Morris boys, Lemont girls win at Morris Night of Relays

MORRIS — The signature event at the Morris Night of Relays track and field meet Friday was undoubtedly the throwers’ relay. That is a race in which each team chose four of their shot put or discus throwers and had them run a 4x100-meter relay. To make matters even more interesting, the winning team in each of the boys’ and girls’ races got to split a large cheese pizza.

Joliet Catholic Academy won both of those races, but, in the end, it was Morris that came out on top in the boys meet with 57 points, followed by Princeton (48), Kaneland (43), Lemont (40) and JCA (11). In the girls meet, Lemont took first with 61 points, followed by Morris (57), Princeton (39) and JCA (30). Kaneland did not have a girls team.

In the throwers’ relay, JCA’s second leg, Makenna Shanahan, spent most of her 100 meters trying to laugh and run at the same time.

“I was laughing when I was running,” Shanahan said. “I had never run on a track in my life, ever. It was so fun. I was happy I got to do it.,

“Overall, it was a fun day and a great meet.”

The throwers’ relay wasn’t the only race with a different setup than normal. The sprint medley relay featured two legs of 100 meters, one of 200 meters and one of 400. The distance medley relay was 4000 meters (10 laps). The first leg was 1,200 meters, the second was 800, the third was 400 and the anchor leg was 1,600. There were also traditional races such as the 300-meter hurdles and 1,600-meter run as well as the normal field events.

Morris finished 1-2-3 in the 1,600, with Cuyler Swanson, Nikita Hovious and Everett Swanson finishing in the top spots. The same three, along with Brodie Patterson, also won the 4x800 relay. Kohen Gross ran the anchor leg of the throwers’ relay, following teammates Malachi Congo, Brady Armstrong and Austin Durbin, which finished second, and took third in the discus.

“This is a fun meet,” Gross said. “I had a pretty good day. I didn’t throw my personal best, but I finished third. I do like the throwers’ relay. That’s a lot of fun since we are usually off by ourselves in the throwing area.

“The big thing was that our team got first, so that makes it a good day.”

Another key cog for Morris on the night was Owen Noon, who was a part of the 4x100 and 4x200 relays, which finished fourth and first, respectively, as well as taking second in the high jump.

“I did pretty much what I do in a normal meet,” Noon said. “But this is a fun change of pace from a normal meet. The whole team gets involved and that makes it a lot of fun.

“The throwers’ relay is a lot of fun to watch. It gets everyone together and cheering for each other.”

Morris coach Ryan Battersby was pleased with his team’s showing.

“We finished like I thought we would based on the times coming in,” he said. “The team aspect of it is what it’s all about. It was a great day for everyone.

“Our distance runners - Cuyler and Everett Swanson, Nikita Hovious, and Brodie Peterson - are all very strong and that’s why our 4x800 relay team is so good. They really push each other, but it’s a friendly rivalry. They all cheer for each other no matter what order they finish.”

Princeton had a strong showing in taking second place. The Tigers’ Cade Odell, Ian Morris and Landen Hoffman finished 1-2-3 in the shot put, while Morris and Hoffman were 1-2 in the discus. Casey Etheridge won the 300-meter hurdles and was part of the winning 4x400 relay along with Ayden Agushi, Tyler VandeVenter and Gavin Lanham.

“This is a good meet, a lot of fun,” Princeton coach Dave Moore said. “The throws are the strongest part of our team, but everyone did a good job tonight against schools bigger than us. Our 4x400 relay time keeps coming down and we are hoping to get it to state qualifying time.”

In the girls meet, Lemont’s team of Morgan Sadelski, Madeline Faron, Ella Mierzwa and Savannah Beasley took first in both the 4x100 and 4x200, while Niki Tselios, Cassie Cunningham, Lizzy Rupsis, Hannah Farley won the 4x400 and Tselios, Maya Fedko, Cunningham and Farley won the distance medley. Ashley Wrublik won the shot put and Christina Ostrander, Sonia Strzalka and Wrublik finished 1-2-3 in the discus. Kelsey Schmidt, Faron and Mickeyla Graffe were 1-2-3 in the high jump as well. Isabella Locascio and Carmela Fornero took first and second in the long jump and Locascio won the triple jump.

“This was a solid night for us,” Lemont coach Tim Plotke said. “The format is different, so it’s nice to get away from the same routine. With conference coming up next week and then the postseason, it’s nice to have a little break like this.

“We had season-best times in the 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400 and our high jumpers were impressive. It was a great night for us.”