Wheaton Qualifiers Look Ahead to State Track Meet

Wheaton Warrenville South, with returning state qualifiers Titus Davis and Charlie Pinedo leading the charge, is sending several individuals and each of its relay teams to this weekend’s boys Class 3A state meet in Charleston.

The Falcons of Wheaton North also will be well-represented at state. Three Wheaton North relay squads will be competing, along with four individuals in four events.

Meanwhile, St. Francis distance runner Joe Giamberdino will take part in the 3,200-meter run in the Class 2A meet.

Wheaton South

Davis, better known for his play as an all-state wide receiver last fall for the Tigers’ state championship football team, has an opportunity to gain all-state status in the long jump. The senior goes into Friday’s preliminaries with the second-best qualifying jump at 23 feet, 2 ½ inches.

Pinedo, also a senior, just missed an all-state medal in the 2010 long jump competition, placing ninth. He owns the ninth-best jump (22-7½) heading into the weekend.

Davis and Pinedo have earned berths in the 200-meter dash, as well—the first time each has qualified for this event.

Junior Alec Brazeau soared to the high jump title at the York sectional with a leap of 6-5 and will go downstate for the first time.

Brazeau also placed fourth in the pole vault. The top three finishers at sectionals automatically qualify for state, but Brazeau’s vault met the qualifying height of 13-9.

First-time qualifiers for the Tigers also include Will Davis in the triple jump, Brian Welker in the discus and Max Heyden in the 400 (all are seniors), along with Phabian Clark (a junior) in the 110 high hurdles.

Senior Digba Coker is the Tigers’ other returning state qualifier. He finished second to his teammate in the 110 high hurdles at York.

If pre-state rankings hold up through Saturday’s finals, two Wheaton South relay teams will be bringing home all-state medals. The 4x200 relay team, consisting of Davis, Pinedo, senior Andrew Dabisch and junior Dan Vitale, has the fourth-best qualifying time (1:27.58). Juniors Christian Adams and Carl Anderson, freshman Luke Schroer and senior Collin Fedor make up the Tigers’ 4x800 team which has the seventh-fastest qualifying time.

Wheaton North

Returning state qualifier Tyler Ester could be in the hunt for an all-state medal in the high jump.

Ester, a senior, is one of 13 qualifiers who’ve jumped 6-5. Three competitors have reached 6-7 and another 6-8. Carl Heinz of Oak Park-River Forest is the favorite going in with his 6-9 leap.

Rafe Kiely, also a senior, is a returning state qualifier in the shot put. Kiely, a Wyoming University football recruit, is competing at state in the discus, as well, where his toss of 163-3 puts him eighth among all qualifiers.

Classmate Branden Miller joins Kiely in the state discus field. The first-time qualifier took fifth at the York sectional, but his throw of 155-1 surpassed the state qualifying mark by one inch.

Sophomore Zach Gordon is making his first trip to Charleston after he exceeded the state-qualifying standard (22-3) by going 22-6 at York. (He finished in sixth place.)

Wheaton North’s 4x400 relay team took third in the sectionals. The Falcons’ 4x800 and 4x100 teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, but both recorded times under the state-qualifying standards (7:58.8 for the 4x800; 42.6 seconds for the 4x100).

St. Francis

The number nine seems to be Joe Giamberdino’s lucky number.

The St. Francis senior recorded a top-10 finish at the Class 2A state cross country meet last November by placing ninth. On Friday, he’ll line up for his first state track meet after clocking the ninth-fastest qualifying time in the 3,200 (9:39.45) among the Class 2A field.

If Giamberdino reaches the finals, he’ll want to make eight his lucky number. An eighth-place finish will assure him of an all-state medal.

Giamberdino was second in the 3,200 at the Glenbard South sectional.