Popenfoose aims for history

Huntley's Marcus Popenfoose threw the discus 189 feet, 3 inches during the preliminary round at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet in Charleston on Friday. His throw is 14 feet longer than the second-place competitor, but Popenfoose isn't satisfied until he gets the record – 205-8. (Douglas Cottle/PhotoNews – For the Northwest Herald)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

CHARLESTON – Marcus Popenfoose might already have thrown the discus far enough to win the Class 3A state championship, but that won’t be nearly enough to satisfy the Huntley senior.

Popenfoose wants to leave a real mark in today’s finals at the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium.

“My two main goals coming here were, if I was going to win a state championship, I want to beat all classes,” said Popenfoose, who will throw at Auburn. “Second, I want to get the state record. I don’t want to come here and throw worse than I did as a junior. Even if I win a state championship, I want to throw better. I want the state record.”

Popenfoose threw 189 feet, 3 inches in Friday’s preliminaries, almost 14 feet farther than Lake Park’s Jermaine Kline, who is in second place at 175-4. Popenfoose also is looking at former Lake Park thrower Dan Block’s record throw of 205-8 (last year), as well as Winnebago’s Alex Thompson and Champaign St. Thomas More’s Brendon Noe, who threw 189-7 and 187-8, respectively, in Thursday’s Class 1A preliminaries.

Popenfoose also qualified in the shot put at 61-21⁄2, which is 53⁄4 inches behind Kline.

“I’m definitely more satisfied with my shot than the discus now,” said Popenfoose, who struggled all season with the shot until the last three weeks. “I don’t feel like I’m getting too much behind [the discus]. I have to find that balance between going too fast [and fouling] and a speed where I can still get it out there.”

Popenfoose, who was runner-up to Block in both throws last year, was one of six area finals qualifiers in Class 3A Friday. Jacobs’ Danny Trevor (300 intermediate hurdles), Dundee-Crown’s Nathan Prom (800-meter run) and Pat Livengood (high jump), Cary-Grove’s Anthony Golowach (high jump) and McHenry’s Corey Szamlewski (pole vault) also advanced.

Golowach and Livengood both cleared 6-4 in the high jump where the competition stopped. Szamlewski made 13-9 in the pole vault to qualify. Both of those competitions start over today.

Trevor and Prom each overcame very different foot problems to reach the finals.

Trevor lost a shoe in the 110 high hurdles, usually the better of his two races, between the first and second hurdles. When he pushed the final hurdle over, he was disqualified, although he was well out of the race.

The senior bounced back to win his heat in the 300 hurdles in 39.01, assuring he would be running today. He missed the 110 high hurdles finals by one qualifying spot last year.

“With everything that’s happened to me here, I thought I was going to have to sell my soul to make the finals in one of these things,” said Trevor, who will run at EIU next year. “That was a lot of weight lifted off [in the 300s]. I don’t even know what to say.”

During the week, Prom developed a blister on the ball of his left foot, but battled through that to run 1:55.16 and qualify with the sixth-fastest time. He then withdrew from the 1,600 to save his foot.

“I kind of felt something during the race, but after the race it really hurt,” Prom said. “The trainers said they’ll keep the skin on and wrap it up. It’s awesome, a great feeling. I’m real glad all the work I’ve put through this season is paying off.”