Ja'mari Ward continues to set new landmarks for Illinois jumpers (Alan Vershaw photo/Colorado Milesplit)
It’s hard to believe that the IHSA high school track and field season is over. Back in January when it all got started it seemed like the journey to the state championship promise land was galaxies away. We all had to endure a harsh winter followed by less than stellar spring. The culmination was the crowning of state champions followed by all-state athletes. But more importantly was the countless amount of athletes who achieved their goals. At the end of the day that’s the most important thing.
Tony Prepster with friendly competitors and pals Patrick Perrier and Zach Dale (T. Jones photo)
Festival of Miles kicks off the post-season-
It’s early June and it’s time for the summer BBQ’s, frequent trips to the beach, and catching up with long lost friends and acquaintances. It is also time for post-season track and field and the club season. This time of the year is very important for Illinois brethren in the sense it is time to step in and out of the training lab and onto the track. The consistent hot temperatures are a chance for us to catch up with our warm weather state cousins. Our best athletes during the school year are almost always produced during the summer months.
The post-season began in sparkling fashion last Thursday June 5th in St. Louis at the Festival of Miles. I had the pleasure of being on the Flotrack webcast along with Indiana University distance runner and former Missouri high school standout Amanda Behnke. It was an awesome evening in covering such a great event. Along the way the host state had seen second place mile finisher Patrick Perrier, now formerly of O’Fallon, many times competing on Mizzou soil. O’Fallon is just a stone’s through away from St. Louis. Perrier made one last imprint with his blistering 4:07.50. Spencer Haik (Glendale, Mo) ended his high school career by winning every finals race on Missouri soil the past two years. The 4:05.90 come from behind victory for Haik was just as chilling to watch as it was to cover.
Other notables were seniors to be Matt Plowman (Elmhurst York) and Zach Dale (Hoffman Estates Conant). These two gentlemen blazed to big personal bests 4:09.13 and 4:09.96 in finishing sixth and seventh place overall.
The ladies ran well too. Mary Blankemeier of Oak Park-River Forest aced her freshman year by winning the elite developmental mile in a personal best 4:55.58. Blankemeier had been targeted as a two-miler/5k runner but last Thursday she displayed some speed in running away in the final quarter-mile.
Cassie Mundekis of tiny Midwest Central proved that she was the best 800m runner in Illinois regardless of classification after placing second in 2:12.89. Mundekis beat out Morgan Schultz (Cary-Grove) and Karina Liz (Aurora Central Catholic).
Brittny Ellis gets heated up at the Southwest Classic (Alan Vershaw photo)
New Mexico’s Southwest Classic put on a hot show for the Illinois contingent-
The action is just beginning to heat up (both literally and figuratively) as several top Illinois competitors took their talents to New Mexico for the 39th Annual SW Classic held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The super talented Naperville Neuqua Valley junior Maya Neal placed third in the grueling heptathlon scoring 4861 points. Ashlee Moore of Chandler, Arizona won the event that stretched over two days in searing temperatures that reached 97, scored 5311 points. Neal will move on to Greensboro, North Carolina this weekend to vie for All-American honors in the multis.
Ja’mari Ward! Ja’mari Ward! The superlative sophomore from Cahokia continues to amaze. In the midst of the thin air of Albuquerque which sits over 5,000 feet above sea level, Ward leaped a mind boggling 25’6.75w” to win the long jump. However, his incredible effort was slightly tainted by the rarified air that punishes long distance runners and aids sprints and jumping events. The wind-aided mark was 2.2 help a little as well. Now that true facts are revealed Ward still should be considered one of the best junior athletes in the world. Ward went on to say ‘I will not lose another state competition.’ His coach Leroy Millsap also had some say. ‘We are going to sit Ja’mari down until his ankle heals.’ Ward did not compete in the triple jump because of the injury that he suffered at the state meet. If Ward heals up before July 5th, he will compete at the Junior Nationals in Eugene, Oregon.
Two of the state’s best 400m runners hooked up albeit in different sections. Brittny Ellis (Gurnee Warren) placed third ahead of Mariya Hudson (Cahokia) 54.52 to 55.66. Ellis later returned to clock 23.81 in the 200m. Hopefully, the veteran Ellis will match up against the upstart Hudson who finished her freshman year with flying colors, down the road sometime in the near future.