SPC Championship

The goal of the track season is to be at your best in May, the first step in that process is the SPC Championship. The Wildcats did not have their best team performance of the season, as the team came up just a bit short in a handful of events that could have resulted in big team points and all-conference honors. But the beauty of track and field is how many athletes compete at a given meet and that this is not the end of the season as the guys will have another chance to run their best at IHSA Sectionals next week. For the handful of athletes who did not have their best night, many Wildcats came away from the meet with a new personal best.

The biggest breakthrough of the night came in the varsity 800 as Arnold Arce ran nearly a 5 second PR to both break 2:00 for the first time and also run under the state qualifying standard. Arnold ran 1:58.88 to finish 8^th place overall (how good is the SPC? 9 athletes ran under the state qualifying standard in the 800!). Arnold was not the only athlete who broke through in the 800 as his younger brother Diego Arce, also ran a PR in the frosh/soph race. Tyler Weir got in on the action as well in the 800 running a PR. The young distance guys also had some company with PRs as Ubaldo Rodriguez ran a PR in the 1600 to finish 5^th overall in the frosh/soph race.

The sprint crew had a great start as both 4x100 relays came away with season best times. The frosh/soph crew raced as a quartet for the first time and had great chemistry with the baton (Kalib Smith, Bryson Shoemaker, Josiah Taylor and Stephon Griffin). The varsity 4x100 was the same group we saw at Lockport, they ran great last week through 3 legs and then ran into some interference from their inside lane on the final handoff. This week the stick made its way around clean and that resulted in a season best for Nigel Osei Asare, Micheal Kabore, Alex Haberkamp and Will Dotson. The strong running continued in the 100 as Will, Nigel, and Stephon all ran PRs. The strong running continued with the long sprints as Christian Crowder shocked the track when he won his section and ran nearly a 1.5 second PR in the 400 (53.38) to take 7^th overall. Talan Sihalath also had a breakout race in the frosh/soph 400, breaking 60 for the first time. The sprint crew capped the night with a great run in the 200, led by Sweet T Torrance Freeman who took 2^nd overall in the frosh/soph 200 in a new PR (23.08) and the number #6 freshman time in the state. Danny Haberkamp also ran a PR in the varsity 200, as a great way to cap his senior season.

The field events saw some great jumps to get the team started as Michael Jackson jumped a 30cm PR in the long jump to make finals and break 6 meters for the first time. Cobey McGregory got in on the jumps PRs clearing 1.65 for the first time in the high jump to finish 5^th in the frosh/soph high jump, just behind fellow Wildcat Stephon Griffin. The freshman field event athletes also saw some strong PRs in the discus with both Robert Parker and Nathan Reyes throwing the discus out to new PRs.

After a few days of reflection and two practices, the team is ready to improve upon their performances at Sectionals next week.