We have had great teams in the past. In fact, we have had great teams that won State trophies and others that came very close. But this season, we took a step that we knew that we were ready to take. After the Sectional Meet, I reminded the team that we had won the Indoor and Outdoor Conference Titles, the Sectional Title and remarked that we only had one meet left to win. 

A Track and Field Brotherhood

Before we left for the State Meet, we had our traditional send off breakfast and right away, I could tell that this meet was going to be different. I was unable to put my finger on it at the time, but I would later realize that our athletes were all intermingled and were not separated by their normal training groups. This pattern would continue during the entire weekend. When the athletes were having a meal, they sat together, talked, laughed and gelled as a team. When there was downtime, they played video games together, helped each other prepare for their events and supported each other in a way that only a group on a mission can have. 

I told the team that I did not know what the outcome of the meet would be. All I asked of them was that we would put up a "good fight". If we did this, we could be proud of what we had accomplished regardless of the scores and marks. 

Belief in something bigger than an individual unites people. When we planned for the State Meet back in April, we never mentioned individual event titles. We hoped that some would happen, but we placed our focus on the team title that we were striving for. This hope started a mission that would link a group of 22 athletes into a group of brothers that they will never forget. 

Trust the Process and Compete!

One of the hardest things about a sport like Track and Field is that you must be patient while you work hard and develop your skills. The benefits of training will not come overnight and must trust that when the time comes that you and your team will be in the position to compete to the best of your ability. 

As we stepped out onto the track for the preliminaries, it was obvious that the process had made us strong and ready. Norman Dong (Sr.) got us started and jumped 20' 11.5" in the Long Jump. For his first time ever in the State Meet, Norman hit the board all three time and competed. While Norman did not make finals, he began to set the tone that this meet was just like any other. Ife Oketona (Sr.) would show the State that his marks at the Sectional Meet were no fluke and jumped 23' 6.25" to lead all long jumpers going into Day 2. This mark would now replace his own school record from the Sectional Meet. Things were starting to look even better.

In the Pole Vault, Alex Kiefer (Jr.) was suffering from an injured back from an incident last week during the Sectional Meet, but still was able to jump 13' 6" and just missed qualifying for Day 2 by one bar. Despite not making finals, Alex showed he was willing to suffer through anything to advance the team. Many athletes would simply give up when they are in pain, but Alex saw it through to the end. Alex is already thinking about next season. 

Matt Appel (So.) came to the State Meet for the first time and won his flight of the Shot Put with a mark of 54' 7.5", unfortunately, missing the finals by one place. Undeterred, Matt returned to the discus for some solid throws, marking 152' 2" as his best. While it was again not good enough for finals, Matt had stepped into the ring each time and was not intimidated by the competition. Athletes often need a trip to State before they figure out that they can compete, but Matt showed that he was ready to compete with the best. 

The Triple Jump saw Danny Osafo (Sr.) put up a mark of 44' 1.5". This was the second best mark that Danny has ever had. While it was not enough to make the finals, Danny would embody the enthusiasm of this team through the next day. Mac Mitchell (Sr.) would jump 46' 0.75" in a later flight to position himself as one of the top triple jumpers and qualify for the Day 2. Mac had a determination to him that let us know that he was ready to put up some points. During this weekend, Mac emerged as a leader and guide to his fellow teammates. To him, this was as important as anyone. As we moved to the running events, it was clear that we could score in two horizontal jumps and that our athletes were ready. 

Moving the track, the 4 x 800 m relay team of distance runners Tyler Bombacino (Sr.), Ryan Kennedy (Sr.), Danny Winek (Sr.), and Dakota Getty (Sr.) showed that we could do something special again. Tyler ran a solid opening leg, something that we knew that we could count on given his experience on this relay last season. As he passed the baton to Ryan, we were in good position and Ryan took over the race in the last 300 m and began to pull away. Danny took over and held back slightly, knowing that he still needed to run the 1600 m later in the day. Finally, Dakota ran a season best time for his leg and held off an advancing Batavia team to take the section win and an automatic qualification to Day 2. The team's time of 7:48.28 was over 9 seconds faster than their Sectional Meet time and was the best of the day. 

Donovan Turner (Jr.) would keep the qualifications for Day 2 moving as he ran away with his preliminary heat of the 110 m High Hurdles. His time of 14.04 breaks his own school record. Donovan showed great purpose and composure as he kept pulling away during the race and remarked later that he could have gone faster. Later in the meet, Donovan would also qualify in the 300 m Intermediate Hurdles despite losing his rhythm over the seventh hurdle and nearly falling. Donovan's ability to press on even when things do not go perfectly helped us advance another event to the finals with a time of 39.29.

When Myles Gascon (Sr.) got into the blocks for the 100 m Dash, he knew that he had a job to do. His job was simply to make finals so that he could score points the next day. Myles showed that he was ready and despite two other runners in his heat pulling away from him, he pushed through to the end and captured the last spot in the finals with a time of 10.89. At this point, Myles would simply need to complete the race to score a point, but we knew that he was ready for more. 

In the 1600 m, Danny Winek (Sr.) ran another smart race like he did at the Sectional Meet with a hard kick and finished in a pack that the camera needed to sort out. When the dust settled, Danny took 3rd in his heat to qualify for Day 2 and was able to beat many of the best runners in the State. Danny was now in a great position to put up more points in the finals. 

In the final event of Day 1, the 4 x 400 m relay team of Kel Foley (Jr.), Kai Larson (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.), and Donovan Turner (Jr.) were ready to show the State that they belonged. Our Sectional Meet seed time was not even close to the top 9 needed to make it to the finals. However, Kel got us started with an early charge from lane 9 and then Kai put us right into the top grouping, only a short distance back from the lead. Patrick ran his fastest 400 m ever to keep us in great position and then Donovan closed us out in a time of 3:20.85, easily making finals and living to race another day. This group showed that rankings do not matter and were willing to go for it on each leg. 

Validation

As we entered Day 2, we were tired after a full day of competing hard. but we knew that were not finished doing the job that we set out to do. We had qualified 9 events to Day 2, Homewood-Flossmoor had qualified 11 and Plainfield North had the potential to score over 40 points with Marcellus Moore and the rest of their team. Three teams were in the hunt for the title. 

In the field events, we knew that if we scored big, we would be in a position to take home a trophy. Ife Oketona (Sr.) managed score 8 points with a 2nd place in the Long Jump, only losing one place in the finals. Ife went from an athlete that was near to the State Qualifying Mark to All-State in a matter of a week and put us on the scoreboard. His final jump of 23' 8.5" would again break his own school record!

Mac Mitchell (Sr.) kept us scoring in the Triple Jump with a 6th place and another 4 points for the team. While Mac lost one place in the finals, we now had scored 12 points in the field events and the job was getting done. Unfortunately, Mac scratched a jump that would have been over 47', showing that he has the ability to do some amazing things at the next level. In the past week, Mac has improved his marks by over 2 feet! 

The 4 x 800 m relay team of Tyler Bombacino (Sr.), Ryan Kennedy (Sr.), Danny Winek (Sr.), and Dakota Getty (Sr.) took to the track to defend their number one position. Tyler was running another solid leg when in the final turn, someone tripped up a whole pack of runners, including Tyler. Tyler's great athleticism kept himself upright and charged to the finish. Unfortunately, this stumble had cost us quite a few places. Ryan took the baton and ran one of the most perfect 800 m legs that we have seen. With great patience, he caught up to the pack and then kicked in hard to put us back in the mix. Danny took the baton and continued the move up and got us right up into the lead. Even though this was now his third race, Danny was still racing hard. As Dakota took over, Sandburg had Dylan Jacobs, one of the top distance runners in the country, on the end of their relay. Dakota ran a smart and strong race with the fastest 800 m mark of the season and closed out a second place finish and 8 more points for the team. We were up to 20 and a pattern seemed to be emerging. 

Zach Kinne (Jr.) would be next in the 3200 m. In what was a completely loaded field, Zach was ready to show us how strong that he had become this spring. The race began to separate and Zach pushed to the lead, even passing State Cross Country Champion Danny Kilrea from Lyons in the last 800 m. Zach charged hard for the finish but Kilrea's kick got him right before the finish line. As Zach collapsed at the end of his race, he became a symbol of how much effort our athletes were putting in to make this happen for the team. Zach risked places by trying to take the championship and garner more points for the team. So far, we did not have a single State Champion, but we did have 28 points. 

The 110 m High Hurdles would see a similar result. Donovan Turner (Jr.) was tired from racing three events the day before, but kept pushing through. Despite a rough start, he charged through the crowd to take 2nd with a time of 14.20 and secured another 8 points. The pattern continued and we now had 36 points. Again we saw athletes willing to sacrifice for the greater good.

The 100 m Dash final was what Myles Gascon (Sr.) had prepared for years to do and now was his chance. With an incredible start, he surged forward and found a rhythm that would having him passing runners as the finish line drew closer. In the end, Myles would take 6th in a time of 10.82 and add another 4 points to the total. At this point, we had 40 points, our highest total ever, which meant that we were certain that a trophy would come back to Neuqua Valley. The only question was, which one?

A tired Donovan Turner (Jr.) returned only about an hour after running his 1st race of the day but 4th race overall to run his 5th, the 300 m Intermediate Hurdles. Donovan powered through one of the toughest races in Track and Field to take 6th in a time of 39.80, adding 4 more points to the mix for a total of 44. 

For his 4th race of the two day meet, Danny Winek (Sr.) returned in the 1600 m, and another loaded field. Danny ran smart and did not get caught up in a race that went out hard, but kept working through the ranks of runners until he got to a 9th place finish and added 1 more point for a total of 45.  Danny finished up a career full of unfortunate injuries as a two time All-State athlete. 

At this point, there were three events left in the meet, the High Jump, the 200 m dash and the 4 x 400 m relay. We were only in one of these races and Homewood-Flossmoor and Plainfield North were in two. Homewood-Flossmoor was leading with 47 points, and Plainfield North had 30. In the High Jump, Homewood-Floosmoor did not score and Plainfield North took 7th, making their total 33. As we watched the 200 m, Marcellus Moore from Plainfield North won the event bringing their total to 43. Grant Floyd from Homewood-Flossmoor would take 9th, making their total 48. Now, we knew that we were going to take 2nd at the very least. Homewood-Flossmoor would have the painful experience of watching an event that they were not in decide the meet. If we took worse than 7th place in the last event, the meet was lost. However, we had a mostly fresh team ready to go. 

As the 4 x 400 m relay began, they knew what was on the line. Kel Foley (Jr.) charged out hard and in the last stretch, went to his arms to put us right into the mix. Kai Larson (Sr.) sprinted out the first curve and chased like he always does to bring us within reach of the lead. Patrick Hoffman (So.) took the baton and moved hard along the back stretch, taking the lead and then giving everything he had to finish his leg in the top 3. Donovan Turner (Jr.) racing with a fury inspired by earlier disappointments, finished off the relay in 3rd place in a time of 3:21.04 adding 7 points to the total and capturing the team title!

The moment felt surreal and our team erupted. Parents, coaches, athletes, and fans joined in high fives, hugs and shared tears that our good fight had paid off. All of the preparation came down to this moment when the Neuqua Valley 4 x 400 m, one of the most certain things in life, brought the final act to a close. Dr. McBride had many other duties to see to on this weekend, with graduation and other happenings, but felt compelled to be there as he sensed something special was going to happen. It did. And with it came the validation that our program was the best this season and the legacy of a special team. 

Epilogue

The feelings of winning the State Title are confusing. There was elation, there was a rush of energy and there were tears. It might be strange to cry at such a happy event, but it was a common experience for athletes and coaches on this night. For myself, winning a State Championship was amazing, but winning it with my sons on the team was one of the best experiences of my life. All I ever wanted to so was share my passion for this sport with them. 

As we talked with the other coaches from Homewood-Floosmoor and Plainfield North, I saw in their faces the feeling of disappointment that we felt when we had fallen short in the past. I truly know their pain. Even if it is just high school sports, when you care about something, it hurts when it does not go as hoped. However, it was an honor to compete against these teams with such amazing coaches and athletes. These are programs we admire and both of these programs competed with class and we look forward to competing against them and the rest of the State next season.

Finally, I hope that there is a young athlete on our team that felt the inspiration that such a moment could bring. I hope that they said to themselves that they could do it too. If so, make the commitment to be there in one year when you can make your own legacy.  

Complete results can be found at the link below. 

www.ihsa.org/SportsActivities/BoysTrackField.aspx

Each season, the coaches refer to our Sectional as the “meatgrinder”. Regardless of the changes from year to year, our Sectional assignment is tough. There is not going to be a single event where getting to the State Meet is easy or straightforward. This year was no different, but did have the extra challenge of the wind. Throughout the entire meet, there was a constant 15 mph wind that only aided a few events and reduced the number of State Qualifiers enormously. As we entered the meet, we knew that some things would go our way and that some would not. However, our team came ready to compete and by the end, we scored an incredible 127 points to win the Sectional Meet over Plainfield North and Yorkville that both tied for 63. To score more than double the score of 2nd place, shows how good and how deep our team really is.

Throughout this season, our field events have pushed us forward in the point totals more than ever before and this meet continued the trend. In the horizontal jumps, we had our first State Qualifier of the evening when Ife Oketona (Sr.) put out a huge mark of 23’ 6” in the Long Jump to set a new school record and take 3rd place. Norman Dong (Sr.) started as a hurdler on our team and after only one year trying the Long Jump, became another qualifier and scorer with a jump of 22’ 5.75”, taking 5th place. Coach Cornelius had bet our Triple Jumpers that if Mac Mitchell (Sr.) jumped over 46’ that he would cut his hair like Coach Ricca’s new clean shaven look. Mac surpassed this mark and jumped 46’ 5.25” and was the Sectional runner-up, qualifying him for the State Meet. Mac also broke the school record by over half a foot! It looks like we need to bring some clippers to practice on Monday! Danny Osafo (Sr.) was a late addition to the lineup considering that we have five Triple Jumpers that could have made the State Qualifying Mark. However, Danny got the job done with a jump of 44’ 8” to qualify and took 4th place. This is the first time in these events that we have had double qualifiers and considering that we do not have an indoor facility to practice these events, this is quite an accomplishment of coaching, even if that coach will have a little less hair soon. Watch out for these athletes to put up some great marks at the State Meet.

The Pole Vault saw the return of Alex Kiefer (Jr.) to the Sectional Meet where he qualified for the State Meet last season. Despite nursing an injured back, Alex jumped 13’ 6” to tie for 3rd place and add to our growing list of State Qualifiers. Alex unfortunately, bottomed out the pit on one of his jumps at 14’, tightening up his back but he will be ready to go for next weekend.

Rounding out the field events were a great pair of performances from Matt Appel (So.). Matt first put up a huge throw in the discus of 163’ 6” which broke the Frosh-Soph school record. This is another Babatunde “OJ” Oshinowo record to fall this season. Matt’s mark was big enough to capture the Sectional Title, break the stadium record and was over 6 feet further than 2nd place. In the Shot Put, Matt put his stamp on the Sectional as the top thrower as he threw 53’ 3” to win this event as well. Throughout this season, our throwers have made tremendous progress and Matt is ready to put up some big throws at State. 

Turning to the track, we began the night of finals with the 4 x 800 m relay of senior distance runners Tyler Bombacino (Sr.), Ryan Kennedy (Sr.), Danny Winek (Sr.), and Dakota Getty (Sr.). The race went out faster than expected considering the wind and Oswego opened up a lead even with a strong leg from Tyler. Ryan took the baton and chased in an even and controlled way to take over the lead. When it was Danny’s turn to race, he pulled us away from 2nd place and gave Dakota quite a bit of room. Despite some strong legs from other teams, Dakota had no problem holding the lead with a solid leg. The team won the Sectional in a time of 7:57.94, qualified for the State Meet, and broke the stadium record.

The 4 x 100 m relay was a heartbreaker. Donovan Turner (Jr.), Kai Larson (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.), and Myles Gascon (Sr.) took 4th in a time of 42.92, just missing the State Qualifying Mark by 0.19 seconds. Without the strong wind, we would have easily qualified for the State Meet.

Zach Kinne (Jr.) and Alex Johnson (Sr.) took to the track for the 3200 m and after about 2 laps, Zach had taken over the lead of the race and was trying to keep his pace despite the wind. Coming through the 1600 m in 4:32, it looked like Zach would be able to hold the pace and have a personal best. However, the relentless resistance on the backstretch was affecting everyone and despite an outstanding performance from Zach, the personal best will have to wait until next weekend. Zach easily captured the Sectional title, qualified for the State Meet, and broke the stadium record with his time of 9:13.72. During the race, Alex fought hard against the wind and the competition to take 5th with a time of 9:39.24. Some estimates of the effect of the wind were around 12 seconds in this race. This could have meant that on a calm night Zach would have been right around the 9 minute mark and Alex would have been a State Qualifier. While Alex ended his high school career with this meet, his improvements and efforts will not soon be forgotten.

The 110 m High Hurdles would see Donovan Turner (Jr.) take to the track for the second time of the evening and despite a less than perfect start, he reeled in and passed Yorkville’s Peyton Frankenreider with authority to take the win. Donovan’s time of 14.08 broke the school record, the stadium record and is nearly a second faster than the State Qualifying Mark. A number of coaches from other schools were excited to see what Donovan can do next week and want him to break the FAT 14 second barrier. Donovan has already broken 14 seconds for a hand timed mark.

After a disappointment in the 4 x 100 m, Myles Gascon (Sr.) took to the line in the 100 m dash with some of the fastest sprinters in the State. Myles would get himself in the mix and run 10.92 to qualify for the State Meet and take 4th place, further adding to the number of qualifiers and points for the team.

The 800 m would have us try out Freshman Nicolas Dovalovsky in the second spot while Dakota Getty (Sr.) attempted to double after the 4 x 800 m. The wind made this a tough double for sure, especially as it seemed to pick up throughout the night. However, Nicolas showed that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the upcoming years by taking 6th in a time of 2:02.21.

With the steady winds, our relay exchange timing was certainly a little off as incoming runners either came in a little fast or a little slow. Unfortunately this caused the 4 x 200 m relay team of Kai Larson (Sr.), Ife Oketona (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.), and Myles Gascon (Sr.) to fall about 1 second short of qualifying. The team did manage to run 1:30.72 and take 4th, adding 4 points to the total.

By the time that the 400 m went off, the winds were really starting to take their toll. In the 400 m, no one made the State Qualifying Mark. This is normally unheard of in such a tough sectional. While we did not have any state qualifiers in this event, we do have two stories to tell. First, Michael Dy (Sr.) took 3rd in a time of 52.51, only .19 seconds from 2nd place and an automatic qualifying position. Michael showed both patience and strength in this race and ran it perfectly. The first 200 m was not too fast and the second 200 m showed his strength and tenacity. The second story here belongs to Kaden Smith (Jr.), who made a huge leap in effort in this race and truly “went there”. Kaden charged hard at the beginning and set the pace of the race early as he pushed to qualify. Then Kaden held on and fought through every last inch of the race. Kaden finished 9th in 53.53, but it was the effort that showed that his best races are ahead of him.

The 300 m Intermediate Hurdles would be a rematch between Donovan Turner (Jr.) and Peyton Frankenreider from Yorkville. Frankenreider took the lead early only to be caught by Donovan who raced the back half of the race with smooth form over the hurdles and incredible endurance. Donovan would be Sectional Champion for the second time of the night, running 38.52, and achieving another school and stadium record. Donovan then became the first Neuqua Valley hurdler to qualify in both hurdle events in the same year. Mitch Donahue (Sr.) would have another story to tell in this race. Mitch, determined to qualify for the State Meet, was working on form all week. He would go on to set a huge personal best of 40.53 and took 4th place. How Mitch and Donovan were able to run faster than ever before while starting into a headwind is still a mystery.

In the 1600 m, we had Danny Winek (Sr.) and Ryan Kennedy (Sr.) returning after previously qualifying in the 4 x 800 m. The duo fought hard with a pack of runners that were determined to make it to the State Meet despite worsening conditions for the night. With 600 m to go, Danny pulled up into the top group and charged ahead, taking 2nd place in a time of 4:22.24 and qualifying for the State Meet. Ryan took 6th place in 4:30.51 and added to the point total that was now beyond reach for any other team.

In the final event of the evening, the 4 x 400 m relay, the winds continued to blow and we knew that it was unlikely that any relay teams would make the State Qualifying Mark. We were running for the top 2 positions. Kel Foley (Jr.), Kai Larson (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.), and Donovan Turner (Sr.) made it happen with strong legs from everyone. The team finished 2nd in a time of 3:27.54 and true to prediction, no team made the State Mark.

While not everything went our way, we showed up as a team at the Sectional Meet. We were able to get enough athletes and relay teams through so that we could make a solid run for the State Championship with the largest group making the trip in team history. If we focus on ourselves and compete the best of our ability, we will be able to look ourselves in the mirror one week from today with pride.

Complete results can be found at the link below.
 
 www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/329636/results

We knew that it would be cold and windy on Friday at the DVC Outdoor Championships. We knew that the marks would not matter, only places. All that we needed to do was compete. And compete we did. For the third year in a row, our Varsity team captured the DVC Outdoor Championship title! For as long as we have been in the DVC, we have not lost an indoor or outdoor championship at the Varsity level. Our Varsity team scored a whopping 192 points in 17 out of the 18 events to better Wheaton North's second place score of 149.5. Our Frosh-Soph team took 5th place and with some hard work, they will be ready to take their place next year at the Varsity level. 

In the field events, we started to score large numbers of points right away. The Long Jump saw Ife Oketona (Sr.) and Norman Dong (Sr.) take 1st and 2nd places with jumps 21' 7" and 20' 3" respectively. This quickly put 18 points on the board. On the Frosh-Soph level, Prakash Tata (So.) took 8th place with a jump of 17' 4.25". The Triple Jump saw nearly a repeat in the scoring with Mac Mitchell (Sr.) and Alex Xiong (Sr.) taking 1st and 3rd place with jumps of 43' 11.75" and 41' 9.75" and another 17 points. The Pole Vault had us double score at both levels. Alex Kiefer (Jr.) and Matt Dziekan (Sr.) took 4th place and 6th place with vaults of 13' 6" and 12' 0". Alex's jump of 13' 6" equals the State Qualifying Mark in the Pole Vault which is impressive considering the conditions. At the Frosh-Soph level, Paul Kiefer (So.) took 5th place with a vault of 9' 0". In the Frosh-Soph High Jump, Kalon Hale (So.) and Jailen Poole (Fr.) both scored with jumps of 5' 4" and 5' 2", good enough for 3rd and 5th place in slick conditions. 

In the Throwing events, we continued to put points up and even had some impressive marks when you consider that a strong wind and wet implements do not help throwers. Matt Appel (So.) took 2nd place in both the Varsity Shot Put and Discus with throws of 53' 4" and 157' 2". Both of these marks are past the State Qualifying Mark. In the Frosh-Soph throws, a trio of young throwers scored points. Hunter Danton (Fr.) took 5th place in the Frosh-Soph Shot Put with a throw of 39' 10" and Elijah Darden (Fr.) and Sam Jourdan (So.) took 3rd and 5th in the Frosh-Soph Discus with throws of 118' 9" ans 103' 6". If we only scored in the field events, our Varsity team would have beaten three teams in the conference and been within a few points of two other teams. Clearly, we were on a roll. 

​Considering that we only had one conference champion at the DVC Indoor Championships, it was a good start to already have two conference champions in the field events alone. The momentum would continue in the running events as we quickly added more champions to the list as well as many points. The Frosh-Soph 4 x 800 m relay team of Leif Anderson (Fr.), Luke Mennecke (Fr.), William Fu (Fr.) and Quinn Kennedy (So.) took 5th place in a time of 9:19.64. The Varsity team of Jordan Matthews (Jr.), Danny Winek (Sr.), Tyler Bombacino (Sr.) and Kel Foley (Jr.) were conference champions in a time of 8:12.43. The 4 x 100 m would see similar results at the Varsity level with the team of Donovan Turner (Jr.), Kai Larson (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.) and Myles Gascon capturing the DVC title with a time of 43.21.

The 3200 m saw some courageous racing with Vasant Fong (Fr.) pulling away from the field to a 10:01.10 time for the conference win. Ryan Horn (Fr.) charged hard during the entire race and took 4th in a time of 10:14.87. In the Varsity 3200 m, Alex Johnson (Sr.) and Chris Keeley (Jr.) stuck with the top pack and then late in the race, Alex took the lead in a bold move. Alex and Chris would finish 3rd and 5th both with season best times of 9:33.66 and 9:36.16. It was this bold take charge attitude that kept propelling our team forward throughout the night. 

The 110 m High Hurdles saw another double score at the Varsity level as Donovan Turner (Jr.) took the win in an time of 14.52 and Jacob Guthrie (Jr.) took 7th with a mark of 17.41. Myles Gascon (Sr.) followed this up with a time of 11.25 in the Varsity 100 m, placing 4th in a tight group. 

The 800 m showed another event where we could double score at both levels. At the Frosh-Soph level, David Tassone (So.) and Brandon Do (Fr.) placed 6th and 8th with marks of 2:14.18 and 2:16.74. The Varsity 800 m was one of the most loaded events and featured Dakota Getty (Sr.) and Ryan Kennedy (Sr.) running with some of the top 800 m returners in the State. Dakota took 3rd in a time of 1:58.98 while Ryan took 5th in a time of 2:00.03. 

The temperature began to drop as the night went on, but our team kept powering through, competing and scoring. Joe Hanneman (Sr.), Ife Oketona (Sr.), Patrick Hoffman (So.) and Myles Gascon (Sr.) overcame some tough winds and were conference champions in a time of 1:32.74. The Frosh-Soph 400 m saw EJ Oketona (Fr.) back to his form in this event with a time of 56.69 seconds and a 7th place finish. The Varsity 400 m would have another double score with a Kai Larson (Sr.) and Michael Dy (Sr.) taking 2nd and 7th places. Michael ran 53.29 and Kai ran a season best 51.30 and both of these marks were in high wind. In the 300 m Intermediate Hurdles, Enoch Kim (Fr.) took 8th in a time of 47.87. However, even though he did not score, special mention has to be made of Ethan Briones (Fr.) who ran the 300 m Intermediate Hurdles for the first time and did so with an injured wrist. Ethan would later fill in for another athlete in the 4 x 400 m relay as well. Obviously, Ethan is a tough competitor. On the Varsity side, we captured another conference title for team and for Donovan Turner (Jr.) as he ran away from the competition in the last 50 m to win in a time of 38.79. Mitch Donahue (Sr.) has been wondering about his place on this team and has found it with a solid 4th place finish of 41.47 in high wind. 

The 1600 m had another double conference champion with Freshman phenom Nicolas Dovalovsky (Fr.) taking the win at the Frosh-Soph level with a time of 4:42.25 and Zach Kinne (Jr.) pulling far from the pack early and running 4:18.78. Zach was nearly 8 seconds ahead of second place by the end of the race. Keeping with DVC tradition, Zach was awarded the travelling Gill Dodds trophy for winning the Varsity 1600 m. Since Neuqua Valley has been in the DVC, we have kept this trophy in the hands of the Neuqua Valley athlete.

By the last two events of the evening, our team was safely ahead in terms of points, but we were still on a mission to compete. In the Varsity 200 m, Myles Gascon (Sr.) and Patrick Hoffman (So.) double scored with 2nd and 4th places and marks of 22.91 and 23.01. Patrick’s strength in this event continues to grow as he was closing on the leaders for the last 50 meters. The Varsity 4 x 400 m relay of Ife Oketona (Sr.), Dakota Getty (Sr.) Kai Larson (Sr.) and Donovan Turner (Jr.) would round out the night with 3rd place in a time of 3:32.99.

When you consider how we scored as a team and how many events we scored in, it is safe to say that we would be a tough team to beat if any team in the state faced us in a dual meet. In fact, this is the most complete team that we have ever had. We are hard-working, talented and deep. As we move to the Sectional Championship this week, we will do our best to put ourselves in the best possible position to score well at the State Meet. This could be an exciting post season and we hope that you will join us at our last two meets! Come join us at Plainfield South on Thursday for the Sectional Championship! 

Complete results from the DVC Outdoor Championship can be found at the website below. 

www.athletic.net/TrackAndField/meet/345802/results