Southland teams aim to roar at Lyons

Annually, the boys sectionals in the western suburbs are clashes between the well-off programs in that area and the hardscrabble programs of the Chicago Public League, with a pinch of Catholic League foes added in for flavor.

That recipe will be tested Friday at Lyons Township, when Morgan Park and its several standout field performers line up against Hinsdale Central, the host Lions, plus Catholic League foes St. Rita, Mount Carmel, St. Laurence and Brother Rice, in a Class 3A sectional.

There are eight Public League teams in the field, and the Mustangs are the best of the bunch, starting with long jumper Nigel Jolly, who won the state Class AA title last year and appears back in form. He's cleared 22 feet, 1 1 / 2 inches recently, which puts him in a sectional showdown with Mount Carmel's Josh Moore (22-8 1 / 2 ).

Jolly's just as much a threat in the triple jump. His May 7 leap of 47 feet ranks second in the state and in the Southland, behind only Jamison Wilson of Hillcrest, the Class 2A favorite.

Morgan Park also has a decent 800-meter relay team, though Brother Rice and Lyons Township are favored in that race.

Until last weekend, it was expected that St. Rita's Bruce Gaston was a lock to win the discus at the sectional. Saturday, Cullen Dolan, of Brother Rice, uncorked a throw of 157-2, over 5 feet better than Gaston's season best. Their rematch, with Jim Newsome, of Lyons Township, joining in, could be dramatic. Gaston is still favored in the shot put, where his best is 51-8.

Among other notables from the Southland, Oak Lawn senior Spencer Touchie is the clear favorite in the shot put, thanks to his Southland-best put of 55-6. St. Laurence senior Josh Hodur is similarly favored in the pole vault, where he's cleared 14-6 this season.

Richards has uphill climb

While most of the attention given to Richards track has gone to Marissa Golliday, the boys team has made strides this season. The fastest of those have been taken by Julian Venerable, who has posted a 10.80 time in the 100 and a 22.49 in the 200. Venerable also anchors the Bulldogs' 400 relay team, which will need to improve from its current best of 43.72 seconds to catch Hillcrest (41.40) and Crete-Monee (42.70), the two powerhouses in Friday's Class 2A sectional at Hillcrest.

Richards high jumper Nestor Marcus has a shot in that discipline, if he matches his season best of 6 feet. But Tony Villanova, the Bulldogs' shot put and discus man, should challenge for a state berth in the latter based on his best throw to date (149-11). His main competition is Oak Forest's Chris Powell, second in the Southland at 152-10.

Okeke, Cotton lead Eisenhower

Assigned to Homewood-Flossmoor, Eisenhower is in one of the toughest Class 3A sectionals in the state. The depth of that field makes it difficult for a rebuilding program to advance athletes downstate, but the Cardinals' David Okeke could do so in two events.

Okeke's best time in the 100 this year is 10.92 seconds. That's about a half-second slower than Thornridge's Jamal Jones, the sectional leader entering the fray. In the 200, Okeke's time of 22.52 is almost a second off H-F's Eric Oliver, who should get the top seed.

A record run by Okeke in either race could get him second place, and the automatic transfer to Charleston that comes with it.

The Cardinal with the best chance of advancing to the state finals is high jumper Kevin Cotton. He cleared 6-2 in last week's South Suburban Red meet. Of the field of jumpers in the H-F sectional, only Thornridge's Gary Ford, at 6-4, has gone higher.

Tim Cronin can be reached at tcronin@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5948