The Tuscola Warriors are contenders this year in large part to Josiah Hortin. Photo by Carson Vittorio.
1A Boys-
A unique feature of track scoring was on display at the conclusion of the 1A Boys' 2022 State Championship, with both Salt Fork and Cowden-Herrick raising 1st place trophies in a 44-point draw (Pleasant Plains finished 3rd). Salt Fork returns some scorers and remains in top-10 contention, but with Cowden-Herricks' stars graduated, there looks to be new blood for the 1A title this year.
The #1 Power Ranked team entering the state meet is Decatur St. Teresa. Much like Seneca on the Girls' side, St. Teresa is flexing its depth as a small school track powerhouse by qualifying all four relays to the state meet with major scoring potential. The 4x100 and 4x200 led by Jeremy Walker (Sr.) and Long Jump qualifier Brycen Hendrix (Sr.) project to score in the top half of the finals, while the 4x800 could contend for a state title even without 800 star Caleb Kernaghan (Sr.). Finally, the 4x400 is tied with Heyworth for the state lead. The Bulldog relays are buoyed by individual potential with Kernaghan, Hendrix, and Evan Cook (So.). A notable absence is the classification triple jump leader Cabott Craft (Sr., St. Thomas More), which opens the door for St. Teresa jumper Royce Harper (Sr.).
The Tuscola Warriors will be tough competition for St. Teresa. The distance program has taken a hard right-hand turn toward dominance and can score significant points from Jackson Barrett (Jr.) and Josiah Hortin (Jr.). Barrett is running 3200/1600 and Hortin is running 800/1600. Will Foltz (Jr.) is also in the scoring mix in the 3200. But it's not just about distance running for Tuscola--the Warriors' best shot an in individual title may be Chris Boyd (Sr.), who will be squaring off against Garrett Taylor (Sr., Salt Fork) and Mitchel Myers (Sr., Arcola) in both throws.
Both Tuscola and St. Teresa have the potential to score over 40 points. In the current season's environment of competitive balance, 40 points should be enough for a trophy, but which trophy is a mystery?
That 40-point total will be tough for other squads to reach, but the field's best shot at this may be Bloomington Central Catholic. The Saints squad only brings six qualifiers to the meet, but it helps that Isaiah Whitaker (Fr.) can be written in as the likely winner of the Pole Vault. Whitaker, the 14-year age group world record holder (16-2), has brought his best up to 16-9.25 during this outdoor season and can please the crowd with some 17' attempts after he locks up his first state title. He will need to conserve his legs a bit, as he is a key piece of the BCC 4x1 and 4x2 that hope to score as well.
Similar to Central Catholic, Taylor Ridge Rockridge has scoring potential throughout the field but leans heavily on top sprinter Peyton Locke (Sr.). Locke's 10.79 and 22.24 sectional performances make him a threat in both flat sprints. Caleb Cunico (So.) is in the mix in a deep high jump field, and the Rockets relays, particularly the 4x400, are strong too.
How will the Winnebago boys follow up on the championship performance of their female counterparts? Like the girls, 'Bago brings a handful of relays down, but unlike the girls, it's the sprinting that is their strength, specifically Supreme Muhammad (Sr.) who cemented his name as a 1A favorite at the conclusion of the indoor season. Winnebago could also use a bonus point or two from Nate Lyons (Sr.) in the hurdles.
Lastly, never overlook Salt Fork, who enters the meet as defending champions. The Storm continue to win meets on the shoulders of Garrett Taylor (Sr.) in the throws, and Nathan Kirby (Sr.) in the hurdles. Taylor could win both throws, and a 20-point lead on the board for Salt Fork entering the track events would be a massive advantage in a year where low point totals may be to land on the podium. Salt Fork will also look to its 4x100 and 4x200 relays to try to stretch to the 30-point mark and beyond.
Madison, Elmwood, Springfield Lutheran, and Shelbyville are all groups that can vie for top-5 spots in the meet.
Daniel Winkelman (9) and Tommy Murray (4) are major players in the 1600, especially without defending champion Isaac Teel in the field. Photo by Jorge Espinosa.
In the distance events, there is no major favorite, but a smattering of strong individual performances throughout the state means that there will be hot racing, particularly in the 3200. The aforementioned Tuscola duo of Jackson Barrett and Josiah Hortin have already shown not to back down from competition by traveling north to take on the best. Barrett has run 9:15 this year, but that is good only for 1A #3, as both Tommy Murray (Sr., Riverdale) and Akili Parekh (Sr., Latin) have gone under. Logan Beckmier (Sr., Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond) and Foltz will probably be among the lead group as well in the 3200.
All of the above minus Foltz return in the 1600, and add Daniel Winkelman (Sr., Harvest Christian), Isaiah Hill (Jr., Elmwood), Bryson Grant (Sr., Iroquois West), Carson Maroon (Jr., St. Joseph-Ogden) and Benjamin Gibson (So., Chicago Latin) to make quite the competitive field. Murray has the fastest season's best of the field (4:16.0 at DNiP), but the Tuscola duo will be the ones to watch especially as they have matured as racing teammates.
In the 800, Winkelman, Hortin, and Hill begin Thursday fresh for the half-mile and are good bets to make it to the final. They will have to contend with Charlie Bardwell (Sr. Eureka), Noah Britton (Jr., Alleman), #1 seed Ryan Hendrickson (Sr., Champaign St. Thomas More), and Top Times champ Julian Aske (Sr., Evanston Beacon Academy). Don't pay mind to the sectional times when trying to assess this event--much of the finals field will have broken 1:56 this year.
Without Josiah Brown (So., Champaign Judah Christian) in the field, the door is opened a little wider for the likes of Muhammad and Locke in the sprints. DeByron Boyd (Jr., Madison) leads a strong Madison sprints group and is the top seed in the 200, and a top seed in the 100 as well. Charles Shaw (Sr., SIUE Charter), Carter Wasson (Sr., Steeleville), and Joshua Boahene (Jr., Holy Trinity) put together strong sectional performances on their way to the preferred lanes in the 100 and 200 prelims. But condition-affected events like these one-way sprints limit the correlation between the leaderboard during the outdoor season and the placing at the state meet. There will certainly be a surprise in these events.
A sprinter that we will surely be talking about after the meet is over is Reece Curtis (Jr., St. Anne), the only athlete under 50 seconds for the 400m in the field so far this year, and a 200m favorite. He is entered in the 100 as well. His pedigree makes him a strong candidate to achieve a lane in the finals for all three events, despite not being a clear favorite in the 100 as he enters the state meet. Curtis is not a lock for the 400 titles, however, especially if Jacob Huber (Sr., Fr. McGivney), Bjorn Carlson (Sr., Rockford Christian), Parker Wolfe (Jr., Newton), or Da'Marion Johnson (Jr., Pleasant Plains) have anything to say about it.
Jackson Kern will hope to win the 110h one year after his runner-up finish. Photo by Jorge Espinosa.
His teammate Brown won't be in the meet to help Judah Christian grab a trophy, but that won't stop Daryl Okeke (Sr.) from putting his mark on the meet. Okeke is the hands-on favorite in the 110h, after winning the 60h at Top Times and being among state leaders for all classes with a 14.15 performance at St. Teresa. But Okeke will be everyone else on the track, entering in the 100, 200, and 300h. Okeke can definitely win the 300h, but the gap between him and the field is smaller, especially with Gage Smith (Sr., Shelbyville) and Jackson Kern (Sr., Auburn) in the field. The Class 1A record in the 110h is 13.93, which may be within reach for Okeke, especially given the right conditions and competitors like Kern pushing him.
The first relay of the day, the 4x800, is headed by Williamsville who ran the 1A #1 time at Beardstown Sectional in 8:07. Their quartet, led by Nolan Bates (Sr.), must be installed as the favorite as no other team has broken 8:10 yet. But how will they respond to the challenges from Eureka (who includes Charlie Barnwell), and Rockford Christian (led by Aidan Sosnowski (Sr.))? In the sprint relays, Shelbyville and Salt Fork have been consistent groups. Bloomington Central Catholic recently ran the state-leading 4x100. But a big performer has been Madison throughout the year. If a team has the brawn to win both relays, it will be Madison and DeByron Boyd. Also watch for Pleasant Plains, Winnebago, Forreston, and Ridgeview in those relays. Finally, the 4x400 is quite open. Six teams have run 3:27 this year: St. Teresa, Heyworth, Morrison, Rock Ridge, Auburn, and Ridgeview. Shelbyville and Wesclin come from sectionals' hot off-season best performances as well. The event may have trophy implications if teams like Winnebago, St. Teresa, and Central Catholic are still in the scoring mix.
The most significant horizontal jumper from Indoors was Cabott Craft, but his absence means different stars will rise. The biggest mark of the season was from freshman Robert Greer (Fr., Sparta) with a 22-5 jump in April. He is also the top sectional seed ahead of Max Milbrath (Jr., Pecatonica), Kaiden Droste (Sr., West Central), and Cody Browne (Sr., Sullivan). Milbrath is also a TJ favorite but Royce Harper, as mentioned above, will be hard to beat.
In both horizontals, Mason Kooi (Sr., Springfield Lutheran) will appear. He represents a candidate to challenge for both LJ and TJ titles. However, his main strength, HJ, will be the event that he is a major favorite to win. Noah Gilmore (Jr. Robinson) matched Kooi's 6-7 sectional clearance to be a co-#1 seed in their flight. However, Kooi became the only 7-0 jumper in the state at Riverton in April after his national New Balance HJ title. Can Gilmore put the pressure on Kooi, or will Kooi soar to a title?
Whitaker is the presumptive PV champion, but watch to see how Marcus Czapar (So., El Paso-Gridley) and Griffin Kimbrel (Jr., Pana) fly as well. Myers, Boyd, and Taylor dominate the throws discussion, but in the SP, Gage Dunker (Jr., Lena-Winslow) and Hank Alvey (Jr., Illini Bluffs) can make an impact. The same goes for Alex Zarlatanes (Jr., Rockridge) in the DT.