DGN at Romeoville Sectional (recap)

The Downers Grove North boys track and field team qualified 10 entries among 10 athletes for the Class 3A state meet in winning the Romeoville Sectional Friday, May 23, at Lewis University.

The Trojans (103 points) won a sectional team title for only the second time ever with the other coming in 1993. Bolingbrook (80.5) was second. Before the IHSA's switch to sectionals starting with 1983, Downers Grove High School won district titles in 1940, 1962 and 1964.

Senior Zack Smith and juniors Ryan Clevenger and Tony Zea qualified in two events and captured individual sectional titles. Senior Eric Wisz also was a sectional champion.

The state meet is May 30-31 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Entries automatically qualified with top-two sectional finishes or by achieving state-qualifying standards at the sectional.

Smith won the 3,200-meter run (9:16.28 fully automatic time) and his third-place 4:19.45 in the 1,600 beat the 4:22.04 state cut.

Clevenger (1,600 in 4:17.02) and Zea (800 in 1:56.94) won their individual races and were part of the advancing second-place 3,200 relay with juniors Jack Diamond and Zac Christensen, which was second in a season-best 7:51.90.

Wisz won pole vault on a tiebreaker by clearing the state-qualifying standard of 13 feet-9 inches for the first time. Seniors Jazz Charrier (career-best 22-10 3/4 in long jump) and Nick Steichmann (50-1 in shot put) advanced by finishing second. Senior Jeremy Craven (career-best 9:24.81 in 3,200) and junior Nick Janicki (157-10 in discus) both were third but beat the respective state-qualifying standards of 9:29.04 and 156-6.

Smith and Janicki are the only Trojans with previous state experience. In 2013, Smith was an all-state third in the 1,600 (4:14.49) while Janicki fouled all three of his preliminary throws. At the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet May 16, Smith ran a season-best 4:14.01 and Janicki threw a lifetime-best 162-4 to win those events.

At sectionals, Steichmann pulled out second in shot by one inch over Oak Lawn senior David Michaels (50-0). At the 2013 Downers North Sectional, Steichmann actually threw further (50-1 3/4) but ended up fourth behind three seniors and more than four feet from second place (54-8).

Charrier was second but also surpassed the 22-3 state cut. The first-year jumper’s previous best was 21-5 3/4 from May 9, a distance that would have placed fourth.

Among non-qualifiers, senior Andrew Adams was third in the 400 (51.11) and just .02 behind second-place Bolingbrook junior Peyton Chapman (51.09).

The 400 relay of sophomore Anthony Giordano, senior Charles Creamer and Adams and Charrier were third (43.14), just .13 behind second-place Sandburg (43.01).

Sophomore Zack Hogan was third in triple jump behind two seniors with his 44-0 3/4, his second best distance. He needed to exceed his lifetime best by seven inches to reach the second-place 45-5.

Junior Max Sale was fifth in discus (149-3), and junior Nate Powell was sixth in pole vault (12-9).

 -- by Bill Stone