Popenfoose master of discus, shot

Huntley junior Marcus Popenfoose is the Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Popenfoose finished second in both the discus and shot put at the IHSA Class 3A state meet. His effort included a then-state meet record discus throw of 199 feet, 8 inches. (Justin Edmonds – jedmonds@nwherald.com)

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Huntley junior Marcus Popenfoose already had a pretty good day going May 22 at the IHSA Class 3A Hononegah Sectional Track and Field Meet with decisive titles in the shot put and discus.

Those first-place finishes assured berths to the state meet the ensuing week, but what happened after the competition made the night extra special. Former Jacobs throwers Matt and Pat Whalen, both former state shot put champions, were in Rockton to see Popenfoose throw.

The Whalen brothers approached him, introduced themselves and talked about throwing, college and recruiting.

“I didn’t want to push myself on them,” said Popenfoose, who never had met the Whalens. “That was a cool experience. If anyone in the area knows track and field, they know the Whalens. They’re really nice guys. Pat’s a real high-personality guy, and I like that.”

The next week, Popenfoose was not quite able to get a state title like the Whalens did because Lake Park’s Dan Block was in the way. Block won the Class 3A shot put and discus titles, and Popenfoose was state runner-up in both. Those finishes culminated an already outstanding season and made Popenfoose the choice for Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

The selection is made by the sports staff with input from local coaches.

The Class 3A discus competition was the most thrilling ever, with three state meet records set. Block threw 196 feet, 5 inches on his first attempt on Day 1, a Friday, to break the record. Popenfoose then unleashed a throw of 199-8, his best ever, to take the record on his third and final preliminary attempt.

On Saturday, Block showed what kind of competitor he is. After thinking about it all night, he threw 205-8 on his first throw. Popenfoose had two more throws better than 187 feet, but could not match Block. In any other year, Popenfoose would have been the state discus champion.

Still, the experience afforded Popenfoose some celebrity status.

“There were people coming up to me [Saturday morning] at my hotel and talking to me,” Popenfoose said. “People I didn’t even know. I’m pretty happy with my season and felt I made good progress. I think I can go up even more.”

Offers soon will start pouring in from NCAA Division I schools. Many already have contacted Popenfoose’s coaches, but July 1 they can start calling him personally. Popenfoose, who is 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, will take some time away from track and concentrate on lifting and training for football this summer. The Red Raiders plan to move him from tight end to fullback this season.

Huntley’s coaches knew they had something special when Popenfoose was a freshman and took the eighth-place medal in the Class AA state discus.

“Nobody works harder than Marcus,” Raiders track coach Jim Rolando said. “He’s really smart, and he understands the technique of the shot and discus so well. We [Fox Valley Conference coaches] were having a meeting a couple of years ago, and [Dundee-Crown] coach [Tom] Smith said, ‘You have a freshman throwing 160. The future looks good.’ I said, ‘He could be a lot better than that.’ So this really doesn’t surprise me.”

Popenfoose showed his name deserved to be mentioned with the Whalens’ when he threw the discus 196-9 in the McHenry County Meet, and almost threw 60 feet in the shot put.

Matt Whalen won the Class AA shot put in 2002 and went on to throw at Mississippi State. Pat Whalen won in 2004 and just finished his career at Ohio State. They seemed as eager to meet Popenfoose as he was to meet them. They traveled to Hononegah with their father, Mike, to watch the prodigy who was assaulting their records.

“He’s a real nice, polite kid; he’s very humble,” Pat Whalen said. “I couldn’t ask for a nicer kid if he’s going to be breaking my records. I kind of talked to him about recruiting and understanding the stress and what to base his decision on. One of the most important things is the relationship with your throwing coach.

“It was good watching him. I told him to throw as far as he wanted until he gets to sectionals, but to let me keep my sectional record [62-3 in the shot put].”