Boys track and field: Grayslake Central dominates own sectional
A beautiful night at the Class 3A Grayslake Central sectional meant the school’s parking lot was filled up to capacity. That meant the bleachers were packed with spectators eager to see who would qualify for the state meet.
No matter how many schools were represented in the competition or the stands though, Grayslake Central was the host, and it defended its own turf by dominating the sectional with 144 points.
Elliott Bond got the night off to a great start for Grayslake Central by winning the long jump with a score of 6.96 meters. Bond also was part of the winning 4x100 relay team that logged a time of 42.14 seconds as well as the 4x200 relay team, which ran the fourth-best time in the state this year at 1:27.86. The evening ended with the 4x400 relay team winning in 3:22.13.
“The kids work hard,” Rams coach Brent Pitt. “Success breeds success. Last year, we were a pretty good team, and these kids knew that coming back, that we could be a good team as well, so they worked really hard. They’ve been working really hard, and with that being said, my coaching staff has done a great job of getting these kids prepared.”
The Rams started to pull away when Sean Mullen and Alex Carter placed first and second in the 110 hurdles with respective times of 14.86 and 15.26. Mullen swept the hurdles events when he won the 300 in 39.12, a personal record and the state’s eighth-best time for the year.
Trey Sato took the 800 in 1:54.01 and the 1,600 in 4:19.85.
“I feel like we’re very well-rounded,” said Sato as he graced the belt Pitt awards to the most outstanding athlete of each meet. “We’re resilient, we’re tough. Like, we know what it takes to win. I’m just really excited for what’s gonna come next week.”
Lakes placed a distant second with a score of 69. Its only victory came in the 4x800 relay (8:05.19).
Aidan Porreca of Warren swept and set personal records in the throwing events when he earned victories in the shot put (16.28) and the discus throw (54.26), the latter of which also gave him the state’s 10th-best mark for the season.
Tim Dan of Lake Forest also set personal records in the shot put (15.61) and discus throw (49.92) but finished right behind Porreca in both events.
Rounding out the list of field winners were Paul Migas of Lakes in the pole vault (5.06), Kosta Zografos of Wauconda in the high jump (2.00) and Connor Strauss of Lake Zurich in the triple jump (13.44).
Cameron Bates of Grayslake North set personal records while taking both the 100 with a 10.89 and the 200 in 21.96. Alexander Krieg became the lone winner for Palatine when he took the 3,200 in 9:25.60.
Grant earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 4x200 relay (1:28.96) and from Nana Adubofour in the triple jump (13.36). Vernon Hills placed second in the 4x800 relay (8:06.06), and Libertyville got a second-place from Cole Mitchell in the 200 (22.00), who set a personal record in the event.