York 800 Relay Earns All-state Honors

The 800 relay of York juniors Emmett McCoy, Josh Farrar and Jeff Ostling, and sophomore Jake Sacksteder, finished fourth (1:28.85) at the Class 3A state track meet Saturday at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. York junior Reid Smith was ninth in high jump (6 feet, 5 inches). Top-nine finishers earn all-state honors.

The Dukes tied for 43rd as a team with seven points.

The 800 relay finished just .07 behind second-place Oak Park-River Forest and .87 behind state champion Edwardsville (1:27.98). The 800 relay earned all-state honors for the fourth time in the past five years, including runner-up state finishes in 2011 and 2009.

Smith became the Dukes’ first all-stater in high jump since 1996. Smith’s father, Brian, is a 1973 York graduate whose 6-8 ranks No. 2 on the program’s all-time bests for the event.

The 3,200 relay of junior Alex Bashgawi, senior Jack Achen and sophomores Nathan Dale and Matt Plowman reached its 12-team finals and was 10th (7:54.90), .05 from ninth place and the last all-state spot.