The big sporting event last weekend was the Oregon Hall-of-Fame Classic, with 21 boys track & field teams competing at Landers-Loomis Field. It was over 100 years ago that Sherman Landers and Frank Loomis were two of the best track athletes in the world, this while still in high school at Oregon.
At the time, Landers pole vault of 12-foot-8 was stratospheric. Today’s elite are going over 20 feet, but that is on high-tech, light-weight fiberglass poles.
Landers only had heavy, stiff steel poles. That’s a huge difference and one small example of how equipment in sports everywhere has changed for the better.
Compared to Landers, Rochelle’s Andrew Nuyen is a beneficiary of better vaulting poles. In what was the fan favorite event of the meet, Nuyen broke the pole vault meet record by nearly two feet with a vault of 16-6.
Currently ranked No. 10 in the nation at 17-feet, the Hub junior was only a nine-footer as a freshman. His improvement is a testament to perseverance and a desire to reach one’s potential.
It also helps having a pole vault pit in the back yard at his home in Creston. Nuyen also gets specialized training at a pole vault facility in Joliet.
With another junior from Bloomington over 18 feet, next year promises to be an interesting battle for perhaps the best pole vaulter in the entire country.
Forreston-Polo continues its tradition of one of the top small-school programs in northern Illinois, surpassing Winnebago, Rockford Christian and Lena-Winslow in scoring at the HOF Classic. The relays have long been the calling card for F-P and the potential is there to place in the 400, 800 and 1,600 relays downstate.
Byron looked very good in running a 3:29 in winning the 1,600 relay, but has such brutal competition in 2A compared to 1A. For example, at their sectional, both Sterling and Sycamore have already run 3:22.
And, that is just at a sectional. Imagine how much harder the state meet will be with teams like Cahokia and East St. Louis.
Sam Gentz does look like a good bet to medal in the shot put for Byron. In the distances, Tim Starwalt will have his hands full with all the heavy hitters in 2A.
A sidenote from the HOF Classic: Of all the meet records, only three are held by individuals or relays from Ogle County - 16-6 pole vault by Nuyen, 14.73 in the 110 high hurdles by Nick Gallardo of Oregon (2010) and 49.07 by Martin McCormick of Oregon (2005).
Byron’s baseball team continues to be on a hot streak, now up 16 straight wins and a No. 11 ranking in MaxPreps 2A. In the BNC, they are 10-0, with everyone else two losses or more.
They have certainly made themselves the team to beat at the sectional.
In the MaxPreps NUIC rankings, Forreston is No. 1 in the conference, followed by Galena, Lena-Winslow, East Dubuque and Dakota. The Cardinals have won 18 of its last 20, with the two losses by one run.
Oregon came up with a big win over North Boone, 7-6. A coach described the Hawks as a team that could get beat in the first game of the regional, but also beat anyone they face - kind of the type of opponent you don’t want to see.
Oregon softball is racking up the wins (18-6) and held a very good North Boone squad to 1 run in a 1-0 loss. NB leads the BNC at 10-0, followed by Stillman Valley (8-1) and Oregon (6-3).
SV had plenty of offensive firepower against NB in a wild 10-9 loss. Stillman Valley’s (11-6) only losses have been to much larger schools. As always, watch out for them in the playoffs.
In the past 20 years under coach Shawn Byers, the Cardinal softball program has had winning records.
On Saturday, I had the pleasure to attend an open house in Rochelle for Don Romes, a man who coached for over 60 years. There were so many stories shared by people, whose lives were impacted by Don, be it on the playing field, classroom or church.
Some were quite poignant, such as the gentleman who had no place to go as a young teenager and being welcomed into the Romes family to live and Don becoming his guardian. That was the type of man Don was and it was reflected in his constant thought of how he could serve others.
In chatting with people I grew up with and went to school with, it struck me how fortunate it was to live in place with so many caring educators, coaches and church leaders. As young people, we needed direction, discipline and love in our lives.
We got it from Don and so many others like him. As Don’s son Chris said, “You don’t really care how much people know until you know that they care for you.”
Back in our youth, adults in leadership roles really cared for us and willingly shared that same devotion with us. My hope is that today’s youth are able to have that same experience.
Andy Colbert is a longtime Ogle County resident with years of experience covering sports and more for multiple area publications.
