The high jump will be an exciting event with Noah Adams in it (Colin Boyle photo)
"We expect to get [7-feet by the middle of the outdoor season] said Meridian senior Noah Adam's coach Drew Holl of his star high jump pupil. Adams placed 2nd at the Gene Armer Invite hitting on 6-6 and narrowly missing 6-7. Watch for Adams to take that next step toward his goal. However, the competition will be stiff as four other jumpers have notched 6-6 into their resumes.
The pole vault will be a very competitive event as the entire field is ranked in the 15 in Class A. The undefeated Curtis Gordon (Jr., Vandalia) is rated #2 in all of Illinois at 15-6. It will not be a cake walk though. Last weekend at the Gene Armer Invite Matthew Knipfer (Sr., St. Joe-Ogden) was working on improving his approach and technical aspect of his vaulter. He missed the entire 2015 season with a broken foot. He is a former 15-foot vaulter before the injury. It is a matter of time before he is completely back mentally and fighting with the big dogs according to his vault coach and father Chris Knipfer. In fact, the Knipfer's spend the spring break in Jonesboro, Arkansas working out with Olympian Earl Bell who now runs the Bell Athletics group.
Let's begin the horizontal jumps with the long jump. The speedy Jaylon Bester (Jr., Belleville Althoff) is the classification leader with a personal best 22-3. He should make the pit his playground because he is nearly a foot better than Kevin King (Sr., Kankakee McNamara) who is rated #2... newcomer Dahzee Horton (Jr., Momence) won the Comet Invite triple jump title last weekend with a 44-0.25 which puts him as the favorite.
The shot put will see some different faces as five of the six top placers from a year ago has graduated. Michael Ford (Sr., Rockford Christian) is the leader at 53-5. Ford will have a bit of motivation after placing 10th at Top Times last year.
Sprints and hurdles are here-
The 60m appears to be a toss up with a pack of speedsters at 7.12 and under. Jumper Jaylon Bester looks to get the best of his competition. Connor Icenogle (Sr., Williamsville) and Jeremiah Collins (Sr., Chicago Collins) should make the final with Kahlil Wassell (Jr., New Berlin). The winner should be under 7.00... list leader in the 400m senior Nick Porter of Paxton-Buckley-Loda is not racing here. Porter is in the 1600m and the 4x4. Chris Brauer (Sr., Urbana U High) may the be favorite... Jeremiah Collins is back in his favorite event, the 200m, where he is a sizable favorite to win. Collins is battle tested having run at the University of Arkansas Invite and Proviso West Invite. The pole vaulter Curtis Gordon is also the top seed in the 60HH. He should easily move on to the final and duel against Bret Dannis (So., St. Bede).
Relays, Relays, Relays-
Class A teams don't usually get the fast competition like their 2A and 3A counterparts do mainly because most major invites are designed for bigger classifications. However, 9 of the 11 fastest 4x800 squads in 1A this season will be in this race. That means the leader boards are going to change for sure. The classification leader Eureka has opted out, so Shelbyville's 8:24.40 will be put on display and St. Joe-Ogden should be duke it out with Byron. But keep a close eye on Pleasant Plains who has a small handful of runners close to 2:00 and Dwight Township, a tough unit that is led by 2:00 harrier Michael Bennett.
The 4x2 relay will be headlined by Mercer County and their 1:35.53 clocking. Look for Weathersfield to chase hard along with Rockridge, Carthage, and Rockford Christian.
Rockford Christian is the favorite in the 4x4 relay. It will be interesting to see if St. Joe Ogden and others can dethrone them.
3200m-
Oakwood senior superstar Jon Davis has not lost to 1A competition in a long time, and the 1A state champ (in many events) likely will not have that streak broken in the 3200 at Top Times. So in effect the race will be for second. Hunter Cobbley (Sr., El Paso-Gridley), Sir Laurence King (Sr., Chicago Leo) and Tyler Johnson (Sr., Pleasant Plains) are the next seed times and the senior pack will hope to make a strong mark on their last indoor race in high school.
800m-
Attempting a 1600/800 double will be emerging senior Cory Landon from Carlinville, who has hit 1:57 and 2:00 already in this indoor season. Landon's impressive middle distance performances have made him a standout along with Davis as we prepare for the outdoor season. He will be exciting to watch at Top Times, but he will also be sharing the track with a number of other strong runners, including David Plunkett (Sr., Pleasant Plains), Gabe Lyons (St., St. Joe-Ogden), Joseph Stone (Jr., Newton) and Rockford Christian teammates Josiah Vogel (So.) and Brian Smith (Sr.).
1600m-
Davis is not entered in the 1600 so the field is a little more open-however, Landon has been dropping great 1600 and 800 times all year, and is by far the best 1600 athlete in 1A. His 4:20.18 is faster than #2 seed Tyler Johnson's 4:29.32. If Landon chooses to focus on the 1600 throughout outdoor, he may have a shot at dethroning Davis at the end of the state meet. Keep a close eye on Landon for a preview of what may be a great battle in 2016.
