2020 ILXCTF.com Illinois Track & Field Previews - 1A Boys Field Events

By Michael Newman

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DuQuoin missed the 1A State Team Championship last fall by just four points. One of the athletes that helped in that and could push the Indians to a state title in 2020 is Dasani Edward.

The specialty for this senior is the horizontal jumps as we saw in last year’s meet. Edward was dominant in winning the Long Jump as the only athlete to go past 23-feet (23-5.50). He fell short in the Triple Jump more than a foot behind champion Ramsey Hunt of Hume-Shiloh.

The field events in this classification should be interesting with three of the six events having state champions ready to defend their titles.

The Horizontals

These two runway events could come down to Edward and Hunt. In the Long Jump last year, Edward won the event with Hunt finishing sixth. If flipped in the Triple Jump with Hunt winning and Edward finishing third.

Both events appear to be wide-open in competition. Four of the top six athletes are back in the Long Jump. Lane Ross of Vienna was less than half a foot behind Edward and could be the state champ’s chief competition. Julian Samuels of Wethersfield finished ahead of Hunt and is the other returnee.

It should come down to a showdown between Hunt and Edward in the Triple Jump. Will Ross of Waverly is the only other all-state athlete bac. He finished seventh a year ago.

One athlete to keep an eye on is Peyton Sopiars of Galva Mid-County. He returns with the third best performance in the event. He did win the Orion Sectional in the event, but dd not compete at state. He did win the Class 1A state title in this event as a sophomore and could be the athlete that challenges Edward and Hunt.

The Verticals

The Pole Vault has six all-state athletes returning with four of them finishing either eighth or tied for ninth. The focus in this event should come down to two athletes. Tim Moore of Altamont is the top vaulter back having cleared 14-9 to finish third. Isaac Daugherty of Carlinville cleared 14-6 during the season along with Cameron Withers of Vandalia who did not have his best meet of the season finishing 12th at state. Daugherty finished fifth. Wes Kile of Pana is an athlete to keep an eye on in 2020 in this event.

A new champion will be looked for in the High Jump with the graduation of two-time champion Jordan Tedford. Levi Cole of Erie-Prophetstown enters with the top returning clearance of 6-6. Cole finished ninth at the state meet clearing only 6-4. Trent Weldon of Lowpoint-Washburn and Daniel Mendoza of Hope Academy both cleared 6-5 at state finishing fourth and fifth. The event is open with at least 10 athletes talented enough to win.

The Weights

Greg Zellers of New Berlin shot to the head of the class in the Shot Put ring last spring. His state championship put of 55-9.25 was over an inch ahead of graduated Logan Lee. Payton Taylor of Salt Fork had a 54-0.5 mark during the season and looks to be Zellers closest competition. He was more than two feet behind Zellers at state.  Three other all-state athletes are also back led by Caleb Lahey of Bismarck-Henning.

The Discus is open for advancement in 2020 with only three all-state athletes back. Jace Coffey of Forreston heads the returnees with his second-place state finish and 177-8 seasonal best from the state meet. Payton Taylor along with Jake Carter of Gillespie are the other top nine state finishers. Hayden Knott of St. Joseph-Ogden could be an athlete to watch for in this event.

Top Returning Class 1A Boys Field Event Athletes

Long Jump

Triple Jump

High Jump

Pole Vault

Shot Put

Discus