1A-
On the opening day of the championship weekend, they (athletes) produced many personal bests and several meet records.
The workhorse Kiara Wesseh (Sr., Newark) shuttled back and forth from the track to the field. After qualifying in both the 60HH and 60m, Wessah re-entered the long jump pit. She performed best on the final two attempts, 17'6.25", and the winner, 17'8." Madison Kacevicius (Sr., Greenville) matched her at 17'8" in the final round, but Wesseh had the better series. Wesseh took third in the high jump (5'3"), several slots behind Audrey Phillips' (El Paso-Gridley) 5'5."
Staying in the field, Addie Stadsholt (Jr., Athens) was the prohibitive favorite to win the shot put. It took her three rounds to capture the lead with a 38'7" toss. The mark held up to beat Natalie Hasting (Sr., Tuscola), who threw 38'2."
Arguably, the biggest performance occurred in the field with pole vaulter Mya Strahm (Jr., Elmwood). The soon-to-be early high school graduate set the class record with a clearance of 13'3." She moved the bar up to 13'9.25" but unfortunately did not clear the mark, which would have moved her up one spot to US#4.
Back to the track, we got our first glimpse of the prodigy Isabella Keller (Fr., Effingham St. Anthony) in the 3200m. In just a handful of races during her initial undercover season, Keller broke out just before the 1000m and controlled the tempo. Molly Farrell (So., Marshall) tried to stay within reach at the halfway point. Keller's first 1600 was 5:09, and she continued to expand her lead, eventually lapping the entire field, leading to a classification record of 10:19.03. The time was the fastest time in the state and the 20th-best mark in the country.
Makhiya Stephen (Sr., Maroa-Forsyth) produced the state's fifth-best 60HH after winning her prelim and later final in a highly hyped 8.95.
One of the state's top half-milers, Elena Rybak (Jr., Father McGivney), did not contest the event but instead assisted her teammates with a record performance in the 4x00 relay. Rybak split a hearty 2:10.60 on her anchor carry. The winning time of 9:33.08 was nearly 30 seconds better than Shelbyville. Rybak returned several hours later to face Keller in a rematch 1600m. It was a close tilt throughout the affair, but Rybak could get some breathing room on the final lap and win in the closest-ever duel 4:52.17-4:54.84. Rybak closed things out on the 4x4 anchor, splitting 57.98 en route to a school record 4:06.57.
Boys-
Dominic Martin (Sr., Ridgeview) and Brady Larson (Sr., Maroa-Forsyth) have been among the top 60-meter hurdlers in the state. So it was no surprise to see them virtually even through the preliminary round. It was another close tilt, but Martin prevailed with a personal best of 8.14 (IL#3) over Larson's 8.17 (IL#5).
Evan Smith (Jr., IC Catholic) was prepared for battle in the 60-meter dash after surviving a tough and deep Chicago Catholic League, which has produced the deepest crop of short speedsters in the state across all three classes. Smith did not flinch after winning his prelim in 7.08. He returned later to win easily with a solid 6.97 performance. He returned later to take the 200 in 22.39.
The 800m was not the fastest performance of the day, but it may have been the most thrilling. Josiah Hortin (Sr., Tuscola) trailed Isaiah Hill (Sr., Elmwood) throughout the race. It was in the final meters that Hortin's perseverance paid off, and able to overtake Hill for the win 1:57.04-1:57.13. Hortin returned to win the 1600m over his teammates Will Foltz (Sr.) and Jackson Barrett (Sr.). Just like their cross country style 1,2,3, finishes, the trio was relentless against the competition. Hortin won with a time of 4:22.91.
Foltz and Barrett went 1-2 in the 3200m, running 9:20.57 and 9:25.95.