Niko Menos still remembers how he got introduced to track and field at Lake Park.

After transferring in from IC Catholic as a sophomore, the now-senior remembered how he originally came in planning to play baseball in the spring before his mom suggested going out for the track team.

“She ended up talking with coach (Joey) Pacione about it and he ended up pulling me out of class,” Menos said. “From there on I was there all offseason, five days a week and putting in the work, and it’s never felt better with this team.”

Two years later, Menos helped the Lancers make history, claiming one of four wins on the day and getting 152 points to help secure their first boys track and field outdoor DuKane Conference title in school history

“We’re really lucky with this senior group that has cared a lot and come together since they were freshman,” Pacione said. “But you don’t win a conference title without points from everywhere, and I think that speaks to the hard work of our kids on the track, they came through here.”

Menos was one of three Lancers to win a field event on the day, defending his conference title in the high jump with a leap of 1.93 meters. Joseph Michelini added a win in the shot put (17.66 meters) while Anthony Orestano led a 1-2 finish in the pole vault, clearing 4.49 meters for the win.

“Everyone says track is an individual sport, but we all came together the day before the meet to talk about where we were projected and where we wanted to be,” Menos said. “Having a bunch of guys coming up there and doing that shows how determined we we are as a track program and how well built we are all together.”

Omar Kuta secured the Lancers’ lone win on the track in the 400, holding off Geneva’s Mason Halbach down the final stretch to take the win in 49.25 seconds.

“I was nervous at the start, but I just locked in once the gun went off,” Kuta said. “I heard him on my side at the 300-meter mark, and my goal was to hold him off until the 350-mark, because that’s when I like to kick. So that’s what I did and I got the win.”

Kuta, who transferred in from Schaumburg prior to the year, became just the second Lancer to win a track event at the conference meet, joining Aidan Killmer, who won the 300 hurdles in 2022.

“Omar has worked so hard since he joined us in the summer,” Pacione said. “He had a great sophomore season, but has done a lot to elevate himself to the level of a state athlete, and you can’t ask for a better kid for what he provides.”

St. Charles North came out of the meet with a second-place finish, putting up 132 points. The North Stars finished with the most wins of any team, coming away with six conference champions.

“I would’ve rather fewer wins and a conference championship, but you’ve got to give credit to Lake Park,” North Stars coach Kevin Harrington said. “We had some ups and downs, but I’m proud of the guys that took care of things that needed to. Coming out with several champions is great.”

Juniors Sam Hill and Brennan Byrne each came away with two conference titles. Hill secured wins in the 1,600 (4:21.92) and the 3,200 (9:44.2), while Byrne swept the 110 (15.16) and 300 (40.83) hurdles races, his first-ever wins at the varsity level.

“I’ve worked really hard and really felt like an underdog all season,” Byrne said. “I’ve been waiting to win all year. I’ve come in second so many times. But me and Sam knew we had to clock in 40 points. I wanted to clock in a few points for us and I knew I had to make it happen.”

The North Stars’ 4x800 team ran a meet record, finishing in 8:01.05. Lucas Tenbrock added another win in the discus, taking the title with a throw of 53.35 meters.

“I mean, Lucas, he’s just having fun and showing he’s a great athlete,” Harrington said. “It’s really starting to click for him, and he’s getting them flying at this point of the year.”

Rounding out the top three teams was Batavia, which came away with 116 points. Leading the way for the Bulldogs was junior Darin Ashiru, who accounted for 36 points across his four events, the most by a single athlete on the day.

“It just feels amazing to say that,” Ashiru said. “It just shows that all the work from the lifting to training and at practice is coming together. We’ve been working on it all season, and to have it come together in conference, it’s just great.”

Ashiru played a part of all three of the Bulldogs’ victories, sweeping the long jump (6.88 meters) and triple jump (13.71 meters) before ending the meet with a win in the 4x400 in 3:23.41.

“He just told me that he was going to come and give it his all, and you can’t do much better than that,” Bulldogs coach Dennis Piron said. “Three wins and a real tough third place, we had a really good day. We had a couple mishaps, but we competed and winning the 4x400 to close it is always fun.”

Wheaton Warrenville South took fourth place with 96 points. The Tigers won both the 4x100 in a meet-record 41.87 and the 4x200 (1:28.89), with Trenton Simpson adding a gold in the 200 in 22.25. Geneva rounded out the top five with 87 points, with Bennett Konkey winning its only title in the 100 in 10.53. Michael Wilson rounded out the conference champions, with the St. Charles East senior winning the 800 in 1:57.13.

https://www.shawlocal.com/kane-county-chronicle/2026/05/16/lake-park-thrives-off-field-event-success-to-secure-first-boys-track-and-field-dukane-conference-outdoor-title/