Boys track and field: Hinsdale Central senior Aden Bandukwala is the Suburban Life Athlete of the Year

Hinsdale Central senior Aden Bandukwala consistently rose to the occasion at the biggest boys track and field races.

Despite feeling far from his best during preliminaries, Bandukwala remained determined to give two great performances for his last Class 3A state finals May 25.

“Half of our team was sick. I kind of got caught in the middle,” Bandukwala said. “Waking up Saturday [May 25], I was feeling a lot better. I think my voice was a little shaky but my sore throat had disappeared.”

Bandukwala completed one of the state’s greatest middle-distance resumes by winning the 800-meter run in a personal-best 1:51.11 and providing a phenomenal anchor split for the second-place 4x400 relay with sophomore Braden Tingler, junior Smith Maxwell and senior Jack Parkins in a school-record 3:18.05, just .81 behind first-place Belleville West.

Bandukwala, a Duke recruit, is the 2024 Suburban Life Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

“He woke up and sounded terrible [May 25] but he put that aside and again performed and stepped up and did what he had to do,” Hinsdale Central coach Jim Westphal said. “When he needed to run at his best at a pretty important meet, he always would. The ability to kind of rise up in a pressure situation, you certainly can’t coach that. I think it’s kind of innate. He gets nervous like everybody else but he kind of puts those nerves aside and really leans into the performance. It sounds quite cliche, but he’s born with it.”

Bandukwala is the first Hinsdale Central boys track athlete to win state titles in three events and finished with a program-best seven All-State medals for placing in the top nine. Bandukwala won the 1,600 in 2023 (4:10.39) and was part of the victorious 4x400 relay in 2021 (3:19.48).

The title as a freshman was the catalyst for Bandukwala’s running focus. He progressed tenfold alongside the outstanding Class of 2023 group led by Dan Watcke, improving all the way to two individual 3A state titles in cross country as well.

Bandukwala said consistent training and a competitive mindset enhanced the ability to peak when needed.

“It’s just me doing that the entire year and then going into the state meet, it’s just another day,” Bandukwala said. “I just build off that confidence and feel like I’m more ready than anybody else there. Even if I’m not faster, I’m just more ready.”

At state, Bandukwala was more excited about the 4x400 school-record performance than his 800 title by .57. Bandukwala’s finals best 46.419 relay split lifted the Red Devils from fifth and was more than a second faster than the winning 47.94 in the 3A 400 finals.

“He carried it almost to the win. He just ran out of real estate,” Westphal said.

“I could have used 50 more meters but it’s hard to say [we would have won] with confidence,” Bandukwala said. “It was great to walk away with the [800] title. I wasn’t too overexcited about it because I didn’t feel amazing. I was really just going for the win, nothing more.”

Bandukwala could have pulled off the 1,600 state repeat. His winning 4:06.62 at the West Suburban Conference Silver Division Meet on May 10 set school and meet records and beat the winning 3A state time of 4:13.57.

Instead, Bandukwala opted for three state events to benefit the team. He qualified in the 4x800, 800 and 4x400 relay (46.6 split), which is two events after the 1,600. After the Red Devils assessed their 4x800 all-state chances, Westphal said Bandukwala focused on the latter two events.

“What’s been great about being here for four years is I know all of the competitors I’m racing against, guys I’ve raced 20 times, guys I’ve seen every state meet, and we’ve gotten a chance to go at it,” Bandukwala said. “I hope I’ve made some sort of impact. Maybe [remembered for] just not giving up in races.”

This summer, Bandukwala trains daily with former teammates Colby Revord (Missouri) and Michael Skora (Vanderbilt) and hopes to be joined by Watcke, who transferred to Villanova midseason. Watcke has a program-best four state titles – two in the 800 and two with the 4x800 relay.

“Dan and Aden, they’re both generational talent kids. And to have them overlap is very unusual,” Westphal said. “The fact that we were fortunate to have those two young men in a coaching career is really extremely very fortunate. They’re going to go on and do great things.”