IL Crew: Pavlo Hutsalyuk, Jesse Reiser, Brittny Ellis, Josh Eiker represented themselves and Illinois well at Brooks (Hutsalyuk photo credit)
My last all-high school affair for 2015 ended with the Brooks PR meet. The extreme high school gala was one of the best run meets that I have attended. There is no doubt about it and I have attended many big time meets. Ok let’s get into it.
The trip of all trips started very early on Thursday June 17 at 3am. I was expected to be at the airport at 5:00am for a 6:20am flight to Seattle, Washington. I was packed and ready to go at 4a. The drive from my home in Evanston to O’Hare took only 35 minutes so I was good shape. I beat Coach Kris Roof by 15 minutes. He used the alibi that his Uber driver got lost coming to pick him up. It was funny to say the least. We both checked in on time for the three-plus hour long flight.
We landed in beautiful Seattle under sunny skies. After picking up our rental car from Avis we headed to Roof’s buddy Michael Terry’s house. Michael lives in a nice neighborhood close to downtown Seattle and ironically close to the Brooks running shoe headquarters. But the purpose of the trip was more pleasure than business. Our runner Pavlo Hutsalyuk was invited to compete in the meet as a miler. He won the Illinois 3A state title in 4:08.19. That mark at the time was ranked in the top 10 in the country. Pavlo is also a great 800m runner and he was hoping to get to run that race. His personal best of 1:51.59 is good enough to compete in the greatly assembled field. Pavlo was grateful for the opportunity to travel and meet some of the best high school track and field athletes in the country. We as coaches were grateful in that we had one more opportunity to watch star athlete perform among the great athletes of his generation. It can’t get any better than that.
The first item on the docket for Roof, Michael and me was getting in a workout. We drove over to Issaquah, WA, a suburb of Seattle to greet Roof’s grandmother and her friends. After a few hugs and laughs we began our warm up and stretching routine. Yes, even old guys like us go through proper precautions before getting in some exercise. Let me tell you that Seattle has mountains surrounding it. We hit up the Issaquah Alps and it was not sweet on the legs. But afterwards the work put in was appreciated.
Over the next three days in Seattle, I was able to partake in everything on my bucket list like hitting up the throwing fish at the fish markets, go to a baseball game, peep the downtown scene and a few clubs. By Saturday, I was more than ready for the best track meet of the year. The Brooks meet was short and sweet. There were only six events: 100m, 110HH/100HH, 400m, 800m, mile, 2-mile. It was all over in less than two hours with awards thrown in. There was a live DJ playing tunes to the delight of the fans. How about graphics? It was second to none with a giant portable screen where the athletes and fans could track every movement around the track. Of all the impressive performances of the meet (and there were many), was the outstanding feat of the girls 100m national record which also happened to be the world junior record of 10.98 set by sophomore Candice Hill of Rockdale County, Georgia. I never thought I would ever see a high school girl break 11-seconds. But I did and it was so magical and unreal. It was definitely one of the most amazing performances that I have ever seen. The remainder of the meet was awesome. I watch a dream come true in my own athlete running in what I believe will be many more elite races in his future endeavors. Pavlo competed in an admiral fashion among his peers. So did other Illinois entrants Brittny Ellis, Jesse Reiser, and Josh Eiker. The future is bright for all four of these great athletes.
Where is Illinois during this post-season!
Jamari Ward and many others have been virtually non-existent during the post-season
Where is Illinois during the post-season? As many of you know, Illinois is going to be the hotbed of summer club track and field. Illinois Benedictine University in Lisle. The USATF Illinois State Association Championships will be leading off things June 26-28 (Friday-Sunday). This meet is basically a dress rehearsal for the pending Regional 7 Championship between Illinois and Indiana. I have been to many of these meets and they are fun as well as long. So you better pack a lunch (and dinner). If you miss the Association series check out the World Youth Trials. This meet will probably be the deepest meet on Illinois soil. The top two performers in each event will qualify for the World Youth Championships in Cali, Columbia. The meet info is constituted and comprised by the following info: USA Track & Field athletes ages 16 and 17 through December 31, 2015 (born in 1998 or 1999) will be considered for the IAAF World Youth Team based on performance at this event.
Surprisingly or not surprisingly there are a ton of Illinois faces void in sprints, distance, and field events. I am quite aware of the regular summer track athletes that are entered. The mainstays come out in full force like Aurora Flyers, Zephyrs Track Club, Illinois Elite, Legacy Runners, and Angelic Flyers. They do a great job in getting some of the best talent in the state to run for them. But I think our state deserves more. Where is the Cahokia contingent? We all thought Cahokia superstar Ja'mari Ward would be getting his chops ready for the Junior Worlds. He competed in the Southwest Classic in New Mexico and in Cuba at the Caribbean Scholastic Invitational. There has been many rumors flying around about his performances in those meets and then the subsequent disappearance from the competitive scene. I want to be fair here. I inquired with the team source regarding Ja'mari's upcoming meet schedule. I was simply told, "Ja'mari's season is ever; he has been shut down." Then I received several calls, texts, and emails saying there was an apparent injury to his foot. What is the truth?? I will also say that some colleges have reached out to me regarding his status. He is the state's most high profile athlete that has yet to top off the outdoor season in fine fashion. This time is suppose to be moment for this kid. Ja'mari is the nation's best high school triple and long jumper. Remember it was his coach Leroy Millsap who has monitored his progress and limited his jumping in the Illinois state championship series. Coach Millsap also boldly announced that his prodigy would be skying into the stratosphere this summer. He was supposedly preserved for June and July. Now we as fans have nothing to look forward to.