Inside Track and Field

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Athlete of the Week

Boys

Marcus Popenfoose

Huntley, sr.

Popenfoose threw the discus 202 feet, 4 inches at the Crystal Lake Central Invitational on Friday night, the fourth 200-foot throw in state history, according to the IHSA website.

Popenfoose’s career-best throw was one of three 198-foot-plus tosses he had at the meet. Lake Park’s Dan Block, last year’s Class 3A state champion, had two of the other 200-foot throws in state history, and Champaign St. More’s Brandon Noe, who recently threw 203-5, has the other. Popenfoose’s throw is the third-best in state history, according to the IHSA website.

Popenfoose followed that throw with a 189-4 effort Saturday in the Palatine Relays, which set that meet record. He also threw 57-1 in the shot put to help Huntley’s team take second in the shot put relay.

Girls

Amy Fanella

Huntley, sr.

Fanella had a huge week, culminating with her four first-place finishes in the Fox Valley Conference Meet on Thursday at Crystal Lake Central’s Owen Metcalf Field.

Fanella won the 100-meter high hurdles (15.49), the 300 low hurdles (45.66) and triple jump (36-6 1/2) then anchored the Red Raiders’ winning 4x400 relay team. Huntley finished second as a team with 91 points to Cary-Grove’s 142.

Fanella also won the triple jump and took second in the 100 high hurdles to help the Red Raiders to second place in the Woodstock Invitational on Friday night at Larry Dale Field. The meet was called with five events remaining because of lightning and thunder.

Fanella jumped 37-3 in the triple jump at the Woodstock North triangular on Monday, her season-best, to win that event. Fanella also ran 46.24 to win the 300 low hurdles at that meet.

Noteworthy

Pushing for record: Fanella has been consistently in the 36-foot range for triple jump and was close to the Huntley school record (37-5 1/2) set by Jessica Miron in 2002. Miron, now Jessica Schuett, won the Class A state title with that jump and is McHenry’s head coach.

“I’ll have it for another week or two,” Schuett said Thursday.

Fanella has been shooting for that record for a while.

“That’s been my goal,” Fanella said. “I still have sectional and state to get it. I’ve talked to her before. Hopefully I can follow in her footsteps.”

Best effort: McHenry senior Abi Weisenberger recorded a personal-best of 9 feet, 6 inches to win the pole vault at the FVC Meet on Thursday. Weisenberger had made 9-0 several times, but not 9-6 in a meet before.

“I was a little scared for next week [at the sectional], because last year I made it to state, but this gives me confidence,” Weisenberger said. “It really helped because (former Crystal Lake South athlete) Kellie Schuh was here and she was helping me. I’ve been making 10-0 in practices, but in meets it’s harder.”

Schuh now competes for NCAA Division I Illinois-Chicago.

First first: Cary-Grove's Carly Loeffel has scored a lot of points in three seasons of FVC Meets for the Trojans, but did not have an FVC title until she won the 400 Thursday night.

"I didn't realize that," said Loeffel, who narrowly missed the high jump title earlier in the meet. "That's my best time of the year (59.60) and my second-best ever. That was a big team race for me because everyone helped me. There were girls from our team all around the track yelling, 'Focus!' because that's my word. I heard them and that helped make a difference."

Loeffel had five second-place finishes before winning the 400.

This Week’s Top Boys Meet

Big Northern Conference Meet

4 p.m. Thursday, at Hampshire

Richmond-Burton and Harvard should make some noise at the meet after finishing fourth and sixth, respectively, at the McHenry County Meet last month.

R-B will be led by Kyle Wismer, Matt Marzahl, Ian Sanchez and Kenny Riordan as it tries to move up from fourth place last year.

Harvard sprinter Coty Kramer was outstanding in the McHenry County Meet and leads the Hornets, who were fifth last year.

This Week’s Top Girls Meet

IHSA Class 3A Hononegah Sectional

4 p.m. Thursday, at Rockton

All six local Class 3A teams – Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Dundee-Crown, Huntley, Jacobs and McHenry – will compete in the meet.

– Joe Stevenson
jstevenson@nwherald.com