Thornwood Open Makes History

The new and spacious Douglas E. Perry Center stands tall on the venerable Olivet Nazerene University campus

RESULTS/VIDEOS HERE

 

On 12/12/12 at 12:12am the Douglas E. Perry Student Life and Recreation Center officially open its doors to the student body of Olivet Nazerene University. That was historic day number one.  But on 3/1/14 just after 10am the action hit the floor in the field events.

Douglas E. Perry Center intro-

In the day and age of dollars and centers it makes sense to spend money wisely on community based projects.  Head Men’s and Women’s track and field coach Mike McDowell had that very image in mind when he served on the committee that oversaw the vision and construction of the Douglas E. Perry Center. “We thought it would be better for athletics and the university to build a facility for athletics with the capability to host recreation events,” McDowell said of the enormous facility. “A lot of times people make a mistake of building a facility for recreation and forget about the sports teams that have to practice and play in there.” In order words, you will often times see field houses with track oval sizes of different sizes and shapes and field event areas so close to the track or wall that it’s dangerous to contest.

The action started and began for a long time-

If you are a die-hard fan of track and field then you didn’t mind sitting and watching action for over eight hours.  The Thornwood Open was part elite and all-comers and that’s what made it unique according to meet director and Thornwood head coach Brian Evans got what he wanted out of the affair. "I know that a ton of teams were able to collect data on kids that they probably could not have before...  we will take a look at what worked and didn't work and go from there regarding next year's meet," he said after meet was over.


Track highlights were plentiful-

•    The Thornton sprint party came out in full force with senor Ti’fonte Hunt twice setting state best 55H time. Hunt won his prelim in 7.59 to lead all finalists. In the final, Hunt went out fast and smooth against previous state leader junior Antonio Shenault (Roselle Lake Park). Both hurdle kings hit the line at the same time. It took several moments but Hunt was crowned champion in 7.44-7.45. Both marks enter the top 15 in the country… senior Cavion Clayton took his turn in beating Shenault among others in the 55m by winning by an eyelash in 6.55. It was his first big title of his career. The Thornton quartet later returned to run an IL#1/US#25 1:30.88 in the 4x200m relay. The Wildcats held off Cahokia who had been tracking them the whole way in 1:31.11.

•    Defending 3A 800m state champion senior Johnny Leverenz of Danville proved that his 1:54.09 effort at last weekend’s University of Kentucky was no fluke. Leverenz hit the opening circuit in 26.9 and then the 400m around 56.4. On the final lap Neuqua Valley junior Ty Moss began to close in on Leverenz with his speed. Moss got the crowd on his feet and the pair fought all the way to the finish line. Leverenz escaped 1:55.90-1:55.93… Leverenz later returned several hours later to win the 1600m in 4:27.83. Leverenz enjoyed the luxury of a very slow first half and used his kick to overpower Jeremy Lozano (Sr., Lake Park) who ran an indoor state best 4:28.42.

•    Matt Anyiwo (Sr., Homewood-Flossmoor) indicated that he wasn’t happy with a “comfortable” 800m victory (2:02) at Normal West. Anyiwo went out aggressively on his anchor carry of the 4x800m relay despite having a big lead and powered home in 1:55.8 tote.  The Vikings won convincingly in 8:09.18. This team could possibly be a player in this relay at the end of the year if Anyiwo stays with it and some other teammates improve… Anyiwo struck back to win the 400m in 50.56. He won a close battle over Nick Raficz (Sr., Naperville Neuqua Valley) who clocked a personal best 50.81.

•    The unknown Trent Sherfield of Danville has come a long way since his humble beginnings in the sprint game. The senior speedster won the 200m against a solid field in a personal best 22.80.  Thornwood junior Dwight Johnson placed second in a very close 22.82. Thornton’s Jauan Wesley (Sr.) collected third in 22.97.

•    Joe Suarez (Jr., Plainfield East) won a strategic 3200m against fellow junior Grayson Jenkins of Neuqua Valley 9:38.41-9:44.74. Suarez and Jenkins traded blows during various portions of the race before Suarez took off on the penultimate lap to stretch out Jenkins.

•    Cahokia closed out the meet in the 4x400m winning by a solid margin against Plainfield East 3:27.69-3:30.87.  Cahokia’s splits were 50.3, 53.9, 51.4, 52.2.


Field events highlights featured Ja’mari Ward and Marcus Jegede-

•    The Ja’mari Ward vs. Marcus Jegede showdown was ruled a split decision. The sophomore sensation Ward won the long jump with an effort of 23-4.25 against the senior veteran Jegede’s 22-10.75. Both jumpers had some trouble adjusting to the fast run way and approach. This was especially true in the triple jump were both outstanding athletes scratched on their first three attempts. Ward would not get off a legal mark, but his coach and opponent didn’t seemed fazed. Coach Leroy Millsap said the runway was too short and Jegede agreed. “It doesn’t matter because he didn’t get a mark in. He is a great jumper,” said Jegede. Jegede connected with a 47-10.5 personal best and the win on his final attempt. The Olivet Nazerene staff indicated they are going to extend the runway by next indoor season to fit athletes in their natural meet approach.

•    Lake Park senior Elliot Krause won his second consecutive pole vault win 13-9. In fact the Lancers went 1-2 in the event.

•    Peter Andreano (Jr., Minooka) won a jump off against Malik Banks (Sr., Evanston) in the high jump. Both leapers recorded 6-2 efforts.

•    Curtwan Evans (Sr., Lake Park) continued to roll in the shot put winning 53-7.25. Brock Whalen (Jr., Minooka) took second with a 51-8.25 effort.
 

Race Videos/Intereviews by Tony Jones