Belvidere North track, field athletes come out on top again

By Kathryn Menue
Editor
CARY – Belvidere North High School came home with another win at the Al Bohrer meet at Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Ill.
On Saturday, April 9, Belvidere North traveled to Cary to compete against Cary-Grove, Johnsburg, Richmond-Burton, Round Lake, Wauconda, Hampshire, and Marengo High Schools.
“The weather was in the 30s, but the wind was calm and the sun was out, so the conditions were not terrible considering how bad the weather has been lately,” Coach Troy Yunk said.
Despite the chilly conditions, Blue Thunder fought through the cold to win with a total of 147.50 points, a whopping 37 points over the second place team, Cary-Grove High School, who had a final score of 110.50 points. Johnsburg High School rounded out the top three with 80 points.
The win for North came from seven athletes taking the top spots out of 18 events and every North athlete breaking the top 10.
“We had several event winners and the depth of our team with more than one athlete scoring in several events helped us win this meet,” Coach Yunk said.
The first place winners included Josh Shableau in the shot put, Cruz Garcia in the discus, Sebastian Gutierrez in the high jump, Naseef Pawlitz in the pole vault, Alec Beutel in the 3200 Meter Relay, Andrew Olszewski in the 300 meter intermediate hurdles, and Eryk Yunk in the 1600 meter run.
The other Belvidere North athletes represented their team well.
In the shot put, Cruz Garcia took fifth place.
In the discus, Cameron Lindquist took sixth place.
In the high jump, Bennet O’Connell had a seventh place finish.
In the long jump, Sebastian Guitierrez had a third place finish and teammate Bennett O’Connell tied for fifth place.
In the triple high jump, Sam Brown had a seventh place finish and Chris Winter finished in ninth place.
In the pole vault, Sean Lock took a second place finish.
In the 3200 meter relay, the Belvidere North team came in second. The team is comprised of Eli Walker, Eryk Yunk, Austin Harnois, and Jake Martocci.
The 400 meter relay had a fifth place finish from North. The team featured Sam Brown, Ethan Hodzic, Jason Rodgers, and Cruz Garcia.
The 3200 meter run had a third place finish from Jared Ellingson.
In the 110 meter high hurdles, Tyler Sawallisch and Andrew Olszewski, both of North, placed second and third.
Jason Rodgers placed seventh in the 110 meter dash.
In the 800 meter run, Will Palmer placed third and Brandt Lerma placed fourth.
The 800 meter relay, the Belvidere North team took fourth with Alex Frisch, Tomas Gutierrez, Alex Frisch, and Riley Kirane leading the team.
The 400 meter dash, had Ignacio Avila representing North in a comfortable position in 10th place.
Eli Walker placed third in the 1600 meter run.
Bennett O’Connell made the sixth position in the 200 meter dash.
In the final race of the 1600 meter relay, the Belvidere North team placed third. The athletes on the team are Will Palmer, Brandt Lerma, Alex Frisch, and Eryk Yunk.
“This was a good start for us and we hope to see better performances as the weather improves and we get in better shape,” Coach Yunk said.