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the glenview lantern | May 3, 2018 | 47
Boys Track and Field
Cherry leads Titans at Spartan Relays
tracy allen/22nd century media
1st-and-3
players of the
week
1. Riley Dolan
(ABOVE) Loyola
Academy’s sharp
shooter played a
major factor in the
Ramblers’ girls
lacrosse win over
New Trier, scoring
four goals to help
in the effort.
2. Schneider Chery
The Titans’ boys
soccer player
turned sprinter
helped lead GBS
at the Spartan
Relays, helping
his 800-meter
relay team to win
its race.
3. Brendan Chang
South’s boys
water polo senior
scored seven
goals in his team’s
Senior Night win
over the Spartans.
Gary Larsen
Freelance Reporter
One of the best moments
at this year’s 10-team, 56th
Annual Spartan Relays
at Glenbrook North came
from a soccer player.
That moment came from
Glenbrook South sophomore
Schneider Chery,
who grew up playing soccer
in Haiti, has only lived
in the United States for
two years and had never
run track before this year.
Coming around the final
turn in the 800-meter
sprint medley relay, Chery
trailed Larkin’s Malik
Walkine by a few meters
but found the kick he
needed to edge Walkine at
the finish line and give the
Titans the win.
“I think I got (Walkine)
by about an inch,” Chery
said. “In a meet last week it
was almost the same thing
but I finished second.”
Relay teammates James
McPhaul, Kalvin Dela-
Cruz, and Joel Pribek set
him up and Chery came
through for them in his
first year at Glenbrook
South.
“I played soccer at Niles
West before coming here,”
Chery said. “I didn’t know
(track) when I was in Haiti
but I think I’m doing pretty
good at it.”
Titans coach Kurt
Hasenstein agreed.
“Our soccer coach (Reggie
Lara) brought him over
to me in the fall and told
me I’d better get him for
track,” Hasentstein said.
“He’s doing a great job for
us.”
Glenbrook South placed
fourth at Glenbrook North
on Friday, April 27. Deerfield
won the team title,
84-82 over second-place
Stevenson. The host Spartans
finished sixth, Lake
Forest was seventh and
Loyola placed eighth.
Glenbrook South’s Matt
Jortberg, Will Kelly, Will
Houser and Jordan Theriault
also won the 6400
relay in 18 minutes, 33.94
seconds, more than 16 seconds
faster than secondplace
Stevenson.
“(Jortberg), our leadoff
kid, has been sick. This
was his first outdoor race
of the year,” Hasenstein
said. “He and (Theriault)
were our top cross country
guys. Our two middle
guys were sophomores
who ran close to personal
best times today, and by
the time (Theriault) got the
baton we had a big lead.”
Anchor man Theriault
had no one pushing him
during the final leg of the
1600 but managed to run
his second-best time ever.
“You want to beat someone
because that’s what
racing is,” Theriault said,
“but sometimes it’s just
you against the clock. I
knew our (6400) team was
going to be solid so mentally
I just have to prepare
myself for that.”
Glenbrook South’s Schneider Chery (left) edging out
Larkin’s Malik Walkine at the finish line of the 800-sprint
medley relay at the Spartan Relay on Friday, April 28, in
Northbrook. Gary Larsen/22nd Century Media
The Titans also got a
second in the long jump
from John Halkias, whose
jump of 19-feet-9.5 was
only 2.5 inches behind
first-place Joey Heffernan
of Lake Zurich.
South’s relay team
of Jack Reardon, Jason
Leszynski, Jason Vazquez
and Umani Ubeid placed
third in the 1600, and the
Titans’ Ubeid, Max Gerber,
George Wood and
Chris Nadolny placed third
in the 800 relay.
Ubeid placed second
in the high jump with a
jump of 5’10” and the
Titans also got personal
bests from shot-putters
Henry Schleizer and Julian
Aragon. Schleizer placed
fourth with a toss of 47’5”
and Aragon was sixth with
a toss of 45’2”.
One of the day’s dominant
performances in the
field events came from
Loyola Academy’s Declan
Ritzenthaler, whose pole
vault of 14’7” was more
than two feet higher than
anyone in the field.
Ritzenthaler made it
downstate last year with
a sectional vault of 14’1”
and he vaulted 15’0” during
the recent indoor track
season. He came close to
clearing a new personal record
of 15’2” at Glenbrook
North.
“I just want to go for
PRs and I don’t really like
to think about a set height
that I need to get,” Ritzenthaler
said.“My mental
approach to it has gotten
better since last year. I just
like to go and have fun and
try to be the best I can be.
I definitely have more confidence.”
Visualization has long
been a technique in sports,
in which an athlete pictures
perfect execution
towards reaching peak
performance, and Ritzenthaler
embraces it.
When does he visualize
the perfect vault?
“In class, on the way
home — I do it all the
time,” Ritzenthaler said. “I
have these mental things
that I relay in my mind
to reinforce it. It’s really
technical and you have to
have everything straight
because one mistake can
ruin it. So I like to visualize
it in my mind.”
Loyola assistant coach
Ryan Gibbons sees even
better things ahead for
Ritzenthaler once the cold
spring relents.
“He’s got the height
and now he just needs
some good weather,” Gibbons
said. “He’s really a
student of pole vaulting.
He’s constantly going over
whatever he can tweak to
get better. He’s got the motivation,
he’s got the desire,
and he’s got the work
ethic.”
Loyola’s 800 relay
team of Jack McCall, Jack
Loveland, Adam Reyes,
and Trenton Bismonte took
top honors with a time of
1:34.98, and the 400 relay
team of McCall, Loveland,
Bismonte and Mac Saliba
placed second in 45.29
Loyola also got a third
in the shot put from Diedo
Collado with a throw of
48-10, and the thrower’s
400 relay team of Collado,
Justin Klonoski, Justin Simon
and Nicholas Rodriguez
placed third in 52.44.
Listen Up
“It was a great game and a fun Senior
Night.”
Brendan Chang — The GBS boys water polo senior
on his performance in the Titans’ win over GBN.
tunE in
What to watch this week
The Glenbrook South baseball team hosts the rival
Spartans on Saturday, May 5.
10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 5, at GBS
Index
43 - Shots of the Week
42 - Coach Talk
Fastbreak is compiled by Sports Editor
Michal Dwojak. Send any questions or comments
to m.dwojak@22ndcenturymedia.com