Boys Track and Field: Yorkville’s Josh Pugh anchors state championship 4x400 relay, takes third in the 400

CHARLESTON – Walking around the tent near the medal stand after Saturday’s Class 3A 400-meter run, Yorkville senior Josh Pugh had a message for his fellow competitors.

At 6-foot, 6-inches with long arms and legs, Pugh wanted everyone within a few feet of him to hear his message: “If I had 5 more meters, I had you all.”

Relying on a memorable kick in the final 110 meters, Pugh finished in third place with a personal-record time of 47.50 seconds in the 400.

“I needed to kick it in little bit sooner,” Pugh said. “I definitely had the speed but had to run it smarter. I started seeing the guys pull away, so I had to pull it in near the straightaway. We got the top time for the 4x4, so I’m looking forward to finishing strong. I feel if I lock in, there’s not many people who can keep up with my max stride. I just had to kick in sooner.”

Pugh made good on his promise 90 minutes later in the 4x400-meter relay. He showcased his next-level potential with a blazing finish in the relay, helping the Foxes capture the state title in a time of 3 minutes, 19.04 seconds. The final event of the three-day state meet closed out a stellar showing by Pugh.

The Foxes’ 4x400 team of Brycen Clements, Owen Horeni, Elliot Goodwin and Pugh finished the season undefeated. Pugh, who started running track in seventh grade at the urging of his father, improved from “hating running” to falling in “love with the sport” in just a few years.

Pugh displayed tremendous fortitude in the final leg to carry the Foxes to a state title in the final event. He had a second burst to pass Grayslake Central’s Trey Sato, who helped the Rams place second in a time of 3:19.62.

Clements said the Foxes were motivated to win the state meet after entering with the top sectional time of 3.22.31.

”I made sure to have a strong start and swing my arms and go strong on the home stretch,” Clements said, a senior. “I felt on fire out there.”

Horeni, a freshman who added an eighth-place medal in the 800 meters Saturday, maintained his solid second-spot position in the biggest meet of the season.

“I just tried to hold the lead that Brycen had and keeping it all the way through and handing it off to Elliott,” Horeni said. “I’m sad I won’t be able to run with these guys again, but happy to win it for them.”

Goodwin, a senior, had to make up some ground to put the speedy Pugh into a good spot to win the race.

“As long as I held my own, I knew we were good because Josh would overtake it,” Goodwin said. “This is great after coming off a junior year where I didn’t run track to winning state has been a heck of a ride. We all put in a lot of training and effort and had the same ambition to chase it down at state.”

Pugh had more than enough left in the tank, clocking a stunning 46.65 anchor leg to end his career in style, causing the PA announcer to bellow, “You can still see the steam coming off the track.”

“It was a great way to end the season, and I knew I had to leave everything on the track and nothing in the track,” Pugh said. “I made my teammates proud, my hometown and school proud. I was a little scared when I saw two people in front of me, but I locked in on the first dude on his jersey and passed him coming around the curve, and at that point I made sure to go strong and to just finish the final 100 meters.”Pugh said his previous race fueled him for the relay, showing he had more fuel in his tank.

“It gave me plenty of confidence and I wasn’t even tired,” he said. “I was bouncing around. All the base work and long-distance stuff we’ve been working on all season helped me.”

Yorkville sophomore Taelor Clements earned his way into the medal stand with a ninth-place effort in the high jump (1.90 meters).

Oswego East senior Alexander Das managed an eighth-place medal in the 1,600.

“I was trying to get top three, but I’ll take eighth and felt I did pretty good,” Das said. “I had a lot of fun today. I’m pretty happy with how I did at state.”

Oswego East senior Parker Nold, who will run cross country and track at Bradley next season, finished his prep career with a fourth-place finish in the 3,200-meter run.

“I felt pretty good,” Nold said. “The first two laps, I felt I was easing into it a bit but stayed in the pack, especially in the third lap. This is my second time at state, so I’m happy to get to the finals and a medal. It feels great. I’m excited for the next chapter and to run in college. I’m happy with what I did throughout my high school career.”

Kaneland sophomore Fredrick Hassan, a standout in basketball, placed fifth in the 2A high jump (1.93) in his first state appearance.

“I’m pretty happy,” Hassan said. “It was a lot of hard work and dedication. My mindset was to go out there and do the best I can and make as little mistakes as possible. I’m going to work as hard as I can for next year.”

As for Class 2A, Sandwich’s 4x400 relay team of Dayton Beatty, Wyatt Miller, Luis Baez and Simeion Harris clocked a seventh-place time of 3:26.21.

Harris, a sophomore who also plays football and basketball, said he’s excited about his future in the next two years.

“I’m tired but energetic,” Harris said. “This was my first time making state. I think the relay did pretty good. I’m going to keep pushing and learned from this. I can’t wait for next year.”