Boys Track: Red Devils Head Outdoors with High Hopes

After an indoor conference meet that didn’t go quite as well as planned, boys track and field team members present at a spring break practice were looking forward to getting the outdoor season underway.

“I don’t think that our indoor conference was the best representation of how well we can do,” Red Devils senior Connor Furlong said. “Regardless, I think we’re in the best spot going into the outdoor season that we’ve been in during the four years that I’ve been here.”

Hinsdale Central finished fifth out of seven in the team standings at the West Suburban Silver Indoor Conference meet on March 16 at York High School. Oak Park River Forest finished first, York finished second, and Downers North took third.

Furlong, who finished second in the 400-meter dash and 11th in the 200-meter dash, said the team had a strong start to the meet, but couldn’t keep the momentum up in the second half.

One Red Devil who did well at York was senior hurdler Ryan Daleen. Daleen finished first in the 55-meter low hurdles and second in the 55-meter high hurdles.

“That was a really good experience for me; a good confidence-booster,” Daleen said. “Going into a competition like that and placing well is always nice.”

Senior Max VonMallinckrodt finished second at York in the 600. In the 800, seniors Will Meyer and Ted Owens had the Red Devils best finishes at eighth and ninth, respectively.

In the distance events, senior Jack Feldman finished eighth in the 1,600-meter run while senior Tom Lyons and junior Mark Geisor both finished in the top 10 in the 3,200.

Seniors Ryan Callen and Dan Hinspeter highlighted the Red Devils' indoor field performances. Callen finished second in the shot put; Hinspeter finished fourth in the long jump.

The outdoor season begins Tuesday afternoon with a meet at Glenbard West. Between then and the May 11 outdoor conference meet, the Red Devils will compete in the Hinsdale Relays on April 7, the Downers South Bud Mohns Invite on April 14, and the Lyons Township Invite on April 20. The team also has an April 27 meet at Lincoln Way West in New Lenox and will host the McCarthy Invitational on May 4.

Callen is the only returning Red Devil who qualified for state as an individual in 2011. The team graduated 2011 qualifiers Ben Cherry (400-meter), Billy Fayette (3,200-meter and 1,600-meter), Bill Monat (shot put and discus), and Zach Withall (1,600-meter).

Hinsdale Central does, however, return its full 4x800 relay and three runners from its 4x400 relay. Both of those teams qualified for state last season.

Head coach Jim Kupres said last year’s team did very well in finishing second as a team at sectionals.

“In terms of the number of kids we qualified for state, we were happy,” Kupres said. “This year we are looking to hopefully repeat the same thing.”

Furlong said this year’s senior-heavy team is a close-knit one. He said a lot of people think that doesn’t matter in an individual sport like track and field.

“But it really helps a lot when you see your teammates on the sides and they’re cheering for you,” Furlong said. “It gets you going.”

Daleen and Furlong both said finishing in the top-three at conference and finishing first at sectionals are the team’s goals this year. In the months between, Daleen said, it’s important that the team members strive for personal bests each meet to keep the competitive edge throughout the season.

“It’s just all about running that time, getting better each meet, knowing where you’re at, and fixing the stupid little mistakes that take off that small amount of time that makes a difference in the end,” Daleen said. “If you take a meet off, it hurts you in the end.”