Schools
Hinsdale South's Okoro, Hinsdale Central Athletes are at USATF Nationals
Hinsdale South senior-to-be Uzo Okoro and six Hinsdale Central athletes are representing the Zephyrs Track Club at this week's USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships in Kansas.
Hinsdale South senior-to-be Uzo Okoro and Hinsdale Central athletes Connor Furlong, Dan Hinspeter, Dakota Limjuco, Andre Nelson, Kayla Schwarz and Anthony Vicino are among the athletes from the Zephyrs Track Club competing at the USA Track & Field National Junior Olympic Championships, which run through Sunday, July 31, in Wichita, KS.
The athletes are representing the Zephyrs in the Young age division for 17- and 18-year-olds. Entries that finish among the top eight in their age groups are honored as All-Americans.
Okoro, who lives in Darien, and Schwarz, a recent Hinsdale Central graduate from Clarendon Hills, are making their third straight national berths. Going for the first time are seniors-to-be Furlong, Hinspeter and Vicino from Hinsdale, Limjuco from Willowbrook and Oak Brook’s Nelson.
Okoro is competing in the Young Women triple jump and long jump after being an All-American in 2010 in the triple jump (fifth, 37-2½) in the Intermediate Girls (ages 15-16) division. Okoro is coming off two Class 3A all-state performances for Hinsdale South in May, taking sixth in the triple jump (37-5¼) and long jump (17-11¾).
Schwarz is part of the Zephyrs’ Young Women 400 and 1,600 relay lineups. Schwarz was a member of the Red Devils’ Class 3A state championship 400 and 800 relay teams in 2010, when Hinsdale Central also won the state team title. Schwarz was on the Red Devils’ all-state fifth-place 800 relay team in May.
For the Young Men, Furlong, Hinspeter, Limjuco and Vicino are part of the 3,200 relay and Furlong, Hinspeter and Nelson are on the 400 relay with Limjuco and Vicino as alternates.
To reach nationals, athletes needed top-five finishes at the Region VII Championships for Illinois and Indiana entries July 9-10 at Plainfield Central High School after requiring top-eight finishes at the state meet June 24-25 at Plainfield Central.
The Zephyrs, a non-profit organization, has brought roughly 50 athletes to nationals from its two summer training sites of Hinsdale Central and Proviso East high schools. Volunteer coaches at the Hinsdale Central site are Hinsdale Central assistant girls track coaches Pat Wilson and James Conyers and Lyons Township girls track head coach Greg Frandsen.
In previous years, only top-three regional finishers qualified for nationals. As a result, this year’s nationals include additional semifinal heats instead of just preliminaries and finals.
“It’s caused us to have some (lineup) problems. It’ll make it a little tough, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” Wilson said. “We’ll see what we can do and pray for the best.”
