CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

On Tuesday, March 21, 2006, the Freshman-Sophomore Boys Track and Field Team traveled to Fenton High School to compete against 7 of the best Freshman-Sophomore Teams in Illinois. Final entries for the meet were due March 14, 2006, with no substitutions allowed. Fenton Head Coach and Meet Director, John Kurtz, showed great sportsmanship allowing the Mustangs to make substitutions one hour before the Meet for missing athletes. The Mustangs were without, Eric Nelson (sick), Hiro Joho (did not show up to the bus), Daniel Priemer (did not show up to the bus), and Kyle Diep (unavailable). The Meet was the best organized meet that the Mustangs attended during the 2006 Indoor season. The meet was named after two former Fenton athletes, who earned All-American honors during their collegiate careers. Jim Nichols (All-American in 800m run) and Emil Ostberg (All-American in the 200m Dash). To earn All-American honors, a collegiate athlete has to place in the Top 8 in the Country at the NCAA National Track and Field Championships. Fenton awarded Team Trophys to the Top 3 Teams, and Plaques for the Top 5 finishers in every event. The Mustangs had a convincing victory over St.Joseph and took home 10 Plaques in 4x800m Relay, 3200m Run, 800m run, 4x405 Yards Relay. In the Shot Put, Benjamin Garcia became the second athlete on the squad to break 30 feet this season, with a personal best throw of 30'1. Frehsman John Ko also had a personal best throw of 29'9.5 In the Long Jump, after making an adjustment in his take-off approach, Albert Lin jumped a personal best 17'3.5. Lin also jumped a personal best 33'10 in the Triple jump! Wemi Jemine jumped 15'11.25 for the Mustangs. Jemine also tied for 6th place in the High Jump with a jump of 5'2. In the 50 Yard High Hurdles, Albert Lin ran a personal best 8.93! Lin also ran a personal best 8.90 in the 50 Int. Hurdles. Albert Lin set personal bests in four events on the same day! Sophomore Jerry Tran injuried his arm after he collided with the second High hurdle, and was unable to complete the race. However, Tran wrapped his arm in ice, in an effort to come back for the 4x135 Yard relay, but was wisely scratched from the race. In the 3200m run, the race went out at a record setting pace, with both Preston Buehrer and Jonathan Kittaka showing great determination, running a 5:28 for the first Mile. The final 5 laps featured an incredible battle between Mike Siemer (Fenton), Edgar Chaidez (Fenton), Eric Maher (Buffalo Grove), Tim Griffiths (Lake Park), Tim Loftus (West Chicago), Preston Buehrer, and Jonathan Kittaka, as the rest of the field was lapped. Fenton's Mike Siemer won the race with an outstanding time of 10:49.6. Simer was followed by Chaidez, Mahler, and Griffiths. During the final mile, West Chicago's Tim Loftus and Northside's Preston Buehrer changed leads back and forth, with 9 different lead changes, fighting for the vital points and a Plaque. With 2 laps to go, Buehrer made his final move and Loftus tried to stay with Buehrer, and Buehrer showed great mental toughness, running an impressive 21 second split in the final 135 yards to break away from Loftus to finish 5th overall with a personal best time of 11:21.7. Loftus finished 6th overall with an outstanding time of 11:24.9. Freshman Jonathan Kittaka dropped 14 seconds off his personal best time with an outstanding time of 11:31 to finish 7th overall. In the 4x800m Relay (Brandon Cooper (2:27), Santino Merino (2:40), Simon Vecchioni (2:40), Eric Ullrich (2:40)), the Mustangs won their heat by a wide margin, and earned Plaques by placing 5th overall. However, the Mustangs had difficulty racing at their best without being challenged by another team in their heat. As the Mustangs gain more experience they will become more consistent. In the 800m run, Eric Ullrich ran an impressive 2:28, with a dramatic kick in the finals 2 laps to win the first heat by a wide margin, and came within one second of 6th overall. In the second heat, Brandon Cooper ran a 2:26 to place 5th overall and earn his second plaque of the day. In the 4x405 Yards Relay (35 yards less than 400 meters), Brandon Cooper opened up a lead over host Fenton, with a 58 second 405 yard split. Wemi Jemine ran an impressive 59.67 405 yard split on the second leg of the relay and made a nice exchange to Sam Vergara. Vergara ran a 61.35 second 405 yard split, and passed the baton to Benjamin Garcia. Garcia anchored the Mustangs to 5th overall, earning the 4x405 Yards Relay, plaques.