CHICAGO- The last indoor meet usually will bring out the best in athletes...
In the case of the multi-talented CJ Shoaf, his goal was to eclipse the magical 7-foot mark in the high jump. The king of college unsigned hype from Mahomet-Seymour was laser-focused from the moment he entered the Gately Indoor Track & Field Center.
Shoaf entered the two-person field and cleared 6'4" and 6'6" on the first attempt. He asked the bar to be moved to 7'0.25" and earned the clearance on his second attempt, securing the US#2 spot. Shoaf wanted the bar to be placed at the US#1 mark (7'2.5") by Kamyren Garrett of Indianapolis IN. Three attempts and one which was solid lends hope that his best days are ahead of him.
Tolono Unity/Vipers Track Club senior Kyle Burgoni has made a living in Chicago this winter. In his favorite event, the 60m it has been a task to break the 7.00 barrier. Burgoni won his prelim in 6.99 which made him very happy and relieved. 45 minutes later he was in the blocks and ready to go. Burgoni appeared to get the best start of his career and bust down the runway and through the finish line in a big 6.92 clocking. He tied Marshall Ellis of Homewood-Flossmoor IL for the state lead.
Kyle Clabough of Yorkville has been working hard all season in the shot put. He inched closer to the 60-foot barrier despite a hard training cycle coming into the meet. Clabough unleashed a strong 58-7.50- good for US#12.
Minooka is building toward a good season in the middle-distance realm. After the 2020 season cut short what could have been something special, two members of last year's indoor best 4x800r 7:51.68- Vincent Van Eck and Adam Shaw are back. They proved their strength going 1-2 respectively 1:55.31 and 1:56.16. A third runner Emerson Fayman had clocked 2:02 previously.
Wisconsin native Zachary Zenner broke 50-seconds for the first time this season in the 400m. Zenner ran an indoor PB 49.72.
Mathew Olech of Elgin Harvest Academy won a close battle against Zach Loomis (St. Charles East) and Brooks Harlan (Centralia) with a time of 4:20.79. Loomis and Harlan hit 4:21.36 and 4:22.41.
