Brady Anderson (left, Morrison) and Supreme Muhammad (Winnebago) show great sportsmanship after dueling in the 4x200 relay
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RESULTS I VIDEOS I PHOTOS
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Charleston-
Winnebago should be labeled the "1A school of champions" because it has won team boys' and girls' cross country titles, girls' state team titles, and now its first boys' track and field title. The Bagos slipped past Tuscola 57-54. Ridgeview took the final trophy home with 50 points. This was one of the closest battles since 1A has been in the three-class system.
4x800: It's been a long since multiple teams got under the watershed 8:00 barrier. This time, two were led by the champion Sterling (Newman Catholic), who missed the classification record. The 7:53.72 will have to do. Rockford Christian was second in 7:58.82.
4x100: Morrison was the best team, completing the task in 42.34. Despite a monster anchor by Supreme Muhammad, Winnebago finished second in 42.51.
3200: It was no secret that the Tuscola senior duo Will Foltz and Jackson Barrett had other plans before the state meet. Regardless of the schedule, they dominated the competition. They used a 4:40 and 4:41 first mile and cruised home 1-2, respectively, in 9:18.86 and 9:25.21. Nicolai Martino (Jr., Winnebago) made it look respectable on paper, taking third in 9:31.16.
110HH: Dominic Martin (Sr., Ridgeview) knew of the pressure facing him for weeks but remained calm when it most counted. That calmness allowed him to recover against a tough Brady Larson (Sr., Maroa-Forsyth) over the final hurdles and win 14.41-14.46 (+0.9).
100: This was a race in which the spotlight was on Supreme Muhammad because he was among the elite indoor sprinters in the state. Everyone wanted to know what he would do in Charleston on the "big blue." What did he do? He dashed down the track ahead of a field of hungry lions in 10.72 (+0.7). Joshua Boahene (Sr., Chicago Trinity) was second in 10.77. Two others were under 10.80.
800: Expect the unexpected sometimes. Josiah Hortin (Sr., Tuscola) is one of the vaulted "Tuscola trio." Hortin ran the race of his life, hitting the accelerator from the gun; he hit the first lap in 53.70 but trailed Isaiah Hill (Sr., Elmwood) by a few steps. But not for long; Hortin captured the lead and pulled away to win in a swift 1:51.98.
4x200: Morrison does it again; they held on and defeated a hard-charging Winnebago anchor named Muhammad in 1:28.08. The 'Bagos clocked 1:28.20, and no one else was under 1:30.
400: Last year's state runner-up came into the final as the #5 seed. Parker Wolfe (Sr., Newton) executed his plan accurately and won comfortably in 49.79. Wolfe was the only finisher to crack 50 seconds.
300H: This race was not Dominic Martin's bread and butter, but he easily got the job done, winning in IL#11 38.87.
1600: The "swan song" did not go as well for Tuscola. Isaiah Hill got his revenge because Hortin and Jackson Barrett might have stalled the pace. Hill went from fourth to first on the final lap (58.9) to win in 4:17.02.
200: Muhammad may be the best 200 in the state this season. He proved he was in the final race of his high school career, dominating all who stepped on the starting line in 21.59 (-1.1).
4x400: The final event of the day goes to who else... Morrison swept the sprint relays by a slim margin over Casey-Westfield 3:21.89-3:21.93.
Field events-
Pole Vault: It was a great fanfare year for Isaiah Whitaker, a sophomore at Bloomington Central Catholic. A marque athlete who earned all-state honors in the 4x400, Whitaker started the competition at 14'5.25" (4.40m) with only one competitor, Griffin Kimbrel (Sr., Pana), remaining. Whitaker would not miss until he got to the 17-foot barrier. He finished with the class record of 17'0". Still, he did give two great efforts at 17'6.50."
High Jump: Mitchel Edwards (Jr., Carmi-White County) did not achieve his PB 6'7", but he did defeat the favorite Abraham Johnson by a substantial margin of 6'6.75."
Long Jump: Abraham Johnson got his state title here over Dominic Johnson despite having 22'2.50" marks. Johnson had a better overall series, with five of his six jumps landing over 21 feet.
Shot Put: Graham Meister is a freshman whose ceiling is high. Before we check in the kid from Dwight, let's celebrate his two feet win, 55'9.75." He finishes the season as the second-best kid from the class of 2027 in the country.
Triple Jump: Keenan Powell (Sr., Litchfield) completed his final campaign undefeated with his best-ever performance, leaping 46'8" on his fifth attempt. It was the 11th-best performance in the state.
Discus Throw: Nick Feather (Sr., Heyworth) needs his sixth and final throw to overtake Hank Alvey (Sr., Illini Bluffs) 163'7,"