Bandukwala stuns with final kick to win 3A 1600 Meter Run

 

Homewood-Flossmoor sprints to Class 3A team title; Watcke doubles up with 4x8 anchor win and 800 Meter Run win; Lacy triple helps Centennial earns a trophy just behind Neuqua Valley

 

By Michael Newman

 

Charleston, Ill – In a blink of an eye last Saturday afternoon in the Class 3A Boys 1600 Meter Run at the IHSA State Track & Championships, Aden Bandukwala of Hinsdale Central went from way behind to shocking the crowd at O’Brien Field with a state championship.

 

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Read Also - IHSA Class 1A Boys Finals | IHSA Class 2A Boys Finals

Homewood-Flossmoor scored in just seven events in Saturday’s finals. Their wins in the two sprint relays catapulted them to their first 3A Boys State title scoring 58 points. Neuqua Valley was a distant second with 42 points. Champaign Centennial picked up four individual titles to help them finish third with 40 points. Edwardsville and Hinsdale Central tied for fourth with 37 points.

 

The heartbreak of the mishap in the prelims of the 4x400m Relay Friday afternoon could have devastated Hinsdale Central as their hopes for a state trophy diminished. The fight that the Red-Devils had showed throughout the finals. It probably showed the most when Aden Bandukwala stepped to the line in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

This would be the second race of the day for the Hinsdale junior. His sophomore season was focused on the shorter distances. A year later, he would be running in the 3200 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run.

 

The first-mile pace was within Bandukwala’s wheelhouse as Evan Horgan of Belvidere North led the first half of the race in 4:38. Bandukwala, who picked up the pace with Horgan running a 64 second third lap, was close along with Vijay Krishnamoorthi of Conant. The first 12 runners were within two seconds of each other.

 

Horgan held the lead for the next two laps. Bandukwala made another move to take lead just before 800-meters to go. Six runners were still near the front joined now by Liam Newhart of Oak Park-River Forest. Bandukwala said later that he regretted making that move. He felt it in his legs as he dropped back to fifth but just three seconds behind Horgan who again picked up the pace one final time. The Belvidere senior closed the final 400 in 61.5 holding off Newhart for a state championship with a 9:05.98 time. Newhart held on for second running 9:07.03. Bandukwala fought back on the final lap running 63 seconds and finishing third (9:10.42).

 

Bandukwala was exhausted afterwards heading back to his team area to rest for the next two plus hours. It would be interesting to see how he would respond in his second race.

 

The 1600 would be a close race with all 12 finalists within three seconds of each other in the prelims. The hope would be that the race would be tactical so it would give Bandukwala a chance to use his leg speed at the end of a race.

 

That did not happen. Marcellus Mines of Joliet West had control of the race from the start keeping the first lap in a controllable 64 seconds with all 12 runners within a second of each other. Bandukwala stayed comfortably in the back of the group.

 

Mines started to ramp up the pace running the second 400 in 62 seconds opening up a three second lead on Trey Sato of Grayslake Central. Riley Newport of DeKalb and Camyn Viger of Plainfield South led the chase pack. Bandukwala looked to be struggling falling to the rear of the group.

 

The third lap of the race was a continuance of the pace that Mines was pushing. He threw in another 62 lap passing 1200-meters and the bell lap in 3:08.7 and a lock on the lead. Sato, Viger, and now Caden Weber of Downers Grove North were four seconds behind and looking at chasing after the lead.

 

Bandukwala was hurting as he approached one more time around the track. He was seven seconds behind with hopes of even getting a medal were becoming more and more out of reach.

 

Sometimes the heart gets the runner to do the impossible. It may have looked impossible for most of the fans watching that Bandukwala could get close. He knew he had that third gear inside him. He just had to find it…and quickly.

 

“On that third lap, I was dying,” Bandukwala said after he received his state championship medal. “But as I came into the home stretch, I saw the sea of red and I knew I had to fight. I had to fight for my teammates.”

 

It took me back to 51 years ago watching the Munich Olympics and Dave Wottle seemingly out of it in the finals 800 Meter Run. Wottle made that run to that Olympic title. Now I was seeing Bandukwala start to do the same thing but without the golf cap.

 

He had picked off three people by the time he reached the curve with 200-meters left. The crowd was on their feet with 100-meters to go watching this runner somehow moving to the front in what seemed to be impossible a minute before. Bandukwala swung to Lane 3 and passed Viger and Weber. Mines was starting to lose his stride 50-meters to go.

 

Just like that, Bandukwala had the lead.

 

Just like that, he was a state champion as his arms raised asking himself I just did that.

 

His final 400-meters was 54.8 seconds. His final 200-meters was 26.2 seconds. 4:10.39 was his winning time.

 

Viger finished second running 4:11.75. Mines was third (4:12.47) followed by Weber (4:12.63) followed by Sato (4:12.74). The top five finishers are all juniors. It should be fun in 2024.

 

Dan Watcke’s final state meet was memorable starting with the 47.6 anchor leg he ran in the Friday 4x4 prelim. There was confidence in his eyes when he was ready to receive the baton in the 4x800m Relay from teammates Michael Skora, Grant Miller, and Kyle Doorhy.

 

He received the baton in third-place with conference rival Downers Grove North with the lead, Naperville Central a second back, and then Hinsdale Central and Plainfield South another second behind.

 

It seemed like the race was over in Hinsdale’s eyes. There were good runners with him in Ryan Eddington of Downers Grove North, Camyn Viger of Plainfield South, and Foster Shelbert of Naperville Central. The four traded off positions in the front. The gap between the rest of the field was growing as the four teams entered the final lap.

 

Eddington made the move of the backstretch that gave his team the lead heading into the far turn. Watcke was waiting for the right moment to make his move.

 

Watcke and Eddington were in the same situation in the final 100-meters of the WSC-Silver 1600 Meter Run two weeks before with Eddington refusing to let Watcke by. This day it was the senior’s turn for the final move.

 

Watcke crossed the line with a smile on his face and a state championship with a team time of 7:38.59 time (US #5). Watcke’s anchor split was 1:50.5. Downers Grove North finished second times at a new school record of 7:39.07 (US #7). Plainfield South ran 7:40.61 (US #12) to finish third. Naperville Central’s time of 7:44.39 (US #19) gave them fourth.

 

There was slight smile on Watcke’s face as he stepped to the line for the 800 Meter Run final and his final state race. It seemed like the rest of the field was focused on their race and getting a glimpse at the gut in white and red.

 

Caleb Levy of Warren Township likes pushing the pace and did so for the first lap of this race passing 400 in 55.11 with Watcke joined by Eddington, Michael Polizzi of Taft, and Quintin Lowe of Batavia right at the front of the pack. Watcke made his move on the outside taking the lead. Levy stayed on the inside on the back stretch as Eddington positioned himself for a final sprint.

 

Watcke eliminated the sprint having the lead into the final 100-meters. He kept looking around to see if anyone was getting close. They were but that did not concern him. Watcke knew he had won his second state title in this event.

 

Watcke ran :52.16 to claim the win. Eddington (1:52.84) and Levy (1:52.96) finished second and third. Lowe (1:53.53) and Polizzi (1:53.72) were fourth and fifth. Two seconds separated the top nine runners.

 

Homewood-Flossmoor’s points for their state title came from three relays and four sprint events. The Vikings were the top team it seemed all year in the 4x100m Relay. It showed in the prelims when they ran 41.30 to lead all qualifiers by almost three quarters of a second. The quartet of Olusoga Adeyiga, Robert Scott III, John Gore, and Jeremiah Turner got the baton around safely to give the team a state title (41.43) with Edwardsville (41.77) the closest team to them. Naperville North ran a season’s best of 41.89 to finish ahead of Neuqua Valley (42.07) in third and fourth. Warren Township finished fifth (42.35) ahead of York (42.75).

 

The same held true in the 4x200m Relay as the top two times in the state happened in the finals. Robert Scott III had the lead coming off the final curve with York’s Leo Glennon trying to catch Scott. The Vikings held on to run a state leading 1:26.20 to claim their second state crown. York ran a season’s best of 1:27.07 to place second. Edwardsville (1:27.36) and Warren Township (1:27.81) placed third and fourth.

 

Daniel Lacy of Champaign Centennial took center stage in winning three individual state titles in the sprints. The last runner to accomplish that was Kahmari Montgomery of Plainfield Central in 2015. His 30 points helped his team take home a trophy Saturday afternoon.

 

Lacy did not have the top seed time entering the finals. That did not seem to matter once the gun went off. He had the race won between 60 to 65-meters into the race. Lacy was timed in 10.69 for the win with Olusoga Adeyiga finishing second (10.85). Austin Belle of Neuqua Valley (10.89), Billy Bailey Jr. of Joliet West (10.94)), and Miles Granjean of Evanston (10.96) were all under 11-seconds.

 

The finish of the 400 Meter Dash was far closer than what Lacy had experienced in the 100 Meter Dash. Josh Pugh of Yorkville, Lacy, and Bailey Jr. came off the final curve together with Bailey Jr. the advantage with a slight surge. Lacy made one more move slightly ahead of Pugh and even with Bailey Jr when the two crossed the line together. Lacy and Bailey Jr. were both timed at 47.28 with Lacy a five thousandth of a second win (47.274-47.279). Pugh ran 47.50 to finish third. Ramontay Abram of Belleville West (48.79) and Nelson Speaks of Homewood-Flossmoor (49.15) finished fourth and fifth.

 

Lacy’s last half lap of his high school career was in terms of a victory lap of sorts in the 200 Meter Dash. The race was run the opposite way due to wind concerns. Lacy got off to a good start heading around the turn. With 50-meters to go, the race seemed to be his. Lacy’s third win came under a 21.51 winning time. Belle picked up an all-state finish with a 21.72 time. Adeyiga (21.84) and Bailey Jr. (21.89) finished third and fourth. It won’t be Lacy’s final lap on the Big Blue Oval. Lacy will attend Eastern Illinois University beginning this fall.

 

The final 10 points for the Chargers after Lacy’s three win came from Voldy Makabu winning the High Jump. It was perhaps the biggest surprise win of the meet. This was the first year that this sophomore had competed in this event after playing basketball in the winter. He became someone to watch after clearing 6-6.25 at his conference meet to finish second.

 

The chief competition came from Chris Taylor of Normal Community and Kosta Zografos of Wauconda. All three athletes were left after clearing 6-6. Makabu put the pressure on the two veterans clearing 6-7 on his first attempt. Taylor cleared the height on his third attempt. Zografos finished third. Makabu won the event clearing 6-8.25 on his first attempt. Taylor again cleared the height on his third attempt. Makabu won the state title on fewer misses and putting Centennial on the podium for a trophy.

 

Miles Granjean of Evanston was the man to beat in the 110 Meter Hurdles heading into this meet. The senior took the lead on the eighth hurdle and went on for the state championship in 14.36 holding off Jonathan Tegel of Crystal Lake South (14.53) and Saiheed Jah of Moline who finished second and third.

 

Jah, Ryan Schaefer of Glenbrook South, and Amari Williams of Wheaton-Warrenville South were even as they approached the final hurdle of the 300 Meter Hurdles. Williams, who was running only his fifth race in this event, clipped the final hurdle with his trail leg as he fell to the track. Schaefer took advantage  of the fall crossing the line for the win (38.34) finishing ahead of Jah (38.66) and Tegel (38.67).

 

Pugh came back on the final race of the day to help Yorkville to win the 4x400m Relay. Pugh ran a 46.65 anchor leg to give his team the win (3:19.04) holding off Grayslake Central (3:19.62) and Homewood-Flossmoor (3:19.95).

 

Tyler Petersen of Bloomington had a day in his final high school competition. The senior cleared 15-7 to win the 3A State title. Andrew Undesser of Minooka and Zachary Galvicius of McHenry both cleared 15-3 to finish second and third. It looked like the competition would end at 15-5 with Undesser and Galvicius running out of attempts. Petersen had a clutch clearance on his final attempt to win the state championship. Petersen followed by clearing 15-7 on his first attempt.

 

Parrish Hartley of Kenwood was a surprise winner in the Long Jump. The sophomore was in contention after prelims where he was in fourth-place. Hartley unleashed a 22-10 jump in the fifth round to win the event. Ryan Schaefer jumped 22-5 to finish second. Jaden Turner of Warren Township (22-3.75) and James Ammenhauser of Neuqua Valley (22-3) finished third and fourth.

 

The Triple Jump was the best field event competition in this 3A meet. Vince Davero of Downers Grove North stood in seventh after the Friday preliminary round. Davero took the lead on his first jump on Saturday with a 47-4.25 personal best. That held that lead until the final jump of the competition. Malik Allen of Edwardsville jumped 48-9.50 on the final jump of the meet to take the state title. Davero finished second. Gino Montgomery of Edwardsville finished third (46-2.75) ahead of Will DiSessa of Lyons Township (45-9) and James Ammenhauser (45-6.50).

 

Tyler Michelini of Lake Park was state champion in the Shot Put. His sixth round mark of 61-4.25 gave him the win. Alex Sohn of Normal Community only had two of six attempts fair. He head a best of 60-7.25 to finish second ahead of Javaris Ambrose of Thornton (59-0.25). Will Nolan of Hersey, who was the final athlete to make the finals from the preliminary round, had a 58-11.25 personal best on his final attempt to move into fourth-place.

 

Maverick Ohle of Naperville Central had a throw of 183-1 to take the lead and win the 3A Discus Throw. Reese Ihenacho of Cary-Grove had a 175-10 best to finish second. Alex Sohn’s final throw of 169-8 moved the senior into third place.