Kankakee Valley High School

Kankakee Valley High School boys' track and field team hosted Munster on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 in NCC action. After a 90 minute weather delay, the Kougars took to the field and the track, emerging on top 3 hours later by a score of 69 to 63. In field events, junior Max Lyskava scored first for KV with a PR fling of 116' and 2" for third place followed by freshman Jackson Tomich's third place shot put heave. Joey Patton and Gio De La Paz Marino nabbed second and third place in the pole vault, keeping KV in the contest and putting the score at KV 6, Munster 21. High jump and long jump gave KV some much needed points, with a first and third in the former by Ian Swart and Parker Harrington and then a critical first place by Tyson Whittington, who returned to the event only one week ago. Score: KV 17, Munster 28. While all points are valuable, Whittington's 6 points in solo events proved critical. "A week ago, Tyson approached me wanting to find some ways that he could help the team more," explained Coach Adams, "and volunteered to run the 400m; then proved himself worthy in the long jump." Once the track events started, KV traded blows with the Mustangs, gradually equaling the score and then coming out on top in the last event. In the winner-take all relays, the mid-distance foursome of Markus Terborg, Noah Knoerzer, Milo Herz, and Owen Sharp started things off right for KV with a 3200m relay victory. Van Kooistra edged his opponent in the 110m high hurdles, with Joey Patton nabbing a third. After Matt Ritchie's clutch victory in the 100m dash and Luke Ehrhardt's PR effort in the 1600m for second place, KV pulled within 5: 36 to 41. The Kougars would pass the Mustangs, just barely, over the next four events: Kooistra, Ritchie, Whittington, and Nolen Kooistra secured victory in the 400m relay; Nolen Kooistra and Whittington turned right around for a 1-3 finish in the 400m dash, followed by a 2-3 finish in the 300m hurdles complements of Patton and Van Kooistra. Sharp's dominant first in the 800m brought the score to 56 - 53. With Nolen Kooistra's first in the 200m and Ehrhardt's PR-equaling effort in the 3200m, KV sat on a narrow 1 point margin going into the last relay: 64 to 63. A last-minute personnel change left KV uncertain, but by the time that Zach Gutierrez got the baton, complements of Whittington and Sharp, he had a 5-second cushion, which he protected, giving anchor Nolen Kooistra an easy final leg. KV travels to the Twin Lakes Relay Invitational this Friday.