Boys track and field: Seniors take the spotlight at annual Grange invite

It was senior recognition night Friday at the Wheaton Warrenville South Red Grange track and field invitational, where Tigers runner Ryan Leurck was celebrated along with the rest of his fellow seniors.

As usual, the invite brought together some of the top squads in the state among the 18-team field, and produced some outstanding individual winners — including Leurck’s classmate Aiden Noel, who won the 800 meters in the time of 1:58.85.

Leurck, who will be headed to College of DuPage after graduation to run track and cross country and study web design, noted how much he and his teammates appreciated the senior night accolades.

“This is really awesome,” said Leurck. “Tonight just represents what a long way I’ve come from the first day of practice as a sophomore until now.

“The thing that has meant the most to me is my dedication to running, every day.”

It was a great night all around for seniors, as York’s Zach Saltiel won the 3,200 in 9:39.27.

Saltiel took the lead on the final lap and didn’t look back.

“This feels great,” said Saltiel. “It was a real tactical race, and my plan going in was to just try to go for the win knowing that the wind was a little high. Some laps were very slow today, and then the next lap would be really fast. I was just focused on sitting on the guy in front of me and trying to stay smooth.

“On the last lap some of the guys in front of me started fading, and I knew I just had to catch up to the leader if I wanted to have a chance. I got out there and I knew I’d have made my move when we got out of the wind to save some energy. When it was time to go, I remembered that my coach said to just leave it all out there. That’s what I did.”

Another senior victor was Zane Smith of Grayslake Central in the pole vault. He won despite feeling that it wasn’t his best effort.

Smith had previously finished second overall this season at the Illinois Indoor Championships, jumping 15 feet, 3 inches and setting a new PR. This is just the second season competing in the pole vault for the senior, having previously done gymnastics.

“The wind was a little tricky today,” said Rams coach Cooper Jazo. “Sometimes it would be a headwind, and sometimes a crosswind. That caused a little bit of inconsistency.”

Smith confirmed that the weather conditions on any given day can affect an athlete’s performance outdoors.

“Indoor there’s nothing that can get in your head, you don’t have to worry about the temperature or the wind. You just go out and do your vaults.”

Homewood Flossmoor had the lead in the team race, with Evanston second as the meet went late into the evening.

Grayslake Central won the 4x200 relay, while Jezhian Sprinkle of Oswego (40.12) was first in the 300 hurdles.

Senior Sam Kehoe of York took the 1,600 (4:27.98), while Dukes classmate Luke De Simone was fastest of all in the 110-meter hurdles in a time of 14.87.

De Simone said this victory was especially satisfying because he wasn’t able to compete in the Red Grange last year due to injury.

"It's great to be here and be healthy,” said De Simone. “In this race, I got out and could immediately see guys to my right and to my left. It was good competition all the way through and that pushed me to perform even better.”