Former Sandburg great and Illinois all-time 800m record holder Sean Torpy paced the boys
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The beautiful and relatively new Hope Academy Track & Field complex was put to good use right away by a myriad of standout athletes. The facility which is several miles west of downtown Chicago received a nice christening.
The first item on the agenda was the 100m prelims in which there were no glitches compared to the girls. Brailyn Johnson of St. Laurence HS set things off correctly with a prelim heat #2 victory in 10.82. Though it was a bit over the allowable [+3.1], it appeared to give him confidence for the final. Next up in the third and final prelim was Marshall Ellis of Homewood-Flossmoor. It was just like last weekend at St. Rita HS' Sprint Fest where Ellis rocketed away from the competition, he did so again with a lifetime best 10.59 [+1.3].
It would be approximately 25 minutes for the final and the outcome would essentially be a duplicate. With a vastly improved block start, Ellis made it no contest blasting the field with another legal win 10.56 [+0.5]. Trending hot in recent weeks will make him the man to beat in 2021.
The 800m was the featured event in terms of national prominence because of the US#1 guy Brandon Miller of St. Louis MO. The Burroughs HS graduate is slated to attend Texas A&M University this fall, but he departs he made a detour to Chi-town to spit some fire. Former 1:47 prep performer from Sandburg Sean Torpy was commissioned to be the rabbit. He performed magnificently taking Miller and fellow standout AJ Green of Eastview HS MN through the first 400 in approximately 52-seconds. Torpy stepped off the track at 500, and that's when Miller went to work. He hit the 600 in 1:21.4. The goal for Miller was to go under 1:49 and possibly grab the national lead but at the very least leave town with a Missouri all-time record. Miller hit the tape in 1:49.35- good for US#3 and a lifetime best. He also moved past his mentor and coach CJ Charles Jones who held the Missouri state crown. Green came in second with a fine time of 1:50.62.