Brayden Forrest put on a show last weekend at the Gene Armer Invitational
Class 2A-
Sprints encompass the beauty of the sport-
Track & Field is a mostly a speed sport... every great team has a few speedsters as part of their arsenal making sprints the most important part of track and field. A team that has a little more than a few sprinters has to be St. Rita out of Chicago who may be the deepest sprint team in the classification. Their freshman star, Kaleb Brown, has been lighting up the scene throughout the season and really took off this past weekend at the Chicago Catholic League Indoor Championships running the 60m in 7.09 to destroy the field on the fresh/soph level. Brailyn Johnson of St. Laurence, who ran a 7.00 at the Catholic League meet.
St. Rita senior Mick Doyle has really stepped up his sprints game. He just got leaned out at the line by senior Ryan Curington of De La Salle at the Chicago Catholic League Meet. Doyle will see Curington in the 200m and it could be a different tale. Senior Leondre Pollard of Thornridge has been hiding in the shadows of teammate Davon Bolden but will be looking to emerge this upcoming weekend. Speaking of Bolden he will also be battling for a Top Times Title as he is the top seed in the 400m. Bolden is the defending meet champion running 51.23. That will most likely not be the case this year as Bolden already has a 50.75 to his name and competitors like Darreon West of Cahokia and Jerry Harper of Rantoul pushing him as well.
Did we forget the 60 hurdles? It should be a good one if senior Jaden Johnson of Freeport, Connor Wagner of Burlington Central, Brayden Forrest of Dixon, and junior Steve Harris of Cahokia all make the field. We could see a sub 8.20 clocking for the winner. Add in another senior who just returned to the track, Finnigan Schirmer of Marengo. He could be a very dangerous young man.
Let's take a look at the distance fields-
The 15 boy field in the 3200m will feature six sub 10:00 performers led by all-state distance runners seniors Garrett Dixon of Monticello and Mathias Powell of Mahomet-Seymour- 9:24 and 9:30 seed times respectively. These two are far ahead of the entrants and barring a catastrophe, the winner will come from one of them.
Riley Wells moves into a new league and immediately becomes the favorite in the 800m. Eli Ward of Waterloo will be up for the challenge after a big come from behind win at last weekend's Gene Armer Invite.
If Dixon is up for the challenge in the 1600m, he should be the favorite. But don't expect Brooks Harlan of Centralia to be a welcoming foe. Harlan's 4:26.92 seed time is just shy of the 4:26.23 that Dixon dropped earlier this season.
Relays are second to none-
The Burlington Central 4x800 unit showed heart at the beginning of the month when they challenged the powerhouse teams for three legs at the Downers South Mustang Relays. They would ultimately run a class-best 8:13.20. That time is nearly 10 seconds ahead of Rockford Christian. But the Royals will have a fresh Riley Wells available on the anchor. As all coaches say "give your best runner a chance."
The race that fans will want to watch will be section 4 4x200. This potential barn burner will feature St. Laurence, St. Rita, Eureka, and Freeburg. All four teams come in with 1:33-34 marks and it will be hotly contested.
Eureka has the fastest seed in the 4x400 field and they actually challenged the mighty E. St. Louis quartet. But that will mean nothing against the likes of Burlington Central, Cahokia, or Thornridge. The winner will need to go sub 3:27 for the win.
Field events-
Several 22-footers will challenge for the long jump gold medal. Ryan Currington as we mentioned before will be on double duty in the short sprints. If he tires out, look to Jayden McCulskie of Sandwich to swoop in.
Chandlar Ifft of Prairie Central is the state leader in the pole vault and the heavy favorite to not only win but eclipse 16-feet.
Zach Pluff of Freeburg will make an attempt at the 7-foot barrier. He is already the state's top high jumper with a leap of 6-9.25.
After a month on the shelf, Andra Ward of Cahokia returns to action in the triple jump. Let's see what he can do.
Hunter Hendershot of Mahomet-Seymour is the overwhelming choice to not only win the shot put but go after 60-feet.