Posted: May 29, 2019
Speer Academy Sweeps Men's and Women's Noble League Track Championship
By Emily Iannaconi
RIVER GROVE, IL. - The men's and women's ITW David Speer Academy won the 2019 Noble League Track & Field Championships on May 7 and May 13, respectively. The victory marked the third-straight win for both the boys and girls teams. The Pride were led by fifth-year head coach, Jamelle Newsome.
"The goal was to win the championship," Newsome said. "I told my kids, 'Throw the times out the window. Win. Compete.' We've been talking about this meet since November and my kids understand that when they sign up for track here, the plan is to win the Noble Championship by out-working our opponents, out-running them and providing depth - overwhelming them with numbers."
Newsome said that any athlete, no matter the skill set, can show up prepared on meet days by consistently working hard. For Newsome, hard work is more valuable than talent. "We practice every day of the week," Newsome said. "If you're not Lebron James, you can't leave the gym. You have to always be doing something. Practice every day, no excuses."
The Boys' Performance
Speer Academy won the boys meet with 152 points. Chicago Bulls College Prep took second place with 71.5 points and DRW College Prep finished in third place with 60 points.
DRW's head coach, Lashaun Crosby, said that his goal for the championship meet included a top-three finish. "We challenge our athletes to compete in all of their events despite fatigue caused by the fast paced movement of the race schedule," Crosby said.
In the relay events, Speer Academy came out on top with a time of 9:16.24 in the 4x800 meter relay. Newsome said that he was particularly proud of how his team competed in the 4x200 meter relays. In a very close 4x200 race, DRW crossed the line in first place at 1:35.06 and Speer Academy followed closely behind at 1:35. 34. Newsome said he knows Butler had one of the fastest kids in Chicago running in their relay, but Speer Academy was able to hold them off because of the combined effort of all four boys on the relay. "DRW is one of the fastest teams in the city and we took second in that event," Newsome said. "That was a highlight for me."
In the 4x400 meter relay. Speer Academy upset DRW, taking first place with a time of 3:42.24.
Speer Academy also thrived in the distance events. Vieri Escamilla took first place with a time of 2:08.25. He beat his personal previous best by three seconds to win, upsetting DRW's Dwyane Liggins who finished in 2:08.64.
In the 1600-mile run, Speer Academy's Luis Castro was the only runner to break five minutes on the day, crossing the line in 4:59.42. Bulls senior Renato Gonzalez took second place in the race with a time of 5:00.69 and Andrew Zavalza of Speer Academy finished in third place with a time of 5:11.50. Renato also won the 3200-meter run earlier in the meet with a time of 11:09. 94.
Speer Academy saw success in the field events as well. Julian Perez took third in the long jump with a jump of 20'6" and he finished second in the triple jump, jumping 40'2".
In all, Speer Academy had five first place finishes on the day to secure the victory.
Despite the third-place finish, Crosby said that he is proud of how DRW's student-athletes worked hard to even the playing field against other Noble League schools. "This season taught my boys to be resilient and humble," Crosby said.
The Girls' Performance
On the morning of the girls' championship meet, Newsome told the runners in his first period gym class that they haven't won anything yet, so to be ready to perform. "I put a lot of emphasis on being better human beings before we become better athletes," Newsome said. "I think because of preparation, we'll be good to go [at the meet] but we are also going to accept things as they are. If we lose, we will lose will class and dignity."
Speer Academy's preparation paid off as the girls' team took first place with 144 points. Chicago Bulls College Prep finished in second place with 87 points while Johnson College Prep took third with 52 points.
Speer Academy started the meet on a strong note with a first-place finish in the 4x800 meter relay, crossing the line in 11:10. 81. In the 4x100 meter relay, Speer Academy took third place behind Johnson and the Bulls, who finished in 52.52 and 52.25, respectively. Speer Academy claimed another first-place finish in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:53.91. The Pride completed its sweep of the relay events with a win in the 4x400 meter relay as well, posting a mark of 4:39.60.
A former four-year letterman in football and track himself, Newsome understands the importance of practice and outworking the opponent.
"While they're resting, sleeping, taking days off, we're in the weight room, we're doing speed work and plyometrics," Newsome said. "And the fact that we spend a lot of time in the classroom talking about preparation on the mental and physical level, not just for the championship but for the average track meet. We attack everything like it matters and it pays dividends for my kids."
Griselda Flores and Paola Quizhpi of Speer Academy swept first and second place in the 3200-meter run to keep the Pride's momentum going in the distance events. Flores came back and earned a second-place finish in the 1600-meter run, crossing the line in 6:23.16 behind her teammate Adriana Cortes who won the race in 6:12.68.
Eriana Dubose of Speer Academy won the long jump with a jump of 16' 10.75" and teammate Ashana Ewing took first in the triple jump, jumping 26' 10.50." Chicago Bulls' Jasmine Davis took first in the shot put with a throw of 36' 4.50" and Gianna Torres of Speer Academy won first place in the discus, throwing 102' 10."
Chicago Bulls College Prep also completed a strong showing in the championship meet as head coach Jessica Olsen led both the boys and girls teams to a second-place finish. "We made sure athletes were motivated to run season-best times, and we focused on scoring in all events," Olsen said.
Like Newsome, Olsen knows that her student-athletes are learning lessons that they will use off the track as well. "Hard work pays off on an individual and team level, and they are finding joy in helping others grow and succeed," Olsen said.
With state qualifiers in three events for the girls' team and season-best times at sectionals, Olsen says that she thinks the students will be even more motivated to work hard over the summer and the course of next year in order to be successful again at the Noble League championship meet.
Newsome said that he is also proud of the times his student-athletes have posted this year. "These times are just elevating our program and getting us recognition throughout the city from some of the more prominent programs like Whitney Young and Taft and Jones," Newsome said. "These teams also recognize our kids because they're competing toe to toe in some events. You can't control the type of athletes you get, but you can control how prepared the kids are."
RIVER GROVE, IL. - The men's and women's ITW David Speer Academy won the 2019 Noble League Track & Field Championships on May 7 and May 13, respectively. The victory marked the third-straight win for both the boys and girls teams. The Pride were led by fifth-year head coach, Jamelle Newsome.
"The goal was to win the championship," Newsome said. "I told my kids, 'Throw the times out the window. Win. Compete.' We've been talking about this meet since November and my kids understand that when they sign up for track here, the plan is to win the Noble Championship by out-working our opponents, out-running them and providing depth - overwhelming them with numbers."
Newsome said that any athlete, no matter the skill set, can show up prepared on meet days by consistently working hard. For Newsome, hard work is more valuable than talent. "We practice every day of the week," Newsome said. "If you're not Lebron James, you can't leave the gym. You have to always be doing something. Practice every day, no excuses."
The Boys' Performance
Speer Academy won the boys meet with 152 points. Chicago Bulls College Prep took second place with 71.5 points and DRW College Prep finished in third place with 60 points.
DRW's head coach, Lashaun Crosby, said that his goal for the championship meet included a top-three finish. "We challenge our athletes to compete in all of their events despite fatigue caused by the fast paced movement of the race schedule," Crosby said.
In the relay events, Speer Academy came out on top with a time of 9:16.24 in the 4x800 meter relay. Newsome said that he was particularly proud of how his team competed in the 4x200 meter relays. In a very close 4x200 race, DRW crossed the line in first place at 1:35.06 and Speer Academy followed closely behind at 1:35. 34. Newsome said he knows Butler had one of the fastest kids in Chicago running in their relay, but Speer Academy was able to hold them off because of the combined effort of all four boys on the relay. "DRW is one of the fastest teams in the city and we took second in that event," Newsome said. "That was a highlight for me."
In the 4x400 meter relay. Speer Academy upset DRW, taking first place with a time of 3:42.24.
Speer Academy also thrived in the distance events. Vieri Escamilla took first place with a time of 2:08.25. He beat his personal previous best by three seconds to win, upsetting DRW's Dwyane Liggins who finished in 2:08.64.
In the 1600-mile run, Speer Academy's Luis Castro was the only runner to break five minutes on the day, crossing the line in 4:59.42. Bulls senior Renato Gonzalez took second place in the race with a time of 5:00.69 and Andrew Zavalza of Speer Academy finished in third place with a time of 5:11.50. Renato also won the 3200-meter run earlier in the meet with a time of 11:09. 94.
Speer Academy saw success in the field events as well. Julian Perez took third in the long jump with a jump of 20'6" and he finished second in the triple jump, jumping 40'2".
In all, Speer Academy had five first place finishes on the day to secure the victory.
Despite the third-place finish, Crosby said that he is proud of how DRW's student-athletes worked hard to even the playing field against other Noble League schools. "This season taught my boys to be resilient and humble," Crosby said.
The Girls' Performance
On the morning of the girls' championship meet, Newsome told the runners in his first period gym class that they haven't won anything yet, so to be ready to perform. "I put a lot of emphasis on being better human beings before we become better athletes," Newsome said. "I think because of preparation, we'll be good to go [at the meet] but we are also going to accept things as they are. If we lose, we will lose will class and dignity."
Speer Academy's preparation paid off as the girls' team took first place with 144 points. Chicago Bulls College Prep finished in second place with 87 points while Johnson College Prep took third with 52 points.
Speer Academy started the meet on a strong note with a first-place finish in the 4x800 meter relay, crossing the line in 11:10. 81. In the 4x100 meter relay, Speer Academy took third place behind Johnson and the Bulls, who finished in 52.52 and 52.25, respectively. Speer Academy claimed another first-place finish in the 4x200 meter relay with a time of 1:53.91. The Pride completed its sweep of the relay events with a win in the 4x400 meter relay as well, posting a mark of 4:39.60.
A former four-year letterman in football and track himself, Newsome understands the importance of practice and outworking the opponent.
"While they're resting, sleeping, taking days off, we're in the weight room, we're doing speed work and plyometrics," Newsome said. "And the fact that we spend a lot of time in the classroom talking about preparation on the mental and physical level, not just for the championship but for the average track meet. We attack everything like it matters and it pays dividends for my kids."
Griselda Flores and Paola Quizhpi of Speer Academy swept first and second place in the 3200-meter run to keep the Pride's momentum going in the distance events. Flores came back and earned a second-place finish in the 1600-meter run, crossing the line in 6:23.16 behind her teammate Adriana Cortes who won the race in 6:12.68.
Eriana Dubose of Speer Academy won the long jump with a jump of 16' 10.75" and teammate Ashana Ewing took first in the triple jump, jumping 26' 10.50." Chicago Bulls' Jasmine Davis took first in the shot put with a throw of 36' 4.50" and Gianna Torres of Speer Academy won first place in the discus, throwing 102' 10."
Chicago Bulls College Prep also completed a strong showing in the championship meet as head coach Jessica Olsen led both the boys and girls teams to a second-place finish. "We made sure athletes were motivated to run season-best times, and we focused on scoring in all events," Olsen said.
Like Newsome, Olsen knows that her student-athletes are learning lessons that they will use off the track as well. "Hard work pays off on an individual and team level, and they are finding joy in helping others grow and succeed," Olsen said.
With state qualifiers in three events for the girls' team and season-best times at sectionals, Olsen says that she thinks the students will be even more motivated to work hard over the summer and the course of next year in order to be successful again at the Noble League championship meet.
Newsome said that he is also proud of the times his student-athletes have posted this year. "These times are just elevating our program and getting us recognition throughout the city from some of the more prominent programs like Whitney Young and Taft and Jones," Newsome said. "These teams also recognize our kids because they're competing toe to toe in some events. You can't control the type of athletes you get, but you can control how prepared the kids are."
