Boys track and field: West Aurora ends Batavia’s win streak at Kane County Meet

AURORA – After a 13-year drought, the Kane County Meet’s first-place plaque is heading home with West Aurora.

The Blackhawks had five event wins May 3 en route to 113 points and a first-place finish at the Kane County Meet for the first time since 2011.

It was the 21st time that West Aurora has won the state’s longest-running meet. It’s the second-most titles for a school in the meet’s 105-year history. East Aurora has the most titles with 23.

West Aurora coach Courtney Lamb said getting the win in one of his favorite meets is a great feeling.

“To win this meet, you’ve got to have a really great team and our guys came to compete tonight,” Lamb said. “They were there for each other and really competed well throughout the night.”

The Blackhawks were led by sprinters Azuriah Sylvester and Sere Iranloye. The two combined for 50 points on the night, including a 1-2 finish in the 110-meter hurdles. Sylvester outleaned Iranloye at the line to win in 15.28 seconds, just .01 ahead of his teammate.

“Those two have a good, friendly rivalry. They’re kind of like stepbrothers,” Lamb said. “But it’s great because they push each other. And they’re here to work everyday and they put in the time and I’m very glad to see them rewarded for it.”

West Aurora’s victory brought an end to Batavia’s three-year winning streak.

The Bulldogs were second with 85 points.

Despite his team finishing second, Batavia coach Dennis Piron couldn’t have been more happy with the outcome.

“Coach Lamb is a wonderful person and outstanding coach and I couldn’t be happier for his program,” Piron said. “We knew that West Aurora was going to be tough to beat, but very proud to get second place at such a great meet. And I’m just happy for our kids.”

The Bulldogs managed only one win, but scored in all but four events. Batavia’s Gavin Pecor secured gold in the shot put with a throw of 52 feet, 1.75 inches.

Piron said the team’s performance was a good sign of the progress made throughout the season.

“All year long, it seems like we’ve had something that wasn’t quite right, like where a guy couldn’t run or something we had to change. But I think we’re starting to build toward conferences and sectionals right now,” Piron said. “We’ve said all year long that we’re going to be a dangerous team at the end of the year and I think we’re getting there.”

St. Charles North came in third and was just behind the Bulldogs with 84 points. The North Stars had two wins. Ayodele Bateye won the 100 in 10.84 and Nathan McLoughlin was first in the pole vault with a jump of 15-2.

“We had a lot of PRs today and a lot of kids put in a lot of effort, but we left at least 15 points on the track and on the field,” St. Charles North coach Kevin Harrington said. “So we have some things that we need to work on over these next couple of weeks.”

St. Charles North had a one-point lead over Batavia heading into the 4x400, but a last-second pass by Kaneland in the event saw the North Stars drop to third place in the team standings.

With the DuKane Conference meet coming up Friday, Harrington said being that close to Batavia gives him confidence heading into the meet.

Kaneland, which wore orange jerseys, was fourth with 58 points. It was the first time the Knights finished outside of the top three since 2019, when they also finished fourth. David Valkanov had the team’s lone gold medal, winning the 1,600 in 4:23.64.

Dundee-Crown tied for fifth place with 61.5 points. The Chargers had four wins. The 4x100 team of Torrion Bell, Terrion Spencer, Kali Freeman and Oreoluwa Sobodu was the standout, breaking the meet record by .03 seconds with a time of 42.46. Bell, Spencer, Sobodu and Jeremiah Stewart won the 4x200 relay in 1:29.22. Freeman earned a victory in the 400 in 50.14. Kyle Brents won the long jump with a leap of 22 feet, 2.5 inches.

St. Charles East also tied for fifth with 61.5 points thanks to its distance crew, which scored 34 of its points. Jed Wilson had the only win for the Saints, crossing the line first in the 3,200 in 9:17.95.

Geneva placed seventh with 54 points. The Vikings’ best finishes were second-place showings from Jackson Avery in the 300 hurdles (40.75) and Warren Cooper in the pole vault (14-2).

Aurora Central Catholic’s Patrick Hilby had the other record-breaking performance. The nation’s leading 800 runner ran the race practically by himself. He came across the line in 1:49.81 to break the record by nearly three seconds. The Chargers finished eighth with 41.5 points.

In coach Mike Schmidt’s final Kane County Meet, Burlington Central finished ninth with 38 points. The Rockets’ best finish didn’t come until the final race of the meet. The 4x400 team finished second in 3:28.16.

Marmion Academy finished 12th with 17.5 points. The 4x800 relay team had one of two third-place finishes for the Cadets after crossing the line in 8:08.47. Ryan Anderson finished tied for third with St. Charles East’s Evan Lagana in the pole vault with a leap of 13-8.