By Michael Newman

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Naperville, Ill --- There was a lack of excitement in the air for the DuPage County Meet Friday night at Naperville Central's Memorial Stadium. That changed as the runners stepped to the line for what was to be the most anticipated event in the meet program, the 1600 Meter Run on the Varsity level. The level of electricity was ramped up a couple of levels five minutes later in what was the race of the evening.

The pace was fast from the start. The Wheaton-Warrenville South duo of Nolan McKenna and Luke Schroer immediately went to the front of the pack going through the first 200 in a swift 29 seconds. Close by them was Kerry Gshwedntner and Ryan Hanselman (North Hs, Naperville), Joseph Emmanuel (North HS, Wheaton), and Matt Plowman (York HS, Elmhurst).

The five went through the first 400 in 61.8. There was no let-up in the pace as the five immediately pulled away from the rest of the pack. It was then 1:33 at 600, 2:05.7 at the 800 as Hanselman was starting to feel the effects of the fast pace and started to drop back. Schroer and McKenna were comfortable in the lead position. Gshwedntner and Emmanuel ran side by side behind the two front runners. Plowman just sat behind the four waiting for his moment to make a move.

Schroer started to push the pace the next 200 meters trying to stretch the pack out. On the backstretch, McKenna retook the lead pushing the pace even faster. Plowman moved up getting himself in good position in third. It was a straight line as Emannuel and Gshwedntner were starting to fade. I do not know if you can call it fading when you go past the 1k in 2:37 – 2:40, but the front of the pack was more defined. It looked like a sprint, but there was still 600 meters to go.

The bell rang at 3:09 in the race as the three runners (McKenna, Schroer, and Plowman) went past. Emmanuel was a second back, Gshwednter another two. The action picked up on the back stretch. Schroer tried to pass his teammate McKenna but his teammate refused to let the lead slip from his grasp.

200 to go and it was at 3:40. Plowman raced to get close to McKenna. As Plowman passed, Schroer raised his arm in the air losing a step behind the two. With 100 meters to go, McKenna started to push harder with Plowman coming up on his side. The intensity of the pace was evident in both of the runners’ faces as they came down the home straightaway.

Both runners were trying to gain control of lane 1 in the final 50 meters. McKenna was on the inside of the lane. Plowman on the outside. There was no daylight separating the two as they approached the finish line. It was a recipe for disaster.

Plowman’s momentum caused him to veer closer and closer to McKenna in the final few steps in the race. McKenna had to chop his steps and race his arms in the air causing him to lose his step. Plowman crossed the line in 4:12.7. McKenna came in 4:13.1. Schroer was two seconds back. Emmanuel was another three with Gshwendntner another two. It seemed like time had stopped in those last final steps. In fact, it was a blink of an eye.

The head starter Andy Jacobi was on the final straight watching the final 100 meters transpired. At the finish line, assistant starter Jim Effinger was standing with his vision focused on the runners coming towards him. Both officials had perfect vision of what happened.

Plowman had passed McKenna to take the lead but did not have a full stride lead as he cut into lane one ahead of McKenna causing McKenna to lose his stride. Plowman had impeded the progress of McKenna at the end of the race. The two officials conferred and then called Plowman over. The York junior was disqualified. Some of the crowd that were York supporters were upset, but it was the correct call.

I headed down to the finish line from where I was on top of the press box. I could hear Wheaton South parents commenting what a fast race it was. One parent commented it was a shame that it happened at the end. There was another group of parents (I will not name the school) that showed the ugly side of what was a great race. “That York kid deserved to be disqualified. All those York runners are cheaters.”

It was hard to tell who the kids were and who the grownups were as I headed past. There was sportsmanship on the track as the two runners eventually shook hands. There was no sportsmanship in that sector of the stands. What a shame.

The fact was that what everyone had witnessed was an exciting race. You can’t take away the fact that Plowman ran 4:12. It just will not show up in the results or any of the leaderboards. McKenna’s race showed what he will be facing in the next few weeks. For most of the year, McKenna has been running solo races. In this case, he was pushed to the limit finding out what he had inside. It showed that the first five runners in the race still have more in their gas tank as they head towards Charleston.

“I just came up on the outside of McKenna,” Plowman explained after finishing his cool down. “There were some elbows thrown by both of us. Unfortunately, it did not work out in my favor but what can you do.”

“There is going to be contact in every race. It was a shame that one contact led to an escalation where we could not race to the fullest,” McKenna said. “It diminished the outcome of what I ran. I guess it has not hit me yet.”

York flexed its muscles winning the team championship ahead of Lake Park. The Lancers were a little shorthanded as Marcus Jegede did not compete in the meet. The Dukes were receiving wins from both the field and on the track. Coach Stan Reddel used a different line-up in the 4 x 100 Meter Relay than they did the week before at Prospect. The result was an easy win for York (42.11) more than a second ahead of Naperville North.

It was a strange outcome in the 100 Meter Dash. Bryce Petty (Bartlett HS) won his section in 11.02. In the final section, Josh Farrar (York HS, Elmhurst) ran the exact same time. On this day, the timers could not go to the thousandths of a second due to a technical glitch. Both runners were awarded the win in the event. Farrar came back in the 200 Meter Dash to win in a seasonal best (22.02) to finish four tenths of a second ahead of Steven Connor (North HS, Wheaton). York’s sprint squad also received a win in the 4 x 200 Meter Relay (1:29.56) as anchor Jarvis Hill held off Bartlett’s Bryce Petty in the final stages of the race.

The wind was strong earlier in the evening causing a tactical race in the 800 Meter Run. A pack of runners led by Tyler Gabrielle (North HS, Wheaton) went through the 400 meters in a sluggish 59.5 seconds. Eric Dade (Lake Park HS, Roselle) pulled into the lead followed by Alex Bashqawai (York HS, Elmhurst). In the final 100 meters of the race, Bashqawai took control crossing the line effortlessly with a 1:56.76 win. Dade was less than a second back (1:57.60).

York also received a win from Reid Smith who cleared 6-5 to place first in the High Jump. Smith came back to place second in the Pole Vault (14-3). Elliot Krause (Lake Park HS, Roselle) established a new seasonal best clearing 14-9 to win the event.

Lake Park once again dominated the weight events. Curtwan Evans won the Shot Put with a 55-9 effort. He was more than two feet ahead of runner-up Andre Steiger (Glenbard South HS, Glen Ellyn). Evans had a great effort throwing 180-1 in the Discus, but it was only good enough for second. Teammate Mike Prestigiacomo threw a lifetime best 184-5 to win the competition.

Lake Park also received a win from their 4 x 800 Meter Relay. The Lancers stormed away from the field in the final two leg to finish with a seasonal best 8:05.63. They were thirteen seconds ahead of second place Naperville Central. Antonio Shenault was the other Lake Park winner capturing the 110 Meter High Hurdles (14.56) just ahead of Michael Jopes (Central HS, Naperville). Shenault scratched out of the 300 Hurdles leaving the door wide open for the Central senior. Jopes won that race in a seasonal best 39.08 and almost a half second ahead of York’s Jarvis Hill.

Two other athletes showed that they will be ready for Charleston and state competition in the next couple of weeks. Joe Singleton (Glenbard South HS, Glen Ellyn) had control of the 3200 Meter Run as he went by the first 800 in 2:14, four seconds ahead of a pack led by Dan Cotton (Bartlett HS) and Jake Pecorin (North HS, Naperville). Singleton won the race in a Class 2A state best 9:18.31. He finished eleven seconds ahead of Pecorin and Cotton.

After a season of recovering from a hamstring pull that occurred at the beginning of March, defending 3A 400 Meter Dash champion Matt Burns (Willowbrook HS, Villa Park) showed that he will be up for the challenge in that event. He ran his best race of the season so far holding off Naperville Central’s Dan Spaccapanaiccia to win the event by two tenths (50.39 – 50.59).

Crosstown rivals Wheaton North and Wheaton-Warrenville South had a down to the wire finish in the 4 x 400 Meter Relay. Wheaton North finished the night at Memorial Stadium winning the event by only three hundredths of a second (3:24.24 – 3:24.27).