Illinois HS Track & Field - Athletes to Watch in Class 2A Boys for the 2023 Season

By Michael Newman

There are eight state champions that are back out of the 14 events that are contested at the IHSA State Meet in Charleston.

The strength in this classification this year is in the field events where all six state champions return. The best of those is Paul Migas of Lakes Community who has the top performance coming back in the state in the Pole Vault.

The distance events are guaranteed to have three new state champions with the 2022 having graduated. Gavin Genisio of Benton is the top runner back. Ethan Hogan of Columbia running 4:15 last week in Louisville  will also have a say on who wins a state title. You can read about them as well as the rest of the athletes in these disciplines in Illinois Distance Digest.

Here are some of the top athletes to watch for this upcoming season.

Athletes are listed below in alphabetical order

JehChys Brown (SR) – Centralia – An athlete that is in position to claim the two state championships in the weight events. Brown is one of the top weight athletes in Class 2A. He had a personal best put of 59-6.25 to help him win the Shot Put in the state meet. He was tough outdoors in that event winning in eight of then Shot Put events that he competed in. He was over 56-feet in four of those meets. Brown finished third in the event as a sophomore in 2021. He threw over 160-feet in six of the 11 meets in the Discus. His best throw was 171-0.75 in a meet at Mt. Vernon last May. Brown threw 164-6 in the prelims to get him third in the state meet finals in the event.

Teegan Davis (SR) – Princeton – A three sport athlete that was all-state last fall during the football season. Davis committed to the University of Iowa in December. Davis also has done some things in track and field which showed in the 2022 season. He was ninth in the High Jump as a sophomore in 2021. His junior season started after the basketball season last year when he cleared a 6-9.5 personal best to win the 2A High Jump at Illinois Top Times. Davis was undefeated in 10 meets outdoors which included a 6-6.25 clearance to win a state championship in the event. He also was all-state in the Long Jump finishing seventh. He was the leadoff runner on his 4x1 team that finished tenth in the prelims just missing making the finals. He also made the finals in the Triple Jump finish eleventh.

Nicholas DeLoach (SR) – Cahokia – The future looked bright for DeLoach when he was all-state in two events as a sophomore. Promise turned into reality as a junior in 2022 as he was all-state in three field events. He could go down as one of the top athletes ever at Cahokia as he enters this season. He is the top all-around field event athletes in the state. After finishing third in the Triple Jump as a sophomore, DeLoach went out to jump 46-4 to win his first state championship. He jumped 22-4 to finish second in the Long Jump in Charleston. He only has a 6-4 clearance as a personal best in the High Jump. That mark was good enough to place third at state.

Jackson Gilbert (SR) – Urbana – Gilbert returns back for his senior season to defend his state title in the 400 Meter Dash. His range is dramatic having run 11-seconds in the 100 Meters Dash to running on Urbana’s sectional team last cross country season. His best event last season showed it was the 400 Meter Dash. Gilbert ran six outdoor 400’s last IHSA outdoor season with all times faster than 50 seconds. His 47.48 state win was the fastest in the state. He returns with that state fastest returning time as well as one of the top 30 times nationally. Gilbert ran 21.69 during last season in the 200 Meter Dash at the Tolono Unity Sectional. He ran 22.40 in the state finals to finish fourth. He showed his range having run 1:57 at Distance Night in Palatine. He could be a difference maker if he decides to race in that event. Gilbert was an All-American last summer at the USATF Junior Olympics when he finished fourth in the 17-18 age group.

Paul Migas (JR) – Lakes – To be the top returning athlete in the Pole Vault after your sophomore season shows the strength that Paul Migas has in that event. An injury slowed him down his freshman season. Things perked up last year starting indoors where he cleared over 15-feet three times. He finished fourth at the Nike Indoor Nationals earning him All-American honors. He was undefeated in his outdoor season where he cleared 15-5 to win the 2A State title. Migas continued on in the post season clearing a then personal best of 15-11 to finish fourth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. He has started out strongly this indoor season clearing 15-11.25 in a club meet in Chicago.

Jayon Morrow (SR) – Kankakee – Morrow came so close to individual state championships in the three individual events he was entered in leaving Charleston with second-place finishes. He did run on the 4x100m Relay team that won the 2A state title. He is a reason Kankakee left last year’s state meet with the 2A State team title. Morrow again will be one of the key figures in the Class 2A sprints and could leave Charleston with at least one individual state title. Morrow’s best performance in Charleston last year came when he ran 47.90 to finish second in the 400 Meter Dash. Before that, he ran 10.77 to place second in the 100 Meter Dash and afterwards 21.97 for second in the 200 Meter Dash. Morrow had a strong start last week on the banked curves of the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track Center winning with times of 22.04 for the 200 Meter Dash and 49.67 for the 400 Meter Dash.

Chris Nelson (SO) – Herrin – When someone wins a state championship as a freshman, then you need to take a deeper look. It seemed that Nelson was a face in the crowd heading into his sectional meet with only a 10.84 time from his conference meet. His time dropped down to 10.70 to win the 2A State 100 Meter Dash. Nelson was also an influence for Herrin when he anchored his team to a state win in the 4x200m Relay. He was also all-state in the 200 Meter Dash when he finished fifth and also fifth in the High Jump. A four time all-state athlete is tough to find every year. Someone that does it as a freshman is worth keeping an eye on the next three seasons.

David Russell (SR) – Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central – Another athlete in Class 2A to keep an eye on in the weight events. Russell was a surprise at the end of the 2022 season. He did earn all-state honors by finishing fourth in the Shot Put and ninth in the Discus in his sophomore year in 2021. He started out slow last year with four throws over 150-feet. He just made it out of his sectional finishing second. Russell dominated at state leading after the prelims then winning the Discus with a 171-9 personal best. He had a three foot personal best in the Shot Put in his prelim mark of 56-3.5 that helped him finish second overall. He won’t be a surprise in his senior season.