April 2011. Spejcher missed three tries at 7 feet.
“It’s a love-hate thing going on,” he said. “I’m happy, I’m finally back at 6-11. But those 7-feet attempts, I had them.”
Matt Stewart won fourth-place Metea Valley’s first outdoor conference title, running the 3,200 run in 9 minutes, 42.45 seconds. He felt pleased to win yet dismayed not to approach state-qualifying time of 9:29.04.
“I think I’ll realize it’s a pretty big accomplishment,” he said. “I think it’ll sink in later on.”
Neuqua Valley earned wins in the 400 (Jake Bender), the 800 (Andy Martinez) and the 1,600 as Mark Derrick patiently outlasted Matt’s twin brother, Joe Stewart, to win in 4:16.83. Stewart ran his first lap in 59 seconds. Derrick played it safer.
“Like 200 (meters) into the race I was still right on him, then I kind of had to think, this feels a little too fast so I backed off a little bit,” Derrick said.
Waubonsie Valley’s Kyle Schafer took the 300 hurdles and the Warriors closed with a 1,600-meter relay win by Austin Ameri, Kyle Cluver, Geoff Markham and ace anchor John Burke.
Waubonsie shot putter Riley Kittridge threw a winning PR on his final heave, 57 feet, 9 inches. Last week his 20-foot discus PR won the DuPage County title.
“I haven’t been consistent up until probably a couple weeks,” Kittridge said, “and now it’s all coming together.”
Bartlett placed fifth with 54 points, South Elgin sixth and East Aurora, behind 200 winner Desmond Gant, finished seventh.
Bartlett’s Aaron Everson ran an 11.08 to win the 100-meter dash and thus the title of the fastest man at the meet. Everson was unhappy with his preliminary time of 11.25 seconds — though it led the field — and so buckled down in the final.
“In the prelims I stood up right away and I didn’t explode out — I just kind of stood up and then started running,” said Everson, a junior who missed the 2011 outdoor season after an indoor hamstring injury. “But I cleared my mind for the final and I just exploded out. I kept low for a couple more steps and then I stood up straight and I just kept driving my knees. It felt good.”
The Hawks opened the track with a win in the 3,200-meter relay, with Vince Zapparro, Brandon Smith, Connor Rachford and Mitch Sullivan. Revisiting his solid DuPage County meet discus effort, Kevin Bauers placed fourth Thursday with a throw of 162 feet, 6 inches, surpassing the Class 3A qualifying standard. Bauers also finished fourth in shot put followed by teammate Nick Antolik.
South Elgin, whose Zach Gross finished second in the 200 and third in the 100, also featured 400 ace Jeff Broger. He was right with Bender in the 400 until Bender pulled away with about 60 meters left.
“I felt myself slowing down at like the 200 (mark), but then I picked myself back up and then at like the 150 I was challenging him,” Broger said. “But I should have never made my move too early. If I’d have made my move later, the results would have been different.”