Saturday track article

West Aurora shines at McCornack Relays

By Adam Bartolo
Daily Herald Writer
Posted Sunday, April 09, 2006

Outdoor track meets this early in the season are usually not about how a team finishes in comparison to the others, but to give coaches a better idea of the ability and depth they have.

If Saturday’s St. Charles East McCornack Relays are any indication, then a few area schools have a lot to look forward to.

If this event did track team scores, then West Aurora would have scored very high. Of the 15 varsity events, the Blackhawks won seven and placed in the top three in 13.

One of their highlights was the high jump. Ahmed Williams won the individual competition with a jump of 6 feet, 2 inches and he teamed with Tim Hunckler, Marshall Preeht and Dan Jordan to win the team event with a combined score of 23-2. West Aurora also won relays at 400, 800, 3,200, the 400 weightman, shot put and triple jump.

Coach Cortney Lamb liked his team’s balance and depth.

“We ran very well in the distance and we ran well in the sprints,” Lamb said. “Field events came through. It was an all-around team performance.”

The host Saints finished first in the 1,200 intermediate hurdles. Nick Ciffone, Josh Rassmussen, Travis Nier and Joe Vitali finished in a combined 2:59.08. Coach Ben Provencher felt good about the Saints’ work.

“We’ve been competitive today,” Provencher said. “For a lot of guys, this is their first meet outside, so I’m pleased overall.”

Despite its youth, Glenbard North held its own and performed very consistently. The Panthers won the discus, long jump and high hurdle shuffle and finished in the top three in six other events.

“We’ve only got eight seniors so we’re rebuilding a little,” Panthers coach Eric Manual said.

One of the biggest highlights for Libertyville was the 4,000 meter distance medley. Despite the length, the race’s finish was tight. Jack Howard, Justin Hansen, Josh Schweigert and Tim Taylor’s 11:25.84 edged out the Saints who finished at 11:26.69.

Later, those four Wildcats combined their efforts to win the 1,600 relay.

Coach Briant Kelly used the meet to put some of his younger runners in different events.

“We’ve got some holes to fill from last year’s team,” Kelly said. “This was a good meet to give everyone a chance to run.”

Fenton won the 6,400 relay at 19:25.96. Edgar Chaider, Frank Postelnick, Patrick Fritsch and Josh Current blew past their competition, beating the runners-up by 20 seconds.

Coach John Kurtz is ready to see his whole team take a step forward.

“We have some young kids that are doing very, very well,” Kurtz said. “Now we can start focusing on getting ready for outdoor and the conference.”

Elk Grove’s vocal enthusiasm was contagious even in the stands. The Grenadiers took second place in the 3,200 relay. Their runners ran practically neck and neck with West Aurora while the other teams couldn’t keep the rapid pace. Elk Grove finished one second behind the Blackhawks, but 16.5 seconds ahead of the third-place finishers.
Coach John Farrell mentioned the team aspect of these relays and thinks it will help his squad.

“You don’t have anyone doing anything as an individual so I think it’s good for our team at this time to run in a relay meet,” Farrell said.

Streamwood also participated in several events, with their best finish being third place in the long jump. Their coach, Weert Goldenstein, came away encouraged.

“We’re a little bit shallow this year, but we have some hard workers,” Goldenstein said.