Boys track and field: Batavia runners class of the field at Les Hodge Invitational

BATAVIA – Batavia runners dominated the track events at the Les Hodge Invitational on April 5.

The host Bulldogs won the opening and closing events – the 4x800 and 4x400 meter relays – and five individual races in between.

St. Charles North athletes took home top honors in two races and won the pole vault competition.

Kaneland competitors won three of the six field events.

Since the competition was an open invitational, no team scores were tallied.

The annual meet is the start of the outdoor track season for most of the teams.

Earlier last week, Batavia coach Dennis Piron had his doubts about holding the event.

“I’m just grateful we were able to pull it off. With the weather we had, we weren’t super optimistic that we would,” Piron said. “The weather was decent for at least the first couple of hours tonight. It was cold, but it was still nice to get it in.”

Batavia’s Nathan Whitwell won the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.05 seconds.

“My strategy was that I wanted to get a strong start because the start just builds up to the end of the race,” Whitwell said. “If you start the 100 meters strong, you will have a good time.”

It was a personal record for the junior.

“Last year, I ran it in 11:10,” he said.

Other Batavia individual event winners were Felip Wickler (3,200, 9:52.24), Cole Howland (400, 53.17), Thomas Woodward (300 hurdles, 42.07) and Nathaniel Hunt (1,600, 4:24.83).

“Really nice individual performances for those boys,” Piron said. “The relays looked solid, a lot of depth there. I loved the 4x4 to end the meet. Even in the cold, the kids ran really well.”

St. Charles North’s Jack Shannon finished first in the 110 hurdles with a time of 16.17. Teammate Walker Hornstrom completed the 800 in 2:02.52 for top honors in that race. Nathan McLoughlin cleared the bar at 14 feet to win the pole vault.

Shannon credited the spring break with reducing his time by more than a second.

“I got two weeks off and I came back well-rested and better than ever,” he said.

The junior also finished second in the high jump.

“It’s hard to do both because they happen around the same time,” Shannon said. “But it’s just about doing what you like to do.”

Hornstrom’s time was a personal record.

“I went out a little bit faster than usual,” he said. “The second lap was a little bit slower, but I just tried to go all out.”

The senior was glad to be outside.

“It’s a lot easier to get around the curves,” he said.

With a leap of 6 feet, 2 inches, Kaneland’s Evan Olp won the high jump. The Knights’ Logan Ehlers took top honors in the long jump (21 feet, 2 inches). Teammate Brady Detustak’s throw of 152 feet, 10 inches won the discus.

Kaneland runners David Valkanov and Evan Nosek turned in strong individual performances on the track. Valkanov (4:25.72) and Nosek (4:26.25) finished second and third, respectively, in the 1,600.

Geneva’s Bennet Konkey won the 200 with a time of 22.97. The Vikings also won the 4x100 relay.

Burlington Central took top honors in the 4x200 relay.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240405/girls-track-and-field/boys-track-and-field-batavia-runners-shine-at-hodge-invite/