Boys Tracks: Oak Park takes West Suburban Silver meet

Updated: March 16, 2012 10:37PM

Led by Carl Heinz, Malachy Schrobilgen and Evan Fisher, Oak Park-River Forest won Friday night’s indoor West Suburban Silver meet.

Carl Heinz earned his fourth and fifth indoor titles Friday night at the West Suburban Silver indoor meet. His teammate, Malachy Schrobilgen, would have been happy with just one title.

Instead, the Wisconsin-bound Schrobilgen won his first two indoor conference titles as the duo led Oak Park-River Forest to the title at York.

The next stop for OPRF’s talented duo is the Prep Top Times meet March 24 in Bloomington. Both the Duke-bound Heinz and Schrobilgen were double winners in the conference meet. Evan Fisher was another double winner for the Huskies with titles in the 600- and 800-meter runs.

The Huskies won the indoor conference title for the second time in three years by outscoring the host Dukes 122-106 points.

The only individual conference record set at the meet came in the pole vault when York’s Nick Sgarbossa cleared 15-feet-3 to top the meet record of 15-1 set by OPRF’s Peter Geraghty in 2008. Sgarbossa, who finished ninth in last year’s state meet, won his third consecutive indoor conference pole vault title.

Sgarbossa set a new personal record of 15-2 in a JV meet a week earlier at York.

“If I didn’t make it last week, I would have been nervous today,” Sgarbossa said. “I’m glad I did.”

Heinz also won his third consecutive high jump title, winning at 6-8. He won his second straight triple jump (43-10) to give the Huskies four consecutive titles in that even after Amir Arif’s wins from 2009-10.

Heinz, the defending state pole vault champion (6-10 at state last year) could not clear 6-10 Friday night to become the new conference record holder. Two competitors from the 1980s (Proviso East’s Mike Broome, Downers North’s Lanny Dillavou) share the indoor record of 6-9. Heinz become the fourth OPRF athlete to win three consecutive conference indoor titles. He became the conference’s second three-time high jump indoor champ following Downers North’s Andrew Vander Wagen from 1995-97. Vander Wagen was the state runner-up from 1996-97.

Heinz’s indoor P.R. is 6-11 in a dual meet against Lyons March 2 in Oak Park. His outdoor P.R. is 7-0 from last year’s Hinsdale Relays.

The state record is 7-3 ½ by Heyworth’s Tom Smith in 1985.

“I come back year to year and try to go as high as possible,” Heinz said. “I have medals hanging up in my room, but I don’t realize what they’re from. I’m looking forward to [Prep Top Times]. Right now, I’m the best in the state, but I’m excited about proving it. Three times last week, I got outside [for practice]. I got a huge whiff of what the state meet is like. It’s my motivation.”

Schrobilgen won both the 3,200 (9:27.53) and the 1,600 (4:23.98) in his first meet of the indoor season running both events.

“This was my first big test of the year,” Schrobilgen said. “There is a lot of bragging rights in this meet. There is a lot on the line.”

The Huskies also earned a win from Harrison Gay in the 55 high hurdles (8.00).

York won the meet-opening 3,200 relay (8:10.17) with Jack Aachen, Billy Clink, Eric Glaubke and Zach Herrera. Paul Golen won the shot put with a 54-10 heave in his final attempt.

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