By Michael Newman, ILXCTF.com Editor

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Joliet – It was an abnormal April spring day throughout Illinois. It is unusual to see temperatures climb close to 80 degrees. If it was just that, athletes at Saturday’s #SmithStrong Invitational would have taken advantage of the ultra-fast track at ATI Memorial Stadium with some fast times. It was also unusual that a southwest wind that stayed at a consistent 25 mph was evident throughout the meet. Yes, it would slow down times. But where the times slowed down, the competition picked up. The experience of running into a head wind down the home stretch could help athletes with the way they dealt with in future meets like the IHSA State Meet in May.

The wind did not affect John Meyer of Lockport Township in the weight events. Meyer and Clayton Hannula of Kaneland finished first and second achieving personal bests in the Discus. Meyer’s throw of 179-10 was more than two feet ahead of Hannula’s best of 177.0. When it came to the Shot Put, Meyer was king. He unleashed a 65-2 state best to win the event.

Forget the times on the track. His meet was about strategy and competition and how to deal with such adverse conditions. The 1600 Meter Run was just one example. The event had a star-studded field with Dylan Jacobs of Sandburg, Irwin Loud of Oak Park-River Forest, and Soren Knudsen of Minooka. In the first lap of the race, no one wanted to break the wind for the pack. No one wanted to take the lead as the Section 2 runners jogged through the first 400-meters in 75 seconds. Loud tested the group by taking off on the back stretch to see if anyone would go with him. The entire group did as they passed through 800-meters at five-minute pace at 2:30.1.

The pace was slower than the first section in which Andrew Englert of Lincoln-Way Central ran 4:42.51 for that section win. This race needed to pick up the pace if they wanted a piece of the event win. The action started in the third lap of the race. It was Jones Prep’s Jeremy Adams who made the first move picking up the pace on the back stretch. It was then Jacobs taking the lead with 600-meters to go but he was heading back into the wind. Knudsen and Loud joined Jacobs as the three pulled ahead of the pack. Knudsen passed Jacobs with 200-meters to go finishing in 4:33.42 for the win. He ran the final 800-meters of the race in 2:03.1. Loud passed Jacobs in the final 50-meters to take second (4:34.55) with Jacobs third (4:36.28).

Clayton Mendez of Whitney Young came to the meet hoping for a fast time in the 3200 Meter Run. The winds interrupted that plan. Mendez had the lead at 200-meters and had to do all the work in this wind. He went through 1600-meters in 4:35 but the effort going into such a strong wind was taking its toll. Mendez ran 9:36.88 to take the win 17-seconds ahead of Kaneland’s Matt Richtman (9:53.59).

It was also tactical in the 800 Meter Run as the lead pack passed through a slow 63.5 second first 400-meters. As they came of the final curve into the wind for the final 100-meters of the race, nine athletes were within a second of each other all capable of winning. McHenry’s Maki Mohr took off from the inside looking like he had the race under control. Wes York of Waubonsie Valley swung around the pack in Lane 5 and sprinted into the wind. Mohr eased up at the finish line. York did not as he ran 2:05.12 for the win with Mohr second (2:05.28). The time was not York’s personal best. The effort was.

Oak Park-River Forest’s depth showed in his meet as they scored 106 points to win the team championship followed by East St. Louis-Senior (71 points) with Huntley and Minooka tied for third (69 points). The Huskies only win came in the High Jump where Cory Poe and Keyon Blankenbaker achieved outdoor personal bests clearing 6-3 to finish first and second in the High Jump.

Cameron Ruiz of Lakes Community was the only double winner (besides Meyer) on the Varsity level of the meet. Ruiz passed East St. Louis-Senior’s Deante Anderson in the final 40-meters to win the 400 Meter Dash (50.17) with Anderson finishing second (50.58). Ruiz jumped 47-0 to win the Triple Jump but had to settle for second in the Long Jump (21-10) behind a 22-2.75 winning jump by Minooka’s Steve Lasinis. Ruiz was one of two runners to dip under 23-seconds in the 200 Meter Dash. That was a major accomplishment especially how strong the wind was. Ruiz ran 22.97 to finish second behind Huntley’s Dubem Anikamadu (22.85) and his win in the event. Earlier in the meet, Anikamadu brought Huntley from fourth in the final 100-meters of the 400 Meter Relay to pass East St. Louis in the final 20-meters of the race to give Huntley the win (43.39) ahead of Minooka (43.67) and East St. Louis-Senior (43.69). With the winds blowing so hard, you could take a second off the winning time to get a true indication of how fast that the teams were running. We will see them together again at Charleston in a month.

The individual double on the Frosh/Soph level by East St. Louis-Senior’s Willie Johnson does deserve notice. The freshman ran 2:04.91 to win the 800 Meter Run. His time was faster than all the varsity runners at that distance on this day. He came right back to run 50.97 to win the 400 Meter Dash. He is someone that will help the Flyers in defense of their 3A team title next month.

Meet Note

One of the main reasons of this meet was to honor the memory of Coach Mark Smith who was a vital part of the turnaround that happened with the track and field program at Minooka. Smith was 2005 graduate of the school. Shortly after the start of the 2016 season, Coach Smith was diagnosed with a form of brain cancer. He passed away on November 9, 2016. He was only 29-years-old.

Minooka Coach Nick Lundin stated: “Coach Smith was much more than a track and field coach and a Minooka High School teacher. He was a great family man who fell in love with his high school sweetheart, Jessica, and they went on to have two daughters. He was much more than a coach to our young men. He was a father figure in whom they all trusted and knew he would be there for with him no matter what.”

There was no admission charge to the meet. Lundin asked that instead, a donation could be made to the Brain Cancer Research Organization. $2194 was raised by the fans who attended the meet as well as the teams that participated in the meet.

This meet was much more than personal bests on a track or in the field. It is just the start of remembering how one man’s legacy will have such an effect on the Minooka community for years to come.