Despite a shortened outdoor boys track and field season because of weather, area coaches remain optimistic as teams head into sectional meets this week.
DeKalb competes in the Class 3A Huntley Sectional at 4 p.m. Friday. Coach Tim Holt is hoping the Barbs qualify multiple athletes for the state final.
“The main thing is to get to state,” Holt said. “If you’re not there, then you don’t have a chance. When you get there, you can make up for any bad performances throughout the season with your best meet. But you can’t get there if you don’t shine at sectionals.”
DeKalb’s 4x800-meter relay team of Ben Allen, Riley Marks, Aidan Donohue and Emmanuel Yepiz will try to repeat its first-place finish at the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference meet.
“Two of them run under two minutes, the other two run under two-flat,” Holt said. “ We’ve positioned ourselves into the faster heats with good people.”
Other state hopefuls for DeKalb include Tremaine Thomas (long jump, triple jump), Jaylen Mason (high jump) and the 4x100 and 4x200 relay teams.
“It’s a long season,” Holt said. “We’re ready. I told them way back in the beginning, it’s not about what we do today, it’s what we do [at sectionals].”
Kaneland travels to a Class 3A St. Charles North Sectional at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, while Sycamore and host-Genoa Kingston compete in a Class 2A Sectional at 4:30 p.m. Friday. Hinckley-Big Rock and Indian Creek both travel to the Class 1A Erie Sectional at 4 p.m. Friday.
Kaneland’s Andy Drendel is confident as the Knights approach their first Class 3A sectional in program history.
Clayton Hannula, Matt Richtman, Jack O’Sullivan, Ted Allen, Kyle Angelotti, Chris Angelotti, Ben Durbala, Porter Conroy and Drew Gould are some of Kaneland’s top performers. The Knights won the conference title last week with 143.5 points, ahead of Yorkville (112), Sycamore (74) and DeKalb (67).
Drendel said he doesn’t believe his team has reached its peak.
“We’re going to get the job done,” he said. “At the beginning of the season, we said, we’re [Class] 3A now, but the track is still 400 meters long. We have something to prove to everybody.”
Sycamore coach Pete Piccony said he thinks the Spartans are as ready as they’ll ever be heading into sectionals. Sam Hancock, John Sullivan, Riley Melton, Lucas McKay, David Lerohl, Jacob Jovanovic, Trey Wideman and Stephen Poorten lead the way for the Spartans.
“We’ve had a short season,” Piccony said. “But we’re there. I’m pretty confident. They’ve been doing this all year. ... Don’t let the meet size scare you.”