Metea Valley is playing host for one of the 3A boys track and field sectionals with plenty of talented teams like Barrington, Batavia, Waubonsie Valley, St. Charles East, St. Charles North among those in attendance looking for a spot at the state meet next weekend. This highlight is sponsored by BMO.
West Aurora takes an early lead thanks to top high jump scores
West Aurora is one of the teams in the hunt for the sectional crown with a talented roster. Junior Kewon Marshall makes it look easy as he goes on to clear 6′ 4.75″ and punch his ticket to state.
Austin Gianino the DVC indoor and outdoor high jump champion clears 5′ 10.75″ but that is as far as he is able to clear, which is short of the mark for state at 6’3. Gianino finishes in seventh place.
Another West Aurora junior, Terrence Smith ties his teammate in with a jump of 6′ 4.75″ but he does it one round later so that puts him in second place and into the state meet.
Brady Teeple qualifies for state in the pole vault
Waubonsie Valley senior Brady Teeple has been working four years on qualifying for state in the pole vault and in his final sectional meet, he achieves that goal by clearing 14′ 7.5″, a new PR and a fourth place finish.
The sectional champion is Nathan McGloughlin from St. Charles North who impresses with a vault of 15′ 1.5″. Warren Cooper from Geneva, Hayden Dahlin from Barrington and Evan Lagana from St. Charles East all qualify for state as well.
Christian Lee from Metea Valley had a great day, setting new PR’s in both the long jump and the triple jump. While the long jump distance does not make the state cut, he does make it to state in the triple jump with a fourth place jump of over 44 feet.
Teammate Omotola Taiwo has a very similar day. A new PR in the long jump and the triple jump, with a state trip upcoming in the triple after coming in third place.
Metea Valley makes its mark on the track
Time to move over to the track and the 4X100 meter relay. After Batavia wins the 4X800, the Bulldogs are back on the track in the shortest relay of the night along with Barrington, Geneva, West Aurora, Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley.
At the final handoff it’s Dundee-Crown who crosses the line in first place, just ahead of Barrington and Metea Valley, with all three heading to the state boys track meet. Dylan Liner, Daniel Pere, Lucas Van Vlerah and Juantel Sherieves make the cut for the Mustangs. Dundee-Crown also wins the 4X200 relay.
Flipping to the other side of the track for the 110 hurdles and the 100 meters due to strong winds. Sere Iranloye and Azuriah Sylvester from West Aurora finish first and second and take the two state spots. Akinyemi Igbalajobi from Metea and Lucas Jaime from Waubonsie Valley come in third and fourth, less than a half second from hitting the state qualifying time.
The 100 meter dash group absolutely flies down the track. Seven of the finishes make the state cut time. Kenneth Cooley from East Aurora is the sectional champ while Daniel Pere from Metea Valley takes second as his Mustang teammates are thrilled to see his new PR time. Cooley also wins the 200 meters later in the meet.
Several tight finishes in the final few races
Later in the meet the 800 meters shapes up to be one of the most competitive of the night. Rameez Abrar from Metea Valley and Austin McInturff from Waubonsie Valley are a pair of seniors looking to make it to state in their final seasons.
The race gets off to a slower than expected start with a mad dash down the stretch for that top two finish. Nathan Gehrmann from West Aurora pulls away to win the event while Abrar holds off the rest for second place and a spot at state for a second straight season. McInturff finishes in seventh place but just two and a half seconds behind the winner.
The 4X200 relay hopes to produce several state qualifiers with Metea Valley and Waubonsie Valley competing in the slower heat, but hoping to pull an upset against the A heat teams. The Mustangs get a season best performance from Dylan Liner, Juantel Sherieves, Jamari Hawkins and Daniel Pere running the anchor leg. Pere turns on the jets as the Mustangs win the heat and finish in fifth overall while making the state qualifying time. Waubonsie’s group of Elijah Garrett, Jordan Rich, Jackson Klaft, and Gavin Ali Hanlon come in ninth place overall, not enough to make state but they do set a new PR.
The 300 meter hurdles has some drama down the home stretch. Sere Iranloye from West Aurora leads most of the way. CJ Fykes and Akinyemi Igbalajobi from Metea are not far behind. Iranloye clips the last hurdle and tumbles short of the finish. That allows Thomas Woodard from Batavia to finish in first place with Igbalajobi in second and into a state qualifying spot. Fykes ends up in fifth, less than a second away from the state qualifying time.
Austin Brown wins the 1600 on his home track
The mile race is four fast laps around the track. 4:23 is the time to beat to make the state cut. Senior Austin Brown wants to get one more state appearance to wrap up his career as he leads Zach Self from Waubonsie Valley and Joe Bregenzer from Barrington as well as Branden DeLeon from West Aurora and Evan Whildin from Kaneland.
Brown is able to hang on to the lead from the opening gun to the finish line, taking first place with Self right behind him setting a new PR at 4:19.81. The Warrior is heading to state along with Bregenzer from Barrington. The Broncos move into first place as a team just ahead of West Aurora heading into the final races.
Barrington takes the team title thanks to the 4X400
The final race of the night is the 4X400 relay as always. Barrington looks to secure the Metea boys track and field sectional team win as well as a spot at state with Metea Valley, Waubonsie Valley, St. Charles East and Batavia in the hunt as well.
Not much seperation in this race all throughout. Waubonsie Valley right in the mix with Niels De Brouckere, Jordan Rich, Zach Self, Austin McInturff putting the Warriors in a good spot as the race goes along. Metea is searching for a third relay state spot with Lucas Van Vlerah, Henry Faber, Austin Brown, and Rameez Abrar running for the Mustangs.
On the final handoff there is a huge clump of runners and it causes problems. Abrar collides with a St. Charles North runner, which causes him to clip Austin McInturff from Waubonsie just as he heads off. The Warrior loses his footing while Abrar is forced to slow down to keep his balance.
Barrington is able to emerge victorious in the 4X400 and clinch the Metea Valley boys track and field sectional plaque as Micah Hall leads the way. St. Charles East, Batavia, St. Charles North and Kaneland all qualify. The Mustangs take sixth and the Warriors 10th as the collision clearly played a role in not hitting the state time. West Aurora finishes the meet as the runner up with Metea Valley ending the sectional in third place as a team.
Full race results can be found on athletic.net.
For more prep sports highlights, visit the Naperville Sports Weekly page!
