All-state finishes highlight state boys track
HUNTLEY — Six of Huntley’s IHSA Class 3A State Boys Track And Field Meet qualifiers concluded as all-state at Eastern Illinois University.
Jeff Cruickshank in the high jump, Tommy Nitz in the 1,600-meter and 3,200-meter runs and the 4×200-meter relay of Vinny Costa, Dominic Giuseffi, Lex Giron and Talon Sargent earned all-state honors May 25.
Cruickshank earned seventh place in the high jump with a leap of 1.98 meters, 6-feet, 4.25 inches.
“I was happy with seventh, but felt I could have done better. I got off to a slow start this year, but worked on jumps every day with (assistant coach) Andrew Ernst,” Cruickshank said a few days later.
Cruichshank will compete in the high jump for the University of Dubuque, IA in 2024-25.
Also at state, distance ace Nitz competed in the 1,600-meter run and achieved seventh place, with a time of 4:16.80. He also gained seventh in the 3,200-meter run, with a personal best time of 9:10.27.
The 4×200-meter relay squad of Costa, Giuseffi, Giron and Sargent were eighth in 1:28.63. The group also competed in the 4s100-meter relay, ending in 11th in the preliminaries.
Huntley head coach Chris Maxedon summed up the weekend at the Class 3A State Track And Field Meet at Eastern Illinois University.
“It was a good weekend all around,” Maxedon said. “I’m very pleased with the efforts of the kids. They all gave their best and we were close in the 4×100 relay (we were the first team out). Zach Rysavy jumped OK on the triple jump but not his best day. Ryan Schroeder was on his way to a personal record in the 300-meter hurdles but tripped on the last hurdle and fell. It was a great showing by our kids.”
HHS results from the preliminaries May 24 were:
Nitz ran a second place time of 4:11.97. Nitz’s run qualified him for the 1,600 meter finals.
In the 4×100-meter relay, Costa, Giuseffi, Giron and Sargent finished in 11th place in their heat, 42.18 seconds. Their effort just missed the top 10 finalists by one place.
The 4×200-meter relay of Costa, Giuseffi, Giron and Sargent ran a 1:28.17,a team best, to finish second in their heat and eighth overall.
Costa was 23rd with a time of 10.92 seconds in the 100-meter run.
Triple jump qualifier Rysavy ended with a best leap of 13.01 meters, 42 feet, 8.25 inches.
Track team awards
Maxedon highlighted the successful seasons by many at a team awards event.
“The main topic of the night was that we set out to accomplish three things at the varsity level and one at the frosh-soph level, with our Fox Valley Conference meets and the IHSA Sectional. At one point during the season we had about 125 guys on our roster. It was a long but very successful season,” Maxedon said.
The team accomplishments included: varsity indoor FVC meet champions, by 98 points; frosh-soph FVC outdoor conference, by one point; FVC outdoor FVC meet by 51 points and the Class 3A IHSA Sectional meet title by 28 points.
Individual award winners were announced by the coaches.
They are: Red Raider Award, Giron; Most Valuable Player, Costa; outstanding track, Nitz; outstanding field, Rysavy; newcomer varsity; and newcomer frosh-soph, Langston Stanley.
Also, most improved varsity, Ryan Schroeder; most improved frosh-soph, Tyler Dudzynski and Matthew Schroeder.
Coaches awards: Ryan Wabel, sprints, Giuseffi, jumps, Aiden Bus, hurdle; pole vault, Jake Hill; distance, Zach Zuzzio and four-year letter winners, Sargent, Luke Grubbs and Logan Borzych.
