Chicago Public League Sports Blog

Payton Wins CPS Boys Volleyball Title

Payton d. Whitney Young (23-25, 25-22, 25-22)

Earl Schultz and Payton came back after losing the first set to beat Whitney Young for the Public League title.

Payton lost the first set 23-25, so they had no margin of error in the 2nd set. In the second set Payton dug itself in another hole as it was down 22-19. Whitney Young needed 3 more points to win the game. But Payton, led by the play of stars Earl Schultz and Alex Bresler(sr) scored the next 6 points in a row to take the crucial 2nd set 25-22. The Grizzlies then won the final set 25-22 to take the Public League Boys Volleyball title.

Payton finally defeats Whitney Young in a title game. Whitney Young beat Payton for the title in 2010 and 2012.

Lane Recaptures City Girls Soccer Title

Lane Tech 9 Payton 0

Sofia Pavon(so-#13) and Lane Tech dominated in the most lopsided scored in a CPS final for girls soccer.

Lane Tech won its 4th city title in 6 years with a 9-0 thumping over Payton. Lane jumped out to a 7-0 halftime lead. Jasmin Carrera had an incredible 5 assists for Lane.

2013 CPS Combined Boys and Girls Varsity Track Meet -Results

Results

Jacob Turner(sr) of Payton and Danny Ayala(jr) of Lake View in the first section of the boys 3200 meter run.

37-0 triple jump for Payton freshman Mike Kalanik at Farmer Invitational

Farmer Invitational Partial Unofficial Results

(note: following article was written prior to official performance list released)

Watch out for freshman talent Mike Kalanik(fr). If the Kalanick name sounds familiar, Mike is the brother of graduated Payton football and track star Jack Kalanick. Jack Kalanick (class of 2012) ran a leg on a Payton team that ran a school record 3:25.85 in the 4x400 last year.

Mike Kalanik's mark of 37-0 in the triple jump on a cold day is the longest CPS freshman mark so far in the CPS Leaderboard for the triple jump. Mike is also the starting running back on the varsity football team of a good Payton team that finished 7-2 and made the state playoffs last year.

The sky is the limit for this talented freshman.

Payton has a nice group of developing freshman and sophomores including sprinterTyler Halloway(so) who has season bests of 11.77 in the 100 and 55.07 in the 400.

Payton did really well at the CPS frosh-soph meet last year. The Payton highlight of that day was a win in the 4x400 with at time of 3:43.90 over a good Lane Tech team.

It is not certain yet wheter Mike Kalanik will run at this Saturday's frosh-soph trials or run at the varsity meet. I would probably run him at the frosh-soph level.

Also look out for these other Payton freshman or sophomores: sprinters Chris Herrera(so)  and Tyler Halloway(so), middle distance/distance runners Sam Lasota(so), Augie Bello(so), and Ryan Harrington(so), Wesley Chan(so), and Elliot Adams(fr).

Look for Payton to do really well in the 4x800, 4x400, some middle distance/distance events, and whatever Kalancik decideds to do if he participates at this Saturday's CPS Frosh-soph trials.

 

Sub 5 Sophs

Sam Lasota(so) of Payton is one of at least 13 CPS sophomore who have broken 5 minutes so far in the 1600 meter run.

CPS Sophomores who have broken 5 minutes in the 1600 meter run so far this year.

1. 4:34.54 Pavlo Hustsalyuk(so)- Lane Tech
2. 4:38.71 Kyle Maloney(so)- Jones
3. 4:44.54 Christian Badillo(so)- Lane Tech
4. 4:48.32 Mark Protsiv(so)- Jones
5. 4:51.71 Malcolm Grba(so)- Northside
6. 4:52.25 Tony Solis(so)- Jones
7. 4:52.76 Sam Lasota(so)- Payton
8. 4:54      Adrian Barrientos(so)- Hubbard
9. 4:55      Abraham Tobias(so)- Taft
10. 4:56      Ben Boswell(so)- Jones
11. 4:56.85 Wesley Chan(so)- Payton
12. 4:56.9  Adrian Black(so)- Northside
13. 4:57.14 Will Sarchet(so)- Jones

An astonishing 12 CPS sophomores (at least 12, I don't have all the results) have broken 5 minutes in the mile indoors. Only 3 did it last year. This looks like the makings of a serious distance class in the CPS.

Payton at Antioch Invitational

Antioch Invitational Results

Jeremy Rainey Brown(sr) runs a 2:04.22 in the 800 meter run. That is the 2nd fastest time in the Leaderboard.

Payton is really starting to improve particularly in sprints and middle distance. Here are some highlights:

• Juan Aguirre(jr) runs a 6.78 in the 55 meter dash. I knew he was a 400 runner. I didn't realize he had this kind of speed. He also ran a 53.51 in the 400.
• Tyler Halloway(so) runs a 24.49 200, 6.98 55, and a 54.25 400. The 200 and 400 meter times put him on top of the frosh-soph Leaderboard in those events. Payton has a budding star in Halloway.
• Sam Lasota(so) runs a 4:52 1600 meter run. That is a PR for him.

DGS Relays -Results

Results

Payton is on the rise. Payton clocked times of 8:44.22 in the 4x800, 3:35.61 in the 4x400, and 1:36.82 in the 4x200. Those times are better than any indoor times that Payton has run ever since I can remember and could be school indoor records. Pictured above is Juan Aguirre(jr-left) and Jeremy Rainey Brown(sr).

Fast First Meet for the CPS

CPS Impressive at Niles West City Meet #1


Start of the first heet of the varsity 600 meter run. Jeremey Rainey-Brown(sr-left front) and teammate Juan Aguirre(jr-front center) of Payton finished 1-2 in the heat. Malik Lee of Brooks ran one of the fastest times in years for a CPS runner in the 600 with an unofficial time around 1:26.

Overall, the CPS looked pretty good at the Niles West City Meet #1, the first major indoor track meet for many CPS teams. Here are just some of the highlights (when someone has full results please send them to Publisher@LaneTechFan.com and I'll put it up.) (All times are VERY VERY unofficial hand times and could be off).

• 800
  Patrick Brennan(sr) of Northside Prep is the first CPS runner in with a time of 2:09. Sam Lasota(so)of Payton, Luis Gomez(jr) of Lake View, and new name Matthew Tomaszewski(sr) of Taft all ran well with times around 2:15'ish. Tomaszweski is vastly improved over last year when he was a 2:30 type 800 meter runner from Taft. More on him in future articles.
• 4x160
  North Lawndale wins with a very unofficial hand time of 1:15. If that time holds in the official results, that is faster than North Lawndale's(and the CPS) season best indoor time in the event from last year of 1:16.5 It will also be one of the fastest run by any CPS team in years. Brooks, running in a different heat than North Lawndale, also ran well as they won their heat with a time of 1:18'ish. They did it without the services of one of their top sprinters Ahmad Bradshaw(sr)  who was not at the meet. Tall man Daniel Medrano(sr) showed great speed. Medrano can do it all for Brooks. He hurdles, and can run anything from the 160 to the mile.
• 600
  Malik Lee(sr) of Brooks blazes with a 1:26. Again, one of the fastest times in the CPS since David Timlin ran a 1:26 for Lane Tech in 2011. Guys, a 1:26 is so fast, that is about a 1:57 800 meter pace. Jeremy Rainey Brown(sr) and Juan Aguirre(jr) ran Leaderboard cailber tyep times as they ran about a 1:36 to finish 1-2 in the fast heat. Ironically, Lee was placed in the slow heat because he was the only Brooks runner in the event.
• 400
  Jeremiah Watson(jr) of Urban Prep won his heet in dominating fashion with a time of 52.9. Who is Watson? A lot of people on this board may not be too familiar with him, but believe me this man is a force. He ran a 50.62 at the class 2A state prelims last season- AS A SOPHOMORE.  He is big, built and very talented. Look out for him as the season heats up.

With 2 laps to go in the 1600 meter run, Malik Lee(sr-left) of Brooks and Justin Suh of Niles North lead. Lee, who ran 1:59.89 indoors in the 800 last year won the race in an unofficla time of 4:52.

• 1600
  Malik Lee(sr) of Brooks runs a 4:52 to win the varsity race. He beat out Niles North veteran distance runner Justin Suh of Niles North. Taft sophomore Abraham Tobias (so) made some noise by winning the 1600 meter run at the sophomore level. His time of 4:59 or 5:00 is good enough to make the varsity Leaderboard. That is the first time I can remember a Taft runner making the varisty Leaderboard in a distance event.

These were just some of the story lines in this very exciting first meet. I'm curious to hear what you all have to say. If you have something to say, please comment.

 

Payton Track Preview

Payton has a nice group of developing athletes including football and 400 star Juan Aguirre(jr).

Payton top returning marks from the 2012 Leaderboard
200:  24.4 Juan Aguirre(jr)
400: 56.07, 53.8 Juan Aguirre(jr), 56.39 Tyler Holloway(so)
800:  2:09.18 Sam Lasota(so)
1600: 5:09.5 Wesley Chan(so)
110HH: 17.61 Evan Lowrey(jr)
300IH: 42.36 Evan Lowrey(jr),
Shot Put:  38-5 Alex Shields(jr)

Payton quietly had a really good track season last year. They set school records in the 4x800 (8:36.72) and 4x400 (3:25.85). Their 4x400 was particularly strong and finished a suprise 3rd at the CPS meet beating strong teams from Brooks, Lane, Kenwood, Robeson, and Jones.

Payton graduated a bulk of their main guys from last year but will reload with members from their 6th place CPS sophmore meet team.

The two names you will probably hear about most this year for Payton will be Juan Aguirre(jr) and Evan Lowrey(jr). Lowrey is primarily a hurdler. He had season best times of 17.61 in the 110HH and 42.36 in the 300IH last year as as sophomore. He will be a threat to score high this year at the varsity meet in both hurdles.

I also like the development of Juan Aguirre(jr).  Aguirre is a big strong football player who finished 2nd in the 400 at the CPS sophmore meet. You'll see Aguirre running sprints and sprint relays for Payton this year.

I like the overall direction that the Payton track program is headed. They have a good mixture of sprints, distance runners, hurdlers, and field events. This is because they usually bring in a decent freshman class every year and get athletes from cross country and football to join track.

I see Payton as a solid top 12 type CPS team at both the sophomore and varsity levels.

CPS track preview page

Offensive Nomination: Alex Bresler, Payton

From a reader:

I'd like to nominate Alex Bresler from the Walter Payton Grizzlies Football team for Offensive Player of the year.

Under the leadership of Coach Tony Faltin and a great staff, Payton put in a no-huddle, read-option style offense this year with Alex as quarterback. The team had the best season in school history, going 7-1, making the IHSA playoffs for only the second time (last year being the first with Alex at QB), getting a #4 seed, and hosting a playoff game. Both the offense and defense played great all year.



Alex Bresler's Chicago Conference stats according to the Sun-Times

All Statistics Based on Chicago Sun-Times Season Pass Web Site as of October 29, 2012
Rankings are for Payton Team and Individual Statistics in Chicago Public League,
including all teams in “Chicago” and “Illini” Conferences
Statistics are for Regular Season only, including conference and non-conference games

#1 in total touchdown passes
#1 in combined touchdown passes + rushing touchdowns
#2 in passing rating (min 5 games) - 96.7
#4 tied in rushing touchdowns - 10
#12 in rushing yards/attempt- 6.3

Payton team conference rankings
#1 in total passing touchdowns - 10
#3 in scoring - 230 points