Announcement
Northside Varsity Men place 2nd! Eric Nelson breaks MEET RECORD with 6'5 High Jump! Eric Nelson breaks SCHOOL RECORD with 40'1.50 Triple Jump!
On Saturday, April 5, 2008, the Northside Varsity Men traveled to River Park Track in Chicago, Illinois for the 8th Annual Mather Invitational. The Mather Invitational features over 900 athletes, and over 25 Teams. All of the best Track Teams in Chicago were in attendance. Relays and Individual events were scored 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. Medals were awarded to the top 6 Relays and Individuals. Team Trophies were awarded to the top two teams.
The Northside Varsity Men finished in second place overall. It was the highest finish at the Mather Invitational in the history of the program. The Mustangs were awarded a Team Trophy for placing second overall. Northside scored a total of 63 points, and posted victories over Payton (54), Fenger (53), Kenwood (48, Defending Indoor City Champions), Seton Academy (43), Curie (34), Lincoln Park (31), Steinmetz (31), Prosser (30), Marshall (22), Urban Prep (19), South Shore (18), Lake View (14), Lane Tech (13.50), Jones (6), Schurz (5), Von Steuben (5), Amundsen (1), Taft (0), Little Village (0), CICS-Northtwon (0), Douglass (0), Roosevelt (0), and Chicago Academy (0).
Over 900 athletes competed at the Mather Invitational, and the top individual point scorers in the Meet were Mather Junior Stephen Olopo and Northside Junior Eric Nelson. Northside Captain Eric Nelson lead the Mustangs with 23 points, by winning the High Jump, placing third in the Shot Put, placing 5th in the Discus, and placing 6th in the Triple Jump. Eric Nelson was awarded a Medal in all four events.
In the High Jump, Northside Junior Eric Nelson broke the SCHOOL RECORD and the MEET RECORD with a personal best jump of 6'5! Curie Senior Kenneth Woods finished in second place with a jump of 5'8. Payton Senior LeRoy Gordon finished in third place with a jump of 5'8.
In the Long Jump, Northside Junior Albert Lin completed the scoring by placing 8th overall with a personal best jump of 18'5.50! Northside Junior Martin Melto placed 9th overall with a personal best jump of 18'5.25!
In the Shot Put, Northside Junior Eric Nelson placed third overall with an outstanding throw of 42'6.50. Northside Junior John Ko placed 20th overall with a throw of 32'5.50. Northside Freshman Jordan Jackson placed 39th overall with a throw of 26'9.50.
In the Discus, Junior Eric Nelson placed fifth overall with a personal best throw of 103'04! Junior John Ko placed 7th overall with a personal best throw of 98'08! Senior Preston Buehrer placed 9th overall with a personal best throw of 86'09!
In the Triple Jump, Eric Nelson broke the SCHOOL RECORD with a personal best Jump of 40'1.50! The record was previously held by Jelani Thompson, who jumped 40'1 at the 2003 CPS Outdoor Championships. Northside Junior Albert Lin completed the scoring by placing 8th overall with a personal best jump of 37'5.75. Junior Martin Melto placed 10th overall with an outstanding jump of 35'5.00.
In the 4x800m Relay, Northside Junior Brandon Cooper ran a 2:07.70 800m split on the first leg of the Relay. Junior Simon Vecchioni ran a 2:16.10 800m split on the second leg of the Relay. Freshman Charlie Mesimore ran a personal best 2:12.00 800m split on the third leg of the Relay. Freshman Wesley Laytham anchored the Mustangs with a 2:12.20 800m split, for a total time of 8:48.20 to place Third overall! Brandon Cooper, Simon Vecchioni, Charlie Mesimore, and Wesley Laytham were awarded Medals for placing Third overall.
In the 4x100m Relay, Senior Jerry Tran, Senior Erik Flores, Sophomore Neal Capapas, and Senior Preston Buehrer combined for a 50.14! Senior Preston Buehrer, in his second meet back, after 11 months of not being able to run due to a muscle wrapped around an artery in his leg, a February surgery, and weeks of re-hab, including walking with a cane, Northside Captain Preston Buehrer anchored the Mustangs to victories over Kenwood Academy, Amundsen, Payton, Lake View, Roosevelt, Schurz, Little Village, CICS-Northtown, and Chicago Academy. Preston Buehrer is listed on the Mustangs Distance Honor roll in both the 1600m run and the 3200m run, and during his athletic career has competed in every Track event from 100m to the 3200m run, including the Shot Put and Discus. In his first meet back on March 29, 2008, Buehrer competed in four events, and scored for the Mustangs in the Discus and anchored the Mustangs 4x200m Relay, to give the Mustangs a five point victory (110-105) over Kenwood Academy, the defending City Champions, and the Mustangs first ever Bronco Invitational Title. Preston Buehrer is on pace to return to the Mustangs 4x800m Relay by City Championships. During the time period he was injured and couldn't run, Preston Buehrer did not miss a single practice other than for Medical Treatment, to take the ACT, and Spring break. His leadership, mental toughness, and work ethic has been an inspiration to every athlete on the Team. Preston Buehrer has more determination and guts than any athlete on the planet, and the Mustangs are looking forward to his return to the 800m run at the Deerfield Track & Field Classic on Tuesday, April 8, 2008.
