Smith, Brewster, Shaples pace Rams

BOYS TRACK-- As expected, the competition was strong at the Lake County Meet which was held last Thursday at Mundelein High School.

Grayslake Central finished in 13th place ... with 13 points.

Kendell Smith of the Rams turned in a solid third-place showing in the shot put. He took third with a toss of 51-8, which placed him behind Stevenson's Derek Chmielewski (53-2) and Deerfield's Andrew Rixon (52-3 1/2).

Smith is someone to watch. His throw surpassed the Class 2A state-qualifying standard of 50-11.

Freshman distance star Will Brewster continues to impress. He went up against some of the area's big boys, including Lake Zurich sensation Gerardo Perez (1st, 9:31.9), and came home with a fifth-place showing (9:56.40). The Class 2A state standard is 9:49.

Central's Ryan Shaples just missed running the 800 under 2:00. He took sixth in 2:00.50. He's very close to meeting the state standard (1:59.2).

This trio will join their teammates on Friday at the Fox Valley Conference meet, which will be held at Johnsburg High School.

A week after placing 13th with a 6-6 pole vault at the Lake County Meet, Alexa Cabaltera rose to the occasion at the FVC meet last week.

The Grayslake Central sophomore stepped up with a 7-6 pole vault, earning a fifth-place finish -- and all-conference honors -- at Cary-Grove High School last Thursday.

The Rams ended up 11th at the conference meet with two points. The host Trojans won the FVC crown with 119 points, while Huntley was second (92) and Crystal Lake South third (72).

Central will vie for state berths at the IHSA Class 2A Lakes Sectional, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Friday.

Marlee Lane, Kimmy Wipperfurth, Nina Saw and Sabrina Karas set a new school record in the 3200-meter relay for the second consecutive week.

The Grayslake North foursome placed sixth in the FVC meet with a time of 10:50.22, easily surpassing its previous mark of 10:57.89, set at the Lake County meet April 30.

The Knights are also set to compete at the Lakes Sectional on Friday.

There is no turning back this kid.

With his troubled knees, it's a wonder Joe Zeedyk just didn't turn in his track shoes.

"He is working back from two knee surgeries," said North track coach Brandan Boyd. "His 100 and 200 times are coming down, and he plans to continue working to bring his times back to his pre-injury fitness levels as time goes on."

The Knights didn't send a large contingent to the Lake County Meet. But there was some progress made. Jimmy Johnson turned in a time of 51.0 to tie for seventh place in the 400-meter run.

"He made his best time at this meet," Boyd said. "And he keeps chipping away at it. He's really hoping to break 50 by the end of the year and has two weeks to get there."

All of the speedsters are rounding into form at the right time.

The Corsairs captured four championships during the ESCC meet May 6. Shannon Howell blazed to a school-record 46.14 in the 300-meter hurdles, while freshman Megan Paul picked up titles in the 400 (59.09) and 200 (25.7).

Carmel also smashed a school record in the 1600 relay. The team of Hilary Halford, Stephanie Richartz, Howell and Mary Beth Berg reached the line in 4:04.80.

The Corsairs were fourth as a team with 77 points.

Other top finishers were Howell (2nd in the 100 hurdles, 16.44); Richartz (2nd in pole vault, 10-6); Halford (2nd in the 800, 2:25.0); Berg (2nd in the 400, 61.0); Katherine Majewski (4th in discus, 85-7); the 400 relay of Howell, Megan Dennis, Megan Fowler and Jackie Jung (2nd, 52.2); the 800 relay of Richartz, Dennis, Fowler and Jung (3rd, 1:51.4); and the 3200 relay of Bonnie Micelli, Nicole Nerup, Alyssa Tworek and Steph Gutowski (5th, 10:25.0).