HIGHLAND – Edwardsville's boys track and field team escaped Alton for a team triumph Tuesday evening at the annual Madison County Championship large-school division at Bulldog Stadium in Highland.
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The Tiger boys scored 167.5 points, getting past Alton for the win; the Redbirds scored 154.5 points for second, with Collinsville (146.5), Triad (102), Granite City (68) and the host Bulldogs (46.5) making up the field.
“Our kids fought well; we had some events to scratch out of due to some injuries, but overall, we had a good meet,” said EHS coach Chad Lakatos. “There's a lot of things we could talk about; Amari (Brooks) went 52 and change in the shot (52-1.25) and 161 (161-2) in the (discus throw), so he continues to be consistent there; Jack Pfifer had a great day – he had PRs in the lead leg of the (4x800 relay, leading Zach Walters, Max Hartmann and Wyatt Henning to the win in 8:28.90), then broke 4:30 for the first time in the (1600 meters) and won that (turning in a 4:29.02 clocking to get the win).
“The list really could go on; we had a lot of team effort to compile the team total, and that's what I continue to tell the kids – it's got to be everybody coming together and that's what a team's about. Sometimes it's not about the first place – it's about the thirds and fourths an the fifths and sixths.”
Among other highlights, Collinsville's Jermarrion Stewart swept the 100 (11.30 seconds), 200 (22.25 seconds) and 400 (51.43 seconds) to be the day's only triple winner.
Alton came away with a win in the 4x100 relay, the team of Demontra Wilson, Bumpers, Tony Smith and Jayden Singleton clocking a 43.83-second win in the event; Cassius Havis turned in a pair of seconds in the 800 (1:58.10) and 1600 meters (4:36.55) on the day.
“It's been great to see them compete,” said Redbird coach Jeff White about his team's effort on the day. “I feel better about these guys every time we come out to a meet; there's surprises every time and it's really a testament to the work they've put in the last couple of months. I'm thrilled with how they've done.
“Jonathan Bumpers is the one who everyone's going to take notice; winning the 110 and the 300 (hurdles; Bumpers won the 110 in 15.87 seconds and the 300 in 39.97 seconds); he'll get that notice and we think he's fantastic. We're still fine-tuning him, getting him ready and he's getting more and more better each meet.”
For Edwardsville, Roland Prenzler (9:39.89) and Henry Gruben (10:24.80) went 2-3 in the 3200 meters behind Granite City's Andrew O'Keefe (9:30.57) while Franky Romano won the 800 in a 1:55.87 time; Blake Neville won the pole vault with a 13-6 jump, Kenyon Johnson took the long jump with a 20-8 leap and Jackie Townsend turned in a 44-1.5 to win the triple jump.
