ILXCTF.com 2022 IHSA Boys Track & Field Previews - 2A Distances

By Michael Newman [email protected]

Welcome to the craziness in what we call the Class 2A Distance events for the 2022 season. I don’t know what to expect by the time we get to Charleston at the end of May. What I do expect is some amazing races on the campus of Eastern Illinois University.

Drew Rogers of Herscher returns as the defending champion in both the 1600 Meter Run and the 3200 Meter Run. Rogers will be highly motivated this spring especially after an injury slowed him down to a second-place finish in the 1A race in Peoria.

Alex Partlow of Carbondale ran 14:12 at Detweiller Park to win the 2A State Championship and record the second fastest time on that day. The fire was in his eyes during that state race. We should see some more fantastic things from him this spring.

Wilson Georges of Bartonville Limestone was all-state in both the 800 Meter Run and the 1600 Meter Run last spring. Georges ran a personal best of 14:36 to finish second in Peoria. He will be driven to capture a state title this spring. The 4:12 for the 1 Mile Run that he achieved last weekend in Louisville is an example of that drive.

Gavin Genisio of Benton had a 4:13.93 best as a freshman for the 1600 Meter Run last year. He finished third in state in that distance. The sky is the limit for him.

One thing to remember iis that we return to the traditional schedule of prelims for 2A in the morning, then the finals on Saturday afternoon. There were a number of athletes that took advantage of the finals only races and doubled in some cases with ease. It will be interesting to see the choices that are made by the time we get to the state series. Here is a look at the three individual distance events for Class 2A.

3200 Meter Run

Notes – It starts here in the first individual distance event of the meet. Drew Rogers of Herscher let Alex Partlow of Carbondale set the pace until Rogers decided to take over in the final lap in the twilight but still extreme conditions of Charleston. Rogers threw in a 59.2 final lap to win by four seconds ahead of Chris Cherry and another two seconds ahead of Partlow. Rogers ran under 9-minutes twice last year including running 8:57.78 in winning at Distance Night in Palatine. The confidence of Partlow has grown in the last year as we saw during the cross-country season. Partlow ran 9:18.77 to finish 13 in that Palatine race. I am sure he will be under nine minutes this season. Both runners could do some spectacular things in this event.

The only other all-state runner that is back and should also put up some fast times is Yusuf Baig of Burlington Central. The senior finished eighth in last year’s state meet. His best time was 9:40.16 for the distance. That time should also come down for Baig.

Wilson Georges of Limestone and Gavin Genisio of Benton did not run in this event last year but could be a factor if they choose to race it in Charleston. Georges ran 9:08.69 to finish eighth to finish eight at Palatine. Genisio ran 9:19.2 in a small meet at Murphysboro. Both runners could challenge the up-front pace.

The next seven runners back ran between 9:50 and 10:00. Sam Lambert of Urbana finished tenth at state and could earn all-state honors this spring. Some of the other runners that I would watch for include Joe Schwartz of Waterloo, Dylon Nalley of Marion, Kyle Nofziger of Mahomet-Seymour, Dale Johnson of Sterling, and Mac Kittrell of DePaul College Prep.

800 Meter Run

Notes – There are five athletes back that earned all-state honors last spring. Wilson Georges of Bartonville Limestone was consistent at this distance running under 1:57 in the four times he raced this distance. He returns with the fastest time (1:56.12) and highest place back when he ran 1:56.60 to finish fourth.

Grayden Rill of Fenwick ran 1:57.80 to finish fourth in his state race and could be Georges chief competition. Mark Masaka of Northridge Prep finished third in the Class 1A Finals last year after running the 4x800m Relay. His 1:58.26 could put him in the hunt to win a state championship. Lee O’Bryan of Fenwick, and Sam Atkinson of Mt. Zion were all-state last year and could also push for a state championship. Charlie Richardson of DePaul Catholic Prep, Tommy May of Montini Catholic, Kody Danko of Streator, and Nolan Allen of Kaneland are some of the runners to watch for in this event.

1600 Meter Run

Notes – Just as the 3200 should be exciting to watch, the same could be said about this event that will happen at the end of the state meet. Drew Rogers of Herscher was in third place entering the final lap of the 2A State Finals. Rogers closed with a 59.05 to set a new 2A state record (4:13.26) to win by four seconds ahead of Cadyn Grafton and Gavin Genisio of Dixon. Rogers two weeks before state ran 4:08.2 to finish second in St. Louis’ Festival of Miles where he was near last and completely out of the race.

Genisio ran a 4:13.93 best as a freshman last year and could graduate in almost three years with one of the fastest times in state history. Wilson Georges of Bartonville Limestone finished fifth in the State Finals after finishing third earlier in the meet in the 800 Meter Run. Georges ran 4:12.10 for 1600-meters at Magis Miles and should dip well under 4:10 this spring.

Alex Partlow of Carbondale qualified for state last year in this event but fell over the line just before the start. We saw what he did last fall. Partlow did run 4:16.28 last spring and will be a threat also in this event.

Michael Schumacher of St. Viator and Yusuf Baig of Burlington Central both finished in the top 12 last year after racing earlier in the meet. Both could earn all-state honors at this distance. Max Elder of Northridge Prep, Brock Davee of Mattoon, and Joseph Scheele of Mahomet-Seymour are a few of the many runners to watch as this season progresses.