14 YEAR HISTORY OF THE @PNTRACK INVITE
Plainfield North hosts a 14-team invitational this Saturday starting at 10 a.m. We run on a 178-meter 4-lane track where the curves are nearly impossible. We seed on the fly and time races with stopwatches. We do live scoring using a Google Sheet … 2019 RESULTS. Once a spectator filed a complaint about the lack of seating in our field house. I told her to stop complaining or go home. Somehow we make it work. Somehow the atmosphere is thick with excitement. Somehow performances are extraordinary. I tried to explain our meet when I wrote The Gauntlet Mile for Freelap four years ago. Once on a camping trip I saw a sign “Always Leave the Campsite Better Than You Found It.” If everyone would leave things better than they found it, we’d live in a better world. Finding myself the fourth quarter of my coaching career, I think about this often. I would like to leave track & field better than I found it. The Pntrack Invite is my attempt to improve the track & field world Inaugural Embarrassment (2007) The Monday after the inaugural 2007 Pntrack Invite, my athletic director at the time, Jeff Johnson, called me to his office. His message was pretty simple. Belleville West and Herrin were well-coached track teams and my team was not. Two of my former athletes, Patton Segraves and Chad Lakatos, had shown up their old coach. Belleville West and Herrin had become great track programs. Patton’s Belleville West program was headed towards 3A excellence, placing top-6 in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2015. Chad’s team (Herrin) won Class A in 2007 and 2008. Chad Lakatos has gone on to incredible success at Edwardsville with state championships in 2015 and 2017. Both coaches were heavily influenced by “Feed the Cats” and the Harrisburg teams I had coached from 1990-2004. My 2007 Plainfield North team had no seniors and only three guys who could manage a sub 4.60 40-yard dash. Plainfield North looked like a rag-tag group of rookies. We had ugly uniforms. The schedule I inherited was awful. We were pathetic in the technique events (hurdles, jumps, pole vault, and throws). The next year we were conference champs.
In a seven-year stretch, Belleville West won medals in 20 state relays. All-State in 20 of 28 relays! Ironically, this picture shows Edwardsville coached by Chad Lakatos running against Belleville West coached by Patton Segraves.
Eric Thompson, Herrin (2007) Eric Thompson won the long jump at our invite in 2007. Eric jumped 23’6″ and his record still stands. For those of you new to track and field, Eric Thompson went on to lead Herrin High School to the 2007 State Championship (Class A). Herrin scored 77.5 points while Eric Thompson won the high jump (6’11”), the long jump (23’6″), the triple jump (45’2″) and anchored Herrin’s dominant 4×1 team (43.09). You can’t do better than four gold medals. The best thing I read in 2018 featured Eric Thompson, The Five-Buck Bump of Cocaine that Destroyed an Olympic Dream. Bookmark it. It’s long but it’s worth every minute of your time.
Eric Thompson high jumped 7’2″ in high school.
Luke Vaughn, Champaign Centennial (2013) Luke Vaughn was the best thrower to ever compete in our invite. Luke’s record throw of 59’7″ in the shot put may stand for many years. One of our special races is our “Dunkin Donut 55″, a race where the best six shot putters compete for a dozen Dunkin Donuts. Luke Vaughn’s race had an unfortunate ending when he placed 2nd and broke his hand punching a wall. The next year as a freshman at Memphis, Luke threw the 16-pound college shot 58’2″ and the college discus 187’9”.
Two 6’8″ shot putters here, both competed at the 2014 Pntrack Invite. Normal West’s Kyrin Tucker got beat but later finished 2nd in the state throwing 60’5″. Luke Vaughn set our field house record but did not place at the state meet due to injury.
Strong-Ware-Pagan-Gilmore, Plainfield North (2009) Our 4×2 relay team in 2009 was destined for greatness. We were ranked IL #1 indoors, running 1:31.73 in our first meet. This quartet put together, in my opinion, the most amazing performance in the history of the @Pntrack Invite. Somehow this group ran 1:31.3 on a 178m track where the field house record for the 200 is 22.8 (Carlos Baggett, 2016). It blows my mind to think this group averaged 22.8 for an entire 4×2. Robert Gilmore led off with a 22.8 followed by Ware at 22.4, Pagan at 23.0, and Strong at 23.1. The energy in the field house that day was palpable. Plainfield North won the meet with 130 points. Second place went to Hillcrest who later dominated the IHSA Class 2A state meet. As a cautionary tale, our outdoor season fell apart. Robert Gilmore tweaked his hamstring and never got right. (If we would have had Reflexive Performance Reset back in 2009, this would have never happened). Dominique Ware chose to attend his senior graduation instead of the IHSA State Meet. Dion Strong missed practice the week of conference and was suspended for our biggest team meet. Erran Pagan missed practice the week of Sectional and watched from the stands as our 4×2 ran qualifying time without him only to get disqualified for a late exchange.
First meet splits: Dion Strong 22.8, Erran Pagan 23.1, Dominique Ware 23.1, and Robert Gilmore 22.5 lead-off. Gilmore was MVP of the meet (Normal West Invite). Sorry about the grainy picture, I didn’t have my camera back then!
Jamison Wilson, Hillcrest (2009) Jamison Wilson triple jumped 48’0″. We have a wall at the end of our pit that sometimes discourages jumpers, but not Jamison Wilson. Jamison Wilson, only a junior in 2009, went on to lead Ron Towner’s Hillcrest team to 93 points at the state meet. Total domination! Jamison Wilson placed 2nd in the triple jump (47’0), anchored the winning 4×1 (42.42), placed 3rd in the highs (14.61), and ran lead-off in the 4×4 placing 1st (3:20.51). As a senior, Wilson again led Hillcrest to the 2A state title. Jamison Wilson long jumped 23’6″ (1st), triple jumped 45’3″ (7th), won the high hurdles (14.35), and placed 2nd in the 300 hurdles (37.93).
Jamison Wilson on the left and Maurice Lyke on the right. Ron Towner coached these amazing Hillcrest teams and Benny Phillips was the hurdle coach. Hard to believe these two hurdlers were not twin brothers. One of my favorite pictures of all time.
Jacob Arnold, Plainfield North (2008) As a 5th semester sophomore in 2007 (figure that one out), Jacob Arnold shocked the world splitting a 47.8 in the 4×4 on a windy Tuesday afternoon. In May of 2007, Jacob became the first all-state track athlete at Plainfield North. As a 7th semester junior in 2008 Jacob Arnold was meet MVP at the Normal West Invitational. Jacob’s 6.48 in the 55m made him a well-known sprinter. Jacob still shares the 55m record for the Pntrack Invite at a hand-held 6.2. Jacob Arnold missed most of his junior track season with a doctor’s excuse and was rumored to be training at Acceleration and Xtreme Speed. Jacob’s track career at North did not end well. Jacob still holds track records at Rockford College … Track & Field Records. Note: Jacob was allowed by the IHSA to play football as a 5th-year senior but was not allowed to play a spring sport the same year.
This picture was taken after these four guys broke the conference record in the 4×1, 4×2, and 4×4. Jacob Arnold, far left, only a junior, anchored all three. As a sophomore, Jake ran 21.4 in the 200, 48.2 in the 400. I truly believed Jacob would be an Olympian.
Last year, Jake Arnold returned to his alma mater as the head coach at South Beloit. This year he will return as the head coach of Rockford Jefferson. I’m so proud of him!
Rockford Jefferson head track coach AND head football coach, Jake Arnold.
Andy Jatis, Providence (2015) Everything at the Pntrack Indoor is up close and personal. Andy Jatis set the meet record in 2015 vaulting 15’7″. Jatis placed 2nd in the state in 2015 with a vault of 16’0″.
Andy Jatis had a high school PR of 16’6″ and vaulted for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Dan Mazar, Edwardsville (2010) The mile record of 4:27.0 set by Dan Mazar of Edwardsville stood for six years until it was broken in 2016 by Demetri Pancini (4:24.7) from Lincoln-Way North. Dan Mazar set the our 1600 meet record his junior season. Mazar broke hearts in Edwardsville when he moved to Rockwood Summitt in Missouri his senior year. Dan Mazar won the 800 in Missouri with a time of 1:50.87 and got beat by .01 in the 1600, running 4:12.51. The photo finish became famous.
Dan Mazar dove for the finish line in an attempt to win the 1600 at the Missouri state meet.
Jarvis Carter vs Alex Ruscitti (2015) 2015’s 400m “Battle of 119th Street”, Plainfield East’s Jarvis Carter won a titanic battle with Alex Ruscitti from Plainfield North. Both guys broke the previous meet record of 52.3 (the 200 and 400 are tough races on a 178m track). Carter ran 51.6 and Ruscitti ran 51.9. Both of these warriors returned to battle in the 4×4, with Carter running 52.8 and Ruscitti running an inspired 51.7 split.
Unlike many places, in “Track Town” we are friends with our competition. Ironically, these two guys shared the 3rd place platform at the IHSA state meet in 2015. East and North tied for 3rd in the state finals of the 4×2.
The Gauntlet Mile (2015) The Gauntlet Mile was an experiment in 2015. It worked. The picture tells the story.
Tanner Thurman running a PR in the Gauntlet Mile. Last we did a Tom Petty tribute and played “Won’t Back Down” (loud!).
Zack Riley, Herrin (2009) After back to back state championships, Chad Lakatos made the move from Herrin to Edwardsville. Zack Riley was a sophomore on Chad’s 2008 state championship team. In 2009 Chad Lakatos brought Edwardsville to the Pntrack Invite and new Herrin coach, Rob Long, brought Herrin. Zach Riley jumped 6’6″ setting the meet record. Riley did not attempt a higher mark. High jumping 6’6″ on a slick floor without spikes is quite an accomplishment. In May of 2009, Zack Riley high jumped 7’0″ to win Class A. As a senior, Zack Riley led Herrin to its 3rd state title in four years (2007, 2008, 2010). Riley won the long jump (23’4″), won the high jump (6’8″), and anchored Herrin’s 4×1 & 4×2 relays to gold medals (42.77 and 1:28.88).
This picture shows Zack Riley clearing 7’5″ to win the NJCAA National Championship. Riley was also finalist at the 2012 Olympic Trials and later jumped for Kansas State.
Lacrosse Star Wins 55 Meter Dash (2016) Clay Paysen had never participated in an outdoor track meet. Clay played lacrosse and went on to play at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. We knew Clay was fast because he ranked #1 in our 30-yard fly (2.74) and #2 in our 40-yard fly (3.70). We also knew Clay would play lacrosse and not run track for us in the spring. However, I never gave up hope. At the Pntrack Invite, we have open entries in the 55 and we run dozens of heats. Clay was entered in one of the extra heats. Clay ran 6.40 hand-held, good enough to make the finals. In the finals Clay ran 6.18 hand-held beating Montini star Mitch West who ran 6.27. Mitch had placed 4th in the IHSA 2A 100m dash as a sophomore (and is coached by Chris Korfist). One race convinced Clay Paysen to join our track team in the spring. Clay balanced his lacrosse schedule with our track schedule and led us to a school record 41.72 in the 4×1 (IL #4). Clay became an all-stater when our 4×2 finished 5th in the state.
Clay Paysen is in lane-2. Mitch West is in lane-3. Mitch’s coach, Chris Korfist (yellow shirt), is behind Mitch’s blocks taking video.
Next Man Up (2017) Different meets, different objectives. We try to score maximum team points at our conference meet. In most meets, we are thinking big picture. We value performance over points. When we host the Pntrack Invite, we want to win the team championship and take a victory lap after the 4×4. We have won the team title six times. In 2017, freshman Marcellus Moore, IL #1 in the 60m, was in New York, competing at New Balance Nationals. Carlos Baggett, our returning conference champ in the 100m, was sidelined with a 59% in AP Physics. (Crazy story… 59% for six weeks with no opportunities to bring his grade up … and Carlos is now in college majoring in physics). Joe Stiffend, a returning all-stater, was rehabbing after an ACL surgery. No way could we win a 16-team invitational, or could we? In our strongest event we didn’t score. Instead of winning gold and silver in the 55m with Moore and Baggett, we got shut out. However, our *team* was not to be denied. We scored 32 points in the field events and 38 points in the distance events (we placed first and second in the “Gauntlet Mile”). Missing our three top sprinters, we found a way to win the 4×2. Sophomore Anthony Capezio led off with an inspired 24.3 split and the rest was history. (Capezio later won the 200m, running 23.7 on the tightest curves in Illinois) The boys of Pntrack won the meet and celebrated with a victory lap.
Anthony Capezio as a sophomore (2017) winning the 200 meters. In 2018, Capezio ran on our state record-breaking 4×1 team (41.29).
Rock the 4×4 (2018) For many years now, we have “Rocked the 4×4” at the Pntrack Invite. We run three heats. The first heat runs to “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. The second heat runs to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. The third and fastest heat runs to “Zombie Nation” by Kernkraft 400. Loud. Last year, Providence ran the greatest 4×4 in the history of our meet. Try running 3:30.3 on a 178m track. Impossible. The previous 400m record on our track was 51.6 by Jarvis Carter of Plainfield East. In 2018, Gavin Jaime broke that record running 50.9. Then, he comes back and leads off the 4×4 in a spectacular 50.5. I couldn’t believe it. Providence ran so fast, the entire field house cheered them on. Their splits… Jaime 50.5, Wright 53.1, Kalinowski 54.1, and Favela 51.9. I made sure to get a picture of the foursome. I coached them up on how to pose.
Left to right… Sophomore Jerrell Wright (wide receiver in FB) Gavin Jaime (3rd in state in 400, running at Central Michigan) Eduardo Favela (9th in 400, running at Missouri) Caden Kalinowski (rookie year of track, previously baseball… QB in FB, now football and track at University of Chicago)
Mark Coglianese (Providence coach) is one of my favorite people. Anyone who is a head football coach AND head track coach is a rock-star. I told Mark during the photo shoot, “This team will run 3:18 and win the state championship!” Mark gave me a look of disbelief and repeated what I’d said to his assistant. Well, the two fastest guys were injured all spring but luckily got it back together for the Sectional. The next week, they ran 3:19.28 to win the Class 2A 4×4. Wright led off with a 50.9, Favela ran 49.3, Kalinowski 50.5, and Gavin Jaime blazed a 48.4. Will Plainfield North Win Their 5th Straight? Marcellus Moore is gone, graduating early and running for Purdue at age-17. But, Marcellus never ran in this meet. In his freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons, Marcellus attended New Balance Nationals in New York City on this date. Using a team concept, my team still came out on top each of the last four years (even though we were tied for first last year by Joliet West 98-98). Regardless, the PN Field House will be rockin this weekend! +++
Enthusiasm makes the difference.
The meet records are on the back of the meet t-shirt. Amazing performances on a 178-meter track.
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TFC-11, CHICAGO, JUNE 6-7
