Sprint to weight room helps Huntley

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If Huntley boys track coach Jim Rolando ever needs to find his core group of sprinters, he knows right where to look – in the weight room.

It is where Tor Larkin, Matt Hammer, Jeremy Hansen, Josh Sivila and Brandon Luczak love to hang out. They are always the last ones to leave. Even then, Larkin is liable to head to a fitness center in Algonquin for more lifting and a little time in the whirlpool and sauna.

“It really helps my muscles,” Larkin said.

The hard work definitely has benefited Huntley’s sprinters. They spent last year in the shadows of Jacobs’ outstanding relays, which featured J.M. Salcedo, Darius Bowers and Mike Wallace. This season, the Red Raiders have dominated the sprint races in the McHenry County and Fox Valley Conference meets.

They get their next shot today at the IHSA Class 3A Hononegah Boys Track and Field Sectional, which starts at 3:30 p.m. All the local 3A teams run at Hononegah, and all the local Class 2A teams run at the Grayslake Central Sectional, which also starts at 3:30.

Larkin, Hammer, Hansen and Sivila are seeded third in the 4x100 and second in the 4x200.

“I think we have pretty good chances with those relays [to get to state],” said Larkin, who also won the 100-meter dash at the FVC Meet last Friday. “We were sophomores and juniors last year and we’ve gotten much faster. We’re broke all the school records.”

Luczak ran the 4x200 at county instead of Sivila, who battled an injury early in the season. Now Sivila is back, so Luczak will return to the 400 and Sivila will run the 4x100 and 4x200. Larkin and Hansen finished 1-2 in the 100 at the FVC Meet, and Hammer and Larkin finished 2-3 in the 200.

“We work hard in practice to keep our endurance up,” Hammer said. “It’s nice to run against the competition we’ll see. If we know we’re running against faster kids, that’ll push us more.”

Rolando marvels at the sprinters’ work ethic.

“They enjoy working out,” Rolando said. “They’re a lot stronger, and we spend a lot of time in the weight room. They work on general core strength, and it’s been a real focus for them. Other than Jacobs and Woodstock last year, we were right there. They’re a little faster this year. We’re much more prepared to run [today] than the last couple of years.”

Hammer and Sivila are seniors, but Larkin and Hansen are juniors and will return as part of the team’s core next year, again leading the lifting sessions.

“We’re in there five days a week, for two hours,” Hammer said. “We’re usually the last ones in there.”