By Michael Newman

1 – Edwardsville

Notes – The Tigers finished second last year at state and won the 3A title in 2015. They have the talent to make it two out of three state championships. AJ Epenesa is the defending champion in the Discus and one of the top athletes nationally in the event. He should be the big favorite again this season. Epenesa showed great improvement in the Shot Put finishing second at state. He will be one of the favorites in that discipline. Travis Anderson was the state champion in the 110 Hurdles. He will be the big favorite in that event. In the 300 Hurdles, he finished third and is the top athlete coming back place wise. He will also pick points in that event. Devonte Tincher placed seventh in the Long Jump and could finish in the top three in 2017. He was also a part of the 400 Relay team that finished sixth in that event along with Anderson. The Tigers have the talent to place again in that relay. Franky Romano could surprise people this spring in the 800.

2 – LaGrange Lyons Township

Notes – The top team in the WSC-Silver could be one of the top teams this spring in the state. Danny Kilrea had a super cross-country season finishing second at state and then 13^th at the Nike Cross Nationals. He finished eighth last year in the 3200. He will be one of the favorites in that event as well as scoring points in the 1600. The Lions should have one of the top 3200 Relay teams in the state led by Vince Zona and Dan Palmer. Zona ran 4:14 last year in the 1600 and could score some big points in that event. Antwan Thigpen ran 10.72 for 100 meters and 49.22 for 400 meters. He could score in both of those events. He was also part of the 1600 Relay team along with Zona that finished fifth at state. They could get points in that event as well. Thomas Saggau has the talent to score points in the Triple Jump. Rob Hatch could surprise some in the Long Jump.

3 – Hoffman Estates

Notes – This is a team that could be among the three best at the end of May. Declan Rustay could be the top sprinter in the state after finishing third in the 100 and ninth in the 200 as only a sophomore. He will be the favorite in both events. The Hawks qualified for state in both the 400 and 800 relays but did not make the finals. Rustay leads three back from that group that has their eyes on the finals and a high place. Trevon Hall jumped 23-1 in the Long Jump as well as Anijel Jones jumping 22-10. Both did not make the finals at state. Both could pick up big points this May. Jaylen Alexander threw 155-2 as a sophomore in the Discus. He could score in that field event. Jack Worman ran 4:23 for 1600 Meters in 2016. He could go under 4:20 with possibilities of placing at state.

4 – Bloomington

Notes – Carey Lockhart is one of the keys for the Purple Raiders in their chase for a state trophy. Lockhart should be one of the top sprinters in the state after finishing ninth in the state. He does have the second fastest 100 time coming back. He also has the second fastest time coming back in the 200. He could get big points in both events. Bloomington does have the talent in the sprints to score in the 400 and 800 relays especially with Lockhart anchoring. Avery Lyons has the third fastest time back in the 400 after finishing ninth last year. Watch for him in that event. Zach Bradford is the defending champion in the Pole Vault. The junior has already cleared 16-4 this season making him the big favorite in the event. Clayton Hoegger cleared 14-0 last year and could be a surprise in the event. 

5 – Roselle Lake Park

Notes – The Lancers could be a team to keep an eye on in 2017. Chago Basso is strong in both the Shot Put and Discus. He has the second best returning distance. He did not have his best state meet failing to make the finals. He will challenge for the title this season. Basso did finish sixth in the Discus and does have one of the top returning marks. He could score some big points. Dan Spejcher has the talent to score points in the 110 Highs. He jumped 22-9 in his sectional in the Long Jump. He could finish this year in the top five. Ethan Koval did not make the state finals in the Pole Vault but did clear 15-3 during the season. He could be among the top four in that event. 

6 – Minooka

Notes – The Indians used their strength in the relays to finish seventh at state last year. The talent is there to repeat or better that finish. It starts with Soren Knudsen who won the 3A individual title at the State Cross Country Meet last fall. He finished third last spring in the 1600. Five days after that, he ran 4:08 for 1600 meters at the Festival of Miles. He also ran 9:18 during the season for 3200 meters. He could provide big points in both of those events. Brandon Adams was one of the key athletes in Minooka scoring in three relays last year along with Colin Marchio and Austin Arroyo. Adams ran 22.01 for 200 meters and 49.02 for 400 meter meters in summer meets. He could be one of the top runners in the 400. He could also be a big part of the relays again. Brennan Loughran cleared 14-6 at state last year just missing the top nine. He could take that next step up this season. Steve Lasinis is someone to watch in the horizontal jumps. He could score points in both the Long and Triple Jumps.

7 – Orland Park Sandburg

Notes – The Eagles lost state champions Chris and Sean Torpy to graduation. They were part of 30 of the team’s 40 points that gave them a trip back to Orland Park with a trophy finishing third. The talent is still there for Sandburg to repeat that third-place finisher or maybe even better. Dylan Jacobs was part of the team’s championship 3200 Meter Relay. He also finished 11^th in the 1600 finals. His confidence is growing after a great cross-country season where he finished third at state and then earned double All-American honors at the Nike Cross Nationals and the Foot Locker Nationals. I could see him getting big points in both the 3200 and 1600 this May in Charleston. Martin Skucas ran 4:20 last spring in the 1600. He has a good shot of earning all-state honors in that event. Ayo Abiona should also provide big points for this team. He finished third in the Long Jump and should be one of the favorites this season. He finished seventh in the 100. He should get big points in both sprint individual events.

8 – West Aurora

Notes – The Blackhawks missed a trophy last year by five points finishing fourth. Field event athletes should carry this team. Camron Donatlan is the defending state champion in the High Jump as he starts his second season of competing in track & field. Daquon Cross finished eighth in the High Jump and could finish this season in the top five. Davion Cross was second in the Triple Jump. He will be one of the favorites in the event. He could also score points in the Long Jump.

9 – Lake Villa Lakes Community         

Notes – Cameron Ruiz could leave Charleston with three individual titles and possibly a team trophy. Ruiz is the defending state champion in both the Long and Triple Jump and should be the favorite in both of those events. He has one of the fastest times returning in the 400. He finished sixth in the state finals but is the second returning placer in the event.

10 – Evanston Township

Notes – Brad Garron had the fastest state prelim time but did not have a good finals race finishing eighth. He should be one of the favorites in the event. He has the fourth fastest returning time in the 200. He could score points in that but there is an if attached to that. Garron anchored Evanston’s quartet to seventh in the 1600 Relay. Three are back from that team with eyes on a higher finish. Jonathan Wilburn has the sixth best returning mark in the Triple Jump and could score points in that event. The Wildkits could also get points from Morgan Brown in the Discus and Christian Nielsen in the Shot Put. Logan Singer could be a surprise in the 800.

11 – East St. Louis-Senior

Notes – The defending state champions lost the core group of scorers due to graduation. The Flyers are still in the mix to be in contention for a trophy. Deonte Anderson finished third in the 400 and has one of the fastest returning times in the event. Delano Anderson finished seventh in the 300 Hurdles. He does have one of the fastest returning times. He could score some big points in the event. The 3200 Relay has three back that finished ninth at state. The Flyers could be one of the teams to watch. Their sprint relays will be tough but it could be tough to repeat the three wins that they achieved last year. Jarrell Anderson could be the leader in each of those relays. Raymond Mix could also help in the Triple Jump.

12 – Mt. Prospect-Prospect

Notes – Billy Matzek could be one of the big scorers for the Knights this spring in both weight events. Matzek finished eighth in the Shot Put but could finish in the top five in 2017. He could also score in the Discus. Michael Shafis was a surprise last May finishing fifth in the High Jump as a freshman. He could do some big things in that event this season. James Riordan is the only returning athlete from Prospect team that finished third in the 3200 Relay. Sean Sanghan and Jack Terry are some of the athletes that could step in and put Prospect back in top five contention. Their sprints could be tough with Kevin Sherwood in the 400 and Anthony Kies in the 100. Their 400 and 800 relays could be tough this spring.

13 – Naperville Neuqua Valley

Notes – It is going to be a season where the Wildcats will see what part works in what events. We already know that they have a great distance group as evidenced by their state title last fall at Detweiller Park. Jackson Jett, Jake McEneaney and Scott Anderson all have the talent to score in the 3200. Zach Kinne has improved dramatically over the past season and could also be a part of the 3200. Anderson could score points in the 1600 along with Danny Winek who missed all cross-country season due to an injury. Their 3200 relay could also be strong led by Isaiah Robinson. He finished ninth in the open 800 and could contend in that event. He will also be a part of the 1600 Relay that finished second last year. JaQuere Williams is the only other returning athlete from that relay. Robinson ran 49.50 while Williams ran 49.72 in the 400. Both could score points in that event if they decide to run in it.

14 – Oak Park-River Forest

Notes – The Huskies should get points from Irwin Loud in either the 1600 or 3200 or both. Loud finished third last spring in the 3200 and fourth in the 1600. Brandon Gage ran 49.35 during the season in the 400. He could earn all-state honors in that event. Oak Park should have good sprint relays led by Rino Watson. Noah Coplan could be among the scorers in the Shot Put.

15 – Downers Grove North

Notes – Tariun Triplet had a good break out season in the sprints qualifying for the state meet in both the 100 and 200. He could score in both of those events this season. Their 400 Relay will be strong returning three led by Triplett. The Trojans will be strong in the distance events. Alec Danner is a good bet to score in either the 1600 or 3200. North will have a good 3200 relay team led by Brendan Lockerby.