A cold and blustery evening has yet to hinder the athletes at the Upstate 8 Conference Meet Thursday evening at St. Charles North. Some impressive marks have been accomplished including Dan Block (Jr., Lake Park, IL) furthering his state record in the discus with a toss of 201-08. More to come as the meet concludes.
Upstate 8 Meet Highlights - Dan Block (Lake Park) throws 201-08 in discus - Brett Einbecker (Waubonsie V.) tosses 197-06.50 in discus - Chris DeSilva (St. Charles N.) wins 3200 in 9:12 - Jim Riddle (Neuqua Valley) places second in 3200 in 9:16 - Chris Derrick (NV) anchors 4x8 squad to an 8:02-03 win (1:56.8 split) - Derrick wins 1600m in 4:14.36, closing in 61.2Upstate Eight Conference Championships (IL)
Upstate Eight Conference Champs: Meet Page / Results
Top Performance: Dan Block (Lake Park, IL) 201-08 Discus
Perhaps the best throws match-up of the entire weekend took place Thursday evening at St. Charles North High School. The Upstate Eight Conference Championships pinned U.S. #8 discus thrower Dan Block (Lake Park, IL) against U.S. #9 Brett Einbecker (Waubonsie Valley, IL). It's rare that such match-ups take place outside of a major invitational or state meet, but here they were, two of the nation's best going head-to-head.
With a newly poured pit and gusting winds, Einbecker fouled on his first throw, while Block came out and launched a 173-01 to set the tone for the rest of the day. On Block's second throw he furthered his state record by three inches, letting it fly 201-08. Einbecker tried to respond with a 179-07.50 mark on his final throw of the first round. In the finals Einbecker had one last chance to surpass Block but came up just short with a 197-06.50 effort, but left him with a new personal best and less than three feet away from the magical 200 mark. Block's last throw was his second best of the day, going 195-10.
The other highlights of the day came in the distance events. Powerful distance squads Neuqua Valley (IL), Waubonsie Valley (IL) and St. Charles North (IL) all showed their best, which created some impressive performances. Neuqua Valley won the 4x800m relay in 8:03.19, with Chris Derrick anchoring the squad with a 1:56.7.
In the 3200m run Jim Riddle (Neuqua Valley, IL) and Chris DeSilva (St. Charles North, IL) battled it out with Riddle leading most of the race. Heading through the 1600m mark in 4:41 and looking strong, Riddle tried to break at 1700m and again at 2800m, but both times DeSilva came back. With one lap to go Riddle tried to shake DeSilva but DeSilva fought back and passed Riddle with a furious kick, closing in 61 seconds and winning 9:12.52 to 9:16.76. DeSilva and Riddle will be rooming together next year at the University of Illinois. U of I distance coach Wendel McRaven was on hand and joked, "whoever wins this gets the top bunk."
In the 1600m run Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley, IL) showed once again why he's one of the best. Despite a chilly temperature and gusting winds, Derrick went out in 63.3 for his first 400m, came through the half in 2:07.8 (64.5), and hit the 1200m mark in 3:13.1 (65.3). At this point Derrick had a large lead of 65 meters, but still managed to close in 61.2 and finish in 4:14.36.