By TODD ENGLE (todd.engle@sj-r.com)
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
The Chatham Glenwood High School boys track team had already put together one hellacious meet at Saturday’s Capital City Classic before the day’s final event, the 4×400-meter relay.
The idea going into the race was to break the school record of 3 minutes 26.34 seconds, set in 1979. The Titans won the race by five seconds — and they got the record by .01, according to fully automatic timing.
It was the final touch on a day that saw Glenwood lap the 12-team field by 48 points at Memorial Stadium. It finished with 118 points. Belleville East was a distant second with 70. Host Lanphier finished 10th with 24 points, its worst performance in the five-year history of the meet. Sacred Heart-Griffin tied for 11th with four points.
Glenwood didn’t have to look far for standout performances, starting with the 4×400 team of John Hagemann, Michael Greene, Tony Giovanelli and Caleb Cox.
Cox had a personal field day, finishing first in the triple jump (45 feet 0, a personal best and 1½ inches off the school record); third in the long jump (21-9½, a personal best) and second in the pole vault (12-6).
Raz Harris continued his resurgence in the hurdles, winning the 110-high event in 15.01 and missing out on a win in the 300 by a paltry .01 seconds, finishing in 40.34. Teammate Greg Garrett was third in the 300 at 40.66.
Jiarre Jackson won the 200 in 22.81, and finished second in the 100 with a time of 11.11, just .03 behind the winner. Brian Dixon rounded out Glenwood’s list of winners with a victory in the 3,200, with a time of 9:43.97.
“We had good, solid performances all the way around, and to come to a meet like this, we really just wanted to see how we stacked up against some premiere talent, and this goes to show that we’re right there. We’re on the cusp,” Glenwood coach Len Onken said. “We’ve got a ways to go, and we can get better.”
They’ve gotten better plenty this season. Harris said his first time in the 110 hurdles this season was 16.4.
“This is my first real year of track and being involved in the varsity, so I just want to run as far as I can,” Harris said. “Starting out I was just trying to clear it, and now I’m working on getting low, like a real 100.”
Cox was able to surprise himself, especially in the long jump.
“At first I thought it was a low 44, but the guy called it 45, so I was excited about that,” Cox said. “We think we can win sectionals. We barely lost it last year, and we’ve never done that as a team in our school history. So that’s a main goal of ours. A bunch of us have been talking, we want to send a bunch of guys to state and possibly come home with a trophy.”
There’s a long time between now and Charleston, but the Titans are off to the right start.
Frustrating day
Lanphier’s Kevin Farley finished third in shot put and second in discus. And Zach Kniery finished fourth in pole vault.
But the Lions — who have finished third at state the past three years — didn’t have a top-three finish in any individual or relay event on the track.
“They didn’t compete at all today like they’re capable of competing,’’ Lanphier coach Mike Garcia said. “I don’t know what their problem was today, but they better change it soon, or we’re going to be in trouble. It’s everyone doing their jobs. Again it’s the little things, the warming up, the cooling down, taking care of their body properly, eating right, being on time for things. It’s that kind of stuff, and it gets old real quick.
“Farley placed in shot and disc, but he would tell you he’s not happy with his marks. They were competitive, but not near what his best were.”
Delvo’s solid outing
Eric Delvo had SHG’s top individual finish, placing fourth in the 1,600 at 4:45.7.
He was a bit frustrated with his time, and coach Ed Gaffigan offered one reason for it.
“He ran a good 800 split (in the 4×800 relay), and he maxed out from that,” Gaffigan said. “He’s more capable, but it’s early in the season yet.”
SHG was sixth in the 4×800.
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