The boys track team enters the 2008 season as the two-time defending champions in the PSL at both the varsity and frosh-soph levels. Although a number of key contributors were lost to graduation, the team will be well balanced and should challenge for another PSL and Sectional title.
Key contributors return in all areas. The weight events will be anchored by Steven Campbell (sr), Perry Brown (jr), and Chris Candelas (jr). In the jumps, both John Riley (sr) and Marcus Cyrus (jr) qualified for the state meet last year while Alphonso Dunbar (so) will provide depth. Brandon Sims (jr), Will Jenkins (sr), and Bryson Green (sr) will lead the sprint group while Green, Maurice Jefferson (sr), and Ray Honore (so) provide good depth in the hurdles. The distance group will be lead by Martin Avila (sr) and Sandro Mazza (so), both of whom qualified for the State cross-country meet. Christian Sorensen (so) will provide good depth here as well.
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April 2nd, 2008: At Luther North with Illiana
The boys track team got some decent weather and dominated in their first outdoor meet of the season as Illiana had a number of guys missing due to their spring break. Walther scored 100.5 points to 41 for Illiana and 33.5 for Luther North.
First place finishers included Perry Brown (discus 123'0”), Steve Campbell (shot put 46' 3”), Lloyd Watson (high jump 5' 7”), Marcus Cyrus (long jump 19' 7” & triple jump 40' 8”), Bryson Green (110 Hurdles 16.38), Brandon Sims (100 11.56 & 200 24.09), and Sandro Mazza (800 2:09.3). In addition the Broncos finished first in the 800 and 1600 meter relays.
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April 5th, 2008: Lisle Mega-Meet
The Broncos took advantage of the best day of the spring so far to produce some good marks leading them to defend their title with a 1 st place finish out of 8 schools at the Mega-Meet. Walther scored 144 points to beat St. Francis (119) and Westmont (116). Walther's depth proved to be the difference as they had three athletes finish in the top six of five different events. Those events were the shot put, discus, long jump, triple jump, and 110 high hurdles.
Top individual performances were put in by Sandro Mazza (1600 4:37.0) and Perry Brown (discus 144' 5”). Both of these efforts are better than the State qualifying marks in their events. Other 1 st place finishers included Steve Campbell (shot put 47' 8”), Martin Avila (3200 10:24.0), and Bryson Green (110 Hurdles 16.41). The 400 and 800 meter relays also posted good times while taking 2 nd in each race. The 400 relay team of Garrick Turner, Green, Will Jenkins, and Brandon Sims finished in 45.40 FAT while the 800 relay team of Jenkins, Mike Branda, Green, and Sims came in at 1:35.22 FAT. Sims' time of 11.32 FAT in the 100 meter dash placed him 2 nd as well.
Friday, April 11th – Matt Wulf Invitational, Yorkville
After beating St. Francis and Westmont by a significant margin one week earlier, the tables were turned this evening as St. Francis won with 131 points, Westmont placed second with 101 points, and Walther finished fourth with 86. The evening was a series of unfortunate events that actually began earlier in the day with top sprinter Brandon Sims being suspended for breaking team rules. The Broncos then experienced a false start in the 110 hurdles, a DQ in the 4x100 relay, and a dropped baton in the 4x200 relay. Losing Sims, along with Jon White and Grant Neubieser due to injuries, meant a lot of reshuffling as well and consequently an incomplete line-up.
Despite all these problems, the team managed to score 86 points and had some good showings. While having to deal with the cold temperatures (low 30's) and high wind producing wind chills in the low 20's, Marcus Cyrus won the triple jump with a leap of 41' 3.5” and Maurice Jefferson won the 110 high hurdles with a time of 16.00 into a headwind. The team got 2 nd place finishes from Jon Riley in the long jump (19' 6”) and Steven Campbell in the shot put (45' 4”). Sandro Mazza had a good evening finishing third in both the 3200 (10:10.83) and 1600 (4:48.43). Other third place finishers included Chris Koehne in the 400 (54.89), Cyrus in the long jump (19' 5.25”), and the 3200 relay team of Koehne, Christian Sorensen, Donte Davis, and Martin Avila (9:01.2). Finally, freshmen Matthew Wallace, replacing Sims in the dashes, made finals in both the 100 and 200, placing 5 th in the 100 (12.13).
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May 9th - PSL Conference Meet - Varsity
The Varsity defended their conference title Friday night, winning their 3rd consecutive conference championship. Coach Koehne expected this to be the closest competition in many years, but the team stepped up big time and scored 199 points to beat runner up Illiana with 155 points. Chicago Chrisitan was third with 71 and Timothy Christian & Luther South tied for fourth with 27 points each. Luther North and Aurora Christian tied for sixth with 23 points each, Wheaton Academy scored 12, and Westminster Christian had 5.
Individual event champions included Brandon Sims in the 100 (11.64) and 200 (23.48), Perry Brown (discus - 129' 9"), Marcus Cyrus (long jump - 20' 3.75"), Maurice Jefferson (110 high hurdles - 15.99), Reggie Hughes (400 - 52.71), Ray Honore (300 hurdles - 42.49), and Sandro Mazza (1600 - 4:33.56). In addition the Broncos won three relays. Will Jenkins, Jefferson, Bryson Green, and Sims won the 400 relay in 46.18 seconds. Matthew Wallace combined with Jenkins, Green, and Sims to win the 800 relay in 1:35.22, and the 3200 relay team of Chris Koehne, Donte Davis, Grant Neubieser, and Mazza won in 8:29.55.
Depth proved to be the key to victory as the Broncos finished 2nd in seven times, including 1-2 finishes in five events. Bryson Green led the way capturing three 2nd place finishes (110 high hurdles - 16.13, 300 hurdles - 44.42, and 200 - 23.89). Other second place finishers included Steve Campbell (shot put - 47' 2.5"), Ashton Adger (triple jump - 40' 11.5"), Matthew Wallace (100 - 11.76), and Grant Neubieser (1600 - 4:35.08).
The real story of the night was how the young guys stepped up as sophomore Ray Honore won the 300 hurdles and Alphonso Dunbar finished 3rd in the high jump. Freshmen Matthew Wallace and Grant Neubieser each took a second place. The other big surprise was Reggie Hughes who won the 400 meter after being seeded seventh in the race.
The highlight of the night though was in the 1600 meter run where two of Don Schafer's school records fell. Sandro Mazza broke the sophomore school record of 4:34.4 with his time of 4:33.56, and Grant Neubieser broke the freshmen record of 4:43.6 with his time of 4:35.08.
The Broncos will be going after their 2nd Sectional title in 3 years at Lisle next Friday night.
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