Boys Track: DeSilva, Carlson lead North to 3rd in UEC meet
ST. CHARLES -- As expected, Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley dominated the Upstate Eight Conference Boys Track Meet at St. Charles North on Thursday.
But the event was certainly not without its surprises.
The biggest shocker of the evening came in the 110-meter hurdles when the seventh seed, Tom Kuebel from St. Charles East, won with a time of 15:58. Kyle Holder of Streamwood also pulled off a mild upset to win the 200 dash. Not coming as much of a surprise was the strong third-place finish by the host North Stars with 65 team points. North finished behind Waubonsie (146) and Neuqua Valley (114).
North had first-place finishes from Chris DeSilva in the 3,200-meter run and Andrew Carlson in the high jump. Also, as expected, Dan Karys of Bartlett had a pair of first-place finishes in the long jump and the triple jump.
Kuebelóós stunning win in the 110 hurdles came after the two favorites were disqualified because of false starts. After the race, Kuebel was ecstatic as he celebrated all the way down to the other end of the field with his teammates.
óóIt was absolutely crazy,óó Kuebel said. óóI couldnóót believe it. As soon as the two guys were disqualified I turned to the guy in the lane next to me and said it looks like we got a race.
óóIt was wide open after that. It gave me a boost of adrenaline. I was just amazed when I was the first one to cross the finish line. Ióóve never come close to winning this big of a race in my life.óó
Holderóós win in the 200 with a time of 22:51 came against top-seeded Tony Tucker of Waubonsie and defending UEC champ Keenen Sellers of St. Charles East. Holder used his 6-foot-4 frame to lean forward to edge Tucker in a photo finish.
óóI feel blessed and thankful for this opportunity,óó Holder said. óóI got a real good start and then accelerated around the turn. (Tucker) was really good and pushed me all the way to the end. I just gave it that extra little bit the last few yards.óó
DeSilva set a school record in the 3,200 with a time of 9:12.52. He did it by outlasting his future roommate at the University of Illinois, Jim Riddle from Neuqua Valley.
Karys lifted his game to a new level in the long jump with a personal-best leap of 22 feet, 9ó inches. His triple jump of 43-5 in the preliminary round was good enough to win as well. Bartlett finished fifth with 41 points.
óóIóóve been tapering my workouts to get ready for state and I feel like Ióóm jumping my best right now,óó Karys said.
Sellers won the 100 with a time of 11:23. The Saints finished seventh overall with 38 team points and were followed by Streamwood (37) and Elgin (13). Sophomore Adam Kuforiji finished in third for the Maroons in the 400 (51.36). Larkinóós three points came from Tyler Ortman, who finished fifth in the 110 hurdles and sixth in the 300 hurdles.
óóI havenóót been able to put in as much time as Ióóve liked because of work and school,óó Ortman said. óóIóóm pretty happy to be able to come here and score some points for my team.óó