Class 2A
[Boys]
Triple Jump: Nicholas Deloach (Sr., Cahokia) won the title with a leap of 46-0.75. His coach the legendary Leroy Millsap believes his ceiling to be somewhere in the 48-foot range.
High Jump: The class leader Matt Pluff (So., Freeburg) finished fifth which meant Drew Tucker (Sr., Metamora)
Shot Put: Chase Crawford (Sr., Cahokia) continued his winning crusade with another 60-foot-plus bomb that sailed 61-4 on his final attempt.
Long Jump: Jayden Jones (Jr., Macomb) got hot over the past month which resulted in a swift victory that measured 22-2.50
Pole Vault: It was a great battle among friends Cooper Schaad (Sr., Geneseo) and Paul Migas (Jr., Lakes). Like a good game of chess, both power players entered the same height at 14-3.25 and cleared on their first attempt. Later it was 15-3 which the extent of the competition would end. Schaad was ruled the winner on fewer misses.
4x800: Champaign Central played the deficit game until the anchor leg Fynn Bright (Jr) clocked 1:59.97 to propel his team in for the win with a time of 8:14.05.
3200: The match of the meet was supposed to be southern Illinois standouts Ethan Hogan (Jr., Columbia) and Gavin Genisio (Jr., Benton). The closeness only lasted a half-mile before Hogan opened up and pulled away. He hit the first mile in 4:29 and dashed away to class record, IL#1, and the second fastest time in Top Times history.
60H: The third hurdler of the weekend to breach the 8.10 mark was Demarlynn Taylor (Sr., E. St. Louis Sr) with an easy win over Jaden Bossie (Sr., Chicago Mt. Carmel) 8.09-8.21. It was also the second-fastest time of the season.
60m: If the battle between Braydon Waller (Sr., Marian Catholic) and Nathan Hippard (Sr., Mascoutah) was any indication of what's to come, the state championship is going to be very interesting. Waller won this first-round final in 6.85 ahead of the surprising Hippard's 6.89. Five of the eight finalists ran 7.00 or better.
800: Patrick Hilby (Jr., Aurora Central Catholic) wanted the meet record and the only way he was going to get it, would be by setting the pace. His first 400 was in 56.75. The field was no match for Hilby who stormed him in an IL#5 1:54.71.
4x200: Because of meet management seeding teams based on banked vs flat track conversions, the best matchups did not occur. There were four sections and Sterling won the first one in 1:33.79. E. St. Louis Sr took the second section in 1:33.79 and Unity won the fourth section in 1:33.94. Imagine if all three were in the same race.
400: Don't look now but last year's top 400m runner Jackson Gilbert (Sr., Urbana) is back and better than ever. Gilbert got off to a slow start to the season because of an injury. He closed the indoor season with a meet record and indoor PB 49.20.
1600: Hogan closed out his long day with another great performance, running 4:17.46 and beating Dale Johnson (Jr., Sterling) by nearly four seconds in 4:21.44.
200: Waller completed his task with a personal best of 21.97 and the third fastest time in the state.
4x400: The final race of the day featured the top three teams in the classification who were led by the state's overall top squad from the East Side. The Flyerettes left the field in tatters and won easily in 3:28.02.
[Girls]
Triple Jump: Alaina Lester (Sr., Althoff Catholic) picked the right time to drop a top 50 national mark and IL#6 38-5. Lester was true on her first three attempts which were more than two feet better than Abby Venhaus.
High Jump: Two of the state's best performers Brianna Dixon (Sr., Rantoul) and Molly Grohmann (Sr., Waterloo) will be teammates at Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) next year at this time. In the meantime, they were friendly adversaries who were locked in a virtual tie after clearing 5-5.75. Dixon mustered enough energy after competing in the 60 and 60H to win on fewer misses.
Shot Put: The pundits vainly asked for a 45+ foot performance from someone before the meet. Although the request came a little short, Madelyn Bishop (Sr., Rockford Boylan) came desperately close with a personal best and IL#1 44-0. Bishop had trailed Kankakee junior Nikkel Johnson up to the fourth round. "I was mad [that she was ahead]," said Bishop which seemed to motivate her to a career-best effort.
Long Jump: Not many people were aware of Keymora Hayes (Jr., Cahokia) coming into the competition. After all, her personal best was shy of 18 feet. The favorite Paige Greenhagel (Sr., Burlington Central) finished a distant third place. Hayes shocked them including Teagan Sullivan on her final attempt to win on her final attempt: 18-2.50.
Pole Vault: At this time, Chelsea Wetzel (Jr., Dunlap) was the clear favorite and she did not disappoint. Wetzel had only two misses when she cleared her PB 12-9.50. At this point, she was the last girl standing and decided to attempt 13-1.50 which would have given her the state lead.
4x800: The reigning state champion Mt. Zion did not have their ace Sophia Munoz who ran the open 800m. Morton took advance of the opportunity to win a title. The Potters built a sizable lead on the anchor leg before holding on for the win in 9:46.31
3200: The previously unheralded Sundara Weber (Fr., Sandwich) came in on a mission to win and she pushed the pace up front through the first mile in 5:27. Weber pulled away with the convincing big win in 10:50.11
60H: With only one event to contend with, Emmi Scales (Sr., Arlington Heights St. Viator) could concentrate on the all-time meet record which was 8.47. The New Balance Indoor Nationals All-American clocked 8.55 in her smooth prelim. She returned more than an hour later to take down the record with a sizzling 8.43.
60m: Lena Jackson! The sophomore from Peoria Richwoods comes on for the win in 7.66- the second-fastest sophomore in the state and #2 in the classification and #6 overall in the state.
800: Becca Heitzig (Jr., Lincoln) is just a few weeks removed from basketball season, and appears to be in peak form. From the opening gun, Heitzig received little resistance from the field as she negotiated each circuit with precision and the result was a meet record 2:11.77.
4x200: With Naomi Bey-Osborne (So) off 400m duties, Kankakee's quartet is tremendously bolstered. The Kays overpower a tremendous Peoria Richwoods unit that had 60-dash winner Lena Jackson on it. The decisive win was in 1:44.81.
400: Isabella Orosco (Sr., Aurora Central Catholic) returned from a second-place finish in the 800 to collect gold here in 58.34.
1600: It was a sit-and-kick affair for the first 1200, and that's when Becca Heitzig opened up on Sundara Weber and dashed away for the comfy win in 5:02.21
200: Bey-Osborne returned for a personal best win in 25.08. Her time was the third fastest on the day in a merge as well as it was a personal best for Bey-Osborne.
4x400: It was a great battle between Mt. Zion and Geneseo that resulted that 4:10.88 and 4:10.94 respectively.