The sweet and spacious Olivet Nazerene Student Life and Recreation Center will host the 1st Thornwood Open (Olivet Nazerene photo)
The First Annual Thornwood Open should one great event this Saturday inside the cozy Olivet Nazerene Student Life and Recreation Center on the campus of Olivet Nazerene University.
Meet director Brian Evans has always had something interesting as well as controversial to say about the sport that he loves so much. He and several other area coaches worked on a unique concept to bring more participation in a giant field but quality meet for nearly two years ago. The dream is now here.
The action will start with Ward vs. Jegede in the horizontal jumping events-
Ja'Mari Ward and Marcus Jegede will finally meet in a clash of titans in the sand pit. (photo credits: Tony Holler & Colin Boyle)
Forgive Cahokia sophomore jumps sensation Ja’mari Ward if his legs are a little weary on Saturday. He will be competing in his third meet in seven days. It was just a week ago that the young lad broke a national record (sophomore variety) in the triple jump leaping 50-2.5. He also went 23-11.5 in the long jump in the Troy Triad Invite. On Thursday evening, Ward again competed in both events and broke the existing meet records with 47-0 and 23-1.75 perfomances. “He performed great but he was a little tired,” said head coach Leroy Millsap. “Man, we are tired. We got back home at 3am. Now we are headed [to Chicago].” Coach Millsap attempted to drive straight to Chicagoland after last night's meet, but he was overruled by his school administration to swap drivers. This is not a precursor excuse for Saturday for Ward and company who may become mortals. Ward will be the favorite against a large field that will feature his chief competitor Marcus Jegede (Sr., Roselle Lake Park). Tired or not the triple jump appears safe one for Ward who is ranked US#2 in the event. The long jump could be more of a fair battle. Jegede calls himself a technician in the jumps because of his so-called lack of speed, but he has cleared 23-feet within the past season. Let’s see how Saturday plays out for the titans.
Adam Peterson (Sr., Naperville Neuqua Valley) comes in with the top mark of 14-2.75 but he did not perform well in his last meet at the Proviso West Invite. Peterson did not clear the opening height and Elliot Krause (Sr., Lake Park) won the event. They will meet again and hopefully the outcome will be better from a spectator point of view.
Peter Andreano (Jr., Minooka) is the favorite. He placed second at Normal West Invite with a 6-4 effort. Seandre Vinson (Jr., Cahokia) could challenge Andreano for the second time in three days.
Curtwan Evans (Sr., Lake Park) remains with the top mark in the state in the shot put at 56-10. Evans may be flirting with the 60-foot zone for the first time this season in a new cage. Brock Whalen (Jr., Minooka) is the other thrower over 50-feet in the field.
Speed and precision is the name of the game-
Antonio Shenault (Jr., Lake Park) has quickly moved from an emerging elite athlete in the state to a superstar. He put on a show last weekend by winning the 55m and 55HH within a 10 minute span. Shenault will be unopposed in the hurdles but the dash will be more difficult. Assuming that Theo Hopkins (Sr., Chicago Leo), Devin Ingram (Sr., Minooka), Jauan Wesley (Sr., Thornton), Marcus Jegede, and several more notables advance to final it will be a great affair.
Tifon Hunt (Sr., Thornton), Juan Wesley, Nick Rafacz (Sr., Neuqua Valley), and Devin Ingram are the key players in the 200m
Raficz will double back in what could the marquee event on the track in the 400m. He ran 52.04 last weekend at the Proviso West Invite to place second. Tyran Lyons (Jr., Cahokia), Matt Anyiwo (Sr., Homewood-Flossmoor), and last year’s state leader Kenny Lewis (Sr., Plainfield East) debuts his season. The fans could see a 50-point effort here.
Middle and long distance events are shaping up to be solid-
Danville senior Johnny Leverenz scorched the track at the University of Kentucky Invitational with a US#9 1:54.09 in the 800m. He will run the event again and will have company in Ty Moss (Jr., Neuqua Valley) and Carl Klamm (Jr., Evanston). Moss won the 600m at Proviso West last week indicating that he is ready to run a fast 800. Klamm will be making his debut in the “half-mile” so expect last year’s state finalist to produce a serious challenge.
The competition in the 1600m will feature several all-state caliber distance runners Johnny Leverenz, Caleb Hummer (Jr., Danville), Jeremy Lozano (Sr., Lake Park), and Joe Suarez (Jr., Plainfield East). Leverenz and Suarez will double back from other events but both should be considered the headliners.
Suarez will be the one to beat in the 3200m as he has a personal best of 9:25 from last season. Grayson Jenkins (Jr., Neuqua Valley) will take his first shot in a varsity 3200m.
The best of the rest-
The 4x800m relay will see Lake Park and Neuqua Valley duel for the second weekend in a row. Both squads have fast seed times they earned in placing second and third at the Proviso West Invite. Homewood-Flossmoor is also loading their team with Matt Anyiwo. In the 4x2 and 4x4 relays Cahokia brought their best units to date and will look to run blazing times.