CHICAGO MARIST TRACK AND FIELD

On Tuesday, April 11, 2006, a short-handed Northside College Prep Mens and Womens Track & Field Team went to Deerfield, Illinois to take on Sectional rivals Glenbrook North High School and host Deerfield High School. The meet featured only 3 Teams, so the point scale used was 5-3-2-1 for Individual Events, and 5-3 for Relays. The Northside Womens 3200m, 4x800, 4x400, and Triple Jump all had to be scratched due to the lack of athletes because of Spring Break. The Northside Freshman-Sophomore Boys 4x400, 4x100, and Triple Jump also had to be scratched due to Spring Break. However, the athletes that competed had a great time and received valuable experience competing against the Top Teams in the Sectional. Prior to the Meet, Deerfield High School honored their Senior athletes by having the Team form two rows for each Senior athlete and their parents to walk down, as highlights of each athlete's career were read over the loud speaker. The Mustangs got off to a great start in the Field Events. Freshman Eric Nelson Won the High Jump, and Wemi Jemine placed 5th overall! Nelson also ran a 59 second 400m PR in the 4x400m Relay, and placed 4th overall in the 300m hurdles. In the Shot Put, John Ko threw a personal best 30'8.5. In the Varsity Womens Shot Put, Kaitlin Renkosiak had a personal best throw of 23'10. In the Varsity Discus, Wemi Jemine threw a personal best 81'8. In the Womens Varsity Discus, Kaitlin Renkosiak placed 6th with a personal best throw of 60'4. Stephanie Sotomayer threw a personal best throw of 45'3, and ran a impressive 15.80 in the 100m Dash. In the Varsity Triple Jump, Albert Lin Jumped a personal best 34'8.5, and Bobby Ziegler jumped an outstanding 27'7.25. In the Varsity Womens 800 Meter Medley Relay, Natalie Hanigan, Stephanie Sotomayer, Adoara Achufusi, and anchor Anna Parks placed 2nd overall for the Mustangs. In the Varsity 4x800m Relay, Preston Buehrer (2:27), Erik Flores (2:36), Bobby Ziegler (2:35), and Joey Paquette (2:34), ran a 10:07, to place 3rd overall. In the Freshman-Sophomore 4x800m Relay, Simon Vecchioni (2:39), Irfan Hussain (2:55), Brad Eben (2:43), and James Casper-Shipp (2:39), ran a 10:56, to place 3rd overall. In the Varsity 3200m run, Deerfield High School won the event with a 10:10. Northside's Patrick O'Connor outkicked Glenbrook North's Buhle to the finish to place 2nd overall with an outstanding time of 10:30. In the Freshman-Sophomore 3200m Run, Adam Swiatlowski ran an outstanding 12:35. Freshman Shaheed Ghogha ran a personal best 12:45. In the Varsity 110m Hurdles, Albert Lin finished 5th overall, despite stoping before the finish line, with an outstanding time of 22.30. In the Freshman-Sophomore 110m Hurdles, Sammy Caronagan ran a personal best 21.91. In the 100m Dash, Simon Vecchioni ran a 13.90, Sam Vergara ran a personal best time of 14.50, and Melvin Thomas ran a personal best time of 14.70. In the Varsity 800m run, Freshman Brandon Cooper ran an outstanding time of 2:17 to place 4th overall. In the Freshman-Sophomore 800m run, Adam Swiatlowski (2:38), Shaheed Ghogha (2:43), and Calvin Lam (2:52) ran for the Mustangs. In the Varsity Womens 800m run, 11 Athletes lined the Track from Deerfield High School, 1 Athlete from Glenbrook North also toed the line, and 1 Athlete from Northside. The odds were against Northside and Glenbrook, but they overcame it and finished 1-2. Freshman Anna Parks won the 800m run with an outstanding time of 2:40. In the Mens 400m Run, Erik Flores ran an outstanding 60.83, followed by Brian Chhun (61.10), Brandon Cooper (62.40), Simon Vecchioni (65.16) and Melvin Thomas 68.70. In the Varsity Womens 400m Run, Anna Parks placed 3rd overall with an outstanding time of 69.97. In the Varsity 300m Hurdles, Eric Nelson placed 4th overall with a personal best time of 50.40. Albert Lin also ran a personal best time of 50.90. Sammy Caronagan ran a personal best time of 57.32 In the Varsity 1600m run, Patrick O'Connor placed 2nd overal with an outstanding time of 4:59. Bobby Ziegler dropped 3 seconds and ran a personal best time of 5:10. Preston Buehrer ran an outstanding time of 5:21. Joey Paquette ran an outstanding time of 5:21. In the Freshman-Sophomore 1600m Run, James Casper-Shipp (5:48), Adam Swiatlowski (5:53), Brad Eben (5:58), Shahhed Ghogha (6:07), Irfan Hussain (6:11), and Faraz Khan (6:40) ran for the Mustangs. In the Varsity Womens 1600m run, Jessica Galang ran an outstanding time of 7:39. In the Varsity Womens 200m Dash, Anna Parks won with a personal best time of 28.00. Kaitlin Renkowsiak ran an outstanding time of 33.70. In the Varsity 4x400m Relay, Erik Flores ran a 60.68 400m Split on the first leg of the 4x400m Relay. Eric Nelson ran a 59.47 400m split on the second leg of the relay, and Preston Buehrer (65.44), and Patrick O'Connor (63.23) completed the Relay for the Mustangs after racing in the Mile run, for a total time of 4:08.82, for Third place. The Mustangs will get a rematch against Deerfield and Glenbrook, at the Niles North Invitational on Tuesday, April 18, 2006. VARSITY WOMENS Points Scored: 1. Anna Parks 12.75 2. Natalie Hanigan 0.75 3. Stephanie Sotomayer 0.75 4. Adoara Achufusi 0.75 VARSITY MENS Points Scored: 1. Eric Nelson 6 1. Patrick O'Connor 6 2. Brandon Cooper 1 SEASON MENS VARSITY POINT LEADERS (8 MEETS): 1. Daniel Kittaka 60.75 2. Patrick O'Connor 51.75 3. Eric Nelson 30.75 4. Joseph Terdik 25.25 5. Chris Zysko 18.00 6. Preston Buehrer 13.50 7. Bobby Ziegler 6.50 8. Joey Paquette 6.25 9. Brandon Cooper 3.75 10. Wemi Jemine 3.00 11. Manraj Bains 2.50 12. Erik Flores 2.25 13. Albert Lin 2.00 14. Tuan Lee 2.00 15. Geoffrey Edwards 1.50 16. Nick Florence 1.50 17. Benjamin Garcia 1.25 18. Eric Ullrich 1.25 19. Jonathan Kittaka 1.25 20. Jose Choto 1.00 21. Sam Vergara 0.75 22. Santino Merino 0.75 23. Tom Skawski 0.75 24. Aamir Khan 0.75 25. Christian Okoye 0.50 26. Ryne Tobin 0.50 27. Simon Vecchioni 0.25 28. Irfan Hussain 0.25

On Saturday, April 8, 2006, the Mustangs traveled to familiar surroundings, to their home track, located in River Park, for the 6th Annual Mather Invitational. The meet featured 20 schools, including, Evanston, Lincoln Park, St. Patrick, Mather, Foreman, Schurz, South Shore, Seton Academy, Lane Tech, Curie, Chicago Vocational, Prosser, CICS, Chicago Vocational, Calumet, Steinmetz, Dunbar, and Payton, among others. A special thanks to Mather Head Coach Dale Devinney for running an outstanding meet with Hi-tek laser scoring, video cameras for the finish, and providing the athletes with engraved Track and Field Medals. In the 3200m run, Patrick O'Connor was spiked at the start of the race, and the spike went through his shoe, sock, and skin, causing blood to flow out of his foot with every step during the race. O'Connor showed incredible mental toughness and determination that would rival distance legend Steve Prefontaine. Despite the condition of his foot, Patrick O'Connor not only stayed in the race, but with the lead pack, lap after lap, in a race that included Mather's Carlos Hernandez, Lane Tech's Joel Wojcik, St.Patrick's Joe Lill and St.Patrick's Brian McKenna. With 300m to go, Wojcik and O'Connor broke away from the lead pack, with each athlete matching each others kick to the finish stride for stride. As the athletes crossed the finish line, it appeared both athletes crossed the line at the same time, and the cameras had to be checked for a photo finish. O'Connor was determined to be the winner, with a personal best 3200m time of 10:28. The Mustangs Preston Buehrer also ran an outstanding 3200m race, and was one of the top Sophomores in the meet, and outkicked Payton Senior Nick Chevas to the finish with an outstanding time of 11:23.6. After the race, O'Connor received immediate Medical attention from Mens Head Coach Jon Gordon with the use of a first aide kit, and a bandage over his wounded foot. As the day progressed it became even more appearent by the condition of his foot, that O'Connor ran the 3200m race on pure "Guts". He was visibly limping, and had to be scratched from the remainder of the Meet. The Mustangs are hopeful the injury will heal over the weekend. In the Discus, Benjamin Garcia threw a personal best 81'03. John Ko threw an outstaning 67'06. In the Shot Put, Benjamin Garcia threw a personal best 32'00.50. John Ko also threw a personal best 30'04.75. In the Triple Jump, Albert Lin jumped an outstanding 33.01.75. In the Long Jump, Lin jumped an outstanding 16'05.50. Freshman Sammy Caronagan jumped a personal best 12'07. In the High Jump, Freshman Eric Nelson tied for 5th place, earning a Medal, with a jump of 5'06. On Nelson's first jump he injuried his back, but stayed in the competition to secure vital points for the Mustangs. Nelson had an outstanding jump on his final attempt at 5'08, and just barely tapped the bar on the way down. In the 4x800m Relay, Brandon Cooper (2:18.36), Santino Merino (2:39.16), Bobby Ziegler (2:29.78), and Joey Paquette (2:22.70) placed 7th overall. In the 110m Hurdles, Albert Lin placed 8th overall with a time of 22.33. Freshman Sammy Caronangan ran an outstanding time of 22.97. In the 100m Dash, Benjamin Garcia ran an outstanding time of 13:09. Freshman Sam Vergara ran a personal best time of 15.35. In the 4x100m Relay, Simon Vecchioni (12.99), Sammy Caronagan (14.35), Santino Merino (13.90), and Sam Vergara (14.11), placed 10th overall with a total time of 55.35. In the 800m run, Joey Paquette ran an outstanding time of 2:27. In the 4x200m Relay, Irfan Hussain (28.59), Erik Flores (28.28), Simon Vecchioni (28.62), and Santino Merino (28.08), scored for the Mustangs, by placing 8th overall with a total time of 1:53.57. In the 400m run, Erik Flores ran a personal best time of 61.32. In the 300m Hurdles, Eric Nelson ran a personal best time of 51.42, and Albert Lin made a nice recovery after hitting his trail leg on the final hurdle to run a personal best time of 55.61. In the open Mile, the race was open to all athletes ages 14 - 72. David Parks, Father of Anna Parks, came out of the stands to lead the Mustangs with an outstanding time of 5:33. Parks was a 4:35 Miler in High school in Washington,D.C. Adam Swiatlowski ran a time of 5:56. Shaheed Ghogha ran an outstanding time of 5:58. James Casper-Shipp ran a time of 6:04. Brad Eben ran a time of 6:05. Irfan Hussain ran a time of 6:28. Freshman John Ko ran an outstanding time of 6:30. Freshman Sprinter Nathan Michaelson medaled by running a personal best time of 6:41. Faraz Khan ran a time of 6:52. Freshman Jake Leshuler ran a personal best time of 7:07. Aamir Khan ran a time of 7:37. In the Varsity 1600m, Bobby Ziegler replaced the injuried Patrick O'Connor, and scored for the Mustangs by placing 8th overall with an outstanding time of 5:13. Preston Buehrer also ran an outstanding time of 5:21.5, and was the second fastest Sophomore in the meet. In the 200m Dash, Santino Merino ran a time of 27.89. In the 4x400m Relay, Benjamin Garcia ran a personal best 59.30 on the first leg of the relay, Joey Paquette ran a 66.72 on the second leg of the relay, Sam Vergara ran a 66.13 on the third leg of the relay, and Preston Buehrer anchored the Mustangs with an outstanding time of 63.54 seconds, to place 8th overall, with a time of 4:15.69. VARSITY POINTS SCORED 1. Patrick O'Connor 10 2. Eric Nelson 3.50 3. Bobby Ziegler 1.50 4. Albert Lin 1.00 5. Joey Paquette 0.75 6. Santino Merino 0.75 7. Brandon Cooper 0.50 8. Preston Buehrer 0.25 9. Benjamin Garcia 0.25 10.Sam Vergara 0.25 11.Simon Vecchioni 0.25 12.Erik Flores 0.25 13.Irfan Hussain 0.25 SEASON MENS VARSITY POINT LEADERS (7 MEETS): 1. Daniel Kittaka 60.75 2. Patrick O'Connor 45.75 3. Joseph Terdik 25.25 4. Eric Nelson 24.75 5. Chris Zysko 18.00 6. Preston Buehrer 13.50 7. Bobby Ziegler 6.50 8. Joey Paquette 6.25 9. Wemi Jemine 3.00 10. Brandon Cooper 2.75 11. Manraj Bains 2.50 12. Erik Flores 2.25 13. Albert Lin 2.00 14. Tuan Lee 2.00 15. Geoffrey Edwards 1.50 16. Nick Florence 1.50 17. Benjamin Garcia 1.25 18. Eric Ullrich 1.25 19. Jonathan Kittaka 1.25 20. Jose Choto 1.00 21. Sam Vergara 0.75 22. Santino Merino 0.75 23. Tom Skawski 0.75 24. Aamir Khan 0.75 25. Christian Okoye 0.50 26. Ryne Tobin 0.50 27. Simon Vecchioni 0.25 28. Irfan Hussain 0.25

On Saturday, April 8, 2006, there were 20 Womens Teams at the Mather Track and Field Invitational, and the Top 8 places scored points. Athletes that placed in the Top 6 were awarded Medals. Freshman Anna Parks earned a Medal in the 400m Dash by placing 4th overall with a personal best time of 66.88. In the 800m run, Parks won her heat with an outstanding time of 2:46, and placed 9th overall. In the 4x400m Relay, on the first leg of the Relay Natalie Hanigan ran a 71.46 400m split. On the second leg of the Relay, Julia Shimada ran an 89.09 400m spllit. On the third leg of the Relay Jessica Galang ran a 90.5 400m split and made a nice exchange to Anna Parks. Lane Tech had a commanding lead (150m) and looked uncatchable. But that didn't stop Anna Parks from going after them. Park's persistance paid off, and she dramatically passed Lane Tech right before the finish line to secure vital points for the Mustangs with a personal best 400m split of 66.17, a total relay time of 5:17.22. In the 3200m Run, Sophomore Julia Shimada scored for the Mustangs by passing Payton's Rachel Barch to plac 6th overall with an outstanding time of 14:14.74. In the 4x200m Relay, Natalie Hanigan, Adoara Achufusi, Gayatri Satam, and Maria Zdunek scored for the Mustangs by placing 7th overall, with a time of 2:07. Julie Bujnowski placed 5th overall in the Long Jump with a jump of 13'7. In the Triple Jump, Freshman Maria Torres placed 3rd overall with an outstanding jump of 29'11.50. VARSITY WOMENS POINTS SCORED 1. Maria Torres 6.0 2. Anna Parks 5.5 3. Julie Bujnowski 4.0 4. Julia Shimada 3.5 5. Natalie Hanigan 1.0 6. Adoara Achufusi 0.5 7. Gayatri Satam 0.5 8. Maria Zdunek 0.5 9. Jessica Galang 0.5

On Thursday, April 6, 2006, the Northside Mens Track and Field Team was invited to the Viking Invitational, which will take place on Tuesday, April 18, 2006, 4:30 pm at Niles North High School. The meet features Sectional rivals Deerfield, Glenbrook North, Loyola, Niles North, Glenbrook South, and Fenwick, and will have a Varsity division, Junior Varsity Division and a Freshman Division. Head Mens Coach Jon Gordon accepted the invitation. The addition of the Meet to the Mustangs Track and Field Schedule, will provide the Mustangs with two opportunites to race, jump, and throw against the best teams in the IHSA Sectional in April.

On Thursday, March 30, 2006, the Northside College Prep Mens and Womens Track and Field Team traveled to Hanson Stadium to compete against 15 schools in the Lane Tech Relays. The meet offered Medals to the Top 3 places, with 8 places scoring. The meet was by far the best Outdoor Meet the Mustangs have been to this season. The Mustangs thank Lane Tech Head Coach Kris Roof and staff for providing an Outstanding meet for all involved. In the Womens Triple Jump, Maria Torres broke the school record with a jump of 31'5! Maria Zdunek also had a personal best jump of 24'0. In the Mens Triple Jump, Eric Nelson (33'10) and Albert Lin (29'8.75) scored by placing 7th and 8th respectively. In the Long Jump, Albert Lin jumped 16'3, and Wemi Jemine jumed 15'8.5. In the Discus, Senior Chris Zysko racked up the points for the Mustangs by placing 2nd overall in the Discus with an outstanding throw of 122'8, and by placing 4th overal in the shot put with a season best 37'0. Benjamin Garcia (77'0), Preston Buehrer (74'5), Wemi Jemine (73'0), and John Ko (69'2) also threw outstanding in the Discus. In the High Jump, Eric Nelson placed 2nd overall. Nelson also ran a personal best time in the 110m Hurdles, 4x200m Relay, and placed 7th overall in the Triple Jump with a jump of 33'10. Albert Lin placed 8th overall in the Triple Jump with a jump of 29'8.75. In the Womens Discus, Kaitlin Renkosiak threw a personal best 52'5, and 17'9.5 in the Shot Put. In the Open 4x800 Relay, the fastest relay for Northside was a 10:41, lead by Daniel Preimer with a 2:28 800m split, followed by Brian Chhun with a 2:40 800m split, Sammy Caronagan ran a 2:47 800m split on the third leg of the 4x800m relay, and the relay was anchored by James Casper-Shipp with a 2:46 800m split. The next fastest Open 4x800m relay for Northside was a 10:55, lead by Shaheed Ghogha with a 2:35 800m split, followed by Irfain Hussain 2:42 800m split, Brad Eben ran a 2:51 800m split on the third leg of the 4x800m relay, and the relay was anchored by Tuan Lee with a 2:47 800m split. The next fastest Open 4x800m relay for Northside was a 12:02, lead by Manraj Bains with a 2:42 800m split, followed by Aamir Khan 3:15 800m split, Coleman Gailloreto ran a personal best 3:17 800m split on the third leg of the 4x800m relay, and the relay was anchored by Walid Mohammad with a 2:48 800m split. In the Open 4x200m relay for Northside, Santino Merino opened wih 25.49 200m split, followed by Christian Okoye with a 29.84 200m split, Nathan Michaelson ran a personal best time 30.52 200m split on the third leg of 4x200m relay, and the relay was anchored by Melvin Thomas with a 30.61 200m split. In the Womens Distance Medley Relay, the Mustangs placed 4th overall, lead by Rachel Kittaka with a 4:21.33 for 1200m, Julie Bujnowksi ran a 65.99 for the 400m, Anna Parks ran a 2:46.19 for 800m, and Maruja Yoshimura anchored the Relay with a 6:40.49 Mile. In the Mens Distance Medlay Relay, the Mustangs placed 5th overall, lead by Daniel Kittaka who went out at 66 for the first 400m, 2:19 at the 800m, and a 3:33 for 1200m, Preston Buehrer ran a 61.00 for 400m, Joseph Terdik ran a 2:12 for 800m, and Bobby Ziegler anchored the Relay with a 5:13 Mile. In the Mens 100m Dash, Benjamin Garcia dropped over a half of a second, and ran a personal best 12.91. Jose Choto also ran a personal best 13.41. In the Womens 100m Dash, Maria Zdunek ran a personal best 15.79. In the Womens 100m Hurdles, Kelly Varney won her heat with an 18.66 and placed third overall. Alex Custer ran a personal best 22.90. In the Mens 110m Hurdles, Albert Lin ran a personal best 21.40, and Eric Nelson also ran a personal best 22.32. In the Womens 1600m Run, Rachek Kittaka won the meet with a 5:57. Julie Shimada ran a 6:48 Mile, and Jessica Galang ran a 7:50 Mile. In the Womens 4x100m Relay, the Mustangs (Selom Aboni, Stephanie Sotomayor, Sylvia Irizarry, Maria Zdunek) ran a 63.46. In the Mens 4x100m Relay, the Mustangs (Santino Merino, Daniel Preimer, Sam Vergara, Jose Choto) ran a 53.08. In Womens 4x800m Relay, the Mustangs placed 2nd overall. Anna Parks lead the Relay with a 2:40.78 800m Split, Julia Shimada followed with a 3:09.22 800m split, Julie Bujnowski ran a personal best 2:50.77 on the third leg of the 4x800m relay, and Rachel Kittaka anchored the relay with a 2:48.14 800m Split, for a total time of 11:28.81. In the Mens 4x800m Relay, the Mustangs placed 4th overall, Brandon Cooper lead the Relay with a personal best time of 2:17.47 800m split, Jonathan Kittaka followed with a 2:27.23 800m split, Joey Paquette ran a 2:27.18 800m split, and Eric Ullrich anchored the relay with a 2:28.90 800m split, for a total time of 9:40.78. In the Mens Mile, Joseph Terdik won the meet with a personal best 4:53. Daniel Kittaka placed 2nd overall with a personal best time of 4:54. Preston Buehrer dropped 8 seconds of his personal best time with an outstanding time of 5:13. In the Mens 4x200m Relay, the Mustangs placed 7th overall, Jose Choto lead the relay with a 27.19 200m split. Eric Nelson followed with a 26.88 200m split, Geoffrey Edwards ran a 27.39 200m split, and Benjamin Garcia anchored the relay with a 25.79 200m split, for a total time of 1:47.25. In the Womens 4x200m Relay, the Mustangs placed 3rd in their heat and 7th overall, Jennifer Kane, lead the relay with a 28.91 200m split, Maria Torres followed with a 32.38 200m split, Adoara Achufusi followed with a 28.90 200m split and Kelly Varney anchored the relay with a 29.84 200m split, for a total time of 2:00.03. In the Mens 4x400m Relay, Brandon Cooper lead the Relay with a 59.77 400m split, Brian Chhun followed with a 63.79 400m split, Wemi Jemine ran a 65.91 400m split on the third leg of the relay, and Joseph Terdik anchored the relay with a 58.44 400m split, for a total time of 4:07.91. In the Womens 4x400m Relay, the Mustangs placed 5th, Kelly Varney lead the relay with a 69.00 400m split, Alex Custer followed with an 82.00 400m split, Julie Bujnowksi ran a 66.00 400m split on the third leg of the relay, and Anna Parks anchored the relay with a 67.00 400m split, for a total time of 4:44.00. MENS VARSITY POINTS SCORED 1. Chris Zysko 13.00 2. Joseph Terdik 11.00 3. Eric Nelson 10.50 4. Daniel Kittaka 9.00 5. Joey Paquette 1.25 6. Eric Ullrich 1.25 7. Jonathan Kittaka 1.25 8. Brandon Cooper 1.25 9. Preston Buehrer 1.00 10. Bobby Ziegler 1.00 11. Albert Lin 1.00 12. Benjamin Garcia 0.50 13. Jose Choto 0.50 14. Geoffrey Edwards 0.50 TOTAL 53.00 WOMENS VARSITY POINTS SCORED 1. Rachel Kittaka 13.25 2. Maria Torres 10.50 3. Kelly Varney 7.50 4. Anna Parks 4.25 5. Julie Bujnowski 4.25 6. Julia Shimada 2.00 7. Maruja Yoshimura 1.25 8. Alex Custer 1.00 9. Jennifer Kane 0.50 10. Adorara Achufusi 0.50 TOTAL 45.00 SEASON MENS VARSITY POINT LEADERS (6 MEETS): 1. Daniel Kittaka 60.75 2. Patrick O'Connor 35.75 3. Joseph Terdik 25.25 4. Eric Nelson 21.25 5. Chris Zysko 18.00 6. Preston Buehrer 13.25 7. Joey Paquette 5.50 8. Bobby Ziegler 5.00 9. Wemi Jemine 3.00 10. Manraj Bains 2.50 11. Brandon Cooper 2.25 12. Erik Flores 2.00 13. Tuan Lee 2.00 14. Geoffrey Edwards 1.50 15. Nick Florence 1.50 16. Eric Ullrich 1.25 17. Jonathan Kittaka 1.25 18. Albert Lin 1.00 19. Benjamin Garcia 1.00 20. Jose Choto 1.00 21. Tom Skawski 0.75 22. Aamir Khan 0.75 23. Christian Okoye 0.50 24. Sam Vergara 0.50 25. Ryne Tobin 0.50