Coaching in his last track conference meet of his impressive career, Sparta head coach Mark North went out in style Thursday in Benton, as his Bulldogs pulled off a shocking upset to win their third consecutive title.
“Without a doubt, one of the greatest efforts out of a bunch of kids that I have ever coached,” said North. “It really looked on paper like we would lose by 30 to 40 points, but our kids really rose, and Du Quoin stumbled in a few events to open the door.”
North said it was a total team effort that allowed the Bulldogs to surprise many for the title.
“The distance kids sacrificed the chance to go for conference records and personal bests to win a team championship,” said North. “They understood their jobs and pulled it off to perfection. Our distance kids scored 72 of our 157.5 points compared to Du Quoin only scoring six in those events. Our field event kids picked up 10 points more than what we were seeded, so that was huge as well.”
The Bulldogs finished with 157.5 followed by Du Quoin (149), Carterville (126), Nashville (79), Anna-Jonesboro (56.5) and Pinckneyville (14).
Picking up first place for Sparta included London Oliver (long jump), Wade Reeves (3200 meter run), Jon Hill (800 meter run) and Wes Bradshaw (1600 meter run).
Sparta’s 3200 meter relay team of Trevor Morgan, Derek Barnett, Josh Bockhorn and Jon Hill also took first as did the 800 and 1600 meter relay teams.
The 800 meter relay team consisted of Oliver, Sharvell Austin, C.J. Windes and Seth Buch. The 1600 meter relay squad consisted of Michael Weber, Morgan, Hill and Reeves.
Sparta earned five second place finishes with Bradshaw in the 3200 meter run, Reeves in the mile and Weber in the 400 meter dash, along with two relay teams.
The 400 meter relay team of Weber, Austin, C.J. Windes and Buch took second as did the 800 meter freshman-sophomore relay team of Devonte Garrett, Brenden Windes, Dakota Morrison and Kenny Heaton.
The Bulldogs also got three third place showings to help sneak past Du Quoin. Morgan took third in the 800 meter run, while C.J. Windes took third in the high jump and Seth Buch finished third in the 200 meter dash.