Illinois HS Track & Field Highlights - March 1, 2020

 

York ran a state leading 7:59.62 in the 4x8 to help them to an invite win on Saturday (York T&F Photo)

 

By Michael Newman

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March came in like a lion so to speak a day early in the Illinois Track & Field world. In any other year, it would have been the beginning of March. But this was a leap year (2020) where February was extended that one extra day.

It is in March in the Illinois Track & Field world where we start to see the hype, we start to see the performances that give us an indication of what the season will look like.

The Boys Meet at Huntley on Friday quietly turned in some great performances. You can read about that meet here and watch the videos from that meet.

Here are highlights and performances that caught our eyes this past weekend.

Huntley Recap | Huntley Video | WWS Girls Meet Video

 

A Series of 3200 Meter Run Races

The meet at Hononegah High School was not on the calendar for the Hersey High School Boys Track team in years past. The new facility north of Rockford will produce some great performances on their fast oval. It did on Saturday from Hersey’s Josh Methner.

We got an indication of what kind of shape the Foot Locker National Champion was in last week when he ran 2:37 for 1000-meters in flats at a small meet at Glenbrook South. Methner’s objective in Saturday’s race was to run a smooth 3200 Meter Run. He would have to do it himself. There would be no other runner in the field that would be able to touch him. Methner responded with a state leading time of 9:08.18 to lap the field and win the 3200 Meter Run by 45 seconds ahead of Rockford Auburn’s Peter Maculan.

The plan for Methner according to his coach Kevin Young was to get close to 9:10 in this race and get him ready for running the 5k at the Texas Distance Festival on March 14. Methner got a little excited running the first mile in 4:30. In the final eight laps he settled down to consistant 70 second 400-meters to get him to his finish time.

About 90 minutes later at the Olivet Nazarene HS Invitational in Bourbonnais, Brett Gardner of Lincoln-Way East and Jared Kreis of Lincoln-Way Central would step on to the fast oval in the Perry Recreation Center to run a 3200 Meter Run of their own. This would be the first race this season for Kreis. Gardner had two quality races under his belt having run 4:19 for 1600-meters and 9:17 for 3200-meters to weeks ago.

Expectations were high for some fast times between these two all-state athletes. They did not disappoint. The two runners pushed each other through this race lapping a quality field. They came in together side by side with Gardner grabbing the win (9:09.78) with the second fastest time in the state. Kreis was less than a second behind running an IL #3 9:10.52 time.

Also a race to take note was at Wheaton-Warrenville South on Friday Night. Wheaton-Warrenville South’s all-state cross country runner Ethan Seng put the state on notice that he could be a factor in the 3200 Meter Run by the time we get to the state meet in May. Seng ran a solo 9:38.43 (IL #11) on his home 178-meter track to win his race by 77 seconds.

Aly Negovetich of Grant Community was at Huntley on Friday evening to watch her school’s team compete in the Boys meet. She did get to see four of the top 15 times in the state turned in at that meet’s 3200 Meter Run led by the win from Minooka’s Vincent Van Eck. Perhaps that race gave her some inspiration as she stepped to the line Saturday morning to run the 3200 Meter Run in Huntley’s Girls Invitational. The Grant sophomore turned in the fastest 3200 Meter Run time in the state as she won the event running 10:49.99 winning by over a minute. Negovetich came back later in the meet to run 5:14.14 (IL #9) to win the 1600 Meter Run by nine seconds ahead of Alice Abbott of St. Charles East.

The Homewood-Flossmoor Girls Invitational held on Saturday is centered on some great sprint/hurdle performances. The best performance in this day might have come from the 3200 Meter Run. Josephine Welin of Oak Park-River Forest turned in a great solo effort running 10:54.99 (IL #2) lapping the field in winning by 49 seconds.

 

National Noteworthy

This does not Illinois athletes but does have a Midwest twist in here. It something that made history that has not happened before but as educated readers on this site, you should know what happened on February 28 at two meets on the East Coast of the United States in a span of approximately eight hours.

Rosin Willis of Stevens Point, Wisc. was in Boston to run in the Boston University’s Last Chance Meet that had pro and college runners competing in the 800 Meter Run. This high school sophomore won the second section of the event with a then national leading 2:03.05. Also in that section finished Sophia Gorriaran. The freshman from Moses Brown HS RI finished fourth in that section but still ran 2:03.98.

That evening at the Fast Track Last Chance Meet in the Ocean Breeze Center in Staten Island, Juliette Whittaker of Mt. de Sales MD, a high school sophomore, went out in a field similar to what Willis had to experience and won her section of the 800 Meter Run in an event winning time of 2:03.01.

Whittaker’s winning time is tops in the nation entering March as well as the third fastest indoor time ever by a Girls High School athlete. Willis performance was US #4 all-time. Gorriaran’s performance was US #7 all-time.

All of this happened in a span of last than eight hours when two sophomores and a freshman ran under 2:04 for 800-meters. The future is bright for American female middle distance running.

 

Top performances at ICOPS

The meet of Chicago area Catholic League prep institutions turned in some great performances Saturday at Lewis University.

St. Laurence showed off their strength in the sprints with the top two times in the state for the 55 Meter Dash. Brailyn Johnson lead all qualifiers in the prelims running 6.61 to win his heat. Teammate Cameron Yarbrough won his heat in 6.62 just one hundredth of a second behind. The times picked up in the finals. Johnson ran a state leading 6.44 for the win. Yarbrough was next in 6.50 (IL #2). Jovan Marsh of Marist ran 6.58 (IL #5 Tie) to finish third. Marsh came back to lead Marist to the win in the 800 Meter Relay with a 1:33.02 time (IL #3). St. Laurence finished second timed at 1:33.99 (IL #9).

Jaylin Boatman of De La Salle won the 200 Meter Dash with a 22.67 time (IL#2).

Marist’s Thomas Leonard was a double winner in the distance races. He started out by running 9:47.32 to win the 3200 Meter Run ahead of teammate Jake Phillips (9:49.19). Leonard came back to run 4:25.28 (IL #4) to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Aurora Central Catholic’s Rohn Ritchie by more than 10 seconds.

Andrew Saloga of Marmion Academy tuned up for next week’s Windy City Pole Vault Summit as he cleared 4.70m (15’ 5”) to win the Pole Vault. Malcom Bevans of St. Ignatius was a double winner in the horizontal jumps. The junior jumped 6.72m (22’ 0.5”, IL #9) to win the Long Jump. Bevans came back to jump 13.67m (44’ 10.25”, IL #8) to win the Triple Jump.

Athan Huelskamp of St. Viator moved to the top of the state leaderboards in the Shot Put. He had a put of 17.80m (58’ 4.75”) to win the meet championship.

 

Homewood-Flossmoor Girls Invitational

Kaylah McCall of Homewood-Flossmoor entered this meet with the state’s fastest time for the 60 Meter Hurdles. In this meet, she ran an IL #1 7.72 to win the 60 Meter Dash ahead of Whitney Young’s Sydney Robinson (7.75, IL #3 Tie). McCall also ran 8.73 to win the 60 Meter Hurdles ahead of DeKalb’s Brianna Barwick (9.23, IL #8 Tie).

Robinson came back to run 25.50 (IL #2) to win the 200 Meter Dash ahead of Homewood-Flossmoor’s Akela White (26.10, IL #8). Homewood-Flossmoor ran the state’s fastest time in winning the 800 Meter Relay (1:43.11) ahead of Whitney Young (1:45.70).

The top three state times were achieved in the 1600 Meter Relay. Homewood-Flossmoor ran 4:06.96 for the win in the event with Whitney Young (4:07.83) and DeKalb (4:08.31) close behind.

Lovie Annafi of Whitney Young swept both horizontal jump events. Annafi jumped 5.61m (18’ 4.75”) to win the Long Jump as well as jumping 11.45m (37’ 6.75”) to win the Triple Jump just ahead of Bloom Township’s Bria Armstrong (11.43m, 37’ 6”, IL #5).

 

Olivet Nazarene HS Classic (Co-Ed)

Lincoln-Way East scored 156 points to win the Girls meet ahead of Evanston Township (90 points). It was closer in the boys Meet as Evanston Township scored 89 points to win just two points ahead of Lincoln-Way East (87 points).

The Girls Meet produced some top state performances. It was a photo finish in the 60 Meter Dash as Ranyah Hodges of Thornton and Mariam Azeez of Lincoln-Way East were both timed at 7.83 (IL #6 Tie). The photo could not separate the two. Each were awarded first in the event. Azeez also jumped 5.83m (19’ 1.5”, IL #4) to win the Long Jump.

Kayla Bell of Thornton Fractional South ran 59.08 (IL #5) to win the 400 Meter Dash. Stephanie Kriss of Highland Park ran 2:19.58 (IL #6) to win by nine seconds in the 800 Meter Run. Lincoln-Way East ran 10:04.62 (IL #4) to win the 3200 Meter Relay. Evanston Township ruled the field in winning the 1600 Meter Relay in 4:08.80 (IL #4). The Wildkits won by15 seconds ahead of Jones Prep (4:23.97).

Khullen Jefferson of Thornton Fractional South was a double winner in the Boys Meet. Jefferson ran 50.63 to win the 400 Meter Dash by more than a second ahead of Evanston Township’s George Hannah (51.83, IL #10 Tie). Jefferson came back to run the state fastest time in winning the 200 Meter Dash (22.29). Sacrad Michelin of Evanston Township ran 22.84 (IL #6) to finish second.

AJ Henning of Lincoln-Way East was king of the 60 Meter Dash in this meet. The University of Michigan signee ran 7.01 (IL #4 tie) in the finals to win the event. Kalil Johnson of Evanston Township ran 8.20 (IL #2) to win the 60 Meter Hurdles ahead of teammate Aaron Hutchins (8.50, IL #6) and Danville’s Eric Turner (8.56, IL #9).

Michelin and Johnson led Evanston Township to the win in the 800 Meter Relay (1:33.18, IL #4) ahead of Lockport (1:33.67, IL #8). Evanston Township also ran 3:31.15 (IL #8) to win the 1600 Meter Relay.

 

Other Weekend Highlights

York scored 120 points to win the 55th annual Boys Invitational Saturday in Hillside. Maine South and Andrew both scored 65 points to tie for second ahead of fourth-place Lyons Township (59 points) and fifth-place Oak Park-River Forest (50 points).

The Dukes’ team title was paced by two event wins. The quartet of Michael Moriarty, Max Lupo, Colin Hill, and Daniel Klysh extended their state leading position as they ran top 20 national time of 7:59.62 to win the event by 12 seconds ahead of Maine South (8:11.86, IL #2) with Sandburg finishing third (8:17.96, IL #3).

York’s Christopher Radcliff made up his stagger in the first 120-meters of the 200 Meter Dash. Radcliff went on to run 22.61 (IL #2) to win the event. Earlier in the week on Tuesday competing on his home track, Radcliff ran a hand-timed 22.2 at the same distance in a low keyed quad meet.

The 55 Meter Dash was extremely close with the first 12 finishes separated by only 12 hundredths of a second. Isaiah Tyler of Proviso East ran 6.59 to win the event just one hundredth of a second ahead of St. Rita’s Kaleb Brown (6.60).

Stephen Harris of Cahokia showed why he is one of the top hurdlers in the state. The senior ran a state leading 7.71 to win the 55 Meter Hurdles ahead of Mychah Spells of Andrew (8.02) and Logan Costello-Southfield of Lyons Township (8.04 (IL #3). Brandon Battle of Edwardsville ran 51.73 (IL #8 Tie) to win the 400 Meter Dash.

The distance events produced some good performances. Lyons Township swept the first two places in the 3200 Meter Run. Jack Ehlert ran 9:37.12 (IL #8) for the win ahead of teammate Owen Hays (9:39.84). Kembre Daniel of Lincoln Park ran 1:57.43 (IL #2) to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of York’s Michael Moriarty (2:00.71) and Lyons Township’s Jocqael Thorpe (2:01.35). Ryan Schreiner of Wheaton North surprised some by winning the 600 Meter Run. The sophomore ran 1:24.95 (IL #2) for the win ahead of Nathan Polizzi of Lane Tech (1:25.52, IL #6), and York’s Daniel Klysh (1:25.64). The first three finishers in the 1600 Meter Run were separated by less than a second. Jones Prep’s Anthony Maida came away with the win (4:27.31, IL #9) ahead of Colin Hill of York (4:27.71, IL #10), and Ian Bacon of Jones Prep (4:27.98).

Thornwood ran 1:33.47 (IL #6) to win the 800 Meter Relay with York finishing second (1:34.60). Three of the state’s five fastest times came in the 1600 Meter Relay. Lane Tech ran 3:28.87 (IL #2) for the win in the event ahead of Proviso West (3:30.18, IL #3), and York (3:30.41, IL #5).

In the field events, Zach Frye of Lake Park cleared 4.75m (15’ 7”, IL #2) to win the Pole Vault. Dillon Peters jumped 13.48m (44’ 2.75”) to win the Triple Jump ahead of teammate Jordan Vela (13.21m, 43’ 4”). Vela cleared a personal best 1.96m (6’ 5.25”, IL #6) to win the High Jump. Edwardsville’s Kenyon Johnson jumped 6.68m (21’ 11”) to win the Long Jump. Peter Skoronski of Maine South had a 17.15m put (56’ 3”) to win the Shot Put. The night before at the Paul Swanson Relays, Skoronski had a 17.45m mark (57’ 3”, IL #2) to win the event.

 

Wheaton-Warrenville South ran a state leading 9:55.23 to win the 3200 Meter Relay in a home meet on Thursday paced by a 2:20.9 anchor leg by Samantha Poglitsch. Later in the meet, Poglitsch came back to run 1:02.27 to edge teammate Sydney Anton (1:02.63) for the win in the 400 Meter Dash.

Ashley Heidenrich of Waubonsie Valley ran a solo 5:11.92 (IL #4) to win the 1600 Meter Run finishing ahead of teammate Katelyn Mullinax by close to 15 seconds.

 

Neuqua Valley’s Riley Ammenhauser had the weekend’s top series of performances happening Friday Night at the Plainfield North Relays. She jumped a state leading 12.59m (41’ 3.75”, US #3) to win the Triple Jump. Ammenhauser then jumped an IL #2 5.92m (19’ 5”, US #8) to win the Long Jump. She was just as sensational on the track. The junior ran a state leading 7.32 to win the 55 Meter Dash ahead of Antioch’s Ayanna Tommy (7.39, IL #4) and Samantha Spencer of Providence Catholic (7.41, IL #5). On the same night at Glenbrook South, Raelyn Roberson jumped 19-7 in the Long Jump in a home meet.

 

Batavia Quad Meets on Friday and Saturday produced some top performance on their lightning fast track. On Friday in the Boys Meet, Joshua Duncan of St. Charles North ran 6.59 (IL #7) to win the 55 Meter Dash. Damian Rodriguez of Batavia ran 1:59.06 (IL #7) to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of teammate Joseph Knanishu (2:00.73). Adam Kennedy of Batavia won the 1600 Meter Run (4:27.20, IL #8). Hinsdale Central’s Elijah Sobecki ran 8.09 (IL #4) to win the 55 Meter Hurdles.

In the Girls race on Saturday, Batavia’s Katrina Schlenker started her season by running 5:09.45 (IL #3) to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Downers Grove South’s Brenna Cohoon (5:18.16). Erin Reidy of Downers Grove South ran 2:18.52 (IL #2) to win the 800 Meter Run. She came back to run 1:02.00 to win the 400 Meter Dash.

 

Cassius Havis of Alton ran the state leading time at 600-meters Saturday at the Roger Minton Invitational in Marion. Havis ran 1:23.97 for the win ahead of Blake Rigdon of Apollo KY (1:25.97). In an earlier event, Brooks Harlan of Centralia ran 1:59.74 (IL #9) to win the 800 Meter Run ahead of Havis (2:02.38). Joshua Schmid of Marion had a performance of 54-6 to win the Shot Put.