-It could be to your detriment if you choose to sleep on this classification meet. There are four athletes who possess the top marks in the state and that could be a first as the indoor season officially comes to an end.
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Isaiah Whitaker(Fr., Bloomington Central Catholic)- Good pole vaulting usually captures the attention of knowledgeable fans who are on display in a cozy track den like the Shirk Center. Whitaker will command the building by himself because he is a cool and calm 14-year-old world age group record holder. The last leader has pushed his personal best up to 16'8". The class record of 16'8" that Matt Baneof Rochester set in 2010 has a serious chance of falling. If it does look for Whitaker to approach the 17-foot barrier. Only two vaulters in history have ever cleared the debt ceiling: Zach Bradford(Bloomington) and Phil Hanson (Pontiac)- Whitaker could be the next one on Saturday.
Mason Kooi(Sr., Springfield Lutheran)- What do we know about Springfield Lutheran High School? If you paid attention to the news, you would know that the small school of approximately 150 students, had its main building closed because of structural damage from a previous coal mining operation on the property.
Enter Mason Kooi to bring some relief to the situation. All he has done was excel in a multitude of events: triple jump, long jump, and high jump. The latter has literally taken him to new heights this season which includes a state-leading 6'10.75" earlier in the month at SIU's High School Invite. The US#3 rated Kooi brought home a gold medal at the New Balance Nationals Indoor in Boston several weeks ago. He of course is the heavy favorite going for the US#1 mark and eclipsing the meet record and the magical seven-foot barrier. However, he cannot let his guard down because if he does, it would allow someone else to come in and steal the show.
Cabott Craft(Sr., Champaign St. Thomas More)- We don't know much about Cabott and that makes things so interesting. He is the state's top triple jumper by over a half-foot at 46-6. It appears that he had never even tried the event before the start of the season which adds more intrigue to the table.
The multi-talented Daryl Okeke(Sr., Champaign Judah Christian) is slated to show out in three events (60, 200, 60H) but the hurdles is the event that will garner the most intrigue. Why not in a crowded short-dash field? Well, Okeke is the state leader in the hurdles at 8.02 ready to duel competitive obstacle Nathan Kirby (Sr., Salt Fork) whose 8.10 is the second-best time in the state.
It is hard to beat a good shot put competition because oftentimes the energy is transferred from one thrower to the next. Garrett Taylor(Sr., Salt Fork) andChris Boyd (Sr., Tuscola) are among the best in their craft in the state who recently battled at the Gene Armer Invite. Boyd came out on top by several inches. Both could near the 60-foot mark inside the Shirk.
