Area Roundup: L-P’s Ryan Hartman qualifies for state, Princeton wins sectional title

For most of the season, La Salle-Peru junior Ryan Hartman was running the 1,600 meters and the 3,200 relay.

He wasn’t getting the times and places he wanted, so he switched to the 3,200.

It turned out to be a good decision.

Running the 3,200 for just the second time this season, Hartman ran a 10:32 on Wednesday to win the event at the Class 2A Geneseo Sectional to earn a state berth.

“The race went really well,” Hartman said. “I really put it all out on the track and kicked it into gear the last two laps, catching three runners. I ended up with a 10:32, which I am very happy with. I am interested to see what some of the times at start are going to be for the 3,200, but I will see how things play out and go from there.”

Hartman is lone state qualifier for the Cavaliers, who placed 12th as a team with 18 points.

“He ran a great great race and passed three guys in the final 400 meters,” L-P coach Adam Spencer said. “He has only run the 3,200 twice this year because of a little knee soreness, but he used his endurance and pacing to come out on top.”

Hartman isn’t the only area athlete heading to state as Princeton’s Keegan Fogarty claimed championships in both the 100 and 200, running the former in 11.17 seconds and the latter in 22.7.

He was also a part of the first-place 800 relay team with Logan Glancy, Ethan Thompson and Drew Harp. The 400 relay squad of Glancy, Thompson, Harp and Ronde Worrels also took first, as did Teegan Davis in the high jump (1.87 meters) and long jump (6.58m) and Grant Foes in the discus (47.40m). Foes also qualified in the shot put (14.56 meters) with a second-place finish.

The Tigers racked up 112.5 points to beat second-place Pontiac (83) for their first sectional title in 10 years.

“I’m just proud of all our young men and how they have competed. It’s always tough to compete against the competition at this level,” PHS coach Dan Foes said.

Wrestling

Rochelle 62, La Salle-Peru 9

The No. 6-seeded Cavaliers lost to the No. 3 Hubs in the first round of the Interstate Eight Conference Tournament on Wednesday in Rochelle.

Gunnar Skoog won by pin at 126 pounds, while Connor Lorden bumped up from 195 to 220 to win by decision.

The Cavs will face No. 7 Morris in the consolation semifinals on Friday at L-P. Also Friday at L-P, No. 5 Ottawa will face No. 8 Plano in the other consolation semifinal followed by the fifth-place and seventh-place matches.

At Morrison

St. Bede dropped a pair of duals to Orion (38-12) and Morrison (42-18).

Noah Setser won a pair of bouts at 132 (forfeit, pinfall) for the Bruins, while Matthew Pozzi at 285 (forfeit), Mason Hurst at 106 (forfeit) and James Sanchez at 160 (forfeit) all captured single wins.