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Class 2A Storylines to Follow at the 2023 Illinois Top Times Championships

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Illinois Top Times   Mar 23rd 2023, 1:03pm
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Class 2A Storylines to Follow at the 2023 Illinois Top Times Championships

 

By Michael Newman

 

Injuries slowed down Emmi Scales of St. Viator during her sophomore season in 2021 where she finished eighth and was all-state in the 200 Meter Dash. The spotlight started shining on Scales during that summer and has stayed on her since.

 

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Her season ended last year with three state titles and then becoming the national champion in the 100 Meter Hurdles at USATF Outdoor Junior Olympic Championships. Scales ran great in Boston at the New Balance Nationals Indoors earning All-American honors by finishing third with an 8.32 time. Her best time in the event at the end of last season was 8.72. It is easy to imagine that this senior will have the IHSA State Meet record of 13.54. She has the best time ever for an Illinois athlete 13.52 last summer at USATF.

 

It was a mixed bag for Scales last year in this meet finishing second in the 60 Meter Hurdles and then came right back to win the 60 Meter Dash. She is focusing just on the 60 Meter Hurdles on Saturday morning. Her best time this year is two tenths of a second ahead of the meet record set by Imani Carothers in 2018 (8.54). That record should be Scales after she finishes her preliminary heat.

 

Brianna Dixon of Rantoul is the defending champion in this event and has run 8.79 this season. Anna Barr of Normal University has run 8.81. Their times are great but unless something dramatic happens, the two could be challenging for the second spot since Scales seems light years ahead.

 

Dixon will be one of the athletes to watch in this meet as she will compete in the High Jump and the 60 Meter Dash, and the 200 Meter Dash. Dixon is seeded second in the High Jump with a 5-5.75 seasonal best. The favorite in the event will be Molly Grohmann of Waterloo who has an IL #2 best of 5-8.

 

There will be plenty of action going on inside of the Shirk Center during the Saturday morning session of the Illinois Top Times Championships. Here are a few athletes and events to keep an eye on in Class 2A of this meet.

 

Double Delight in the 2A Boys Distance Events led by Hogan and Genisio

Gavin Genisio of Benton has developed into one of the top distance runners in the state. That started in his freshman season. He was all-state last year in Charleston finishing second in the 800 Meter Run and fifth in the 1600 Meter Run. The 4:09.23 that he ran to win the High School at Magis Miles catapulted himself into a great junior season.

 

Genisio won the Class 1A State XC title in a driving rainstorm last November. His track season started by running 4:16.19 for the mile and a personal best of 9:09.42 for the 3200 Meter Run.

 

Not too many people knew who Ethan Hogan of Columbia was before this past fall. He was all-state last May finishing ninth in the 3200 Meter Run. His best times at the end of the year was 9:43 and 4:31. Hogan did get some recognition last fall finishing sixth in the 1A State XC Meet behind Genisio.

 

His times have dramatically improved this indoor season. His time dropped down to 4:15.73 for the 1 Mile Run in winning at the Louisville Indoor Games. He followed that up by running a solo 9:13.31 to easily win the 3200 Meter Run at Principia College.

 

That leads us to Genisio and Hogan in the 1 Mile Run at the New Balance Nationals Indoor two weeks ago. Hogan dropped his time down even further as he ran 4:09.92 to win the third section of the event. It was a lead he would not relinquish until the final two sections. Genisio in the penultimate section of the event bettered his seasonal best running 4:12.50.

 

The two area rivals will face each other twice in this meet. Class 2A Meet Records could fall. Clay Elward ran 9:13.84 in the 3200 Meter Run in 2010. Wilson Georges ran 4:13.10 on this track a year ago to set the record in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

The races could be tactical. I don’t think so. We could see dynamite times in both races. The 3200 could have a fast pace with Jackson Collman of Civic Memorial, Joe Schwartz of Waterloo, and Dale Johnson of Sterling in that race. All have season bests between 9:24 to 9:26.

 

We should not forget about the 800 Meter Run. Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic should be the big favorite in this event. Hilby, who finished third behind Genisio in last year’s state meet at this distance. A year of cross country has made him stronger. He ran an indoor personal best of  1:55.40 in winning at Batavia Distance Madness two weeks ago. He is four seconds faster than the next closest runners in the field. There are five runners that are in the 1:59 range led by Sam Atkinson of Mt. Zion and Payton Whitehead of Lakes.

 

The 4x800m Relay is wide open with Champaign Central entering this race with an 8:19.44 top seed time. There is a six second difference between Central and six schools that have run between 8:25 to 8:30 led by Civic Memorial and Benet Academy.

 

Heitzig’s quick transition from hoops to the track

Becca Heitzig of Lincoln keeps herself busy in her high school life whether it is Cross Country and Volleyball in the fall, to basketball during the winter, to the track season to end her school year.

 

Heitzig does not have one best sport. She excels in all of them. It is track where she could be at her best. In last year’s state finals in Charleston. Heitzig ran 2:09.99 to set a new 2A record in winning the state title. Last fall while helping Lincoln to the sectional semifinals in Volleyball, Heitzig finished third in the 2A State XC Meet. Her basketball season ended one week later this year as she was a member of Lincoln’s runner-up basketball team.

 

Success seems to follow Heitzig around. What kind of success will be next for her in this track season?

 

Heitzig took a different path to this in this meet than she did last year when she won the 3200 Meter Run and then third in the 400 Meter Dash. With one less week of track training, Heitzig will double running the 800 Meter Run then less than an hour later running in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

List leader in the 800, 1600, and 3200 Tatum David is not racing in this meet. The Lincoln junior has the third fastest 2A time (2:15.44) in the 800 Meter Run. Gabrielle Walker of DePaul Prep ran 2:15.08 last Friday in the GCAC Championships in the top seed. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester, who finished second behind Heitzig last year at state, is not in this event concentrating on the 4x8 and the 400 Meter Dash.

 

Heitzig ran 5:00.30 on Monday at a meet inside of this facility and showed how fit she is. She has the second 2A time in the state trailing only David. She is the top seed in this event by 11 seconds with Sundara Weber of Sandwich and Colette Kinsella of Nazareth Academy.

 

Weber, just a freshman, had a big cross-country season culminating with a second-place finish in the 1A State Meet. She has the fastest time in this meet having run 11:00.111 at Reed-Custer two weeks ago. Natalie Bierbaum of Normal University also had a good cross-country season until an injury slowed her down at the end of the season. This freshman has rebounded having run 11:04.42 on this track last Saturday. Erica Woodard of Tolono Unity is within two seconds of Bierbaum and should be in the challenge for the win.

 

King and Queen of the Sprints wide open in Class 2A

Who will be the queen of the sprints in Class 2A on Saturday morning? Defending state 100 Meter Dash Champion and last year’s winner in the 60 Meter Dash, Emmi Scales, chose to concentrate on the hurdles in this meet. It opens the door for many possibilities on who could come home with the crown.

 

The top three runners in the Girls 200 Meter Dash are within a tenth of a second of each other. Symone Frison of Lindblom ran 7.74 at the beginning of February and has the fastest time in the field. The junior ran 7.78 last Saturday at the Chicago Public League Championships to finish second. Lena Jackson of Richwoods ran 7.78 in the Shirk Center to win the Big 12 Championship on March 13. Naomi Bey-Osbourne of Kankakee ran 7.79 at the U of I three weeks ago and could end up the favorite in this race. The Kankakee sophomore will also be the big favorite in the 200 Meter Dash having the top Class 2A time in the state of 25.14. Brianna Dixon ran 25.49 at Louisville last weekend and could be a surprise in this race.

 

Bey-Osborne has the fastest 2A time at 400-meters but will not run in this event. Colleen Zeibert of Rochester enters with the top seed time.

 

Three runners have run under seven seconds that are entered in the Boys 60 Meter Dash. Braydon Waller of Marian Catholic started off his season strong having run 6.84 at the University of Michigan in March. Waller’s best time since that point has been 6.92 at the end of February at Proviso West. Nathan Hippard of Mascoutah ran 6.93 at Principia two weeks ago and has his sights set for the championship in this meet. Chris Nelson of Herrin was the surprise in last year’s state meet as a freshman winning the state title in the 100 Meter Dash. Nelson ran 6.99 at Marion at the end of February and could pull off another stunner. Chicago Catholic League champion Jermaine Hampton of Mt. Carmel could be a runner to watch for.

 

Jackson Gilbert of Urbana is the defending state champion outdoors in the 400 Meter Dash. Gilbert will also be the big favorite in this meet being the only runner under 50 seconds (49.29). DeAngelo Hughey of Mahomet-Seymour has stepped up and could challenge having run  50.15 last week in Louisville. Hughley and Waller will face off in the final section of the 200 Meter Dash. Waller at 22.35 comes in with the fastest seed time.

 

One of the emotional moments of this meet could be during the prelims of the Boys 60 Meter Hurdles. All-state athlete Dylan Bazzell of Prairie Central and aother Prairie Central classmate Drew Fehr lost their lives in a sledding accident in Colorado last Sunday. Bazzell would have been one of the favorites in that race as well as the High Jump. Fehr would have also been in this meet competing in the Pole Vault. Both athletes were kept in the entries. Bazzell's blocks will remain empty in the final heat of the hurdles. His memory will not be empty in the hearts of those at the meet.

 

Crawford reaching higher grounds in the Shot Put

What an improvement that Cahokia’s Chase Crawford has made in the past year in the Shot Put. When he enters the ring on Saturday morning, he will be the big favorite in the event.

 

Crawford only finished ninth in this meet last year with a 44-5 best. He made it to state last May but did not make it past the preliminary flights.  He had a sectional meet best of 49-10.75 best to end that season.

 

Look what this athlete in just his indoor season. He improved by nine feet in his first meet of the season in Arkansas with a 58-6 put. His meet at Proviso West is his best where he had a huge personal best of 63-3.5. That mark is still ranked #2 in the state. The senior is currently ranked #6 nationally. Crawford has gone past 60-feet twice this season. Caleb Smith of Salem has a seasonal best of 58-0.75 when he finish second behind Crawford at Principia on March 10. Smith should be the chief competition in this meet for Crawford.

 

All-American Migas leads a loaded field in the Boys Pole Vault

In the three national meets that Paul Migas of Lakes Community has competed in the past two years, he has earned All-American honors in those three meets. His latest national trip landed him a tie for fourth place in Boston.

 

Migas leads two other athletes that have cleared 15-feet or better in this meet. Migas’ best of 16-1 came at the Millrose Games in February. Cooper Schaad of Geneseo started his season late but established a huge personal best of 15-9 in a small triangular meet at Sterling a week ago. Kyle Hensley of Mt. Zion, the only senior of the three, cleared a personal best of 15-3.5 on his home runway on February 23.

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