Danville's Quemarii Williams won a close tilt over Antonio Davis of Bloom last week in Charleston
Event breakdown-
Long Jump: three of the top five jumpers in the state are entered into the meet led by Ayo Abiona (Sandburg). His best is 23-5. He will be opposed by Tony Rolfe (Glenwood-Chatham) and Griffin Gawenda (Grayslake North). Abiona is the only athlete who has surpassed 23-feet while five total have cleared 22 feet. The balance feet contains all who have jumped at least 21-0.
Pole Vault: State leader Zachery Bradford (Bloomington) is in the field and he is the heavy favorite. The New Balance Indoor All-American carries a US #7 tag with him as well. The next goal for Bradford will be 17-0 feet and he will attempt it here.
High Jump: Frank Massey (Bloom Twp) is ranked #2 in the state at 6-8. He did not have a great jumping day last weekend at the Gene Armer Invite because he was juggling several events simultaneously. Look for Massey to concentrate on the meet's first event and go for a new personal best. Also on the scene is Brenden Ellis (Warren). If the last name sounds familiar, it because he is the younger brother of Brittny Ellis fame. Elder sister Brittny was an Top Times legend and Brenden could be working on his own legacy. He has jumped 6-7 on the season.
Shot Put: John Meyer (Lockport) is IL #1/US #7 at 64-6. Meyer has thrown the ball over 60 feet in 3 of 5 meets. The meet record of 63-6.5 by Jeremy Klein (Lake Park) could fall. Chago Basso (Lake Park) could be a threat to Meyer. The IL #4 performer has heaved the steel ball 58-11.
Triple Jump: Tony Rolfe enters in perhaps his best event. The IL #2 47-4 came on a day where he had a career performance in the pit. Let's see if he has another outstanding effort in him. There will be several new faces on the scene in Kevion Polk (Rockford Guilford), Diamond Anderson (Hinsdale South), and David Oluyadi (Chicago Lane Tech)
3200: Clayton Mendez (Chicago Whitney Young) turned the corner to stardom last month at the Proviso West Invitational when he ran a then US #2 9:01.89. The amazing performance is one of the most impressive feats on the season. It will be the heavy favorites first time back since the Feb 25 encounter. Caleb Washington (Shepard) is the next opponent at 9:24. It will be interesting to see how the race shapes out for the Mendez and the field.
60HH: Jayvious Johnson (Harlem) leads a solid field with a time of 8.20 which happens to be the #1 time in Illinois. Brian Daniels (Evanston) has a converted 8.21 to his credit and will be a threat for the title. Landon Keefover (Antioch) is another name to watch for here.
60: Everyone's darling Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North is here. The USA #1 freshman has dazzled the indoor scene with a 6.89. In addition, Moore made the mighty NBIN championship field. No IL kid has ever done that. Tony Rolfe is IL #2 and will put some pressure on the youngster as will Tyler Elmore (Bolingbrook)
800: There is no definitive favorite here with all 12 performers within 1.8 seconds. The leader of the tight pack is Brian Kuehl (Geneva) who has run 1:58.03. The winning time should get into the 1:56 range.
400: Gavin Jaime (Providence Catholic) has emerged as a key figure here. The IL #5 performer recently ran 50.66 at the Catholic Championships and will be looking to break 50 seconds. Antonio Davis of Bloom will be looking for revenge after not winning in his last contest.
1600: Jack Aho (Grayslake Central) recently came out of hibernation with a 4:13.39 whopper at the Lake Michigan Invite. Alex Tam (Libertyville) tried to stay close with a personal best 4:19.24. Both of these lads rank 1-2 in the state.
200: Brad Garron (Evanston) is the only one to beat Marcellus Moore this season in Illinois. They will have a rematch along with Cary Lockhart (Bloomington)
4x200: Three of the four teams in the championships section have 1:31s on their resume. The young guns from Plainfield North will be the favorites.
4x400: The top 4 teams in the rankings pool is not entered. Plainfield South is the team to beat, Bloom, and of course Evanston.
4x800: Whitney Young is the state leader but may not have Clayton Mendez on it because he is racing the 3200m. Minooka could win it with Soren Knudsen on it. The rest of the field will fight for season bests and medals.
