Illinois HS Track & Field Weekend Highlights - March 9, 2020

Wes Beitler of Waubonsie Valley wins the 3200 Meter Run Saturday at the University of Illinois Armory (Patrick McGuire Photo Credit)

By Michael Newman

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This weekend kicked off on Thursday with the best meet of the season so far at North Central College. The competitive finishes in the three distance races (along with a few other races) will be talked about for years to come.

WATCH THE NCC CARDINAL GIRLS HS CLASSIC HERE!

Friday saw a state leading 200 and a close 1600 at York. Four of the state’s top 10 times came from that 1600. Two of the top three state times came from that 200 Meter Dash race.

WATCH THE YORK BOYS INVITATIONAL HERE!

Saturday saw a repeat winner in the Girls competition at the Windy Pole Vault Summit. The boys competition was simply dynamite with the two athletes clearing 16’ 0”, then going after a 16’ 5” height.

WINDY CITY POLE VAULT SUMMIT HIGHLIGHTS (VIDEOS OF THE MEET COMING SOON)

Two races in the 1600 Meter Run at two different meets in the state caught the attention of most on Friday Night and Saturday.

Richland County freshman Tatum David had never run an indoor meet in her running career. The 2A State Cross Country Champion and two-time All-American made her high school debut Friday evening at the Jacksonville Indoor Invitational held at Illinois College. David put notice to everyone in Class 2A (and the nation) that she was ready for fast times on the track.

David ran two races at this meet. The first was in the 3200 Meter Relay where she ran the opening leg. David put her team way in front in the race as she ran an opening split of 2:17.49. The freshman had more than four to recover before she toed the line for the 1600 Meter Run. She would have competition in that race. Lydia Roller of Staunton, who had finished second last fall in the 1A State XC Meet, was coming back from the 800 Meter Run where she ran an even paced 2:21.52 to win the event by six seconds.

David and Roller were the class of this race. David, however, was in a class by herself. The freshman took out the first 400-meters in 70.6 with Roller already six seconds behind. Some coaches and parents watching the race commented how easy she looked with her stride and how the race was a joy in watching her run.

David passed 800-meters in 2:24.1 with Roller at 2:35.5. David slowed down the second half of the race but considering this was her first meet of the season, wow. The freshman passed 1200-meters in 3:38.30 on her way to a 4:51.49 win. Her time at that moment placed her with the fastest time in the state and after the weekend ranked fourth nationally. Don’t dismiss Roller after she finished second running 5:16.49. Her times in both the 800 and 1600 are ranked #4 in Class 2A.

David’s time stood on top of the leaderboards for less than 24 hours. Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West changed the order. Glenbard West was competing in a 14 team invitational in Hillside that did not much distance presence in the teams in the field. Hart anchored her team to an easy win in the 3200 Meter Relay (9:54.91) ahead of Evanston Township (10:01.51, IL #8).

The 1600 Meter Run race for Hart would be a glorified time trial in an invitational meet. Chasing after lapped runners would help her in the effort. She said after the meet Thursday night at North Central College that that meet’s race was a matter of getting her feet wet again racing. The effort that she gave on Saturday showed that she had her racing legs back. Hart ran her third fastest time ever indoors (including the mile) when she ran a solo 4:45.84 to win the race by 55 seconds. The time is the top time in the state for that distance and second nationally.

Hart will run Friday in the 5000 Meter Run Friday afternoon in the New Balance Indoor Nationals at New York City’s Armory Track & Field Center. She could either choose between the 1-mile or 2-mile on Sunday. David mentioned in December that she would not run in nationals. She is not in the entries as of Sunday. The next race you could see her race in is this Saturday at the Charleston Invitational at Eastern Illinois University.

Here are some other highlights from some of the meets throughout Illinois.

Fast times at the U of I

Wes Beitler of Waubonsie Valley did not have the race like he wanted last fall at Detweiller Park. That 65 place finish last November at the state meet has been driving him to personal bests and fast times this indoor season. His race in Saturday’s Charger Classic at the University of Illinois Armory showed that. Beitler took the lead 400-meters into the race and never looked back in winning the Group A race in the 3200 Meter Run with a 9:26.31 time (IL #6) ahead of Edwardsville’s Ryan Watts by 17 seconds.

There were some good performances in the morning session of the meet that consisted of Boys teams. Edwardsville’s Brandon Battle was the meet’s only double winner in the A group. Battle ran 50.51 (IL #3) to win the 400 Meter Dash ahead of the 50.83 time of Plainfield South’s Niko Schultz (IL #4). Battle came back to run 22.73 (IL #7) to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Onyi Ukaobasi of Geneva won in a close finish in the 60 Meter Hurdles. His time of 8.55 was just four hundredths of a second ahead of Bloom Township’s Brian Dickerson. Ukaobasi’s teammate Ben Calusinski ran 4:25.75 (IL #10) to win the 1600 Meter Run ahead of Charlie Wetzel of Normal West (4:29.67) and Jackson Bukala of Waubonsie Valley (4:31.45).

Hunter Hendershot of Mahomet-Seymour had a 16.96m best (55’ 7.5”) to win the Shot Put. His teammate CJ Shoaf cleared 2.00m (6’ 6.75”) to win the High Jump.

The evening session of the meet with Girls team’s competing showcased how strong defending 3A state champions are in the sprints. The Lady Vikings took the top three spots in the 60 Meter Hurdles in the process running the fastest three times in the state. Kaylah McCall ran 8.59 for the win ahead of teammates Ana-Liese Torian (8.73) and Jasmyn Hunter (8.83). Thornton’s Ranyah Hodges ran 7.81 (IL #6) to win the 60 Meter Dash ahead of Homewood-Flossmoor’s Alicia Adams and Damiyah Morgan of Thornton who finished second and third both with the same time (7.92).

HF took the first two spots in the 200 Meter Dash as Ashanti Denton ran 25.07 for the win ahead of teammate Alexandria Edison (25.36, IL #2). Edison earlier ran 1:00.20 to win the 400 Meter Dash.

Thornton displayed some strong baton passing in running 1:44.96 (IL #2) to win the 800 Meter Relay ahead of Homewood-Flossmoor (1:49.09) who did not have their top quartet in that event.

Urbana’s Diamonasia Taylor started her senior season by clearing 1.65m (5’ 5”) to win the High Jump. Taylor finished third in the Long Jump (5.19m, 17’ 0.25”) behind event winner Tanaya Young of Rantoul (5.42m, 17’ 9.5”) and Jasmyn Hunter of Homewood-Flossmoor (5.28m, 17’ 3.75”). Aliyah McDaniel of Tolono Unity achieved a new indoor personal best of 13.59m (44’ 7”, IL #2) to win the Shot Put by more than nine feet.

Homewood-Flossmoor ABC Meet

Marshall Ellis was a double winner on his home track. Ellis ran 6.91 to win the 60 Meter Dash. He followed that up by running 22.92 (IL #10) to win the 200 Meter Dash by four hundredths of a second ahead of Crete-Monee’s Trayvon Rudolph.

Evanston Township’s Max Peterson also won two events on the “A” level of this meet. Peterson ran 1:59.94 to win the 800 Meter Run by three seconds ahead of Huntley’s Ian Geisler (2:02.14). Peterson also ran 4:30.90 to win the 1600 Meter Run with Downers Grove North’s Thomas Diamond (4:33.56) and Wil Kiley of Lockport Township (4:33.97) finishing second and third.

Daylin Williams of Homewood-Flossmoor was off his seasonal best by just a hundredth of a second as he ran 8.09 to win the 60 Meter Hurdles.

Homewood-Flossmoor’s Abdul-Karin Toheeb-Lawal was a double winner jumping 6.64m (21’ 9.5”) to win the Long Jump and 12.99m (42’ 7.5”) to win the Triple Jump.

Carter McCarroll of Hinsdale Central established a huge personal best as he ran 9:31.76 (IL #10) to win the 3200 Meter Run.

Jacksonville Indoor Invitational (Friday and Saturday)

We mentioned above the exploits of Tatum David and Lydia Roller. There were some other great performances in this two day meet.

In Friday’s 2A/3A meet, Seven Hicks of Richwoods claimed two wins in the sprints. Hicks ran 7.28 (IL #4) to win the 55 Meter Dash. She then ran 25.89 (IL #7) to win the 200 Meter Dash ahead of teammate Mia Jackson (26.60). Jackson earlier ran 8.89 to win the 55 Meter Hurdles.

In the Friday Boys Meet, McKallen Smith of Freeburg cleared 2.02m (6’ 7.5”, IL #2) to win the High Jump over defending Class 2A champion Trevor Heffren of Eureka who cleared 1.97m (6’ 5.5”, IL #7). Londyn Little of Columbia started out strong with the fastest prelim time (6.62) in the 55 Meter Dash. Little finished second in the finals (6.69) behind event winner Quentin Johnson of Mascoutah (6.66). Little came back to run 22.67 (IL #4) to win the 200 Meter Dash.

Eureka won two of the three relays in this meet starting with a 1:33.06 (IL #4) to win the 800 Meter Relay ahead of Mascoutah who ran 1:33.29 (IL #7). Eureka then ran 3:32.79 to win the 1600 Meter Relay by more than two seconds ahead of Chatham-Glenwood (3:35.01).

The 1600 Meter Run was a close finish as Elias Bergman of Illinois Valley Central ran 4:32.04 to hold off Alton’s Cassius Havis (4:32.47) for the win.

Saturday’s 1A Boys Meet produced a double win from Maroa-Forsyth’s Braden Crosby in the 55 Meter Dash (6.84) and the 200 Meter Dash (23.29). Noah McIntyre of Athens ran 4:35.19 to win the 1600 Meter Run winning by two seconds ahead of Miles Sheppard of Hamilton/Warsaw (4:37.77).

Ramsey Hunt of Hume-Shiloah jumped 6.73m (22’ 1”) to win the Long Jump. Hunt also jumped 13.59m (44’ 7”, IL #9) to win the Triple Jump.  

Faith Wyman of Trenton-Wesclin swept the Girls sprints with a double win. Wyman ran 7.43 to win the 55 Meter Dash as well as winning the 200 Meter Dash running 25.76 (IL #5). Maleigha Huston of Bushnell-Prairie Central ran 2:22.24 to win the 800 Meter Run by more than a second ahead of Lexy Henrikson of Williamsville (2:23.69). Riley Vickery of Alton Marquette ran 5:23.34 to win the 1600 Meter Run by less than a second ahead of Huston (5:23.62).

Batavia Weekend Meets

The Coach DiDomenico Invitational on Friday night produced some top times and performances on Batavia fast fieldhouse track. Before Zach Frye of Lake Park competed in the Windy City Pole Vault Summit on Saturday, Frye achieved a new school record clearing 4.83m (15’10.25”). Minooka’s Rick Undesser cleared 4.61m (15’ 1.5”, IL #4). Jake Borman of Burlington Central had a 16.56m best (54’ 4”, IL #9) to win the Shot Put.

Batavia’s relays tuned up for Monday’s DGS Mustang Relays by running 1:33.36 (IL #8) to win the 800 Meter Relay ahead of Minooka (1:33.60). The Bulldogs ended the meet by running 3:31.07 to win the 1600 Meter Relay.

Minooka’s Jason Hoffman ran 1:57.35 (IL #2) to win the 800 Meter Relay with Daiveon Richardson of West Aurora running 1:59.44 to finish second. Anthony Farmer of Burlington Central won the 1600 Meter Run (4:28.62) by  second ahead of Batavia’s Eamon Samsami (4:29.71). Bartlett’s Mario Harris ran 6.59 (IL #7) to win the 55 Meter Dash.

In the Pete Heimsath Invitational on Saturday morning, Batavia ran the second fastest Girls time in the state (9:45.08) in winning the 3200 Meter Relay. Lauren Huber of Glenbard East ran an indoor personal best of 2:18.46 (IL #6) to win the 800 Meter Run with Janae Dean of Hoffman Estates running 2:19.03 (IL #9) to finish second.

Glenbard East’s Keeli Dunaway won both horizontal jumps with a 11.33m mark (37’ 2”, IL #8) to win the Triple Jump and a 5.26m (17’ 3”) jump to win the Long Jump.

Other Notable Performances

Cameron Yarbrough of St. Laurence surpassed teammate Brailyn Johnson in the 60 Meter Dash Saturday at the Normal U-High Invitational at Illinois State. Yarbrough ran 7.01 (IL #4 tie) to win the event ahead of Johnson (7.03) and Thornwood’s Efosa Osagiede (7.06, IL #9 Tie). The 60 Meter Hurdles finals produced three of the top 10 times in the state. Tri-Valley’s Luke Myszka ran 8.38 (IL #5) to win the event ahead of TF North’s Michael Shipley (8.48, IL #7) and Clifton Central’s Jefferson Caspary (8.49, IL #8).

Mychah Spells of Andrew ran 7.97 (IL #5) to win the 55 Meter Hurdles at a meet Friday night at Lincoln-Way Central. He won by three hundredths of a second ahead of Lincoln-Way Central’s Henry Woods (8.00, IL #). Jared Kreis tuned up for this Friday’s Batavia Distance Madness on his home track as he ran 2:00.83 to win by 10 seconds.

Malcom Beavers of St. Ignatius Prep had top 10 state performances in the horizontal jumps Friday evening at the University of Chicago. Beavers jumped a personal best 6.88m (22’ 6.75”, IL #2) to win the Long Jump. He also produced a 14.10m personal best (46’ 3”) to win the Triple Jump.

The top two times in the state were produced in the 55 Meter Dash in the Girls Panther Invitational Saturday in Hillside. Lindsey Miller of Simeon and Asia Thomas of Kenwood were timed at 7.13 in the Varsity finals. The finish photo confirmed Miller was the winner. Audrey Allman of Glenbard West came back from her win Thursday at North Central College by running 2:14.68 (IL #4) to win the 800 Meter Run by 11 seconds. The biggest surprise of the day came in the 1600 Meter Relay when Evanston Township’s team ran the state’s fastest time to win the Frosh/Soph 1600 Meter Relay (4:03.26). Glenbard West ran 4:06.73 (IL #2) to win the Varsity race ahead of DeKalb (4:08.33), Kenwood (4:10.87, IL #8), and Niles North (4:10.96, IL #9).

Three of the top ten 3200 Meter Relay times were produced at York’s Girls Meet #3. Downers Grove North ran 9:55.88 (IL #4) to win ahead of New Trier’s 10:03.27 (IL #9) and York’s 10:03.30 (IL #10). Prospect’s Audrey Ginsberg ran 5:09.08 (IL #8) to win the 1600 Meter Run.

At Rockford Auburn’s Girls Showcase on Saturday, Victoria Spagnola of West Aurora and Brooke Barkocy of Burlington Central ran top 10 times in the 60 Meter Hurdles. Spagnola ran 9.16 (IL #7) for the win ahead of Barkocy’s 9.18 (IL #8). Thornwood’s Christine Nosike had a 13.16m mark (43’ 2”, IL #2) to win the Shot Put ahead of Grayslake Central’s Julia Reglewski ( 12.93m, 42’ 5”) and Sarah Hulstedt of Belvidere North ( 12.46m, 40’ 10.5”, IL #9).

Tori Thomas of Rock Island Alleman produced the state’s best mark this season when she cleared 3.93m (12’ 10.75”) to win the Pole Vault at the St. Ambrose Univ HS Meet in Dubuque, Iowa.

Sophomore Brooke Probst of Indian Creek cleared a personal best 1.65m (5’ 5”, IL #3 tie) to win the High Jump Saturday at the Gold Medal Meet in Sterling.