Beecher top seed in 1A 3,200 relay

Updated: May 26, 2011 11:00PM

CHARLESTON — On the surface, the time looked barely average for a 3,200-meter relay team of Beecher’s caliber: 8:11.18.

Considering the miserable conditions on the first day of the IHSA’s 117th Boys Track Championship, the time was outstanding. Persistent rain, brought in on a north wind that dropped temperatures into the mid-50s, made for conditions more suited to cross country than track. All that was missing was the mud.

Of course, the Bobcats are the Class 1A cross country champions and are defending their title in the 3,200. So rain and a cold wind aren’t new to them, even if they weren’t welcome.

“Knowing that you have to (run) is the thing,” anchor Grant Nykaza said of the inclement conditions. “You don’t have as much adrenaline in you going into a race. Whenever it’s a nice day, it’s, ‘Oh, yeah, we’re going to bust out a good time.’

“Knowing you’re not going for your best time, you’re not as ready for it.”

The Bobcats were ready enough. Griffin Nykaza, the senior, opened with a 2:00 split. Senior Jordan Joaquin followed with two laps in 2:03. Junior Aaron Borgman ran third, doing so in 2:06. Then came Grant, the sophomore, going twice around O’Brien Field’s big blue track in about 2:02.

All the while, Byron’s foursome was chasing. And never catching. Grant Nykaza expanded a six-foot lead to a bit over seven seconds at the finish line. In doing so, he also assured Beecher the best time of the day, 1.70 seconds faster than Elmwood.

“I saw (Byron’s Keith Ketchem) behind me, but I knew I had a decent lead,” Grant Nykaza said. “I decided to cruise in.”

That was good enough.

“It’s good to know you go in (to the final) with the No. 1 time having run your worst race all season,” coach Henry Nykaza said. “Grant probably looked the best. Griffin could have run a little harder, but he had another race coming up.”

That race, the second heat of the 800, went according to plan, with Griffin winning in 1:59.00 and holding off Elmwood’s Ryan Beebe at the wire. Joaquin, running in the following heat, was well off the pace, and didn’t advance to Saturday’s final. Grant, running in the 1,600 a couple of hours later, easily qualified, safely in by more than a second.

Saturday will be the last time Grant and Griffin, the graduating senior, will be on the same high school team.

That brings bittersweet feelings to their coach and father.

“I’m going to miss it, but there are other things I’m not going to miss, like the ‘being the dad and the coach’ part of it,” Nykaza said. “That I won’t miss. But I’ll miss his (Griffin’s) work ethic. I haven’t had a kid work that hard ever. His little brother works hard, but Griffin, for his size, has worked for what he’s accomplished. And that’s going to be hard to replace.”

The other Bobcat in the field, pole vaulter Phil Salmen, cleared 12 feet, 6 inches, but needed to clear 13-3 to advance to Saturday’s 1A final. (Pole vault and the three field jumping events were moved indoors to the adjacent Lantz Fieldhouse.)

Seton senior Brian Barney just missed advancing in the 800. He was 10th-fastest, and only nine go to the final. Barney’s time of 2:00.03 was 17-hundredths off the pace of ninth-place Adam Lange, of Galena.

The Sting’s 1,600 relay team finished fourth in its heat, and the time of 3:34.29 was about two seconds off the pace needed to advance the foursome of Shaqulle Jones, Barney, Montel Cooper and Reggie Confer to the final.

Better weather is promised for Saturday’s Class 2A and 3A qualifying sessions. Hillcrest, the two-time defending 2A champion, will try to advance the majority of its 18 entries to Saturday’s final, while Thornton, seeking its first team track trophy since finishing third in 1973, has 10 entries in 3A, including top-seeded sprinter Timothy Faust.

Lake Park, which scored just field points en route to last year’s 3A title, will try to repeat the unique accomplishment.

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