Here are 5 storylines to watch for Kane County-area athletes at the IHSA boys state track and field meet

The IHSA boys track and field state meet is this weekend on the campus of Eastern Illinois in Charleston. Class 2A and Class 3A prelims Friday, with the finals set for Saturday.

Here are five storylines to watch for Kane County-area athletes this weekend:

Batavia’s power creep comes at right time

When coach Dennis Piron and Batavia handily won the DuKane Conference title two weeks ago, he said that he hoped that “everything would click the way it’s supposed to come sectional time.”

Clearly, the Bulldogs took those words to heart, and will hope to find similar success at the state meet.

Of the 12 events in which the Bulldogs qualified for state, seven were seeded in the top 10 in the preliminaries.

The 4x100-meter relay team of three seniors (Micah Johnson, Thomas Woodard and Nathan Whitwell) and junior Bodi Anderson have the highest seed among the team’s qualifiers, with their 41.93 being the fifth-fastest time in the state.

Woodard (400) and sophomore Eddie Polaski (800) are not too far behind the relay, with both running the sixth-fastest time at sectionals in their respective events. Whitwell also recorded the eighth-fastest time in the 100.

Junior Gavin Pecor rounds out the Top 10 in both the Class 3A shot put and discus events, and will look to jump a place to earn All-State honors.

There’s also senior Francesco Benelli in the 3,200. Despite being the 27th seed in the event, the Loyola commit has run the second-fastest time in the state in the event, running an 8:56.20 back on May 2.

St. Charles North’s Nathan McLoughlin goes for gold

After earning All-State honors with a fourth-place finish in the Class 3A pole vault last season, St. Charles North pole vaulter Nathan McLoughlin was left dissatisfied with his performance and vowed to come back and win it all in his senior season.

One year later, he’s heading back to Charleston better than ever.

The senior, who cleared 5.03 meters (16 feet, 6 inches) Friday at the Lake Park sectional, enters the state meet as the top seed in the event. He was one of just two vaulters (Edwardsville’s Parker Owens) to clear 5 meters at sectionals.

He won’t be the only St. Charles athlete vying for a spot on the podium, with St. Charles East senior Evan Lagana (4.47 meters) entering the event as the sixth seed. McLoughlin’s teammate, senior Bobby Guetthoff, will also be in the mix.

Thrice is nice at Kaneland

Two Kaneland athletes will be attempting to claim their third All-State honors on the track at Charleston this weekend.

The first athlete with a chance is senior Evan Nosek, who will be running in the Class 3A 3,200 Saturday. Nosek, who also is a four-time All-State honoree at cross country, was sixth in the Class 2A race as a sophomore and ninth in Class 3A last season.

The senior will have a little work to do, as he’ll run in the second-fastest of three heats in the event. However it’s not impossible, which he proved after pulling off the feat last season.

Also looking to be a three-time All-Stater is senior Freddy Hassan in the high jump. Hassan finished seventh in the Class 3A high jump a season ago and took fifth in Class 2A as a sophomore.

Much like Nosek, Hassan will have some work to do for his third Top 9 finish. He was one of 19 jumpers to clear 1.93 meters at the sectional meet. With seven athletes clearing that height last week, it’s shaping up for a close finish for those final two All-State positions.

Marmion’s Patrick Fitzgerald return to Charleston

Patrick Fitzgerald proved his beaming potential on the track as a sophomore after taking 16th in the Class 2A 300 hurdles.

But after suffering a broken arm to take him out for his entire junior season, the now-senior at Marmion is coming back to Charleston for one final ride.

Fitzgerald ran the second-fastest 300 hurdles time in the class at sectionals with a 39.06. He is seeded in the top five in the 110 hurdles, with his 14.69 being the fourth-fastest seed heading into the preliminaries.

Other notable storylines

There are more than a few more Kane County athletes slated for big state meets.

St. Charles East senior Greyson Ellensohn finds himself in the middle of a stacked Class 3A 3,200 race after recording the seventh-fastest sectional time. He’ll look to improve on his 16th-place finish in the event last season. St. Charles North sophomore Sam Hill will also be a part of that race, coming in as the 14th seed.

There’s also Aurora Central Catholic, who is set to have a big day on the distance side. Freshman John Reinbold and junior Jack Swiatek are currently slated to make it to the finals in the Class 2A 1,600 race, with Reinbold seeded ninth and Swiatek 12th. The two, alongside sophomores Ben Bohr and AJ Viveros, also ran the fifth-fastest 4x800 time at sectionals.

St. Francis senior Gavin Grover had the sixth-highest pole vault in Class 2A at sectionals to also put him in position for All-State honors.