Above Photo: Neuqua Valley celebrates their win Friday night at the DuPage Valley Championships (@NVXC_NVTF Photo)

By Michael Newman, ILXCTF.com Editor

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Athletes and coaches had to put up with some crappy conditions in April. The reward for the tolerance of the high winds and rains started this week with some great performances across the state.

We could not write recaps of every conference meet. Here are some of the highlights that happened over the past week.

Get ready for sectional meets this week. They should be fun.

WSC-Silver Conference @ Lyons Township

The way that this conference meet ended typified the action on and off the track the entire meet. Lyons Township’s Griffin Vizgirda made up a 25-meer deficit on his anchor leg passing Oak Park-River Forest freshman Tyrone Clarke in the final 15-meters to give his team the win (3:21.88) ahead of Oak Park (3:22.46). The race did not determine the outcome of the meet. The depth of Oak Park-River Forest prevailed as they won the conference title with 122 points. Lyons Township was second with 119 points followed by Downers Grove North (95 points).

This is the toughest distance conference in the nation and it showed in this meet. It stared in the 3200 Meter relay in which three of the top five times in the state were produced. Downers Grove North had built up a big lead in the first half of the race with Lyons Township and Hinsdale Central trying to stay close to the Trojans. Charles Harders made up the ground for Lyons Township taking the lead away from Downers with 250-meters to go in the third leg. A 1:55.2 anchor split by Vince Zona gave the Lions the win and the fastest time in the state (7:47.83). Downers North was next (7:52.92) with the state’s second fastest time. York finished third (7:54.65, IL #5) behind Charlie Kern’s 1:54.1 anchor split.

Kern came back to win the 1600 Meter Run but it was not easy. Kern pushed the pace the first two laps of the race going through 800-meters in 2:07.5 with Downers North’s Alec Danner close to his side. Irwin Loud of Oak Park-River Forest, Zona, Jackson Bode of York, and Hinsdale Central’s Sean O’Connell were another two seconds back. Danner made his move with 500-meters left as it seemed that Kern was beginning to labor. Danner built up a seven to ten-meter lead on the backstretch but no more than that. Kern found his second wind and caught Danner coming off the final curve. Danner looked to the right to see Kern on his side. With 50 meters left, Kern made a definitive move taking the lead for good finishing in 4:16.22 (IL #8). Danner was next with a personal best (4:16.96) followed by Zona (4:19.11) and O’Connell (4:20.57).

Danny Kilrea of Lyons Township broke the wills of everyone in the 3200 Meter Run running under 9:05 for the fourth time this season. The junior had Irwin Loud and Hinsdale Central’s Blake Evertsen close for the first four laps before the pace before the 67’s and 68’s that Kilrea was running per lap broke the two runners. Kilrea ran 9:01.59 ahead of Loud’s 9:19.79 followed by Evertsen (9:23.45). Sam Fathizadeh pulled away in the final 100-meters to win the 800 Meter Run (1:56.02) one second ahead of Lyons’ Alex Lynch (1:57.09).

Vince Divenere of Glenbard West was impressive in the 300 Hurdles pulling away from Downers North’s Joe Keys in the final two hurdles to win the race (38.53, IL #4) ahead of Keys (38.96, IL #8). Keys earlier in the meet ran 14.88 to win the 110 Highs. Keys also jumped 21-10.5 to win the Long Jump. The sprint relays were quick with Glenbard West running 42.37 (IL #10) to win the 400 Meter Relay ahead of Downers Grove North (42.44) and Lyons Township (42.87). Lyons Township came back to win the 800 Meter Relay (1:29.12, IL #9).

Thomas Saggau of Lyons Township achieved a personal best 47-4.25 (IL #4) in winning the Triple Jump. Noah Coplan was he meet’s only double winner as he threw 55-0.5 to win the Shot Put and 147-4 to win the Discus.

DuPage Valley Conference @ Wheaton-Warrenville South

Neuqua Valley dominated the distance events winning three of the four events to help them repeat as conference champs with 141.5 points. Host Wheaton-Warrenville South scored 11 points o finish second. The Wildcats ran 7:59.06 to win the 3200 Meter Relay ahead of Metea Valley (8:07.49) and Wheaton-Warrenville South (8:07.67).

Isaiah Robinson ran a personal best 1:54.38 (IL #5) to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of Wheaton North’s Joey Simon (1:55.58) and Neuqua Valley’s Jake McEneaney (1:56.17). Robinson also ran on his team’s 400 Meter Relay team that was second (42.59) behind Wheaton-Warrenville South’s 42.54 winning time. Neuqua Valley took the top two spots in the 1600 Meter Run with Josh Mollway first (4:19.13) and Zach Kinne second (4:23.83). Wheaton-Warrenville South’s Sean Maison won the 3200 Meter Run (9:33.59) just ahead of Naperville Central’s Thomas Shilgalis (9:33.70).

Jace James of Glenbard North won both hurdle races running 14.29 to win the 110 Highs and hen a personal best 37.83 (IL #2) to win the 300 Intermediates. Chago Basso of Lake Park also won wo evens throwing 55-8 to win the Shot Put and a 154-4 throw to win the Discus. Basso’s teammate Dan Spejcher jumped 22-11 (IL #8) to win the Long Jump.

Southwest Prairie Conference @ Joliet Memorial Stadium

In what was one of the better conference meets this year, Minooka edged Plainfield North 114-107 for the team title. Minooka’s Soren Knudsen was a big part of his team’s win as he won the three distance events. Knudsen started by running 9:26.76 to win the 3200 Meter Run. He was back on track 35 minutes later to win the 800 Meter Run (1:56.84) ahead of Oswego’s Collin Boone (1:58.89). Knudsen finished his triple by running 4:14.73 to win the 1600 Meter Run more than six seconds ahead of Oswego East’s Dylan Zangri (4:21.22).

Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North had a great night in the sprints staring with running the fastest time in the state in the 100 Meter Dash (10.48) ahead of Minooka’s Colin Marchio (10.87). Moore came back to run 21.69 to win the 200 Meter Dash. The freshman was also part of Plainfield North’s winning 400 Meter Relay (41.98, IL #2) and their 800 Meter Relay that ran 1:28.96 (IL #7) for the win.

Minooka got personal bests for wins in two field events as Brendan Loughran cleared 14-10 to win the Pole Vault and Steve Lasinis jumped 22-4.25 to win the Long Jump. Plainfield North’s Jordan Gumila achieved a personal best 45-10.5 to win the Triple Jump.

Mid Suburban League Championships @ Schaumburg

Declan Rustay won three individual events and Hoffman Estates won three of the four relays to help the Hawks win the league championship with 161 points. Prospect was a close second (156 points) followed by Fremd (110 points) and Barrington (107 points).

Rustay is known for his success in the short sprints but his race in the 400 Meter Dash turned heads. The junior won the event in 48.76 (IL #3) just eight hundredths of a second ahead of Barrington’s Luis Cossio (48.84, IL #6). Rustay was on his game in the short sprints as he ran 10.64 to win the 100 Meer Dash ahead of Wheeling’s Jason Shannon (10.78). Rustay came back to win the 200 Meter Dash (21.94) again ahead of Shannon (22.08). He was also a part of Hoffman Estates winning quartet in the 400 Meter Relay (42.46) as they finished ahead of Palatine (42.75) and Prospect (42.78). The Hawks also won the 800 Meter Relay (1:30.36) ahead of Prospect (1:30.61) and the 1600 Meter Relay (3:23.01) ahead of Barrington (3:23.39).

Fremd won the 3200 Meter Relay with their winning time (7:53.14) less than a second off their seasonal best. Prospect ran 7:57.85 to finish second. Danny Peterson, who was a part of Fremd’s relay squad, came back to run 4:19.41 to win the 1600 Meter Run. Prospect’s Sean Sanaghan (4:21.90) and Nate Cozine (4:22.17) finished second and third. Prospect’s James Riordan won the 800 Meter Run in a personal best 1:54.86 (IL #6). Nick Laning of Barrington won a close 3200 Meter Run 9:19.18) ahead of Hersey’s Jacob Krupa (9:21.23) and Max Svienty (9:26.65).

Fremd’s Ethan Hanson threw 61-4.5 to win the Shot Put ahead of Barrington’s John Stefan (57-9). Marshall Davis of Hoffman Estates jumped a personal best of 45-1 to win the Triple Jump.

Big 12 Conference @ Bloomington

Host Bloomington showed that they are ready to go after a state championship after a convincing win on May 10. The Purple Raiders scored 145 points to win the conference title ahead of Danville (107 points) and Normal West (80 points). The meet was stopped after the conclusion of the 200 Meter Dash due to thunderstorms that hit the Bloomington-Normal area.

Zachery Bradford led Bloomington with a personal best of 17-0 to win the Pole Vault. He has the best performance in the state this season in the event was well as seventh nationally.

Cary Lockhart showed that he is ready for the state series winning two individual events as well as helping Bloomington to some fast relay times. The senior ran he state’s fastest time to win the 100 Meter Dash (10.51) ahead of teammate Domeneik Cridell (10.71) and Normal West’s Micah Amerson (10.81). Lockhart also won the 200 Meter Dash (21.51, IL #2) ahead of Amerson (21.91). Lockhart was Bloomington’s anchorman as they ran 42.03 (IL #3) to win the 400 Meter Relay ahead of Normal Community (42.92). The 800 Meter Relay was even more spectacular for the Purple Raiders as they ran a state leading 1:26.61 to win the relay by more than three seconds.

Quemarii Williams of Danville ran the #3 time in the state as he ran 48.79 to win the 400 Meter Dash just two hundredths of a second ahead of Bloomington’s Avery Lyons. Williams’ teammate Phillip Hall had a great win in the 800 Meter Run as he ran a personal best 1:55.91 to win by more than three seconds ahead of Normal West’s Tyler Dunn.

Nicholas Jackson of Champaign Central won the High Jump clearing 6-7. His seasonal best of 6-8 is currently tied for the second best clearance in the state in that event.

Southwestern Conference @ Edwardsville

Edwardsville won their fourth straight conference title even without Travis Anderson who is still recovering from an injury. The Tigers scored 150 points to finish ahead of defending 3A champion East St. Louis-Senior (132 points) and O’Fallon (88 points).

Edwardsville was powered by 1-2 finishes in the weight events by seniors AJ Epenesa and Bruce Wachowski who is having a great final season. Epenesa won both events throwing 56-11.5 to win the Shot Put with Wachowski second (53-10.5). Epenesa second win came with a 179-7 throw in the Discus followed by the 165-0 throw from Wachowski.

Devonte Tincher picked up a win for Edwardsville as he jumped 23-2.5 to win the Long Jump. Tincher was also a part of Edwardsville’s two winning sprint relays. They ran a season’s best 42.00 (IL #2) to win the 400 Meter Relay ahead of East St. Louis-Senior. Only four hundredths of a second separated the two teams as Edwardsville again bested the Flyers (1:28.62-1:28.66). East St. Louis was on top on the other two relays running a state leading 3:18.10 to win the 1600 Meter Relay and then 7:58.28 to win the 3200 Meter Relay.

Deante Anderson of East St. Louis-Senior ran 48.36 (IL #2) to win the 400 Meter Dash ahead of Collinsville’s Jermarrion Stewart (48.96, IL #6). Earlier in the meet, the Collinsville freshman won the 100 Meter Dash (11.05).

There were two other double event winners, besides Epenesa, in this meet. East St. Louis-Senior’s Delano Anderson won the 110 High Hurdles (14.67) ahead of Edwardsville’s Matt Griebe (14.87). He then came back to win the 300 Hurdles (38.88) by close to three seconds ahead of Belleville West’s Ricky Berry. Chris Conrad of O’Fallon outkicked Will O’Keefe of Granite City to win the 800 Meter Run (1:56.35 – 1:57.02). The two were also involved in a tactical 1600 Meter Run with Conrad winning (4:27.09) ahead of O’Keefe (4:29.93).

Upstate Eight Conference @ South Elgin

The overall depth of Batavia’s team offset the field event strength of West Aurora to give the Bulldogs the conference title with 204 points. West Aurora scored 104 points to finish second.

The story of this meet were the performances in the field events. Camron Donatlan of West Aurora is the defending 3A state champion in the High Jump. He cleared a state leading 6-9 to win the event ahead of St. Charles North’s Peter Wills who cleared 6-7 along with Batavia’s Peter Rudelich. West Aurora’s Davion Cross jumped a personal best of 23-1.25 (IL #6) to win the Long Jump with Donatlan also PR’ing with a 22-7.5 jump. Cross came back to jump 47-2 to win the Triple Jump. Cam Wright of St. Charles North also achieved a personal best clearing 15-1 (IL #4) to win the Pole Vault.

Brian Kuehl of Geneva ran under 1:55 for 800-meters for the second week in a row as he ran 1:54.14 to win the 800 Meter Run. Geneva swept the distance individual events as Josh Rodgers won the 3200 Meter Run and Tyler Dau won the 1600 Meter Run (4:20.05).

Batavia had a great night in the relays as they ran 3:20.97 (IL #4) to win the 1600 Meter Relay and 42.79 to win the 400 Meter Relay. St. Charles North ran a season’s best 1:28.84 (IL #6) to win the 800 Meter Relay. Geneva, behind an anchor leg by Kuehl, ran 7:58.78 to win the 3200 Meter Relay by 24 seconds ahead of St. Charles East.

SWSC-Blue Conference @ Sandburg

Homewood-Flossmoor won the divisional conference title (135 points) ahead of Lincoln-Way East (121 points) and Lockport Township (96 points). Lockport’s John Meyer was again in the spotlight with two great performances in the weight events. Meyer threw he second longest outdoor throw in state history, third overall (66-6) as he won the Shot Put. Meyer is currently ranked sixth nationally in the event. Meyer followed that up with a personal best throw of 183-4 (IL #3) to win the Discus.

Tyler Elmore of Bolingbrook had a double win in the sprints winning the 100 Meter Dash (10.95) and the 200 Meter Dash (22.09). Elmore led Bolingbrook to a second-place finish in the 400 Meter Relay (42.23, IL #8) behind Homewood-Flossmoor’s winning time of 42.08 (IL #5).

Dylan Jacobs of Sandburg ran a personal best 4:13.57 (IL #4) to win the 1600 Meter Run with Lincoln-Way East’s Noah Healy finishing second (4:19.36).

NIC-10 Conference @ Rockford

Freeport’s Deion McShane was the star of this meet winning four individual events. He achieved a personal best in winning the Long Jump with a 21-8.5 effort. He followed that with another personal best in winning the 110 High Hurdles (14.26, IL #6). Harlem’s Jayvious Johnson finished second in that race (14.48, IL #11). McShane then ran 37.68 to win the 300 Intermediate Hurdles again ahead of Johnson (39.25). McShane’s final win came in the 200 Meter Dash where he ran 22.28 to edge Hononegah’s Vito Guerrero by three hundredths of a second (22.31).

Freeport’s Jered Allison had two wins throwing 56-4 to win the Shot Put followed by a 158-9 throw to win the Discus. Hononegah scored 120 points to win the conference crown followed by Harlem (99 points) and Freeport (86 points).

NIB-12 Conference @ Sycamore

Geneseo won the conference team title but it was close with Yorkville. The Maple Leafs scored 98.5 points just ahead of Yorkville (94 points) and Sterling (80 points).

Yorkville’s Jackson Torok won two individual events and helped the Foxes win two more in the relays. The junior ran a personal best of 10.89 to win the 100 Meter Dash as well as winning the 200 Meter Dash (22.18) with another personal best. He was part of Yorkville’s winning 400 Meter Relay (42.51) and the 800 Meter Relay (1:29.62).

Jacob Gebhardt of Sterling won the distance double starting with a win and a personal best in the 3200 Meter Run (9:28.58). It was close in the 1600 Meter Run as Gebhardt ran 4:22.61 for the win just a tenth of a second ahead of Kaneland’s Matthew Richtman (4:22.71).

Clayton Hannula of Kaneland won the Shot Put with a personal best throw of 58—4.5 (IL #9). Eric Fox of Ottawa followed that performance with one of his own in the Discus as he threw 189-9 (IL #2) to win the event.

South Seven Conference @ Mt. Vernon

Marion ended Cahokia’s title run in this conference as they scored 190 points to win the crown ahead of Cahokia’s 147 points. Cahokia did sweep the relays running 42.14 (IL #7) to win the 400 Meter Relay, 1:31.32 to win the 800 Meter Relay, 3:23.10 to win the 1600 Meter Relay, and 8:12.50 to win the 3200 Meter Relay.

Sam Sikon of Carbondale had a double win in the weight events winning the Shot Put (64-1.5) and the Discus (160-4). Jadon Lacy’s win in the Long Jump (22-3) and Zach Young’s double win in the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run (4:28.55) helped Marion to the conference win. Young also finished second in the 800 Meter Run behind the win by Cahokia’s Chris Stanley (1:58.61).

Central State Eight Conference @ Decatur MacArthur

It was a close three team contest but Chatham-Glenwood prevailed with 153 points. Lanphier and Springfield tied for second with 144 points. Tony Rolfe and Chris Durr combined for five individual wins for Chatham-Glenwood. Rolfe was dominating in the horizontal jumps winning the Long Jump (22-9.75) and achieving a personal best of 47-5.75 (IL #3) to win the Triple Jump. Rolfe ended his day by running 10.60 (IL #4) to win the 100 Meter Dash. Durr two titles came when he won the 3200 Meter Run (9:53.49) and the 1600 Meter Run (4:33.64).

Lanphier is a sneaky good team that could surprise some in the 2A state meet. They took the top two spots in the High Jump with A’Jonte Lee clearing 6-5 ahead of teammate Karl Wright. Dearis Herron won the 400 Meter Dash (50.41) after finishing second in the Long Jump (22-7.75). Jarius Jackson won the 200 Meter Dash (22.19) after finishing third in the 100 Meter Dash (10.99).

Decatur Eisenhower’s Drew Thaxton was king of the throws as he won the Shot Put (56-5) and the Discus (150-0).

Central Suburban League South @ Niles West

Evanston Township scored 164 points to win the divisional title ahead of New Trier (128.5 points) and Niles West (111 points). Brad Garron led the Wildkits with wins in the 400 Meter Dash (49.69) and the 200 Meter Dash (21.97). Garron just missed the win in the 100 Meter Dash as Niles West’s Andrew Mykulyanych won the race (10.88) by just a hundredth of a second ahead of Garron.

Mid-Illini Conference Meet @ Pekin

Metamora won the team title on Tuesday scoring 142 points ahead of second-place Dunlap (128 points). Jake Gillum won both the 800 Meter Run (1:54.04, IL #3) and the 1600 Meter Run (4:25.45). Gillum was also a part of the winning quartet from Metamora that ran 8:25.89 to win the 3200 Meter Relay.

Dunlap’s Tracker Harris won the 110 High Hurdles (14.25, IL #5) and the 300 Intermediate Hurdles (39.27). Pekin’s Julian Hill won in the Long Jump (21-11) and the Triple Jump (21-11).