CLC grabs 2nd, qualifies for state in 9 events

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GRAYSLAKE – The IHSA Class 2A Grayslake Central Boys Track and Field Sectional provided both excitement and heartbreak Friday.

Crystal Lake Central had the second highest team score with 93 points and qualified for state in a total of nine events, while Richmond-Burton (75 points) took fifth and qualified in seven events. Lakes won the meet with 103 points.

Prairie Ridge (41.50) qualified in four events, but the meet’s last event, the 4x400 relay, could have very well been the team’s fifth.

The Wolves relay team of Kerry Kohlbacher, Justin Lindahl, Joe Bichler and Matt Siggeman just missed out on a state qualifying time after getting tangled up with Crystal Lake Central after the third handoff.

“From what I saw, and it’s all a little blurry now, I just remember we collided with the other team and it’s not all that clear how it happened,” said sophomore Kohlbacher, who also set a school record with a first-place finish in the 400 meter dash (49.83 seconds).

“My teammate was lying on the ground and so was the Central teammate. I was in disbelief, and I said to myself ‘How could this happen?’ All these feelings disbelief and shock took over.”

CL Central’s team of Brett Schuld, Chris Alvarez, Garrett Davis and Michael Bondi would recover and win the relay with a time of 3:24.70, but the Wolves would miss out on the state standard by 1.5 seconds.

The Tigers 4x800 relay team of Alvarez, Eric Loria, Paul Dunteman and Bondi took first with a time of 8:03.26, and the 4x200 team of Ryan Idstein, Jackson Francis, Kyle Burmeister and Davis qualified with a second-place time of 1:31.37.

Other qualifiers for Central included Josiah Becker’s first-place finish in the pole vault (13-03), Jake Cooper’s second-place finish in the long jump (21-09), Ryan Alvarez’s second-place finishes in both the 1600 and the 3200 and Sean Buczek’s second-place finish in the triple jump (42-05 ½).

Richmond-Burton’s Kyle Wismer took first in the long jump (22-00 ¼) and second in the 400, as well as qualifying in the 4x100 with Ryne Pearson, Justin Russell and Chad O’Kane, who placed first with a time of 43.29. The 4x200 team of Pearson, Russell, Josh Eisenberg and O’Kane also qualified.

R-B’s Ian Sanchez placed first in the 800 (1:56.98) and also qualified in the 1600, and Richard Kaht qualified in the 3200 with a fifth-place finish.

The Wolves’ Marc DiVerde and Alex Wagner each had qualifying times in the 3200 and Mitch Wilkins qualified in the 1600.

Other state qualifiers include Woodstock’s Phil Meyer in the 3200 and 1600, Woodstock’s J.D. Fuller in the 3200 and Marengo’s Joe Janssen and Woodstock’s Mike Kremske in the 800.