Daniel Robinson put on a show while claiming wins in both the 100- and 200-meter sprints, as well as the long jump, helping lead Neuqua Valley to victory at the 92nd DuPage County Boys Track and Field Championships Friday in Elmhurst.

The Wildcats scored 109.5 points, edging second place Lake Park (92). Waubonsie Valley finished third with 65.

Robinson’s big day was a key reason behind Neuqua Valley’s success. He was eager to push himself Friday after intentionally pacing himself throughout the early months of the spring season.

“It’s really exciting,” said Robinson, who ran season best marks of 10.73 seconds in the 100 and 22.15 in the 200.

“I haven’t run as many meets, or competed in as many meets this year,” Robinson said. “So just coming out here and running those, like, statement marks – it’s just a nice confidence booster for me and just keeps my head up going forward into the next meets.”

In the sprint events, his focus was on gaining an advantage through his acceleration in the early part of the race.

“My main focus on the 100 is the start and holding my drive phase, because I know that the longer I hold my drive phase, the better off I’ll be towards the end of the race,” he said. “And so that’s what I did.”

Meanwhile in the long jump, it was all about precision in his lone attempt to hit his marks and set a 7.23 meter personal best.

“My coaches told me that from now on, they’re only allowing me to do one long jump,” Robinson said. “No matter if I foul, or jump a terrible mark, I only have one shot to put a mark out there. So it kind of puts all the pressure on the first jump and to allow me to do my best.”

Zoelen Terry of Metea Valley finished second to Robinson in the long jump at 6.60.

Terry cited tips from his coaches, as well as personal experience that helped him focus in on the task at hand during the event.

“[The key is] to stay locked in, really focus on getting on that board, and pop it off,” said Terry, the defending state champion in the event.

For Lake Park, a handful of standout performances led to its runner-up night.

Senior Demari Richmond took first place in the triple jump with a 44-2 mark. He believes he is peaking at the right time heading into mid-May.

“The key to success was believing in myself,” Richmond said. “I had a rough season all the way up until here. I started off really good, and I started losing faith on the way down, but I’m coming back up. I’m on the rise.”

Richmond also competed in the 110 and 300 hurdles. He was pleased with his performance in the former.

“I finally got a PR after, you know, the rough season I was speaking on before,” Richmond said. “I got second after being seeded fifth, so I did what I needed to do for my team.”

His time of 15.60 seconds was just behind the winning time of 15.40 set by Nehemiah Jones of Waubonsie Valley.

“The biggest thing was finishing strong,” Jones said about his victory in the 110 hurdles. “When it comes to hurdling, the biggest thing is keeping form. Once I started getting my rhythm and maintaining my form, staying low, and getting back to the ground, that’s what led me to [the win].”

Jones hopes to compete for a state title in the event later this spring, but he has been facing adversity all spring while his school completes work on their outdoor track.

“I’m not at the time I want to be yet. State is 15.08. I got to get that state mark,” Jones said. “It’s kind of hard because I don’t really got a track right now. Our stadium’s under construction. I’m so close, but I just need to practice more.”

Other standouts included Lake Park thrower Joseph Michelini, who won shot put with a 55-1.5 mark, Zachary Turner of Wheaton Warrenville South, who claimed discus with a 162-1 toss, and Joseph Bagnuolo of Bartlett, who won the 800 by less than a second with a time of 1:58:09.

“I’ve been having trouble trying to find my kick, and I really just tried to focus on that in the race,” Bagnuolo said. “It’s gonna be something that I can look back on really well, because I think this is just an overall great race for me.”

Host school York placed seventh. The Dukes were led by Patrick Hill, who claimed a win in the 3,200.

“Running this track every day, [it] feels like home. Just felt like I was in the right place, felt good,” Hill said.