NewsPage 1 2 3 4 Apr 8, 2010, 9:47 pm Due to some scheduling controversies...and other forces beyond our control we will have to cancel the 2010 Ed Key Invitational...sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause you and look forward to your support for next year. Feb 12, 2010, 4:16 pm In the first meet of the indoor season, the Broncos show why they are still towards the top of the heap. In a packed meet the boys and girls of the Kenwood track & field teams garnered overall team victories on both the boys and girls side. Key headliners were the jump trio of Matthew Funches, Brock Massie and Keith Ross; Caja Calhoun and Danielle Dugain headlined the girls’ side, among others. The relays performed well at DeLaSalle’s Golden Cup Invitational. Caja Calhoun won the 200m meters and beat the field by over a half second. Newcomer and freshman Diana Dugan had an eye-raising performance in the 400m and long jump. “Overall, the girls did well and as a whole they are showing great promise and potential,” states Coach Wallace, “it’s good to see that their hard work is beginning to pay off…the season is very young, but the they showed some good indicators. The mile relay continued to improve with a win over Walter Payton. With a 1-2 finish in both the long jump and triple jump, as well as a first place finish in the high jump, Kenwood showed remarkable resolve to get better in the jumps. Matthew Funches performed admirably, qualifying for the Indoor State Meet in his very first outing of the season. The 2 mile relay continued to shine in what is becoming a marquee event for the Broncos. The sprint relay fell just short of a victory over Catholic League powerhouse Leo H.S. – placing 2nd overall. Again, the season is early but the team shows like we’re headed in the right direction. Click below for complete results: http://il.dyestat.com/?pg=dyestatil-2010-Indoor-DeLaSalle-Gold-Cup-Meet-2610 Dec 7, 2009, 12:02 pm Arkansas High School Invitational (Club Meet) Kentucky High School Invitational (Kenwood Meet)
Aug 20, 2009, 5:41 pm For all your Kenwood Cross Country needs please log on to www.kenwoodcrosscountry.com Track & Field previews coming in January. See you all then!
Aug 20, 2009, 5:36 pm As Kawanna Brooks closed out her high school and age group career she hoped to do it as a national champion. As she prepared for her final meet of the summer season Brooks was primed and ready to give it a go. While primarily working on her hurdling and 400m capacity...Brooks wowed the crowds. Brooks managed to squeak out some good performances in the high jump (5'0"), stay consistently in the 14's in the hurdles, and jumped near 19' on every outing. "Yeah...my coach gave me a good regimen of speed work and 400’s as far as competition which kept me fresh for the hurdles and sprints for the heptathlon. Kawanna made the trip out to Oregon for the U.S. Junior National Championships and was in 8th place after the first day. But after a sub-par performance in the long jump (while others cranked out PR) she dropped down and finished 12th overall after the 2nd day of competition. “It was great for me to be out here with many collegiates and perform. While it was not the outcome that I hoped for it was good knowing that I belong on this level, and that I have another shot at this level next year.” The last and final event of the season was the National Junior Olympics in Greensboro, North Carolina. Brooks had an automatic bye into the championships via her qualifying and competition in Oregon. Having retooled some things and working really hard on her javelin, which was a sore spot in Oregon, Brooks hit the field hard. The 100m hurdles were met with a fair amount of mediocrity (15.2), but placed her 4th overall after the first event. The high jump was better with a 4’11” performance which is the best HJ performance in a Hep competition since last summer. Brooks’ final attempt at 5’1” saw her clear the bar with a light brush, but after a few bounces…the bar decided to far. The shot put was again an average going but saw her make a toss of almost 29’ (which is the 2nd best throw of her career). The 200m was met with determination as she dashed out to a 25.5 to pick up some valuable points over the field and place 3rd overall after day 1. Day 2 saw a great deal of scandal and controversy. The athlete in 2nd place (Brittany Porter…a 21’ jumper) fouled out of the LJ – fouling all three jumps in an attempt to jump about 20’ and blow the competition away. Brooks managed to jump just over 18’ after planted too hard on her 1st jump and tweaking her back (no worries folks…it would be all better after the LJ). The next event saw her rocket the javelin over 90’ (the 2nd best throw of her career). And so it came down to the 800m run. Sitting now in 2nd place, with a solid PR (which Coach Simon figured she had at least 2:35 in her) she could move up to 1st place – depending on how the leader runs the 800m. Many times in the Hep the leaders going into the final event are not the best 800m runners. Usually in these circumstances they run just fast enough to hold on to the lead. Well someone forget to tell that to the leader as she bolted out a smooth 2:25. Brooks did run a PR of 2:34, but it was not enough to move into the top spot. But hey…national runner-up is nothing to be ashamed about! The next day Brooks competed in the open Long Jump and popped 18’10.75” for 5th place overall. Clearly spent, Brooks gave it a valiant effort in the triple jump but could muster only 37’11.” And particularly when 39’ was required to just make into the finals…it was not meant to be. As Kawanna moved into her dorms at the University of Illinois this past Tuesday, August 18th, Kenwood Track and Field would like to extend a heartfelt word of thanks to her for being so dedicated to the sport of four years (plus summers). We trust that as she moves into the next phase of life that she meets it with the same tenacity and dedication that she has met everything else with, and look forward to seeing her at Big Ten/NCAA Championships in the future. Hey…isn’t there a real chance that the 2016 Olympics will be held in Chicago?…let’s look out for things to come. At home side, Kenwood is not left with the cupboard bare. Be on the lookout for our next superstar. Rising senior, Caja Calhoun just broke under the minute barrier in the 400m. And with a steady batch of up and coming underclassmen…could we see the resurgence of another all-city/all-state relay…time will tell. Jun 17, 2009, 1:57 pm
This past weekend (June 13) at the Senior All-Star Meet Kawanna backed up her superstar potential and further cemented her place as one of the best athletes in Chicago Public Schools' history.
The senior spotlight meet is a meet that is conducted through a collaborative effort of various state coaches associations which this year included
These remarkable performances made her the Meet MVP – an honor never bestowed upon an athlete from the city.
Click on the link below to view results & see how other CPS/Illinois athletes performed:
Jun 17, 2009, 1:54 pm Matthew Funches was the first Bronco male athlete to make it to the final day of competition at the IHSA State Finals (in any sport) since 2002. Matthew rocketed a fine triple jump performance which placed in him 12th overall in the state. With this being his first time at the triple jump, Funches looks to have a bright future ahead of him in this event. Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Other stellar performances from the state sectional were Keith Ross in the triple jump (2nd place) and Brock Massie in the high and triple jumps (2nd place). The 4x800 were also well on their way to making the trip downstate when a last minute DQ derailed their plans (sounded like a bit of 'hater-aid' contributed to that race). May 25, 2009, 12:27 pm Kawanna Brooks went out with a bang. The last two state finals had been virtually disastrous. Brooks over the past two state finals had come in as one of the favorites in the triple jump and had subsequently walked away empty handed, having to watch from the stands as other competitors performed on Saturday of the state finals, knowing that she should have been a part of the field was gut wrenching and disappointing to say the least. Brooks was no stranger to top flight competition, having competed in national competition since her freshman year. Even that year (after the state meet) Brooks went on to place 3rd overall in the USATF Youth National Championships.
But this year was different. Coming in with a new resolve – she cruised to higher heights and longer marks, bettering her own school records, winning 2 indoor state titles and capturing the bronze in the 55m dash. She also proving amazing team leadership, also being a sort of player-coach that even had a part to play in the recent emerging elite status of the boys jumpers. Whether it was her pointers or the fact that for a while she was jumping farther than the boys, her icon status allowed the boys to perform amazing well this year. So much so that the school record of over 45 feet will almost assuredly fall next year (if it does not fall this season during the boys state meet).
Kawanna began her state finals campaign with a leap in the long jump. A shaky 18’10.75”, not a personal best – and a foot and a half behind the foul board – but enough to garner 2nd place going into the finals on Saturday. Yes, Saturday. For the first time in her storied high school career, Brooks had advanced out of the preliminary rounds of the state finals, which would be held on Saturday. But the excitement would not stop there. Kawanna then stepped over to compete in the 4x100m relay. A bobbled exchanged kept the lady Broncos out of the finals – where only the top 9 places move on (Kenwood was 10th). But not to be denied further, Brooks stepped over to the 100m hurdles and cranked out a season best 14.88 – winning her heat handedly. So since heat winners automatically advance to the finals, Brooks didn’t even have to wonder whether her time was good enough to qualify, she knew at this point she was 2 for 3 regarding state finals appearances. As it stood Kawanna was actually 2nd overall going into the finals of this event as well. With only the triple jump left, there was still some trepidation seeing as though this was the event she favored the most and the one that had given her the most grief. But with her first jump it was over – 38’6” (still a foot and half behind the board). New school record and first place going into the finals. Redemption was sweet. Not even qualifying her first year, and coming up short her next two years – to now know that three state medals would be around her neck at the end of Saturday – life was good.
But where would she place?
Being a foot behind the board on both jumps meant that if she could connect with the board, the state of
Kawanna had to leave to check in to the 100m hurdles finals and while she was gone Alex Harden (the long jump champ) had popped a 38’9” jump which put her in first. Brooks, hearing that someone had bettered her mark was given the opportunity to come back over to the triple jump competition, and reminiscent of a competition she said she had in her sophomore year, she came back determined to win. Brooks came down like a woman possessed and leaped to 39’4.5” (still a foot behind the board) – new school record, a new state record, and first place in the state championships. Brooks went over to the 100mH race and ran a personal best 14.74 in the finals to place third overall (even with a bad start in the blocks). Unfortunately, while she was gone a girl she skipped ahead of in the order so that she could get back to the 100m hurdle race, soared to a whopping 39’10”. But it was somewhat of poetic justice, as the leap was wind aided. So Brooks, while the win was ripped from her grasp, was awarded the distinct honor of being the Class 2A state record holder in the IHSA triple jump.
Brooks has managed to do what no other Bronco has done in the history of
From the time the first jump took place to the last race, the lady Broncos showed that they could compete with the best of them.
No doubt Kawanna Brooks is a special athlete, but the Nia Munson, Tiana Coleman, and Caja Calhoun have demonstrated that they are ready for the next level.
The 400 meter relay of Nia Munson, Caja Calhoun, Tiana Coleman and
Philip Wallace and Patrick Simon fill us in that the JV team from last year did not live up to their billing. With so many distractions in high school – the 2008 Sophomore City Champions in the 4x100m could not duplicate their meteoric rise from a year ago into “Bronco synergy” for 2009. Coupled with the lost of Alex Reed from last year, the relay was put on the back burner. But was brought back to the forefront for the state sectional. “It was hard this year, with some much emphasis put on the long, triple and 100m hurdles, we really had to gamble – it was a toss up between the 4x1 and Kawanna’s 300m hurdles (and the 300m hurdles won). Kawanna made an outstanding run in this event, placing 2nd in the city championships, and a new school record while only having three cracks at the race.” This year’s schedule was a maize of weaving in and out of conflict. Nothing bad though. Coaches tell that the two times they were going to get a true test in the 4x1 – Kawanna got injured & the 2nd one Brooks and Calhoun had to leave early for the citywide band competition. Nevertheless, with some rapidly improving underclassmen and some great incoming freshmen, the 4x100m relay should maintain for years to come.
The next and final school related meet for Brooks will be the Senior All-Star Meet.
This meet will take place on June 13 at the
Check out Tribune article that gives a blurb on Brooks:
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