100m-
2019 State Champion: Cody Klein (Pana) 10.85
Key Athletes: Makail Stanley (Sr., Argenta-Oreana), Omavi Epps (Sr., St. Anne), Aidan Laughery (So., Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley), Marshall Walk (Sr., Spring Valley Hall), Jack Bircher (Jr., Metro-East Lutheran), Aiden Jany (So., Chester), Dorian Woods (Sr., Chicago [Leo]), Tobias Sample (Sr., Chicago [Leo]), Julian Samuels (Sr., Kewanee-Weathersfield), Nolan Lentz (Sr., Dakota), Xavier Sennie (Sr., South Beloit), Connor McBride (Sr., Sterling (Newman Central Catholic)), Chandler Burrow (Jr., Clifton Central), Tyler Wilson (Sr., Fisher), Austin Brown (So., Johnston City)
Outlook: Could this be the year of Makail Stanley? The multi-sport star athlete was almost lights out last year until he met up with Cody Klein at state. Now with Klein gone the door is open for Stanley to shine. The reigning Top Times 60m Champion will have some big goals for this year, but how fast will he be? He only broke 11.00 once last year and it was in the prelims of the State Championships. Will he break it earlier this year? Stay tuned.
Aidan Laughery burst onto the scene last year and made his name known breaking the 11.00 barrier three times throughout the year. He returns with both the top wind-legal (10.88) and all-conditions (10.74) marks. The "sophomore sensation" will be really looking to show off at the Winston Brown Invite where he will face some of the best talent in 2A and 3A. Along with gridiron fave Stanley, fans will be eager to watch the anticipated head to head matchups indoors and outside.
The wildcard this year has to be Omavi Epps who has the best weekend of his career at state, beating his 100m personal best by almost .5 of a second to run sub 11.00 for the first time in his life. Epps has a small meet schedule (4-5 meets) this season so when he performs, make sure to keep an eye out.
Then we have the veteran of the field, Marshall Walk. He ran 11.06 last year wind-legal and helped anchor his 4x100m and 4x200m teams to state titles holding off Klein in both. Will we see one of these four atop the podium at Charleston or will we get a surprise newcomer as we did with Cody Klein?