400m-
2019 State Champion: Samuel Herenton (Chicago Providence St. Mel) 48.16
Key Athletes: Keegan Anderson (Sr., Morrison), Makail Stanley (Sr., Argenta-Oreana), Aiden Jany (So., Chester), Jameson Cluver (Jr., Wateska), Korey Damery (Sr., Meridian), Aidan Martin (Jr., Niles (Northridge Prep)), Nolan Lentz (Sr., Dakota), Phillip Johnson (So., Jacksonville), Theron Smith (Sr., Hamilton County), Briley Roper (Sr., Carlinville), Koby Brackemeyer (Sr., Morrison), Travis Woodworth (Sr., Vienna), Grant Gustafson (Sr., Rockford [Lutheran]), Nathan Mickley (Sr., Morrison), Ethan Zettler (Sr., DuQuoin)
Outlook: After two straight runner-up finishes at the state meet one has to wonder if Stanley is coming back with a vengeance to make those in his wake pay dearly. With the top returning time, he is the top dog here until further notice., but the event that will be the main goal for the superstar athlete will be finally winning that 1A 400m State Title.
With a PR of 48.76, Keegan Anderson is motivated to perform better in prime time. An injured Anderson took 8th place last May in Charleston. The one issue with Anderson is his PR is when he ran the 400m fresh without running the 4x800m earlier that day. Could that take a toll on the Illini commit? With Jameson Cluver and Aiden Jany of Chester also returning, this might be the best sprint event in the classification.