Five tracksters headed to state

The Geneseo boys’ track and field continue to strive during championship meet season as the Leafs punched tickets to state in four events May 16 at the Rock Island sectional. The squad also nabbed a third-place finish overall out of 17 teams.

“They all competed at a very high level,” said head coach Don Fredericks. “Our sectional is highly competitive and it was very fortunate to qualify in four events.”

Andrew Walter qualified in the long jump with a leap of 21-4, while teammate Jacob Kuban took second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.64 seconds to advance.

Geneseo’s 4x100-m relay of Aaron Kotecki, Walter, Kuban and Shane Reschke  captured second to advance in 43.18. The Leafs’ 4x400-m relay of Kuban, Reschke, Billy Hamer and Walter capped off the night with a first-place finish, taking the tape 3:25.00.

Just missing the qualifying marks were Kuban in the triple jump with a mark of 44-03 and Walter in the 100-m dash in 11:05. Both took third in their respective events.

Additional Track Results

3200-m run- Josh Lodge, 11th, 10:23.31 and Chris Bisom, 25th, 11:28.57.

100-m dash- Aaron Kotecki, seventh, 11.53.

800-m run- Ryan Kotecki, 12th, 2:05.46 and Jon Fleming, 13th, 2:06.02.

4x200-m relay- Jaran Heaton, Collin DeBuysere, Luke Lembke and Hamer, sixth, 1:35.30.

400-m dash- Reschke, fifth, 51.65.

300-m intermediate hurdles- Peal, 14th, 43.33 and Ben Koenig, 16th, 43.75.

1600-m run- Thomas Sigwalt, 20th, 4:52.68 and Chad Ford, 23rd, 5:01.54.

Additional Field Results

Discus- Shane Miller, 11th, 132-10 and Austin Ryan, 26th, 104-9. High jump- Jake Ballegeer, ninth, 5-10. Long jump- Reschke, sixth, 20-3 1/2. Pole vault-  Heaton, sixth, 12-9. Shot put- Ryan, 16th, 43-6 and Miller, 17th, 42-1. Triple jump- Tom Peal, 16th, 38-0.

“We had a tremendous conference meet and the guys just exploded,” said Fredericks. “I was really proud of the kids we still had standing with  us at the end. It was a very challenging season and we had to make massive adjustments due to the weather. The kids did a great job overcoming and peaked where we should be.”

The Leafs will compete for a state title this weekend, May 23 and 24, on the campus of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

“We will see ferocious competition,” said Fredericks. “It will be great to see season bests, which is not easy to do and will be a tremendous accomplishment.”