This could be the season where we see a comeback in the 1-lapper
400m-
2018 State Champion: Nick Swartzendruber (Geneseo) 48.49
Key Athletes: Willie Johnson (Jr., East St. Louis), Davon Bolden (Sr., Thornridge), Jerry Harper (Jr., Rantoul), Melcon Dejesus (So., Kewanee), Damonta Taylor (Sr., Cahokia), Jesse Casas (Jr., LaSalle-Peru), Jackson McAlister (Jr., Waterloo), Marcus Coleman (Sr., Chicago [St. Rita]), Marcus Lampley (Jr., East St. Louis), Micah Senior (So., Eureka), Adam Kries (Sr., Burlington Central), Grant Kessinger (So., Stanford Olympia)
Breakdown: After being denied an opportunity to compete for an individual title last year Willie Johnson is back and ready to claim a title. Last summer's AAU 15-16 national championship (47.82) performance was a message sent to the rest of the field. Thornridge's Davon Bolden will attempt to block that message as he may have one of his own. Johnson's teammate Marcus Lampley could add more points to the Flyers team total while Rantoul's Jerry Harper hopes his sub 50 time drop further putting him in the title mix. Several athletes in this field possess times that are very close to cracking into the coveted 49 second range, try not to sleep on anyone on this list.