Illinois HS Track & Field - Athletes to Watch in Class 3A Boys for the 2023 Season

By Michael Newman

It is a huge understatement that Class 3A Boys is wide-open for the 2023 season.

There are no returning state champions in the 14 individual state events from the 2022 IHSA State Meet. There are 126 athletes last year that were all-state. Out of that group, only 28 all-state athletes return for the 2023 season

The door is wide open where any athlete could step into the spotlight. It is hard to tell who will walk through that door first.

Daniel Watcke of Hinsdale Central, second-place in the 800 Meter Run and state champion in 2021 in that event could be that athlete. It could be his teammate Aden Bandukwala or Liam Newhart of Oak Park-River Forest could be focal athletes to watch for in the distances. You can read about them as well as the rest of the athletes in the three distance events in Illinois Distance Digest.

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

Athletes are listed below in alphabetical order

Danny Eloe (SR) – Naperville North – Eloe is the only runner back from last year’s Class 3A final race in the 100 Meter Dash finishing fifth overall. His best time last year in the event was 10.81 that happened at the 3A Lockport Sectional. Eloe did not compete in any open 100 Meter Dash races his sophomore year in 2021. He ran under 11-seconds five times last spring including his 10.82 state time. He also has a personal best of 21.99 at the DuPage County Meet in the 200 Meter Dash.

Saiheed Jah (SR) – Moline – Jah is the only athlete back in both hurdle races at last year’s state meet. Jah ran 14.70 in the finals of the 110 High Hurdles in the 3A State Meet to finish fifth overall. He followed that up by running 39.32 to finish sixth in the 300 Hurdles. He was all-state in both hurdles events also in 2021 finishing sixth in the 110 Highs and ninth in the 300 Intermediates. Jah is the only 3A athlete back in the shorter hurdle race that has a time in 2022 under 15-seconds. He is one of two 3A athletes that have times under 40-seconds returning.

Maverick Ohle (SO) – Naperville Central – One most remarkable seasons in Class 3A last year came from this then freshman from Naperville. Ohle threw 179-5.5 in the state finals of the Discus to finish second. You just don’t see a freshman place that high in a state meet in a weight event. He threw 172-5 in his first meet in April. He was consistent in his final three meets throwing between 174-feet and 180-feet. His 180-2.5 throw at the Lockport Sectional gave him the sectional title. He had a best of 51-3.75 to finish fourth in the Shot Put in his conference meet. Look for those performances to improve in his sophomore season.

Nick Pennington (JR) – Naperville Neuqua Valley – Pennington should be one of the elite athletes in the state in the Pole Vault as he enters his junior season. He did not compete in the Pole Vault his freshman season in 2021. He cleared 12-8.75 in his first meet last February and improved by a foot by the indoor season. He just kept going higher from there. He cleared 14-feet for the first time in his career at the Rock Island Sectional when he cleared 14-1.75 to finish second. He was hot in the state finals clearing 15-3 to finish second to earn all-state honors.

Josh Pugh (SR) – Yorkville – The top returning finisher in the 400 Meter Dash at last year’s state meet running 48.86 to finish third. He is one of the three athletes back at that distance that have run under 49-seconds. He ran under 50-seconds four times during the outdoor season. Pugh also qualified for state in the 200 Meter Dash but failed to qualify for the finals. He only ran that event three times outdoors with his sectional time of 22.26 his best.

Robert Scott III (SR) – Homewood-Flossmoor – Scott is the only athlete returning from last year’s finals in the 200 Meter Dash. His time of 22.17 finished third overall for all-state honors and was just 13 hundredth of a second away from a state title. Scott was also a part of Homewood-Flossmoor’s team that won the 4x100m Relay state title and second in the 4x200m Relay. He had a good summer post season running personal bests of 10.80 in the 100 Meter Dash and 21.81 for the 200 Meter Dash.

Alex Sohn (SR) – Normal Community – Sohn was undefeated in nine meets in the Shot Put entering the state meet. He had a 58-7.5 put in the prelims that ended up finishing third overall in the 3A Shot Put. He went past 58-feet in seven of his meets including 61-7 in his conference win and 60-11.5 to win the O’Fallon Sectional. He was undefeated in the Discus with a 176-3.75 best to win his sectional meet. He did not make the finals at state fouling on all three attempts in the prelims. An athlete also to keep an eye on in that event.