Chicago Payton 4x800 anchor had no equal in his team's dominant performance (Jorge Espinosa photo)
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RESULTS I VIDEOS I PHOTOS
The 57th Annual Prospect Wanner Invite is in the books, and the turnout of quality marks has dotted respective rankings and leaderboards.
The featured 4x800 relay kicked off the high-intensity action-
The MileSplit IL 4x800 signaled the beginning of fast relay action, as this meet, year over year, provides a glimpse of what is to come at the state championship at the end of the month.
The state leader, Chicago Payton, was entered as an at-large participant, and they were targeting more than just a fast time. The Grizzlies wanted to dip under 7:40 and put a scare into the meet record and former national record of 7:34.10 by York.
The road to sub 7:40 did not get off to a desired start for Payton, who sat in third place behind Oak Park-River Forest (1:56.59) and New Trier (1:56.96). Leadoff leg senior Vaughn Collier did his job by keeping it close in third with a solid 1:57.92.
Five teams were under 1:59 and chasing sub-8:00 for their respective teams. For Payton, junior Declan Slavin took the lead for the first time for his team before losing it in the final 200. But he propelled off the final curve and provided teammate junior Tra'Monti Williams with an opening.
Williams would bust the race open with a 1:54.6 leg and a seven-second lead for the anchor, senior Preston Ellis. The meet record would be safe, as Ellis got the stick at 5:48. He would maintain a strong cadence and bring home the victory in a new state record of 7:44.62.
The 3200m proved to be a hot performance-
Coming into the fray, New Trier senior star Ben Crane offered a thought when asked why he wanted to run the 3200m after producing one of the fastest ever performances by an Illinois kid. "I want to run a fast 3200m... even if it's solo, the goal is to run fast," he offered.
To run fast, one has to be willing to set a fast pace, a standard that cannot be questioned. Crane led from the gun and dropped early brisk circuits, leading to the first 1600 in 4:26.62. This was two seconds faster than the Arcadia Invitational race, which featured the nation's top two-milers.
Francesco Benelli (Sr., Batavia) and Nicolai Martino (Sr., Winnebago) were along for the ride from the gate, even more so for Benelli, who, according to Crane, was a little too close for comfort. "He kept clipping my shoes, in my opinion, a little too close, and I was gonna ask him to stop," he lambasted.
Crane continued to maintain poise with Benelli and Martino in extreme proximity. Finally, on the penultimate lap, Crane got some separation and then took off on the gun lap, running a 61.7 and winning in a meet record 8:53.48. Benelli got a huge personal best for his effort, clocking 8:56.20. Martino fell apart on his lap but still ran a respectable 9:06.23 PB. This race served its purpose and may foreshadow what will come at the state championship later in the month.
The best of the rest-
The sun was still up during the 4x100 relay, but the crosswind was unfavorable for this event. Barrington, who came with a season best of 41.80, led six teams under 43.00 with a strong 42.20. New Trier and Neuqua Valley ran 42.30.
Cooper McGinnis has placed his name in the hat as someone to watch for in the 110HH after dropping an IL#2 14.33. He beat out hometown favorite junior Nathan Cichy, who finished a distant second in 14.88.
As expected, Jacobs and Batavia duked it out in the 4x200 relay. Jacobs picked up where they left off during the indoor season, pulling away on the strength of anchor senior Matt Scardina. He commanded the final curve and scooted home in 1:28.16 for IL#5. The Broncos clocked 1:28.65.
The rapidly emerging Chase Cutler (So., Hononegah) did not get a PB in the 400, but he sent a message to the field, namely Nolan Lamoureux (Sr., Lockport), that he is going to be someone to deal with down the road. He came off the final curve, passing Lamoureux and Adam Lyon (Jr., Barrington) to win by a few strides in 48.50.
The 1600 opened with Joe Bregenzer (Sr., Barrington) leading the first lap in 62.3. But Maximilian Sudrzynski (Sr., Jacobs) controlled the tempo; he put the race out of reach on the third circuit, running 65.2 to lead 3:14.80 with the bell lap remaining. The final would be 4:15.37, a season-best performance.