Track: Geneva’s Karl Gattinger tries hand at track; St. Charles North’s Tosin Oshin relishes program shot put record

GENEVA – Karl Gattinger already has made a strong athletic impression on the soccer pitch, and with one month left before he returns home to Germany, he’s doing it once again.

This time, it’s on the track. Gattinger, a German foreign exchange student, landed on competing in track and field for Geneva after initially weighing joining the boys volleyball team.

“I wanted to do something new. Track and field was something new for me,” Gattinger said during the 31st annual VanDeveer Relays hosted April 15 at Geneva High School. “After soccer, I knew I was fast, but I didn’t know I had good times. ... I went to many open gyms for volleyball. It was really hard for me to decide which sport I was going to do the rest of the season. Track started earlier, so I went to track. I saw I did actually really well, so I stayed.”

“I wanted to do something new. Track and field was something new for me.”

—  Geneva's Karl Gattinger

Gattinger took second in the 100-meter dash (11.81 seconds), was the third leg of Geneva’s first-place 200-meter relay (1:33.46) and was the second leg for Geneva’s third-place 100-meter relay (45.40).

The full meet was unable to be completed because of lightning.

For the girls varsity through seven scored events, McHenry was first (44), followed by Burlington Central (34) and Geneva (34) and St. Charles North (32).

For the boys varsity through six scored events, Burlington Central led with 50 points, followed by Geneva (46), Reavis (36) and McHenry (15).

“It was super fun,” Gattinger said. “Since Day 1, the people [are] super nice. ... [The camaraderie] means a lot if people are saying [I’m so fast]. It pushes me forward, of course. Also, for the relays, it’s a team sport, so everybody has to do their best.”

St. Charles North sophomore thrower Tosin Oshin was just days removed from achieving the program’s outdoor record in shot put, a mark of 35 feet, 3/4 inch. Oshin followed up with efforts of 10.6 meters in shot put and 28.77 meters in discus.

“It means a lot [to achieve the record] because I just never expected myself to be in that position,” Oshin said. “When I came in freshman year, I was doing all right, but I didn’t think I was going as far as I am today.”

Making the jump from “all right” to setting records is in part because of Oshin’s dedication to improvement.

“I think since the end of freshman year, I realized I could really do it,” Oshin said. “I just put in that little bit of effort and I tried as much as I could. We always know I should be moving faster from the back of the ring to the front and [also] making sure I’m staying back as much as I can before I throw.”

North Stars sophomore sprinter Ava Miedema took first in the 100 (13.4), followed by teammate Jennifer Todd (13.59). Miedema and Todd also lifted the 100 and 200 relays to second-place finishes. In the 100 relay, the team’s 50.68 showing broke the school record.

“I’ve been [competing] pretty good. I’ve been working on getting down to the 12s again,” Miedema said. “I think the group of girls that we have and our coach and what we do at practices are different than what other teams do [such as unique body maintenance exercises].”

Running, it turns out, always was Miedema’s forté – and fuel for her dreams later in life.

“When I was in elementary school, I would always run everywhere. Running was my favorite thing. I couldn’t wait to get to high school to run. I’ve always wanted to go to college for track. In elementary school, I always said I was going to go to the Olympics, so I love track.”

Burlington Central senior and future Liberty University runner Paige Greenhagel is back to build upon her performance from last year when she qualified for state in four events.

“I’m just going to try my best and work my hardest to improve my times, my heights and distances for my jumps,” said Greenhagel, who took second in the long jump with a 5.29-meter finish. “Having the support of teammates and coaches is always helpful.”