Rowzee double sprint win; Shilgalis pulls away for 800 win

By Michael Newman

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Glen Ellyn, Ill – April showers are supposed to bring May Flowers. In the case of Friday evening’s DuPage County Championships held at Glenbard South High School, the weather brought even more showers. The weather forecast developed as the day went on with a 10% chance of rain. This meet received 100% of that 10% chance.

RESULTS | VIDEOS

A steady mist that started around the 300 Meter Hurdles did not seem to bother the competitors as they entered the blocks of the final event of the evening, the 1600 Meter Relay. The team champion was on the line with Wheaton-Warrenville South, Naperville Central, and Wheaton North within three points of each other. It was not a coincidence that the three schools also had the top seed times in this event.

Wheaton North had control of the race for most of the four legs. Naperville North made a charge to take the lead, but Wheaton North’s Eli Odell charged to the front with 300-meters left in the race.

Wheaton North took the win 3:24.41 ahead of Naperville North (3:26.05), Wheaton-Warrenville South (3:26.08), and Naperville Central (3:26.65).

Naperville Central needed to finish fourth of higher to capture the team title. Their fourth-place finish in the relay captured the crown with 102 points. Wheaton North finished second (101 points) ahead of Wheaton-Warrenville South (100.5 points).

The Redhawks used an individual win from Thomas Shilgalis and two relay wins to propel them to the title. Shilgalis took the lead in the 800 Meter Run just before 400-meters with York’s Michael Moriarty and Ethan Kern in chase. Shilgalis pulled away in the final 200-meters to capture the win (1:56.63) with Moriarty (1:58.89) and Kern (1:59.88) following.

Strong anchor legs from Cade McDonald helped Naperville Central win the two sprint relays. The Redhawks came from behind to catch Wheaton-Warrenville South down the home stretch to win the 400 Meter Relay (43.19) ahead of the Tigers (43.30).

The two teams faced off again in the 800 Meter Relay. A strong second leg from Cedric Rowzee gave Wheaton-Warrenville South a clear advantage in which they held until the final 100-meters. McDonald came on strong down the homestretch to catch Wheaton-Warrenville South for the win (1:30.16). Wheaton-Warrenville South finished second (1:33.17).

Rowzee had good day in the sprints despite the dreary weather that had hit this meet. The 100 Meter Dash turned out to be one of the highlight races of the evening with two of the top sprinters in the state, Rowzee and Adam Wiatr of Lake Park, facing off. The two athletes had faced each other at the beginning of the outdoor season with Rowzee having the clear edge.

In this race, it was closer than the 15 hundredths of a second that separated the two in the first encounter. Wiatr got out of the blocks strong with Rowzee getting caught at the gun. Rowzee charged the final 20-meters to catch Wiatr just before the line for the win with three-hundredths separated both (10.76-10.79).

It was a solo act for Rowzee in the 200 Meter Dash as the all-state sprinter had made up the stagger on the rest of the field coming off the turn. Rowzee went on for the win (22.19) with Naperville Central’s McDonald following (22.73).

The close finishes in this meet were not reserved for the sprints. Four runners challenged for the lead in the 1600 Meter Run with Naperville North’s Tommy Paltzer taking control as the group passed 1200-meters in 3:20.8. McLean Griffin took the lead passing his teammate with 150-meters left. Wheaton-Warrenville’s Sean Maison followed Griffin trying to make a pass of his own.

Griffin looked strong as he approached the finish line, but Maison had not given up in a full sprint to catch his competitor. Griffin seemed to pause as he got to the finish; Maison did not. The Wheaton-Warrenville South senior got the win (4:22.39) with Griffin just five hundredths of a second back (4:22.44).

Team running was in store for Naperville North’s Jake Allen and Nick Trattner in the 3200 Meter Run. The two runners pulled away from the pack just before 1600-meters trading off the lead it seemed on every lap. The two sprinted towards the finish of the race with Trattner passing Allen in the final 100-meters. Both runners finished with personal bests with Trattner winning (9:19.73) ahead of Allen (9:20.79).

The meet started with a strong win from York in the 3200 Meter Relay. York’s leadoff runner Daniel Klysh gave his team the advantage that they needed with a 1:59.9 opening leg. Ethan Kern, Max Lupo, and Michael Moriarty followed and extended the lead to the 8:07.77 winning time. Wheaton North finished second (8:13.77).

Wheaton North swept both hurdle races. Josh James exploded out of the blocks in the 110 High Hurdles and cruised to an easy win (14.50). York’s Max Santiago closed fast to finish second (15.18) with a personal best.  It was Eli Odell of Wheaton North who had the advantage in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles as he had control of the race entering the final three hurdles. Odell went on to run 39.41 for the in ahead of James (40.24).

The performances in the field event came in the Pole Vault despite the cool conditions. Lake Park’s Zach Frye and Jake MacConnachie of Wheaton-Warrenville South were the final two athletes left as both cleared 14-6. Frye was awarded the win on fewer misses.