Oswego’s Dontrell Young sweeps three sprint titles; Oswego East wins first team sectional championship

AURORA – Dontrell Young broke into a skip down the curve of the track in a post-race celebration, alone apart from the rest of the 100-meter dash field.

He indeed separated himself Thursday as the fastest man on the track.

The Oswego sophomore swept the 100, 200 and 400-meter dash championships in a scintillating performance at the Class 3A East Aurora Sectional, leading qualifiers to next weekend’s state meet in Charleston.

“It feels good because I’ve been working my whole life for this,” Young said. “For it to come, I’m just enjoying it and embracing it.”

Young, fifth in the Class 3A 400 as a freshman, is headed back. And he is surely cherishing the accomplishment for the journey here.

Young tore the meniscus in his knee the second week of football season last fall. He missed the rest of football, and the entire indoor track season.

“I got surgery, it was really humbling watching everybody run these fast times indoor,” Young said. “But I just stay humble and stay blessed and was just praying that I’d come back. I was amped up a little bit.”

Young, who set school and conference records in the 200 and 400 a week ago, avenged a loss at conference to Plainfield East’s Joe Owusu in the 100, 10.68 to 10.72 in a race with five state qualifiers.

“It felt good to beat him, but I know Joe, we run for the same travel team,” Young said. “It’s just friendly competition. We push each other.”

Young later held off Bolingbrook’s Bruce Duncan III 48.48 to 48.52 in the 400, then made it three wins in the 200 in 21.50 to beat out Oswego East’s Nigel Grisby (21.76).

Young has two more years after this one, but he’s ready to do something special in Charleston as a sophomore.

“I’ve been hearing that all season [about two more years],” Young said. “I’m just trying to get the triple crown at state.”

Meanwhile, crosstown rival Oswego East added another crown in a banner season. Undefeated outdoors, conference champs for the first time, the Wolves edged Neuqua Valley 87.5-82.5 for the program’s first sectional title.

Leading the way was Zach Morrisroe, who swept the throws with PRs in the shot put (19.10 meters, 62 feet, 8 inches) and discus (55.03 meters, 180-6).

Oswego East also won the 4x200 relay (Aiden Fell, Lamari Hall, Brett Potts, Nigel Grisby (1:28.29).

“I’m pretty happy because I haven’t hit 60 in the shot all season except our last indoor,” Morrisroe said. “I really psyched myself up for that one. I was glad I was able to get a big PR. Discus, had better in warmups, but PR nonetheless, happy with that too.”

The NIU football recruit qualified for state last year with the qualifying standard, but didn’t go because of a pre-planned vacation to Florida. Now he’s ready to make a lasting track memory before going full-time into football.

“Obviously I’d like to win both, but I’m going with the mindset that if I’m doing the best I possibly can do, I’ll find the best results there,” Morrisroe said. “I kind of want to tell my kids stories like I threw 60 feet at state. I want to go there, and have fun, end with a PR, end with a bang. The goal at the beginning was to win both, but a realistic goal now is I can at least get top three in both.”

Benet senior Finn Richards will have plenty of stories to tell about this school year.

The Vanderbilt recruit held both hands to his head after crossing the finish in the 3,200, his eyes wide and mouth open in a look of awe.

He even surprised himself.

Richards, turning away Plainfield North’s Aidan Connors, in 9:09.11 to 9:10.09, broke a 49-year-old Benet record in the event.

“I’ve been trying to break the Benet school record of 9:18 for a few years now. I found out that I just crushed it,” Richards said. “I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near the time I got. Good sprint in the last quarter closed it. It’s 1976 was when it was set, on a 440-yard cinder track, hand-timing.”

Richards, the Class 2A state cross country champion last fall, broke a 53-year-old Benet record in that sport. He passed Connors midway through and held off a late charge.

“This is everything I hoped for and more, especially this race,” Richards said. “I tapped into my extra gear, went deep down in the well for more speed.”

Perhaps the state’s best distance sectional lived up to it in the first race on the track.

Seven teams qualified for state in the 4x800 relay, with Plainfield North’s Jake Schmauderer, Thomas Czerwinski, Gavin Hall, Quinn Davis, a foursome running together for the first time outdoors, just edging Naperville Central by .16 of a second in 7:48.50.

“It felt really good to get here and race some of the best teams,” Czerwinski said. “It really gives us confidence going into state. This is definitely a season PR and closing in on the school record, so that’s looking good.”

Neuqua Valley’s Cooper McGinnis, seventh at state in the 110 hurdles, was feeling good after winning the event in 14.12. He also advanced in the 300 hurdles, taking third.

“Pretty good – first half felt smooth, hit hurdle seven, slowed down a little bit and then hit hurdle nine," McGinnis said. “I know I have big goals. I want to win state. I know my training has brought me here and I can do it.”

Other sectional champions included Downers Grove North’s Philip Cupial in the 1,600 (4:14.13), Oswego’s Jezhian Sprinkle in the 300 hurdles (38.40), Plainfield East in the 4x100 relay (42.17), Bolingbrook in the 4x400 relay (3:21.08), Lemont’s Daniel Jaquez in the high jump (1.98 meters), Downers Grove South’s Patrick Durban in the pole vault (4.16 meters), Neuqua Valley’s Daniel Robinson in the long jump (7.21 meters) and Romeoville’s Shaun Alexander in the triple jump (13.88 meters).