Posted: May 7, 2010 |(0) Comments

Mequon — Mike Collins said that earlier in the week when he and other members of the potentially ground-breaking Homestead boys 1,600-meter relay team got the word they were going to get a chance at running together in an important meet like the North Shore Conference Relays on May 5 they could hardly contain themselves.

"We all jumped up when we got the text message," he said, "and we were texting each other all day at school. Not that we would do that during class (laughs). Honestly, we'd been waiting for this. Everyone had been working so hard in practice."

And that anticipation turned into scorching results, as the unit that included Collins, Andrew Holtorf, Doug Mueller and Gabe Genovesi took down an important 20-year old meet record in putting the final touches on an impressive team title for the Highlanders.

The unit's crazy fast 3:19.79 was not only a school and a NSC relays record as well as a new state best, but it also put them on track to possibly take down the state mark in June, as the relays 1,600 standard (3:21.0) they broke was set by none other than the Nicolet team that eventually set the state record back in 1990.

"I was starting to feel it in the final 20 meters," said Genovesi, who anchored the crew's effort with a blistering 47-second-plus 400 time, "but I was looking at the clock, and I didn't care what I was feeling. I just had to finish it."

So excited by the mark was the crew that they raced over to the Cedarburg scoreboard which still had the unofficial clocking on it for a quick picture.

The record also allowed Genovesi to come full circle on the day, as he opened the meet by anchoring the sprint medley relay team of Matt Sama, Igor Sulim, and Matt Stern to another record (1:33.25) as he pulled past Whitefish Bay's fine 400 runner Davontae Johnson in the final stretch.

It led one Cedarburg runner to shake his head in amazement and tell Genovesi: "What planet are you from?"

Apparently, it's "Planet Fast," as the Highlanders roared to an imposing 10-event win, 133-point total, well ahead of Germantown (101), which had thrown a scare into the defending league triple crown champions at the league indoor last month.

Whitefish Bay tied with Port Washington for a distant third with 47 and Nicolet was seventh with 26.

Positive reinforcement

"It was a good time and a good message to them about where they are at in their training," said Highlanders coach Dan Benson of the 1,600 relay team's sensational effort. "It's good feedback for them."

And as impressed as Benson was with his elite performer's efforts, he was also pleased by several of his depth people, as others had to step up on this day as injuries took a toll in the jumps and the pole vault.

"The relay meet is the toughest meet to win," he said, "because you only score 10 points in a given event. I tell you I had a couple of sleepless nights this week because key performers (like Brad Pelisek and Jake Ziebart) had nicks that would hold them out or limit them in this meet. We were looking at good JV performers to step up and they did."

It was enough to lead Germantown co-coaches Andy Bavlnka and Jeff Schreiber to sit on the steps at Cedarburg and just shake their heads in amazement.

"There's no secret," said Bavlnka. "Homestead is just better."

Or like Highlanders assistant girls coach Victor Vilar said: "Our guys don't look like high school kids. They look like college athletes."

Others step up

Other Highlanders firsts went to the 800 relay team of Sama, Collins, Genovesi and Xavier Crumpton (season best and state honor roll runner-up time of 1:29.89); the 3,200 relay of Sulim, Cody Berger, Mike Cronce and Nate Routhier (8:21.17); the distance medley team of Mueller, Holtorf, Cronce and Routhier (10:44.35); the high jump unit of Danny Schiller (event best 6-2), Pelisek, and Alex Butovskiy; the long jump unit of Taylor Ruffin (event best 21-9 1/2 ), Zach Enea and Schiller; the shot put team of Justin Barber (state best 59-2 1/2 ), Max Vielmetti and Kyle Schober; and the discus trio of Barber (event best 158-9), Vielmetti and Mike Rooney.

But aside from the 1,600 relay, no victory exemplified what kind of day it was for Homestead than that of the pole vault trio of Matt Savage (event and personal best 13-0), T.J. Ausman and Brendan Cullen. The unit was down its best man (Ziebart) but still rolled to the event title.

"People just stepped up," Benson said.

"We knew what we had going into this meet," said Genovesi. "We just had to run our hardest and hope that the final results were good."

UP NEXT

WHAT: Homestead, which hosted its annual Field Event Festival on Tuesday, will now look forward to completing its second straight North Shore Conference triple crown at the league outdoor meet at Whitefish Bay on May 18. Bay is hosting a major meet for the first time since 2003 on its two-year-old facility. Boys discus, girls pole vault and boys high jump will begin at 3 p.m. and the rest of the events will start at 4 p.m. The Highlanders have won six major meet titles so far this spring.

Quote: "I'm thoroughly enjoying practice, and that's why I rarely think past the next practice or the next meet. I want to go hard everyday and just enjoy the process."

- Highlander's coach Dan Benson