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Union Boy's Relay Team Goes to State Track Meet
Hard work, a good run, a little history and some fun are phrases that describe the season enjoyed by the Union boys' relay team.
Team members were Logan Lox, Grant VanTine, Brandon Priesman and Ben Hunter.
On May 24th, the boys participated in the Class A State Track Meet at Charleston.
It had been their dream to run at the state meet as a team.
The four senior members did not qualify for the finals, but they did break the school record again while running the 4x200M relay for their last time.
After their event, they were introduced to Rod Slover.
Rod is a 1975 graduate of Union High School and participated in the 300M hurdles and the long jump at the state meet his senior year.
He competed in Charleston in 1975 with a third place finish in the long jump.
He also set school records in the 300 intermediate hurdles, triple jump and tied in the 100M dash during 1975.
Rod and his wife, Kim, were attending the meet to watch their son, Chase, participate in the 300M intermediate hurdles and the 110M high hurdles.
Chase just graduated from Metamora High School, which is a Class AA school. His sister Jessica, a freshman, also runs track.
Rod's parents are Shirley and Wendell Slover of Oquawka. Kim's parents are Betty and Mike Lewis, also of Oquawka.
Now that the season is over, the boys will move on to other goals. Ben will be playing football at Monmouth College, Brandon will be playing basketball at MacMurray College, Grant will be attending the University of Illinois and Logan will join the National Guard. The next time these young men get together, they may recall the various tracks they ran on, but will probably agree that Charleston was their favorite. Knowing that they hold the school record in the 4x100M and 4x200M relays will give them great pride. The question is, how long will the records stand?
Pictured left to right: Ben Hunter, Brandon Priesman, Grant VanTine, Logan Lox, Chase Slover and Rod Slover after the Illinois State Track Meet in Charleston.