Kankakee Valley High School

Kankakee Valley High School boys' track and field team traveled to Highland High School on Tuesday May 5, 2026 to take on the host Trojans and the Hobart Brickies. The Kougars emerged with two wins on the evening, topping Highland 81-46 and Hobart 102-30. KV finishes the regular season in the conference with a record of 4-2. On the track, KV captured the first position in seven out of nine races. The 3200m relay squad of Garrett Boer, Markus Terborg, Noah Knoerzer, and Max Duttingler fought hard on the track to secure a 5-0 margin in points over both rivals. Senior Nolen Kooistra took top honors in the 100m and 200m sprints, while Tyson Whittington placed first in the 400m dash. Freshman Milo Herz took the lead in the 800m run in the final 80m for the victory. KV swept the 300m hurdles, compliments of Zach Gutierrez, Van Kooistra, and Joey Patton, and the 3200m run behind the efforts of Matt Hoffman, Owen Sharp, and Noah Knoerzer. The last track event saw victory for KV in the 1600m relay squad behind the baton passing of Joey Patton, Zach Gutierrez, Parker Harrington, and Bryce Moore. Other finishes: Van Kooistra -- 1st in 110m high hurdles; Matt Ritchie -- 3rd in 100m dash; 3rd in 200m dash; Bryce Moore -- 4th in 100m dash; 2nd in 400m dash; Luke Ehrhardt -- 2nd in 800m run; 2nd in 1600m run; Milo Herz -- 3rd in 1600m run; Markus Terborg -- 4th in 1600m run; Joey Patton -- 3rd in 110m high hurdles; Parker Harrington -- 4th in high jump; Tyson Whittington -- 3rd in long jump. On the field event side, Kankakee Valley swept Hobart in the shot put (Dylan Adams, Jackson Tomich, and Dominic Slaughter). Braiden Huff and Joey Patton went 1-2 to lead pole vault, while Ian Swart added four inches to his PR in high jump to secure the win.