16 Storylines to Follow at the 2022 Illinois Top Times Championships

 

 

This meet is back after a three year absence ready for hot performances to rip the roof of Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center

 

 

By Michael Newman [email protected]

 

 

Most of the athletes that enter the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University for Friday and Saturday’s Illinois Top Times Championships will be wide-eyed at what they will see stepping onto the track.

 

Only a handful of athletes that participated as freshman in the 2019 edition of this meet will know the feelings of participating in this meet. The 2020 and 2021 meets were cancelled due to the Global COVID-19 pandemic. The anticipated excitement of the return of this meet might blow off the roof of this facility. Some of the top athletes in the state in all three classes are here to end their indoor season and make the step towards the outdoor season and the IHSA State Championships in May.

 

Here is a look at 16 storylines that will shape this two-day meet in Central Illinois.

 

 

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Class 3A

 

Saturday: Field Events 1:30 PM | Running Events 2:40 PM

 

Metea’s Johnson goes for 4 wins in Boys Meet

 

Jalen Johnson of Metea Valley gave most everyone an idea of what is yet to come for the upcoming season when he won four individual events at last week’s DuPage Valley Conference Meet at North Central College. The stakes will be higher this weekend in the Shirk Center as he goes after wins in the same four events. Last week, he ran in four races. This Saturday, he will run in preliminary heats of the 60 Meter Hurdles and the 60 Meter Dash.

 

His toughest race could be the 60 Meter Hurdles. Gabe Czako of Lockport finished ahead of Johnson in last June’s 3A State Meet in the 110 Highs. Czako has the fastest time in the state (8.19) in this event just two hundredths of a second ahead of John. The Metea senior ran a state leading 7.64 in the 55-Meter-Highs in last week’s conference meet. Johnson comes right back in the 60 Meter Dash. He has the third fastest time at 55-meters (6.47). Marquez Gary of Rockford East in ranked #4 in 3A at this distance at 7.04 and could be Johnson’s chief competition in this race along with Taji Mathis-Akinremi of Homewood-Flossmoor.

 

Johnson ran a 3A #4 50.60 in his conference win last week in the 400 Meter Dash. Konrad Sacha of South Elgin ran a 3A #5 50.70 in Rockford at the beginning of February. He could challenge for the win along with Ronan O’Neill of New Trier. Johnson’s final race comes in the 200 Meter Dash where he ran 22.39 last Friday (3A #2).  Jettason Rose of Quincy is the closest to JJ in this race having run 22.62 last week at Knox College.

 

Huntley’s triple threat in the Girls Jumps

 

Teams are only allowed two athletes in an event in the IHSA Outdoor State Meet. Saturday’s competition has unlimited entries for each team that chooses to compete. It benefits Huntley High School located northwest of Chicago in the Triple Jump where they have 3 athletes ranked in the top six in Class 3A. Alexandria Johnson was more known last spring in her exploits outdoors in the Long Jump and 100 Meter Dash where she won the Long Jump and was all-state in the sprint race. The junior added the Triple Jump to her meet repertoire in two meets this winter. The results was a win in both including a state best at the time 40-7.5 in the Fox Valley Championships on March 8.

 

Her freshman sister Dominique Johnson stepped into the track spotlight in this event this season jumping past 39-feet in the four meets she competed in this event. Her final meet last Saturday at Burlington Central had her jumping 40-9.25 to take over the state lead from her sister. The freshman Johnson is currently ranked fifth in the nation indoors in this event. The junior Johnson is ranked ninth nationally. The third Huntley jumper Melissa Aniagyei-Bonsu is ranked 3A #6 in this event and will look for a top five finish in this event.

 

The Johnson sisters will be at it as well in the Long Jump. Alexandria Johnson tied for the state lead in this event with a 19-5.5 mark in the Burlington Central meet on Saturday. It also moved her to #6 nationally tied with co-Illinois leader Mariam Azeez of Lincoln-Way East who will not compete in this meet. Dominique Johnson is ranked sixth in 3A and seeded fifth in this meet.

 

Looking for multiple wins of their own

 

The absence of Lincoln-Way East’s Mariam Azeez in this meet opens the door for Alexandria Edison of Homewood-Flossmoor with the possibility of winning the three sprint events in the 3A Meet. Edison will also compete in the Long Jump. The senior enters this meet as the favorite in tow of the sprints. She owns the fastest time in the state in the 400 Meter Dash (56.26) at Lakes’ new track at the beginning of March. Edison owns the fastest time at that distance for this meet by over a second. Edison will also be the favorite in the 200 Meter Dash. She lowered her state leading to 24.75 with her win by four hundredths of a second ahead of Azeez at last Saturday’s SWSC Girls Championships. She also enters this meet the only runner under 25-seconds with more than a half a second lead. Edison will be among the favorites in what should be a close 60 Meter Dash at the beginning of the meet. Lindsey Miller of Simeon ran 7.66 last week at the Chicago City Championships and will be the favorite along with Edison (7.72), Chatham-Glenwood freshman Katelyn Lehnen (7.74), and Rachel Robinson of Whitney Young (7.75). All four are ranked in the top seven in Class 3A.

 

Another Girls athlete that will look for multiple event wins in this meet is Rylee Lydon of Prairie Ridge. The junior is the defending champion in last year’s state meet in the 400 Meter Dash and finished second in the High Jump in that meet. Lydon comes into Saturday’s competition in the High Jump ranked #2 in Class 3A with a 5-7 best. Madeline Andelbradt of Naperville North leads Class 3A at 5-7.25 and is in this meet. Lydon’s best in the 400 this year is 57.95. She finished second in that race behind Alexandria Edison. She may look to settle the score in that race. Lydon is seeded ninth in the 200 Meter Dash and will have to run a fast time in the penultimate section of the event to place high. She also will compete in the Long Jump where she is #4 in 3A behind A Johnson, Azeez, and Edison.

 

A Family Affair in the Relays

 

Plainfield North Coach Tony Holler raised and taught his son Quinn Holler the love of track and field especially in the sprints and the relays. The younger Holler, now coaching at Andrew High School, will get a chance to have his relay quartets compete against that of his father in two of the three Boys sprint relays. Both squads ran season’s best in their respective conference meets in the 4x200m Relay. Andrew’s time of 1:32.41 (3A #6) last Friday at the SWSC Boys Championship is more than a second faster than Plainfield North’s 1:33.58 at the Southwest Prairie Conference Meet last Friday. Andrew is seeded second in this meet behind Kenwood (1:32.03). Plainfield North is seeded eighth and will run in the section preceding the final race. The two teams will face off against each other in the final section of the 4x400m as both teams are seeded in the top five. Plainfield North is seeded #2 (3:31.10) behind Downers Grove South (3:30.13). Andrew ran 3:32.89 and is seeded fifth.

 

Daring Distance Races in Class 3A

 

We will not have all the top runners in the distance events in the state competing. What we will have could turn into some high powered events. Aly Negovetich of Grant Community enters with the second fastest time in the state (10:36.50) run at Huntley at the end of February. Grace Schager of Glenbard North on the same day ran 10:40.44 at Batavia and has the 3A #2 time behind Negovetich. That field is deep with seven runners entered all under 11-minutes. This will be Schager’s only race at this meet. Negovetich will double back in the 1600 Meter Run. With Ali Ince of Normal Community choosing not to run at this meet, all eyes will be on Catie McCabe of Hinsdale Central in the Girls 800 Meter Run. McCabe enters this meet with the second fastest 3A time (2:17.12) and the only runner in the top 10 times racing at this distance. Bella Domier of Grayslake Central and Isabella Marisco of Lake Forest are the only runners under 2:20 entered and will be McCabe’s chief competition. Negovetich ran 4:59.26 on her way to running 5:00.87 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and will be back in the 1600 Meter Run. Brooke Johnston of Lake Zurich ran 5:00.01 last week at Lakes and will challenge for the win in that race.

 

Audrey Ginsberg and her sister Lily Ginsberg, along with teammates Hailey Erickson and Cameron Kalaway were part of Prospect’s quartet ran the state’s fastest time of 9:21.20 at the Mustang Relays two weeks ago winning by 14 seconds. The Knights have the fastest seed time by 17 seconds ahead of Minooka and another five seconds ahead of Edwardsville and should dominate this relay if all four runners are in it. All four are scheduled to double back in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

We could see some fast times in the Boys 4x800 Meter Relay even though the top eight 3A teams are not racing in this event. Downers Grove South, with Tim Neumann on their quartet, has the top seed time in this race followed by Plainfield North and DeKalb who all have run under 8:10. Riley Newport of DeKalb, who finished third last fall at Detweiller Park, will be in that relay and will double back in the 1600 Meter Run along with Neumann. New Trier is entered in this event but will be without two of their top runners Nick Falk and George Cahill who have turned their focus to the outdoor season. Newport and Neumann were separated by eight hundredths of a second finishing second and third at Batavia Distance Madness are the top seeds in the 1600 Meter Run. Ryan Watts of Edwardsville, who will be coming back in the 4x8, Jake Phillips of Marist, and Brett Wasick of Bolingbrook could be chasing after top finishes in that race.

 

Wasick, who ran 1:56.21 to win at Batavia Distance Madness two weeks ago, has the #2 Class 3A at this distance and will be the favorite with Patrick Jamieson of New Trier his closest competition. Caden Simone of Lincoln-Way Central has been dominating in his two races in the 3200 Meter Run this winter. Simone ran 9:16.52 to break the Batavia Distance Madness meet record. He will look for another fast time in this race. Oliver Burns of Plainfield North and Ethan Forsell of Oswego are the only runners in this field with bests of under 9:30.

 

High heights ahead in Pole Vault

 

Tessani Foster of Plainfield Central did not make it to last year’s state meet in the Pole Vault. In fact, she hardly competed in this event at all. The senior this winter has found her niche in this event entering this meet with a 12-9 lifetime best last week at the Southwest Prairie Conference Meet and the top seed in the Girls event. Lillianna Ifft of Bloomington cleared 12-8.75 on this Shirk Center runway last Saturday and will challenge for the win. Mia Morello of Grayslake Central has cleared 12-6 this indoor season and will be a threat. All three athletes could sore past 13-feet Saturday afternoon.

 

Four athletes have cleared 15-feet or higher this indoor season in the Boys Pole Vault Tim Gale of Schaumburg (15-8.25) and Charles Cruse of Normal Community (15-6) have the two best marks in this meet in Class 3A. Christian Sobecki of Oswego and Kyle Varga of Lake Park have both cleared 15-feet. Both will look for higher personal bests in this meet.

 

Jumps and Puts

 

Desmond Horton of Lake Park will look for a double win in the Boys horizontal Jumps. Horton is seeded third in the Long Jump and will have to get past top seeded Ryan Schaefer of Glenbrook South and Toriano Tate of DeKalb to win. Horton finished second in the Triple Jump last June in Charleston. He has already jumped a personal best of 47-11.25 indoors. He is more than three feet ahead of Saturday’s field. Matt Cless of Evanston Township (6-8.75) and Mark Hellwig Jr. of Stevenson (6-7) head the competition in the High Jump where six athletes in this field have seasonal bests of 6-5 and higher.

 

Kyle Clabough of Yorkville was a last minute entry into the Boys Shot Put. The defending 3A outdoor state champion in the event has a 63-8.75 best currently ranked #9 nationally indoors. Alex Sohn of Normal Community finished sixth two weeks ago at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and has a 60-5 personal best from this past February. Cooper Cerese of Lake Park had a 59-9 best (3A #4) last week at the DuKane Conference Meet and could be a factor in this meet.

 

Eight athletes over 38-feet head the field in the Girls Shot Put. Olivia Whatley of Evanston Township and Madison Payne of Prospect figure to be the favorites.

 

 

 

Class 2A

 

Saturday: Field Events 9:05 AM | Running Events 9:25 AM

 

Here come the Kays’ sprints

 

If you look at the DyeStat TFX leaderboards in both the Boys and Girls for Class 2A this indoor season, you can see the presence of Kankakee High School athletes at or near the top in many sprint events. Coach Marques Lowe brings a team to the Shirk Center ready to step into the state spotlight.

 

Naomi Bey-Osborne could be the one sprinter to keep an eye on in this meet. The freshman has the top 2A Girls times in the 200 Meter Dash (25.65) and the 400 Meter Dash (58.96). She scratched out of that event to help her team in the 4x200m Relay. The Kays ran 1:44.18 at last Saturday’s Gene Armer Invitational. They have the top seed time by four seconds ahead of Lindblom and Geneseo. Bey-Osborne will be a part of their 4x400m Relay that ran 4:07.31 in the same meet last Saturday. They are six seconds ahead of the team’s in this meet including Geneseo, Lakes, and Metamora. The 400 Meter Dash becomes open without Bey-Osborne as Mia Rodriguez of Maran Catholic enters as the top ranked runner (1:00.66).

 

Bey-Osborne and Neveah Lowe have the top two times entered in the 200 Meter Dash with Vionche Terry of Phillips Academy their closest competition. Lowe is seeded fourth in the 60 Meter Dash.

 

The Boys squad has showed just as much success this winter led by Jaylen Morrow. The sophomore ran 7.00 at the University of Illinois on March 12 and will be ranked second in this event behind 2A leader Christian Keyhea of Mt. Zion (6.94). Morrow is 2A #3 in the 200 Meter Dash and will be one of the favorites in the field led by Jackson Gilbert of Urbana (22.33) and EJ Nwagwu of St. Rita (22.41). Morrow has the fastest 2A time in the 400 Meter Dash but scratched from that race. Watch for Gilbert, Nwagwu, or Allan Potter of St. Laurence to challenge for the win.

 

Morrow will be a part of Kankakee’s sprint quartets that will be among the favorites in each relay. With 2A leader St. Rita not competing in this meet, Kankakee leads the field at 1:31.63 with St. Laurence next at 1:31.99. The next closest teams are more than two seconds behind. Kankakee ran 3:30.55 in the 4x400m Relay on this track at the end of February. They have more than a three second advantage on the rest of the field led by Richmond-Burton and Kaneland.

 

Scales at the higher end

 

Look at Emmi Scales of St. Viator’s record for her sophomore season in 2021. She made it to the IHSA State Meet in Charleston in the 100 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash. She earned all-state honors placing eighth in the 200 Meter Dash. She did not place in the top 10 in the 100. A metamorphosis is some ways started during last summers club season where she started running more hurdle races than she did during the IHSA season.

 

The junior enters the Saturday first session of the Illinois Top Times 2A meet with the fastest 2A times in the 60 Meter Dash along with the fastest 60 Meter Hurdle times. Scales has chosen her spots to compete. This is only her third indoor meet of the season and first running for St. Viator. Scales is coming off last weekend’s adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia where she finished fourth in the Championships finals of the 60 Meter Hurdles (8.83 in prelims) and a personal best of 7.72 to finish second in the National Elite Open race in the 60 Meter Dash.

 

Scales is the only runner under 9-seconds in the 60 Meter Hurdles with three runners at 9.2 or faster led by Kennedy Ross of Lindblom, Brianna Dixon of Rantoul, and Ali Rapps of Geneseo. Scales and Symone Frison of Lindblom have season bests separated by only three hundredths of a second in the 60 Meter Dash. Kankakee’s Lowe and Anna Barr of Normal University are two runners to also watch for in this race.

 

Georges / Genisio showdown in Boys 1600 Highlights distance events

 

One of the top distance matchups of the weekend happens in the 2A Boys 1600 Meter Run. The top three runners in this field all have season bests under 4:20. Wilson Georges of Limestone started off his season running a 4:12 in the 1 Mile Run in Louisville at the beginning of February. He also has a 9:00 3200- and then last week 4:18 for 1600-meters almost lapping the field. Gavin Genisio of Benton started his season by running 4:23.15 for the 1 Mile Run in February. He came back last week to run 4:18.98 to finish fifth in the 1 Mile Run at the adidas Indoor Nationals. Genisio should be pushing Georges in this race.

 

Michael Schumacher of St. Viator is the one runner to keep an eye on. Schumacher ran 4:18.86 in Wisconsin last Saturday and could be a threat in this race. He is scheduled to be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run earlier in the meet. Schumacher enters the meet with the top seed time (9:22.48) 12 seconds ahead of Joe Schwartz of Waterloo and Yusuf Baig of Burlington Central.

 

The Boys 800 Meter Run should be wide open after race favorite Lee O’Bryan of Fenwick. The senior ran 1:57.91 in the Chicago Catholic League Championships last Friday. Lucas Doland of St. Viator and Elias Wilkin of Payton Prep are runners that will lead the pack trying to catch O’Bryan. The 4x800m Relay is wide open with 2A #2-4 Burlington Central, Marion, and Sandwich the top three entries in this race separated by only six seconds.

 

Lianna Surtz of Rosary stepped down a distance two weeks ago at Batavia Distance Madness and she came away with the win. The two-time 1A State XC champion ran 2:16.34 in that race and has the fastest Class 2A time entering this weekend. Isabella Orozco of Aurora Central Catholic finished second behind Surtz in that race (2:17.21) and should again challenge for the win. Surtz will only have 55 minutes between the 800 and the 1600 Meter Run. Surtz has a 4:58.53 and is a big favorite in the race. Erica Woodard of Tolono Unity and Coleen Zeibert of Rochester both have run 5:16 this indoor season and will challenge for the second spot.

 

Tolono Unity ran a season’s best of 10:04.08 on Monday on the Shirk Center track. They also have the fastest 2A time in the state and 11 seconds ahead of Mt. Zion with Monticello and Clinton close at hand. We could have a close race in the Girls 3200 Meter Run. Delaney Fitzgerald of Normal University has a seed time almost two seconds ahead of Becca Heitzig of Lincoln.

 

Migas looks to go higher in Boys Pole Vault

 

It is hard to think that Paul Migas of Lakes Community is only a sophomore. Some of his performances in the Pole Vault do not match his age. Migas ended last year as a freshman with a 12-1 best. He has soared this indoor season including clearing 15-4.25 for a new personal best last weekend on his home runway. Migas did finish fourth two weeks ago at the Nike Indoor Nationals.

 

His success this year does not mean he is the favorite on Saturday morning. Kyle Hensley of Mt. Zion, Colin Beers of Marion, and Malaki Schaad of Geneseo all have bests this winter over 15-feet. Schaad finished second last June in the 2A State Finals. He could come away with the big prize in this event.

 

The Girls Pole Vault in this classification is wide-open with Natalie Papes of Providence Catholic, Brooklyn Kondritz of Mt. Zion, Libby Saloga of Rosary, and Sydnee Scott of Normal University all within two inches of each other’s season’s best. Papes is the top entry clearing 11-8.25 in Sunday’s GCAC indoor Championships at Gately Park.

 

 

 

Class 1A

 

Friday: Field Events 3:05 PM | Running Events 3:25 PM

 

James looks for double in Boys 3200/1600

 

Ryder James of Paxton-Buckley-Loda started the indoor track season right where he left off at the end of last fall: winning and running fast. James enters Friday afternoon’s meet with two of the top three distance times in Class 1A. It is the first race of the night that should catch everyone’s attention inside Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center. Miles Sheppard of Hamilton-West Hancock first ran 9:22 in his first race at Southern Illinois University. His second race was two weeks ago at Principia College where he ran a Class 1A leading 9:21.48. James best time this winter was the 9:26.12 at Eastern Illinois on March 4. All three of those races by both athletes were solo efforts. They will be able to keep each other company in this meet. Daniel Winkelman of Harvest Academy ran 9:28.53 in the middle of February and will be in the mix of determining who will win this race.

 

James and Winkelman will double back in the 1600 Meter Run Both have season’s bests under 4:20. James ran 4:19.23 at Gately Park in January. Winkelman finished fourth at Batavia Distance Madness running 4:19.78. There is a 10 second drop off before the pack led by Tommy Murray of Riverdale. The 800 Meter Run is led by defending IHSA State Champion Eli Mojonnier of Bismarck-Henning. Tyler Bickerman of Rushville-Industry has the top seed tie of 2:02.22 followed by Mojonnier (2:02.40).

 

A sense of mystery in the Girls Distance races

 

You of course will have the Winnebago Girls distance runners in this meet readying themselves to once again make their presence known. Bago has loaded up their relay and have the fastest 1A time in the state (10:07.43) by nine seconds ahead of St. Joseph-Ogden, Father McGivney, and Harvest Christian Academy.

 

The three individual races Friday evening could be interesting. Carly Manchester of IC Catholic Prep has that big meet experience. The senior is the top seed in the 3200 Meter Run that has a good field including Brooklyn Bender of Marshall, Jolee Larson of Indian Creek, and El Paso-Gridley freshman Nellie Melick. The 800 Meter Run took a different turn after last Monday’s Clinton Last Chance Meet on this track. Trixie Johnson of Paxton-Buckley-Loda ran a Class 1A State leading 2:22.00 for the win. Evelyn O’Connor of Seneca was three seconds behind in that race. The one runner that could be a threat is Olivia Phillips of DuQuoin who has a lifetime best of 2:18.73 run last year on her way t finishing second at state.

 

Elana Rybak of Father McGivney was the new kid on the block last fall. The freshman was tough to beat on the cross country course until an injury forced her out of the state meet. Rybak will be on her school’s 4x8 team earlier in the meet. She does come into the meet with the fastest Class 1A time in the 1600 Meter Run (5:15.99). She will have company in the front of this race. Kate Ahmari of Urbana University is scheduled to run the 800 Meter Run an hour before this race. Ahmari has a season’s best of 5:16.39. Kaylee Woolery of Winnebago ran 5:19.57 at Byron 10 days before that meet. The junior will be doubling back from the 4x8 relay and will be a threat in this race.

 

Williams and then who else in the 1A Sprints

 

Alyssa Williams of Tuscola was the queen of the 1A sprints last June at the IHSA State Finals. We could expect the same type of dominance heading into Friday’s races from this Murray State University signee. Williams will compete in four events in this meet. The senior enters the 60 Meter Dash with the top 1A time (7.76) which is three tenths of a second ahead of Cambria Geyer of Tremont, Anna Bruno of Seneca, and Kaitlyn Vahling of Teutopolis. The margin between Williams and the rest of the field is larger. Williams enters at 26.11 with Geyer at 26.79 the only other runner in this field under 27-seconds.

 

The Tuscola senior will lead off her team in the 4x200m Relay. Tuscola is seeded ninth in that event led by Rockford Christian (1:51.63), Byron (1:51.65, and Maroa-Forsyth (1:51.74). Anna Bruno of Seneca is the big favorite in the Long Jump as she has jumped 17-11.5 this winter. Williams is seeded fourth in that event.

 

Ryan Williams of Hope Academy could be the athlete to watch in the Boys sprint events. Williams is tied for the top 1A time at 55-meters (6.56) with Camden Foersch of Dakota. The time translates to 7.06 for the 60 Meter Dash. Tyreke Fortney of Peru St. Bede leads the field with the 7.01 that he ran at Sterling at the beginning of March. Three runners are within six hundredths of each other in the 200 Meter Dash. Alex Giardin of Liberty (23.23), Williams (23.24), and Max Allen of Arthur-Lovington (23.29 lead the way. Hope Academy, with Williams in that quartet, is the top ranked team in the 4x200m Relay (1:34.04) with Salt Fork (1:35.42) their closest competition.

 

Both Boys and Girls 400 Meter Dash races should be great. Cameron Crow of Litchfield and Allen are the only runners under 53-seconds in the Boys 400 with a gap ahead of the rest of the field by one second. Sophia Yaklich has hit the spotlight in her freshman season at Bloomington Central Catholic. Yaklich ran 58.35 to finish second behind Ali Ince last week on this track. Yaklich has more than a two second gap on the rest of the field led by another freshman Lia Patterson of Tuscola.

 

Cowden-Herrick athletes back at it again

 

The story of last year’s 1A state team championship has become legendary. The school won the state championships with only two athletes scoring all the team’s points. Jadon Robertson and Daniel Lucas return for their senior season again ready to make their presence known this time in this meet.

 

Lucas has made huge strides in the weight events already this season. He has a best of 57-5.75 that leads Class 1A and is the top distance in this meet in the Shot Put. Chris Boyd of Tuscola and Grant Milbrath of Pecatonica-Durand are more than two feet behind Lucas but still are capable of winning. The Girls Shot Put should be just as good. Kayla Braun of Sparta has the IL #3 mark in the event and will be challenged by Jenae Bothe of Oregon and Olivia Birge of Salt Fork who both have distances over 38-feet. Olivia Campbell of Pittsfield earned All-American honors by finishing second in the Weight Throw at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Campbell’s best in this event is 37-4 seeding her fourth.

 

Robertson was the athlete that scored the bulk of Cowden Herrick’s points last June in Charleston. This multi-talented is entered in three events for this meet. The 60 Meter Hurdles features two of the top hurdlers in Class 1A with Robertson and Luke Myszka of Downs Tri-Valley. The two are within four hundredths of each other with Robertson the fastest (8.37). Jackson Kern of Auburn and Nathan Kirby of Salt Fork are within a tenth of a second of the two and could be factors in that event.

 

Robertson is one of four athletes over 21-feet this season in the Long Jump. Braxton Froeliger of Erie-Prophetstown has the best mark in Class 1A (22-0.75). The High Jump is wide open led by the 1A State defending champion Robertson. There are six athletes over 6-3 led by Ty Brachbill of Shelbyville who cleared 6-4.25 at Southern Illinois on March 5.

 

Rockford Christian Relays mojo

 

Getting the baton around the track from runner to runner takes a lot of practice and trust in your teammate and trust in the process. It is part of the team culture that Boys Coach Randy Moore teaches his athletes. “Bad exchanges happen because of poor and/or inconsistent practice,” Moore said in a recent tweet. “We have great exchanges because it is a program priority.”

 

The Royal Lions moved back down to Class 1A for the 2021-2022 season for the next two years. Rockford Christian comes into the Friday meet first session with the top times in two of the three relays. Five teams are within four seconds of each other in the 4x800m Relay led by Rockford Christian (8:43.14). Williamsville, St. Joseph-Ogden, Shelbyville, and Newton will also have a say on who will win in that race.

 

Hope Academy is the top seed in the 4x200m Relay (1:34.04). Rockford Christian is seeded third in this race and will be in the hunt for the win along with Salt Fork and St. Teresa.

 

Rockford Christian would like to finish this session off with a win in the 4x400m Relay. They just could with their season’s best of 3:35.09 more than four seconds faster than Shelbyville and Winnebago.