Papa Angelo Brown will once again be at the helm for the Illinois Elite T.C. and Lincoln Way East Girls HS squads
2014: Operation Sneak Peek
If you never met him before you probably wouldn’t like him. He is like an acquired taste (a liking for something that is at first considered unpleasant). Read this expo from last year’s Illinois Prepster.com pre-season write up (IL Prepster). Yes, this person is Angelo Brown, the very opinionated head sprint coach and associate head girls coach at Frankfort Lincoln-Way East High School. He is perhaps the most loved and hated coach in the state of Illinois. But he would not have it any other way.
Whether you want to believe it or not, he is the mastermind behind the Lady Griffins locomotive that won the 3A title last May. LWE is poised to repeat that. Let’s take a quick glimpse inside the mind of Brown and the forecast for 2014… by the way if you think winning a state team championship and the graduation of his daughter Aaliyah has tamed Brown, you are sorely mistaken. Wait for the exclusive full blown interview to drop in mid-January!!
ANGELO BROWN PREVIEW INTERVIEW: http://il.milesplit.com/videos?id=46313
Girls-
The girls have swiped the armor from the boys for the past four years on the strength of excellent sprints, sprint relays, and throws. The balance of power could now be changing a bit but let’s take a quick peek to make sure.
Sprints/hurdles: the dash department will be a bit depleted with the loss of Aaliyah “The Franchise” Brown (Lincoln-Way East) and Shamier Little (Chicago Lindblom) who both have moved on Texas A&M University. But watch for Alexis Hyshaw (Sr, LWE) and Brittny Ellis (Jr., Gurnee Warren) to replenish and rule the 100, 200, and 400 dashes. Emma Spagnola (Sr., West Aurora) earned some stripes through the summer USATF circuit and will be very dangerous in both hurdles. Parker English (Sr., Evanston) may move back into the hurdles after enjoying major success in the 400 last year.
Jumps/multi-events: Spagnola has to be the leader in this department after producing a sensational year in the long jump. She is defending 3A champion at 18-9.25. Maya Neal (Jr., Naperville Neuqua Valley is a wonderful all around talent who has yet to really get on that superstar track. She may be in the realm of her predecessor and legend Shakeia Pinnick (former of Waubonsie Valley) in that she will concentrate on a myriad of events instead of one. Neal competed in Arcadia Invite and the World Youth Trials Multis with some good success. Keep in mind that she is a superb talent individually as well with 19-foot LJ talent, middle-distance prowess at 800 (2:20 as a freshman), and slick on the hurdles (44.50/14.62).
Sprint relays: lots to choose from but Lincoln-Way will be the team to beat in the 4x1 and 4x2 despite losing the Franchise. Hyshaw, Asia Brown (So.), and Alexis Pierre-Antoine (So.) will return along with a boatload of quality depth sprinters to fill the void. The 4x4 will be loaded again. The top four finishers- STE, BellevilleW, LWE, and Lane Tech are not taking a back seat to anyone.
Distance: despite Glenbard West senior Madeline Perez not repeating in cross country and running up to her best, most respected and thought provoking analysts know better. They understand with a full uninterrupted season of training, Perez will be on a rampage. She indicated recently before a training run in brutal conditions that “training has been going well!” Junior Mimi Smith of Winnetka New Trier is coming off of an excellent fall in which she was crowned 3A harrier state champion. She also added some valuable experience in competing against some of the nation’s best distance runners at the Nike Cross Nationals. How about the freshman stars Anna Sophia Keller (Effingham St. Anthony) and Alexa Haff (Hinsdale Central)? They took the cross country season by storm with 1st and 2nd place finishes in their respective state championship classifications. Can they duplicate their feats during the track season in the 1600m and 3200m?
Sophomore Karina Liz (Aurora Central Catholic) and a host of 2A 800m runners return a loaded bunch that produced marks under 2:15 including Marengo's Allie Sprague. The middle-class division may steal the shine from the depleted 3A ranks.
4x800: Palatine will be the center of attention after returning three legs from a 9:12 team that placed second at state. It is certain that Coach Joe Parks will be able to find one leg in his stable. It’s almost a given that someone will be under 9:10 again by the end of the season.
Field events: Hannah Swift (Jr., Canton) 12-1 and Julia Junkroski (Jr., Lincoln-Way East) 12-0 are the cream of the crop of a solid batch of returning pole vaulters.
Lena Giger (Sr., Highland) is the heir apparent to an all-timer Emmonnie Henderson of Edwardsville who is now at the University of Louisville. Giger heaved shot put 48-10.75 last year- good for US#10. She also earned All-American honors with a third place effort at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Giger is no slouch in the discus either rocking a personal best 143-6. Hoffman Estates senior standout Banki Oginni will be right on Giger’s heals in the shot put after producing a personal best 47-6.5- US#17.
Boys-
Don’t we wish for one year that Roselle Lake Park and Cahokia could settle the score as the best team in the state? Both superpower teams have won the last four and three state titles respectively in their classification. Lake Park is the reigning 3A champions and Cahokia has ruled the 2A division. The Comanche’s fiery coach Leroy Millsap would welcome a head to head tilt with field event dominant Lancers. “We welcome all challengers,” he once said of his squad that mostly squares up against 3A powers Belleville West, O’Fallon, and E. St. Louis (depending on what year they are classified).
Distance: all three events- 800, 1600, and 3200 will be deep. Johnny Leverenz (Sr., Danville) and John Wold (Sr., Glen Ellyn Glenbard South) are defending champions in the half-mile in 3A and 2A. But look out for Nathaniel Kucera (Sr., Maple Park Kaneland) and Matt Anyiwo (Sr., Hoffman Estates) who both exploded in the post-season with 1:51.33 and 1:52.03 times respectively. It will be interesting to see how fast they can roll this season if they don’t have to carry big racing loads in the stretch run meets.
4:10.81+ - that’s the converted time Patrick Perrier (Sr., O’Fallon) put up at the Festival of Miles in St. Louis. He and Zack Smith (Sr., Downers Grove North) will be among the best this season. Let’s see if both can dip into the 4:07-08 range. Also batch for a bevy of miles under 4:15 this year.
3200m- Perrier and Jesse Reiser (McHenry) will be on top of the food chain in this event. But there is enough feed to go around. Nathan Mroz (Sr., York), Smith, Ryan Clevenger (Jr., Downers Grove North), and Zach Dale of Hoffman Estates are a few candidates who move over from cross country to track... JZ might even run this event a few times for resume sake.
4x800- 39 teams broke 8:00 in 2013. Can anyone reach the elusive 7:40 threshold this season? It can happen … this hyper exciting relay will be strong as ever with defending champion Barrington leading the way. The Broncos return Adam Phillips, Ryan Perkins, and anchor Konrad Eiring that ran a state leading and US#23 7:45.94. Can long distance ace senior Jake Herb run two-laps to help defend a title? The Dukes of York made the final but ran very disappointing in some people’s eyes especially when they eyed the title. Chicago Lane also ran disappointing in the state meet last despite coming into fray with a 7:51. The Indians bring back their entire line-up. How about putting up a friendly wager on 2A champion Maple Park Kaneland who 7:50.26 with all juniors?
Luke Winder (Sr., Plainfield Central)- US #10 vaulter at 16-6 who was on track to having an all world season until a back injury interrupted things. If all is well healthwise Winder should be making noise all season.
Cole Henderson (Sr., Pekin): This dude is not going to sneak up on anyone this season. Last year’s surprise star speedster took the sprint world by surprise by winning the Illinois Top Times Indoor 60m title and long jump. He followed up by taking the 100 and 200 outdoor dash titles as well as added a long jump crown. Cole also earned All-American honors in LJ at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. The all-around Henderson also placed in the 400.
Alex King (Sr., Massac County)- The long jump king is back for more and ready to surpass the 7-1 good for US #7. He is the third best returner in the nation.
Jamari Ward (So., Cahokia)- A potential legend in the making after freshman year that looked like this: 24-2 LJ, 47-9.5 TJ… multi-state champion in several events including the long jump. He has run sub 50.00 on the 4x4 relay.
***Follow brisk happenings #trackscandal on @ilptt twitter all season… some controversy, some spite, some you love, some you hate, but it's all Illinois high school track and field!... Check back in mid-January for the full blowout 3 class preview of every single event along with personal feelings on various items!