LANSING, Ill. (March 22, 2024) – TF South senior Karrel Harvest’s life changed with a conversation after his freshman football season.
Red Wolves assistant track coach Tim Sullivan asked Harvest if he’d be interested in trying the shot put and discus.
“I’m like, ‘I’ll check it out,'” Harvest said. “From that point on, I fell in love.”
Now, Harvest is one of the most accomplished throwers in TF South history. He’s a three-time IHSA state qualifier, a Class 3A sectional champ, and a conference champ in the discus. He’s currently No. 2 on the school’s leaderboard for the shot put and No. 3 for the discus.
After winning the shot at last weekend’s Lemont Invitational with a personal-best effort of 56-9.5, he’s heading to this weekend’s Illinois Top Times Invitational in Bloomington. He’s South’s first qualifier for the unofficial indoor state meet since 2019, when Khullen Jefferson, Kayla Bell, and Trinity Wilson advanced.
Harvest is the latest in a series of TF South football players who have also become throwers at the urging of Sullivan, who’s also an assistant football coach.
“I look for kids who have good movement — their body moves well through space,” Sullivan said. “And then I also looked for kids with a good work ethic. … If you can convey that it’s a fun sport they’re gonna get better and they’re gonna get stronger, that’s the biggest thing. … You have to have that grit and fall in love with the journey of it, not just the immediate outcome.”
Harvest definitely has embraced the sport, to the point that he plans to continue throwing in college.
“I really like this sport because it shows me how much power and explosiveness that I have in my body,” he said. “And it shows me where I’m at and where I could be at, where I want to be at. And all I gotta do is keep putting in the work and time and effort.”
Harvest isn’t off the clock when he goes home from practice, either. He takes to heart the coaching Sullivan provides and keeps honing his craft.
“All my four years, Sully really helped me a lot,” Harvest said. “He told me the little things that (were) messing me up. He told me what I have to work on. And when he tells me that I go home, I go to my garage and train, train, train.”
Obviously, the work has paid off.
The Red Wolves finished seventh among 14 teams at Lemont with 50 points.
David Nkwogu was runner-up in the triple jump (42-1), fifth in the high jump (5-7.75), and sixth in the 55 hurdles (8.73).
Other top placers for South included John Carson (second, 800 meters 2:07.20), Joaquin Terrazas (fourth, 400, 58.16), Terrell Hall (fourth, 800, 2:10.20), and 1,600 relay (fifth, 3:50.72).
Girls indoor track
The Red Wolves were fourth among 15 teams at the Lemont Invitational, scoring 49.5 points.
Janiya Lucas took second in both the 55 (7.65) and the 200 (26.86), while Olivia Jarrett finished fourth in the 55 hurdles (10.24), and tied for fourth in the high jump (4-5.25).
Other top placers included Morgan Waites (third, triple jump, 31-1.25), Nyrobi Moore (fourth, 400, 1:06.61), 3,200 relay (fifth, 12:06.20), and ShyBria Starkley (sixth, long jump, 14-8.5).
Baseball
The Red Wolves fell 14-5 to Lincoln-Way West on Thursday.
Tyler Earmsmuth was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored for South (2-2), Jake Stachelski went 1-for-2 with two walks and a run, and Jack Starcevich finished 0-for-3 with a walk, an RBI and two runs.
The Red Wolves blanked Peotone 15-0 on Tuesday behind big games from Stachelski (2-for-2, homer, 2 RBI, 4 runs, 2 steals), Starcevich (2-for-2, 4 RBI), and Drew Danehl, who pitched a two-hitter with eight strikeouts.
TF North
Boys indoor track
The Meteors finished 11th among 14 teams at last weekend’s Lemont Invitational. Phillip Singleton took fifth in the 400 (58.17) and Fabeous Dowd tied for sixth in the high jump (5-5.75).
Girls indoor track
The Meteors were ninth among 15 teams with 28.5 points at last weekend’s Lemont Invitational.
North’s Layla Hall was runner-up in the 55 hurdles (9.36) and her teammate Tierra Merritt tied for fifth (10.31). Other top finishers included the 800 relay team (fifth, 1:59.44), Shaniya Apawu (tied for sixth, 55, 7.83), and Ximena Valdivia (sixth, 800, 2:44.53).
Baseball
The Meteors opened their season with a 7-6 win against Ag. Science on March 15 as Fernando Rios went 2-for-3 and struck out 13. Aric Moultrie picked up the save.
North (1-2) also lost 21-18 to Noble Street on March 16 and fell 12-4 to Hubbard on Thursday.
Softball
The Meteors fell 13-7 to Washington on Tuesday.
Jimena Jimenez went 1-for-4 with three RBI for North (0-2), while Chiante Ridley and Stephanie Montel both finished 2-for-4. Jimenez also struck out eight.
Marian Catholic
Girls indoor track
Sophomore Brooklyn Holmes won the 60 meters with a time of 7.87 at Rich’s Raptor Last Chance Invitational on March 16.
Other top performers for the Spartans included freshman Arredia Primar (second, triple jump, 35-8.25; sixth, 60 hurdles, 10.01), Autumn Price (third, long jump, 17-6.25; fourth, 60, 7.95), Darhya Bailey-Gipson (fourth, high jump, 4-8), Tyisha Jackson (fifth, long jump, 16-10.75), Ava Holman (sixth, 60 hurdles, 10.18), Syvonna Perry (fifth, 200, 27.46), and McKenzie Mixon (sixth, 200, 27.59).
Boys volleyball
The Spartans opened their season with a 28-26, 25-17 win against Shepard on Tuesday.
Bolu Osibogun had 10 kills, Phoenix Magruder added nine kills, James Bullock Jr. contributed five kills and seven blocks, and Justin McGary added 25 assists, two aces, and five blocks.
Softball
Jasmine Venson went 4-for-4 but Marian fell 10-3 to Mother McAuley on Thursday.
Gracie Jensen drove in two runs for the Spartans (1-3).
Marian also beat TF South 10-8 on Tuesday and fell 16-6 to Manteno on March 15. Against Manteno, Ella DeNormandie was 3-for-3, while Jensen went 2-for-3 with two runs and two doubles.
South Suburban College
Men’s basketball
The Bulldogs won their 15th straight game and advanced to the NJCAA Division II national semifinals on Thursday, beating Parkland 79-70 in Danville.
Jemel Jones paced SSC (33-2) with a game-high 39 points on 13-for-24 shooting from the field and 11-for-12 from the line. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
Scoring in double figures off the bench were Quentin Heady (11 points, 9 rebounds) and Tremear Fraley (10 points, 5 rebounds).
South Suburban opened the tournament with an 86-79 win against Florida State-Jacksonville on Tuesday.
Jones had a double-double, scoring a game-high 37 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Chris Harrison had 16 points and five rebounds, while Heady added 12 points and five rebounds.
Several Bulldogs received NJCAA Division II Region IV honors: Jones was named Player of the Year, Heady earned a spot on the first team and Julius Byrd was picked for the second team.
Related
- Jayden Spann jumpstarts Red Wolves’ season at the top of the batting order – other local scores (March 15, 2024)
- Athlete spotlights of the week: TF South’s Karrel Harvest and Janiya Lucas (March 16, 2024)
