Hazardous Maple Park track causing injury to athletes, headaches for concerned parents
MAPLE PARK, Ill. — The Kaneland School Board is expected to decide on Monday whether to spend money to improve the school’s track.
The impending decision comes after several athletes have been hit with the injury bug this season.
“It’s not flat like a track should be and there’s a lot of divets in it,” said parent Karl Moos about the track at Kaneland High School in Maple Park, which has seen better days.
Initially built in 1976, the track hasn’t been resurfaced since the mid-90s. It’s why some parents of track and field athletes say it’s become a hazard.
“I’m very concerned. So much so that I spoke at the board meeting last year and questioned the school board about what happens when someone gets injured and then this year we’ve had two rather severe injuries,” Karl Moos said.
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Attorney Telly Nakos, a founding partner at O’Connor and Nakos, is representing the family of a sophomore named Luke, who lawyers say was injured while running on the track and remains in a cast.
“As he was sprinting towards the finish line, his spike got caught in a crack in one of these patched-up portions of the track. His spike got caught, causing him to fall and trip forward, and he fractured a bone in his hand,” Nakos said.
Attorneys told WGN News that the sophomore is not the only one who has been injured this spring, allegedly due to the track.
“Another student who also got a spike caught going down the pole vault runway and got a pole to his eye,” Moos said.
Photos obtained by WGN News show portions of Kaneland’s track compared to nearby Sycamore High School, which looks to be in much better condition.
Most schools resurface their tracks every five to 10 years.
“They have been trying to ‘patch’ the track. The coach has been very vocal about how that is not safe, and the actual patching is creating additional hazards,” Nakos said.
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Last year, the Kaneland School Board voted to spend the estimated $500,000 to replace the track on repaving bus parking lots.
“The conduct and decision-making of Kaneland District 302 School Board has been, at best, careless and reckless,” Nakos added.
More than 2,000 people have signed an online petition urging the school district to reallocate the infrastructure funding to the track.
While a vote is expected at an upcoming board meeting on Monday night, all track meets at Kaneland have either been canceled or moved to other schools. Practices continue to take place at the track, however.
“They can only practice on certain parts,” Moos said. “They can’t wear spikes. Wear gym shoes. That says a whole lot when your own administration says we can’t allow other schools to have this.”
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WGN News contacted Kaneland School District 302 for comment. A district spokesperson said board members will share all information regarding the track’s condition on Monday.
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