Boys 1A State Championship Preview

The girls broke in the brand spanking new blue track that host Eastern Illinois University recently installed last weekend at their championship.  The outcome produced a bevy of great marks including the evaporation of an ancient record (Shelly McBride’s 800m mark).  The boys will now get their turn to test out the digs and see if they can come up with something similar.

The team competition will be interesting to see if two-time champion Chicago (Leo) can win a third state title in a row.  The competition will be stiff with teams such as Champaign (St. Thomas More), Chester (with Kyle Landon competing), and Sterling Newman Catholic.

 

Chicago Leo Catholic-

Head Coach: Ed Adams

2012 State Finish: State Champion- 35 points

Key returning athletes: Marlon Britton (Sr.), Theo Hopkins (Jr.), Darrell Johnson (Jr.), Corey Pryor (Sr.), Terron Bell (Jr.), Cedric Wynne (Sr.), Joshua Wright.

Key events: TJ, LJ, 110HH, 300H, 4x1r, 4x4r.

Outlook: If any team can win the state championship with less it will be the Coach Adams led Lions.  They have two bonafide standout athletes Marlon Britton and Theo Hopkins as leaders.  Both of these athletes have been to the mountain top.  Britton will need to score high in the short hurdle race and Hopkins will aid in the relays this time around.  The remaining supporting cast will have to do their job and everything should be alright.

Grant Nykaza: All day every day in the 3200m and 1600m-

Senior Grant Nykaza of Beecher is a bonafide star that would place in the top two or three in any classification in the state of Illinois.  He proved his value last fall by earning a trip to San Diego, CA to compete in the prestigious Footlocker Cross Country Championship.  The outcome was a 26th place finish.  The track season thus far has been just as fruitful with 9:07.39 and 4:14.2+ marks for 3200m and 1600m.

Nykaza is the defending 1600m state champion but has never won a title in the eight-lapper. He has mentioned on more than one occasion that he desires to achieve a victory in the longer race.  It will be interesting to see how he approaches each race with the competition that awaits him. 

In the 3200, several key opponents Nick Hess (Jr., Champaign St. Thomas More) and Jesse Hahne (Sr., Danville Schlarman) appear to be the best in being competitive.  Hess is known more for his middle-distance prowess in the 1600m and 4x800 relay.  The St. Thomas More coaching staff may be stretching him out for a team title chase.

Nykaza will be the heavy favorite to repeat in the 1600m but Hess is the best bet to challenge him.  Michael Brown (Jr., Carmi-White County) has the top time out of the sectional round running 4:25.65.  He will do his best to derail Nykaza from a triple crown.

Nykaza will not be contesting the 800m.  However, Blake Hale (Sr., Robinson) will.  The senior standout has signed with Missouri Valley Conference champion Indiana State so his future is set.  Now it will be go time on the Eastern Illinois U blue track.  Hale, who has never won a state title, will be a big favorite after running 1:55 this season.  He is seated third coming into the state prelims behind Michael Brown and Wal Khat (Jr., Mooseheart).

The speed watch-

Nick Rude (Sr., Sterling Newman Catholic) is the state leader as well as the sectional list leader at 10.79.  He will have competition from a variety of speedsters.  Will Joe Morrow (Sr., Chicago Hales Franciscan) step his game up and become one of the elite sprinters at the state meet? Maison Bittner (Sr., Sterling Newman Catholic) will compliment his teammate Rude at 10.86.

Martel Hunter (Jr., Monmouth-Roseville) has the top time in the state at 22.00 but that doesn’t make him the favorite.  Nick Rude may be the one to beat. But also watch for Dwayne Esper (Sr., Illinois School For The Deaf) and Jacob Sholl (So., Illinois West Carthage).

There are only four 400 runners under 50.0 this season.  Martel Hunter, Derek Williamson (Sr., Neoga), Jason Pokalsey (Jr., Moweaqua Central A&M), and John Lawrence (Jr., ROWVA) are the top choices.

The 110HH choice is Marlon Britton and everyone else. Of course, someone will emerge from the sectional round and that may be sectional leader Payton Holmes of Mercer County.  Brady Crane (Jr., Rushville-Industry) will be a key individual to watch for. 

Payton Holmes and Jason Bliven (Sr., Trenton Wesclin) are the favorites in the 300H.


Relays may provide a twist to the team race-

Relays are always fun to watch because fans like match-ups and fast times.  Class A is no different than any other classification in that coaches are going to put their best units on the track to win races first and times second.

Champaign St. Thomas More has the classification best of 7:56.83 in the 4x800 relay.  Therefore, they are team to beat whether they run Nick Hess or not.  However, at the state meet, many teams usually come out of their regular slumber to run out of their minds.  Byron (8:13.19) and Oregon (8:15.81) produced the two best sectional times.

In the 4x100, Sterling Newman Catholic and Erie went 1-2 at the Bureau Valley Sectional running 42.80 and 42.86 respectively. They will be the teams to be if Eureka and Leo cannot oppose them.

Sterling Newman Catholic is the top team from the indoor season and the only school to break 1:30 at 1:29.36.  Look for freshman Brady Rude to provide excitement on the anchor leg.  Erie and Eureka will add fast depth in the finals.

There will be some parity in the 4x400 if seasonal leader Eureka load up and duplicate their 3:26.83 time from the Eureka Sectional.  The Hornets barely held off Deer Creek Mackinaw.  Sterling Newman put their name in the title hat with a solid 3:27.49 time produced at Bureau Valley.

Field events outlook-

Kyle Landon (Sr., Chester) kicked off his senior year the right way by clearing the elusive 7-0 barrier during the indoor campaign.  The fruitful results netted his US#1 honors and the Illinois Top Times title.  The outdoor season so far has been just as consistent for the state’s top leaper regardless of classification.  Landon will bring his US#3 7-2 high jump mark and dazzling style to the O’Brien Field platform this weekend.  He will probably take the minimum jump to advance to Saturday’s final.  Although Landon is everyone’s consensus pick to win, it won’t exactly be a cakewalk with Oumaru Abdulani lurking somewhere.  Abdulani was the state runner-up last year with a personal best 6-10 on his resume.  As you know, anything can happen in the jumps once nerves come into play.

Abdulani may be the one to beat in the long jump as he leads the state with a 22-8 best achieved at the Seneca Sectional.  Devin Johnson, Marcus Sitko (So., Staunton), and Micheal Randall (Jr., Knoxville) are the only other athletes to jump over 22-feet.  Also, Kyle Landon will be a factor here.  He has jumped 22-11.

The triple jump should be one of the most competitive events on the docket.  Corey Kersey (So., Neoga) will led the way leaping 45-1.5.

It should be no surprise to anyone who follows the pole vault that the one to beat is freshman sensation Adam Coulon of Downs Tri-Valley.  Coulon is not a rookie in the sense of competition.  He holds just about every age group record since he was a youth.  Now, he is the classification leader at 16-2.  Coulon will now be the heavy favorite in his first state championship.

Ryan Pierce (Sr., Villa Grove) return as the double state champion in the shot and discus throw.  It will be bad news for his foes in the shot after he eclipsed the 60-foot mark for the first time recently.  As for the discus, it will be a dog fight with Alec Dutton (Sr., Catlin).  Dutton’s best toss is 167-3.  Pierce on the other hand has rocked 169-10.

 

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