Lincoln-Way East just as dominant setting meet records in Girls 4x2 & 4x4

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

Naperville, Ill --- Even though John Partee had the lead for Plainfield South with a 1:55.2 opening leg in the Boys 3200 Meter Relay, some at North Central College’s Res-Rec Center knew that the lead the lead that Plainfield South had would not be theirs for long. Lurking behind them was 3A defending state champion Sandburg as Martin Skucas handed off to Chris Torpy.

Race over.

Sandburg set the meet record in this Mustang Relays a year ago when they ran 7:53.49. This Sandburg bunch had the ability to drop that record down to even a lower time. It took Chris Torpy only 300 meters to take the lead from Plainfield South in the second leg of the race. Whitney Young also passed Plainfield South and was trying to keep in touch with Sandburg. That wasn’t happening. Torpy extended the lead to an untouchable proportion as he handed off to Sandburg’s Dylan Jacobs. His 1:54 second leg had put the race out of reach for any other team that had thoughts of winning.

Dylan Jacobs ran a third leg of 2:00 keeping Sandburg’s lead at seven seconds as he handed off the baton to Sean Torpy. Plainfield South had maintained their hold on second place for most of the second and third legs. Lyons Township and Whitney Young passed the Cougars just as they made their final exchange.

The anchor man in the 3200 Relay is supposed to close the door on any hopes other teams might have in catching them. Sean Torpy did just that. He ran a 1:54 closing leg crossing the line for Sandburg in 7:45.80 smashing their meet record by eight seconds. Their time is now also the fastest time in the nation by almost three seconds ahead of State College PA. In more of a historical look, their time was the second fastest ever indoors for an Illinois quartet in this event. Only the York team of 2000 led by Donald Sage is faster when they ran 7:42.67 at the Proviso East Midwest Classic.

Lyons Township finished second in 7:55.38 behind Vince Zona’s 1:55 anchor leg. Sandburg and Lyons were the only two squads under 8 minutes in this race. Whitney Young (8:01.24), Plainfield South (8:05.73), and Downers Grove North (8:07.72) followed. The race by Sandburg’s sets them up to run even better this weekend in the 4 x 1 Mile Relay at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in New York City.

Just as Sandburg was tuning up for this weekend’s National race, Lincoln-Way East had the same approach with their two Girls sprint relays that will be running in the Armory this weekend. There was no doubt that the race was theirs in the 800 Meter Relay. Smooth handoffs were more than enough as they crossed the line breaking their own meet record running 1:41.03 finishing five seconds ahead of Bolingbrook in their section. Neuqua Valley finished second overall running 1:44.15 in winning Section 4 of the event. Lincoln-Way East showed their depth in the sprints finishing third overall (1:44.93).

The 1600 Meter Relay would be more of a challenge for the Griffins. In Section 5 of the event, Kaneland’s quartet of Nicole Sreenan, Annie Heinzer, Becca Richtman, and Jamie Martens shocked some of the crowd running 4:00.18. The challenge would be even bigger as Tashee Hargrave ran a 56.9 opening leg giving Neuqua Valley a three second lead ahead of Lincoln-Way East as Kyndall Wallace handed the baton to Jasmine Howell, Neuqua Valley was maintaining their lead but Lincoln-Way East was getting closer. The third leg of this race was the difference maker as Lincoln-Way East’s Kayla Hylton took over the lead. The key at that point was to get as big of a lead as possible before the final 400 of the race. Neuqua Valley would have sub 56 second 400 Meter runner Samara Miller anchoring.

Asia Brown had a three second lead on Miller as she ran the final 400 Meter leg. Miller would get within two seconds of Brown but no closer. Lincoln-Way East’s time of 3:54.77 beat their one year old meet record by one second. Neuqua Valley ran a school record of 3:56.02 to finish second. Kaneland’s time was more than enough for third.

“I think that having to chase Neuqua Valley down will help us for what we need to do in New York,” Lincoln-Way East Coach Brian Evans said. “We did not have that kind of challenge last Thursday at the Cardinal Classic. This is just a springboard for this weekend. We are exciting for what will happen in New York.”

The Girls 3200 Meter Relay was the first event of the evening and an indicator of the excitement of races that fans would experience in this meet. Hoffman Estates Megan Biddle overtook Downers Grove South’s Michaela Hackbarth in the final 50 meters of the first leg running 2:15.5 and giving Hoffman Estates the lead.  Downers Grove South was next followed by Downers Grove North and Yorkville. Downers Grove North took the lead the second leg but Yorkville closed to within a second at the halfway point. Yorkville’s Julia Schultz took control of the race for her team as she took the lead giving her team a three second lead as she handed off the baton to Alexis Grandys. There was no looking back for the Lady Foxes. The quartet of Emily Eberhart, Becca Jasutis, Schultz, and Grandys improved their time by seven seconds from last Thursday crossing the line in a state’s best 9:23.60. Mackenzie Callahan came from seventh on the final leg to give Minooka second place (9:28.83) as Downers Grove North (9:30.86), Lyons Township (9:31.91), and Lane Tech (9:32.75) were next.

In the history of this meet, the most unpredictable of the events has been the Boys 800 Meter Relay. Downers Grove North ran a great race in winning Section 4 (1:32.06). That time held up heading into the final section of the event. South Elgin had the lead for the first 750 of the 800 Meter race. In the final straight away, Plainfield East passed South Elgin. At the same time, Minooka moved to Lane 4 to pass both of the teams. Minooka had thought they had won the event. But their time of 1:32.17 fell short of Downers Grove North by eleven hundredths of a second. Plainfield East was third just six hundredths behind Minooka (1:32.23). Neuqua Valley ran 1:32.24 in the Section won by Downers Grove North to finish fourth.

Neuqua Valley showed their strength in the 1600 Meter Relay controlling the race from the start opening up a two second lead. Minooka’s Matt Dlugopolski closed the gap on Neuqua Valley’s Kevin Sager in the final leg but could not get past the Neuqua Valley senior. The quartet of Jacob Sampson, Isaiah Robinson, JaQuere Williams, and Sager crossed the line in 3:25.09 (IL #3). Minooka was close behind in second (3:25.45). WSC-Silver’s Glenbard West (3:28.50) and Lyons Township (3:28.65) finished third and fourth. Hinsdale South, running three distance runners and a converted soccer player, broke their school record by five seconds winning their section and finishing fifth overall (3:29.80).