Historic season for D'Angelo, McHenry

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

Like all successful coaches, Dave D’Angelo knows how to borrow ideas.

So when D’Angelo took over the McHenry boys track and field program four years ago, he utilized ideas from former Warriors girls coach Bob Ludwigsen.

He also used leadership concepts from former McHenry football coach Mike Noll, on whose staff D’Angelo worked for so many successful seasons.

He even implemented plans from Fox Valley Conference counterpart Tom Smith at Dundee-Crown.

And when McHenry started its preseason workouts, without an indoor facility, D’Angelo used his own creativity to enliven the practices.

“We played dodgeball and had a 3-on-3 basketball tournament,” D’Angelo said. “We do our share of work, too.”

That was evident when the Warriors won the McHenry County Meet for the first time, then followed with their first FVC Meet championship since 1981, when D’Angelo was running for McHenry.

For all McHenry’s success, D’Angelo is the Northwest Herald Boys Track and Field Coach of the Year.

D’Angelo lauded his assistants, John Beerbower, Mike Quinnett and Jim Wheeler, and he spoke of previous Warriors who helped set a tradition and recruit other athletes.

“Some of those guys in ’05 like [sprinters] Danny Torkelson and Noel Figueroa and Paul Wierzba started the tradition,” D’Angelo said. “It was great having my sons (Matt and Mark) both in the program, too.

“We had a good combination of distance, field and sprints. Our senior leaders really propelled the program.”

McHenry was led by Ryan Michel, who will compete at the University of Illinois. Michel had a disappointing ending when he did not qualify for the Class 3A high jump finals at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet, but he won the Illinois Prep Top Times Indoor Classic at 6-10 and jumped 6-8 outdoors. Discus thrower Bobby Swanson took fourth in state.

“In the field events we’ve been blessed,” D’Angelo said. “I don’t know if anyone ever won the high, long and triple jumps at county like Ryan did. We’ve been building this for a number of years and we have a good nucleus coming back. We have a lot of competition in our practices, and competition breeds success.”