We had two events in the finals. Here is a link to the Finals Results.
4 x 800 meter relay
Getting things started in the first running final of the day, our 4 x 800 meter relay team came in to the finals still undefeated on the season after winning their Preliminary heat on Friday. Our lineup for Saturday's finals was Denis O'Callaghan, Joe Licata (in place of Sean Torpy who ran in the prelims), Nicholas Prajka and Pat "Doc" McMahon on the anchor.
Leading things off for the Eagles, Denis O'Callaghan kept us in the thick of things before handing off to Joe Licata. After biding his time for a lap, Joe turned on the afterburners and brought us near the front of the pack. Nicholas Prajka took the handoff and settled in for a lap and then kicked past all but one runner before turning it over to Pat McMahon. Pat held off a couple of challenges and then cranked it into high gear and took the lead heading into the final turn. Although he smoked the anchor leg with a 1:53 split, he couldn't hold off the Barrington and Bartlett runners and the team ended up in third place (7:46.81) & All-State honors.
Here is a video of the 4 x 800 meter finals.
4 x 400 meter relay
In the final event of the day, our 4 x 400 meter relay team stepped to the line. Leadoff man Ian Hollendonner got things rolling with a solid opening leg. Ian handed off to Joe Licata (running his 2nd race of the day) who kept us in the hunt. Sophomore Ryan Parthemore took the stick for the 3rd leg and kept us near the front before handing off to anchor Nick Malliaras. In only his 3rd 400 race of the year, Nick battled some of the top talent in the State and brought the baton home in 5th place with a time of 3:23.01 and the 2nd All-State finish of the day.
It was a fantastic wrap to a great Sandburg Eagle track season !!!