Batavia defends its DuKane Conference title in storm-delayed meet

ROSELLE — It surely wasn’t the best day for track and field.

From a dust storm that turned into a 90-minute storm delay, to high powered winds that caused the pole vault to be postponed to Saturday.

But even with the meet not fully concluded, Batavia made sure the final event didn’t matter.

The Bulldogs picked up six victories on the day to finish with six victories to collect 150 points and successfully defend their DuKane Conference championship.

The Bulldogs picked up two wins in the sprint events (senior Nathan Whitwell, 100 meters, 10.89 seconds; 4x200, 1:30.43), two in the distance (sophomore Eddie Polaski, 800, 1:57.70; senior Francesco Benelli, 3,200, 9:34.33) and two in the field (senior Isaiah Brown, triple jump, 14.11 meters; junior Gavin Pecor, shot put, 18.72 meters).

“We have a lot of nice hard working, top-end kids that have been doing what they do all year long for us,” Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron said. “But we also have a lot of young guys scoring points for us as well. So I’m just really pleased, and hopefully everything clicks like it’s supposed to at sectionals.”

St. Charles North (105 points) finished the day in second place, holding a slim three-point lead over third-place Wheaton-Warrenville South (102). Junior Wylder Smith had the North Stars’ only win on the day in the 200 (22.53), but the North Stars also hold the top two seeds in the pole vault, which will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday.

But even with only one win on the day, North Stars coach Kevin Harrington said he was proud of the gritty efforts that his team showed.

“We did pretty much exactly what we were supposed to do,” Harrington said. “And really with a night where we just threw the PRs out, it was truly a night to go out and race. But even then, Wylder let it be known that he is fast, so that was really fun to see.”

Wheaton Warrenville South senior and Northern Illinois football commit Amari Williams picked up three of the team’s four victories. The senior won the 110 hurdles (14.81), 300 hurdles (39.93) and anchored the 4x100 relay (42.08).

“We had our ups and downs, especially with the weather, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me,” Williams said. “I was locked in from the jump and just trying to perform well. I’m trying to let every meet progress and make sure I’m improving every meet so I can reach my goal of going downstate and defending my (300 hurdles) title.”

The Tigers’ 4x800 team also added a victory, finishing the race in 8:09.27.

Lake Park relied on its field events to take a fourth place finish. Junior Niko Menos won the high jump after clearing 1.93 meters and senior PJ Anderson won the long jump with a leap of 6.79 meters.

Geneva came in fifth with 63 points at the end of the day. Senior Mason Halbach secured a win in the 400 (50.08) and anchored the 4x400 team (3:25.39) to their second victory of the night to join Williams as the only athlete with multiple conference titles.

“Going into that 400 I was confident and knew what I was capable of and went out and showed it,” Halbach said. “And then in the 4x400, it’s all thanks to my teammates. Once they got me that lead, it just pushed me and gave me the confidence that I could finish that race and win it for us.”

Wheaton North finished the day in sixth 57 points. The Falcons’ best event came in the 110 hurdles, where seniors Matthew Shelton (15.34) and Colin Voress (15.36) secured 14 points for the team with a 2-3 finish.

St. Charles East (seventh, 44 points) had their lone victory in the 1,600, where senior Greyson Ellensohn made a move in the final 200 to win the event in 4:21.22.

Senior Jaysek Thompson had the only win on the day for Glenbard North (eighth, 27 points), winning the discus with a throw of 48.72 meters.