Led by Austin Rowswell, Lincoln-Way West wins home invite

NEW LENOX – Lincoln-Way West’s boys track team was quite good last year, even without then-junior Austin Rowswell, who was injured all season.

This year, with Rowswell only one of the bright stars in their constellation, the Warriors are a threat to take a state trophy in Class 3A.

It’s more than Rowswell, the state’s top-ranked 400 runner. There’s senior Ryan Stiglic, who would have pole vaulted all night but settled for his season best, 15 feet 7.25 inches, to win the vault by nearly three feet. It’s the fifth-best vault in Illinois this spring.

There’s discus thrower Logan Heinen, whose throw of 148 feet 2 inches beat Lincoln-Way Central’s J.J. Carr by almost five feet. And Quinn Forsythe, whose 42-foot, 7-inch triple jump won that discipline by about 3½ feet.

The Warriors were equally dominant on the track. Brendan Vlasak and Antony Lusciatti went 1-2 in the 110-meter hurdles and reversed the order in the 300-meter hurdles. The Warriors also won three of the four relays, with Lincoln-Way Central beating them in the 4x800 by 21.87 seconds.

Meanwhile, there was Rowswell, very much fit and eager to improve his best time of 47.48. So much so, he called his 48.67-second effort in the lap of the track horrible, showing what a tough judge of his own performances he is.

“The goal was to hit 46; that’s been the goal all season,” Rowswell said.

About 25 minutes later, he came back with a personal-best 22.06 in the 200, beating Teagan O‘Brien of Providence Catholic to the line by .92 seconds. And finally, as the last link in the 4x400 relay, his anchor lap of about 59 seconds helped lead the Warriors to the finish line first by nearly 12 seconds.

West easily won the meet with 219 points to Lincoln-Way Central’s 154.5. Lincoln-Way East, with its squad spread across three meets on Friday, was third with 64 points. Providence (39.5) took sixth.

One of Central’s wins came in the 1,600, where junior Bryce Counihan won in 4.28.88, a second off his season best, which came indoors. After it, he, like Rowswell in the 400, exemplified the plight of the runner who won but knew he didn’t run his best.

“I was hoping I’d have my teammate Braden (Hoff) to run with, but he had an issue, so he couldn’t run,” Counihan said.

That left Counihan to fend for himself, using the finish line clock and the one in his head.

“Given competition, I can run faster,” Counihan said. “Alone, you don’t know you’re slowing down, because your mind tells you you’re fine. And I started too fast.”

Central’s Kyle Friedl (1:58.59) edged West’s Hunter Spee by .60 seconds in the 800, the meet’s closest distance race. West’s Chase Markowicz won the 100 in 11.20 after teammate Jahan Abubakar false-started. Central’s Jack Galminas took the 3,200 in 9:31.71.

Before the chill set in, Lincoln-Way West junior Jacob Mata exceeded his personal best by four inches to take second in the high jump, clearing 6 feet for the first time. Only Oak Forest’s Enoch Olukolade, the favorite, was better, at 6-feet-2.

Mata, asked what’s made the Warriors a powerhouse, pointed at head coach Joe Strain, who was making a beeline for the pole vault.

“That man right there,” Mata said, “he’s the wizard of energy and motivation and all that. He gives us all we need.”