Following the previous track season, City High Boys Track lost a national and state record breaking relay time, multiple collegiate level throwers, and some of the best sprinters and jumpers the school has had in years. With the loss, many new people have stepped up and with big holes to fill, have done a solid job.
With the loss of a state-recording-breaking elite 4×800 relay team, many distance runners have had to step up. One of those runners is Linus McRoberts ‘26. McRoberts has stepped up from last year, making a jump from the Freshman/Sophomore and JV Teams to being one of the varsity’s top distance runners. With a great 10:04 3200 meter run time, McRoberts is doing quite well for his debut season as a varsity track runner.
“There’s definitely been a little pressure to perform well since the distance squad last year was so amazing, but it’s also been fun for the team to make a name for ourselves with them being gone,” Linus McRoberts ‘26 said.
Another big weapon that City High has picked up is Raphael Etuma ‘26. This year, Etuma is one of the best shot put and discus throwers in the state, with his top discus throw being ‘129 “5, and his best shot put being ‘41 “2. Raphael’s older brother, Michael Etuma, who graduated from City High last year, recently earned All-American JuCo collegiate honors. There are a few other notable seniors who departed from city high, this left a gap in the roster that Raphael filled.
“The slow progress is tough, you just want to rush to the end and be the best you can, but you gotta take it slow. I’m looking forward to state and the rest of the season. With Michael’s success it inspired me,” Raphael Etuma ‘26 said.
With both these sophomores striding forth against their competition, a new senior who transferred in this year, Miles Parlet ‘24, excelled at football and now at track. Parlet is also committed to play football at The University of Chicago. Parlet in his first part of the season has been preeminent at long jump and 100 meter dash. His best 100 meter dash time is 11.16 seconds, being top 25 in the state. He is also number six in the state for long jump, with his best jump being ‘21“10.5. Not only is he doing well in those events, he is also succeeding at the 200 meter and 400 meter dash races.
Another great tool that the track team has obtained this year is Bernard Grant ‘25. Grant is doing the high jump this year, with his personal record this season being six feet flat, and running the 110 meter hurdles. This greatly helps with the loss of a weapon in Matt Schaekenbach who graduated from City High last year, who also broke state, school, and national records. Schaekenbach now runs Division II track at Cedarville University. Grant is a great step in gaining back the lost points from the graduating class of last year, and gives City High much better hopes at the Drake Blue Oval.
“Out of 79 points from the seniors we only got 4 and a half points back, so I feel like the coaches and kids are answering that challenge well. But our jumpers, sprinters, and hurdlers like Miles Parlet running all the sprints and jumping for us. Also with Phillip Kaplan ‘24 stepped up to try and fill some of those gaps. We usually get better as the season progresses, and we’re hoping to be best in May. Let the cards fall as they may, and I think we are going to be surprised at how well we do, because the kids are ready to keep working at that challenge that’s in front of them,” Coach Mike Moore said.
