Deerfield takes fifth in state track meet

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Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

BOYS TRACK — Igor Liokumovich headed back up I-57 Saturday night with a pair of medals and a sense of satisfaction.

The senior played a starring role as Deerfield High School finished fifth with 27.5 points in the IHSA Class 3A state finals at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field. Lake Park won its second straight title, 74-43 over York. Thornton and Belleville West tied for third with 39 points each.

Liokumovich was runner-up in the shot put with a throw of 62-0 1/4 and took third in the discus with a school-record effort of 181-10.

Lake Park senior Jermaine Kline won the shot with an all-time Illinois outdoor record of 66-5 3/4 and also was first in the discus at 188-1. His twin brother Jeremy was runner-up in the discus (185-10) and third behind Liokumovich in the shot at 61-9 1/2.

“Everybody knew about the Klines,” Liokumovich said. “Any time you lose to a state record holder, you can’t do anything else, you know.”

He came to state focused less on the competition than on his own performance.

“My hopes were just to throw my best,” Liokumovich said. “Everything fell into place. I knew I could throw 62 feet. I wasn’t really worried about where I’d finish. If I threw that, I knew I’d get something.”

Warriors coach Jeremy Kauffman noted Liokumovich will go down as one of the top throwers in Illinois history.

“To put this in perspective, Igor’s throw (in shot) would have won a state title in the last 30-plus years,” Kauffman said. “To get second in the most loaded shot field in state history is simply an amazing accomplishment.”

Great effort: He was hardly a one-man show in Charleston. Triple jumper Danny Katz seized a third-place medal with a school-record jump of 45-7 3/4.

Katz was in danger of missing the finals until he came up big in his final prelim attempt on Friday.

“Danny was down to his last jump and needed a big one to qualify for the finals,” Kauffman said. “We always say, ‘champions are made on the last attempt’ and Danny sprung to a new school record of 45-7 3/4 and added almost three feet to his (best) prelim jump on that attempt.”

Katz executed a 45-7 1/2 jump during Saturday’s finals. His previous leap of 45-7 3/4 held up for third place.

Pole vaulter Kyle Friedman helped the cause by taking fifth with a top vault of 14-6.

“Congrats to Kyle and also Coach (Pete) Caris, as this is the first all-state vaulter he has coached,” Kauffman related. “Pete could not have been more proud of Kyle.”

Rounding out the medal winners was Cody Foerch, who grabbed a ninth-place medal in discus with a top throw of 158-3.

“Cody moved up seven places from his seed to earn all-state honors,” Kauffman said. “Cody showed that hard work over time will beat raw talent and technique and correct fundamentals will always win over brute force.”

Kauffman also lauded the work of throwing coach Kip Gasper.

“This is Coach Gasper’s fourth year in a row earning all-state honors with his throwers,” Kauffman said. “He has made DHS throws one of the best programs in the state year in and out.”

The other contributors at state included Adam Rabushka (110 hurdles, 15.56; 300 hurdles, 39.28), Foerch (shot put, 52-8 1/4) and Thomas Schweinfurth (14-0 in pole vault). Schweinfurth missed the finals by three inches.

Dino Macro