LONG JUMP-
Top Returners: Nico Capezio (Jr.) 20'7.75", Tyler Hoosman (Jr.) 19'10", Jayson Thornton (Jr.) 19'2", Carlos Baggett (Jr.) 18'8"
Newcomers: Anthony Capezio (Fr.) 18'10", Wallace Thomas (Jr.) NM, Kevin Block
Graduated: David Latimore 22'6" Bobby Ratini 20'2" Brandon Golden 19'0"
OUTLOOK:
Junior Nico Capezio (pictured above) leads a very strong and deep long jump squad as the top returner in one of our strongest team events. Junior Tyler Hoosman will look to challenge the 22 foot barrier after going from a 16'8" jumper as a freshman to a 19'10" jumper as a sophomore. Tyler is substantially faster this year than last year (1.07 10m fly last year 0.99 this year) and will exceed his previous PR's right off the bat. Also entering the mix will be freshman long jumper Anthony Capezio (brother of Nico), who as an 8th grader, long jumped 18'10". The younger Capezio will look to challenge his brother's freshman indoor record of 20'0". Carlos Baggett is the fastest athlete on our team and only jumped at 1 meet as a sophomore. The junior will now hopefully get a few chances to fly this year and see what he is capable of on the long jump runway. Jayson Thornton may also surprise some people with a fully dedicated season to track and field (last year he balanced basketball and track the entire season). As far as newcomers, the speedy Wallace Thomas and football star Kevin Block (1st year track and field athlete) will look to find a spot in our lineup but will have to jump strong to find a position. The 7 boys listed above should all break the 20 foot barrier this season.
HIGH JUMP-
Top Returners: 12 Johnny McConnaughey 5'11" 10 Jack McNurlan 5'8" 11 Jayson Thornton 5'7"
Newcomers: 10 Dylan Webb 5'10" 9 Logan Todorvic 5'0"
Graduated: Jared Samms 6'2" David Latimore 6'1"
OUTLOOK:
The lone senior jumper Johnny McConnaughey (pictured above) gets 1 last shot to make a splash. Luckily for him, the IHSA moved the qualifying standard down to a feasible 6'3. Johnny took awhile to start jumping well last year but has looked outstanding in practice thus far and has our teams best over the bar mechanics. He will be pushed by sophomore Jack McNurlan. Jack cleared 5'10" over the summer and with improved technique will be easily over the 6'0" barrier this season. Newcomer sophomore Dylan Webb will be looking to make a name for himself this season. In our early season scissor kick competition, Webb cleared an outstanding 5'8" in tennis shoes. Look for the sophomore sensation to develop as the year goes on and try to earn a spot to compete at state. Another newcomer, freshman Logan Todorvic will go after our freshman indoor record of 5'8". The promising freshman has shown that he is a quick learner and is quickly learning the event and looking more and more like a high jumper every day. He has already 3 stepped his middle school PR of 5'0" this year.
TRIPLE JUMP-
Top Returners: 11 Nico Capezio 41'2" 11 Adam Ratini 39'11" 10 Quinn Peplow 38'0"
Newcomers: 11 Jordan Gumila NM 9 Kyle Burke 34'4"
Graduated: Alex Ruscitti 41'2" Jared Samms 39'8" David Latimore 39'5"
OUTLOOK:
Triple jump is the weakest jumping event on our team, as it is on a lot of teams. We certainly return some solid guys but no one that screams state capable like in the other events. Junior Nico Capezio will look to build upon his solid sophomore campaign and should be challenging for the top of the SPC. Junior Adam Ratini and Quinn Peplow are solid triple jumpers and will look to improve upon their marks from last season. Newcomer Jordan Gumila is one of the hardest working guys on the team. If he can get over 40 feet, he has a good shot at scoring in the SPC. Freshman Kyle Burke also shows promise as he continues to get faster and faster every day. There is also the opportunity for others to try triple jump as we look to fit in the missing pieces of this team.