Boys Track & Field 2003
The 2003 Mustang Boys Track & Field Team began their season posting a 4-5 indoor season record and finishing 5th at the Wheeling Invite and 8th at the Urbana Invite. Dave Viken and Nick Trapani were invited to the Illinois Prep Top Times Meet, where Dave won the Pole Vault and Nick was 2nd in the 400 Meters. Dave also won the 2nd Annual Mustang Pole Vault Summit for the second time with a new RMHS Fieldhouse Record and Indoor School Record of 15'-9".
The outdoor season was highlighted by many personal and team achievements. The Varsity completed its season with a record of 1-4 and finished 4th in the divisional standings. The scores from the Varsity conference dual meets were as follows:
Mustangs 58 Hoffman Estates 84
Mustangs 59 Hersey 77 Elk Grove 50
Mustangs 52.5 Barrington 78.5
Mustangs 56 Wheeling 87
In Invitationals, the Mustangs placed 5th at Glenbard South, 4th at the Mustang Classic, 9th at Bartlett, and 9th at the MSL Conference Meet, each of these is an improvement over last year. At the MSL Conference Meet, Dave Viken won the pole vault for the second consecutive year and set an MSL conference record with a vault of 15-7 1/2". In addition, Nick Trapani was the Conference Champion in the 400 Meter Dash winning in a time of 48.7 which is the second fastest time in the history of the MSL Championship Meet.
The Frosh/Soph was often split due to athletes competing at the Varsity level. However, during the season the team ran together in two meets: the F/S Invite and the Glenbard South Invite. At the F/S Invite, the Mustangs tied for 2nd, but the team easily won the Glenbard South Invite by more than 50 points. This indicates the strength of this young team and the talent that lies within our midst.
The 2003 IHSA Sectional Meet will go down as the most successful, in terms of the number of individual state qualifiers, in the past 20 years or so. Senior Dave Viken was the Sectional Champion in the Pole Vault with a height of 16'-0". Junior Nick Trapani qualified in the 400 Meter Dash with a time of 49.1. Senior Dan Raleigh fought back from injuries during the season and qualified in the 3200 Meters with a time of 9:31.6. Junior Peter Rog cleared 6'-4" in the High Jump to earn his berth to the state meet. Sophomore Peter Meersman had a personal best of 13'-6" on his final attempt in the Pole Vault which equaled the state standard and was a 6 inch improvement on his previous best. Not to be outdone, sophomore Charlie Larson improved by two feet in the Triple Jump with a jump of 45'-7" on his final attempt to qualify for the IHSA State Meet. It was truly a magical evening!
At the state Meet, Peter Rog cleared 6'-5" to advance to the final and finished 13th as did Dan Raleigh in the 3200. Dave Viken also finished his career with a 2nd place finish in the Pole Vault - congratulations!
The following awards were given at the end of the season: Most Improved Athletes: Senior Mike Willer and Junior Nick Trapani. Coaches Awards were given to: Senior Tom Hart, Senior Dave Viken, Senior Dan Raleigh.
During the 2003 Track & Field season the following RMHS records were broken:
John Ambrus 200 Meter Dash 24.3 School Record
Peter Rog High Jump 6'-2" RMHS Fieldhouse Record
Nick Trapani 400 Meter Dash 53.3 RMHS Fieldhouse Record
Dave Viken Pole Vault 15'-9" School and Fieldhouse Record
Christian Escareno 1600 Meter Run 4:38.1 Freshman School Record
Christian Escareno 3200 Meter Run 9:47.0 Freshman School Record
Charlie Larson Triple Jump 45'-7" Sophomore and Overall School Record
Peter Meersman Pole Vault 13'-6" Sophomore School Record
Nick Trapani 400 M Dash 48.7 Junior and Overall School Record
Dave Viken Pole Vault 16'-1" Senior and Overall School Record
Congratulations to all seniors and we wish them the best of luck in all of their futures endeavors!