CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

 On Thursday, March 27, 2008, the Northside Varsity Men traveled to Lane Tech Stadium for the Lane Tech Len Jarezek Relays. Prior to the meet, the meet was re-named in honor of Lane Tech coaching legend Len Jarezek. Among his accomplishments, Jarezek was the last Cross Country coach to bring a State Championship to Chicago, and his 4x400m Relay set a national record. Jarezek would have been proud of the efforts of the Lane Tech coaching staff made to make this meet happen. The conditions were the toughest anyone has ever seen, with 10-15 mph winds, hail, rain, and snow. However, none of the above conditions stopped the meet from happening. The meet was stopped after three events due to lighting, and all scores were finalized, and Medals were awarded for the Top 3 places in each event. The scoring scale used for individual events and relays was 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1.

  Northside College Prep WON the meet with 25 points. Lane Tech and Mather tied for second place with 22 points.

  In the Distance Medley Relay, Mather's Eddie Torres outkiced Lincoln Park's Jacob Cetera to win the the Distance Medley Relay with a time of 11:43.10. Lincoln Park finished in second place with 11:43.90. Lane Tech's Devonne Rice, Gerardo Gonzalez, Irfing Albarrain, and Kent Frayan combined for an outstanding time of 11:58 to place third overall. Lake View's Sirak Areki, Romeo Jurardo, Michael Tran, and Alex Agafonov combined for an outstanding time of 12:05 to place fourth overall. Northside Junior Simon Vecchioni ran a 72 on the first 400m, and 84 on the second 400m for a 2:38 800m split, and ran a 77 on the final 400m for a 3:55 1200m split on the first leg of the relay. Northside Senior Santino Merino ran a 59 400m split on the second leg of the relay. Northside Freshman Wesley Laytham ran a 60.00 on his first 400m to make up ground, and a 83 on his second 400m for a 2:23 800m split, and made a nice exchange to Junior Jonathan Kittaka. Jonathan Kittaka anchored the Mustangs to fifth place with a 5:02 Mile to secure fifth place, and earn four points for the Mustangs. Schurz finished in sixth place with a time of 13:45. Marshall finished in sixth place with a time of 15:38.

  In the High Jump, Northside Captain Eric Nelson won it with a jump of 5'10. Payton Prep's LeRoy Gordon finished in second place with a jump of 5'8. Northside Junior Wemi Jemine finished in third place with a jump of 5'6. Lane Tech's Adem Makic finished in fourth place with a jump of 5'4. South Shore's Eugene Crenshaw finished in fifth place with a jump of 5'2. The remaining athletes were unable to clear a height in the difficult conditions. The Mustangs scored a total of 16 points in the High Jump.

  In the Shot Put, Lane Tech's Laken Tomlinson won it with a personal best throw of 47'7. Mather's Ameen finished in second place with a personal best throw of 44'8. Curie's Christopher Bell finished in third place with a throw of 40'6. Northside Junior Eric Nelson finished in fourth place with a throw of 40'5. Mather's Ethan Rodriguez finished in fifth place with a throw of 36'6. Lake View's Trevor Heyser finished in sixth place with a throw 34'7. Marshall's Jerome Jones finished in seventh place with a throw of 32'7. Lane Tech's Korey Dodds completed the scoring by placing 8th with a throw of 31'9. Northside Junior John Ko threw 31'8 to finish 9th overall.

   VARSITY POINTS SCORED

    1. Eric Nelson         15

    2. Wemi Jemine       6

    3. Wesley Laytham   1

    3. Simon Vecchioni   1

    3. Santino Merino      1

    3. Jonathan Kittaka    1