Track and field notes: Downers Grove North’s Vince Davero soars to state’s No. 1-ranked long jump

Downers Grove North senior jumper Vince Davero was sidelined last season for about two months because of a stress fracture in his left ankle.

“Being out that long, you get kind of antsy and want to get back into competing,” Davero said. “And you come back with a different kind of focus, so if I want to get back to the level I want, I’m really going to have to push myself. Coming back, I just had to be confident in myself and the training.”

On the one-year anniversary of his return, the school record holder in triple jump and long jump enjoyed significant progress. Davero achieved 7.60 meters/24 feet, 11 1/4 inches in long jump at Sandburg’s Pete Struck Invitational, the best outdoor distance in Illinois by nearly one foot and tied for No. 3 nationally, according to Athletic.net.

On his previous attempt – his first leap – Davero already was excited about a then-personal best 7.3m/23-11 1/2.

“Obviously (the 24-11 1/4) was a massive jump, so it was really cool just popping that,” said Davero, who will compete at Indiana. “I just felt good coming off the board, so I just attacked it, had a good rhythm and just held my hang phase longer like (jumps coach John Sipple and I) discussed on my first jump.”

Davero can’t wait for state after taking second in Class 3A triple jump in 2023 with a then school-record 14.43m/47-4 1/4 to Edwardsville senior Malik Allen (14.87m/48-9 1/2). Davero was 15th in state long jump (6.38m/20-11 1/4), an event in which the Trojans’ only all-state finish is seventh. Allen owns the state’s No. 1 distance (49-3) to Davero’s No. 2 school-record 48-11 3/4 on April 19.

“We’re good friends. My cousin goes to Edwardsville. He’s good friends with Malik,” Davero said.

Surprisingly, Davero figured himself as a football player entering high school and then a sprinter when he joined track as a sophomore. Sipple convinced Davero to try jumps and he became the program’s second all-state triple jumper as a sophomore with a sixth-place 13.78m/45-2 1/2. This past offseason, Davero worked individually with Lake Park jumps coach Joey Pacione.

“I feel a lot more confident in my form and just the ins and outs of the jumps. That’s provided me to be a lot more consistent,” Davero said. “I’m just steadily improving as the season’s going on and getting primed for state.”

Fast Knight

IC Catholic junior Evan Smith equaled his personal best of 10.91 followed by a school-record 21.68 to sweep the 100 and 200-meter dashes at Chicago Christian’s Kwasteniet Classic. The 200 time ranks No. 6 in Illinois and No. 2 in 1A by .01. His 10.91 shares No. 7 in 1A. Smith was 17th at 1A state last season in both events.

“I feel dramatic improvement,” said Smith, still .17 from the 100 school record. “Losing at state last year gave me a lot of motivation to get better and seeing the [standout] people, [I thought] I want to do that. I want to be as good as they are.”

More state bests

Downers Grove North’s 4x800 girls relay of senior Sydney Hnatiuk and juniors Jillian Peters, Audrey Casten and McKenzie Willard ran the state’s No. 1 outdoor time (9:28.24) at the Glenbard North Invite.  Glenbard West sophomore Mackenzie Gilbert is No. 4 in the 800 with a 2:14.79 time achieved at Wheaton Warrenville South. Hinsdale Central senior Aden Bandukwala (4:11.73) and Downers Grove North senior Ryan Eddington (4:12.95) ran the No. 2 and 4 boys times in the 800 at the Struck Classic. Lemont senior Quinton Peterson is No. 2 in the 300 intermediate hurdles (38.73) and No. 4 in the 110 high hurdles (14.44). York senior Cash Langley (10.70) is No. 5 in the 100.

State in mind

In cross country, Morton sophomore Alex Rodriguez was 6.44 seconds from the last individual state berth at the 3A Hinsdale Central Sectional. His personal-best 9:28.03 in the 3,200 at Top Times on March 23 is under the 9:33.35 3A state cut as well as his 9:29.76 at Distance Night in Palatine on April 20. He won Downers Grove South’s Mohns/Cohoon Invite in 9:36.55 on April 13.

“I’m just hoping to stay healthy, work hard with my coach and hopefully I get more challenges along the way so I can improve and just be more humble,” Rodriguez said.

Clearing hurdles

Hinsdale South sophomore Kennedy Ruff was 17th at the 2023 3A state meet in the 300 low hurdles behind six seniors. Ruff equaled that time of 46.97 April 10 in winning the Leyden Invite and has two more invite titles. Her fastest is 46.25 at last year’s sectional. That was her first year with the 300s after taking second at the IESA Class 3A state meet in the 100 hurdles as an eighth grader.

“Running (46.97) early this season is really promising,” Ruff said. “I think my strength coming into last season was I had good hurdle mobility. I just need to work on my speed and overall get better running the 300.”