A very intense 1600m at the Cabin Fever was won by the top seed Nicolai Martino of Winnebago (Jorge Espinosa photo)

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The intensity inside the Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center on Thursday evening seemed like a championship. That could be a reach since several weeks remain in the indoor season, and there are plenty of fast running, far-throwing, and jumping to be had. 

In the meantime, let's take a look at what went down...

Girls-

The state's top shot putter, Jaloni Wiley (Jr., Homewood-Flossmoor), kicked things off by breezing past a solid field by three feet (40'5.50"). The #1 ranked Lady Vikings continued their strong start in the field with a second-place performance (more misses) in the long jump. Sophomore London Jarrett cleared 5'4."

Chicago Whitney Young got in on the field events sweepstakes, taking the first two spots of the triple jump on the strength of Courtney Burt (Jr) and Layla Bonilla (Sr). They bounded 38'8.25" and 38'7.75" respectively.

The track was even more spectacular. To say the least.

Courtney McDonald (Sr., Plainfield East) won a competitive 60m in 7.72, leading five others under 8.00/

Julia Brown (Sr., Oak Park-River Forest) showed everyone who came to see Naomi-Bey Osborne (Sr., Kankakee) and Mariyah Robinson (Jr., Homewood-Flossmoor) to run the 400, then watched them sit out; they were going to get an unexpected treat. Brown rolled to a smoking and state-leading 56.75. Her previous best was 58.75 from the 2024 outdoor season. 

Whitney Young showed some firepower on the track in the form of Angelena Bullocks. The state's leading 60m speedster got back in the 200 and put on a magical display. Bullocks rocketed around the oval in 23.95, which was the third-best indoor performance by an IL girl. The Dolphins had previously run the 4x200 in 1:42.24, the second fastest time in the state.

Boys-

Chicago Kenwood seniors Logic West and Armond Boulware highlight two magical performances in the 400 and 200-meter dashes. West, known more as a high jumper, rocked the two-lap field with a state-leading 49.36. About an hour later, Boulware dropped another state-leading performance, 21.63.

The 800 was the distance standout race as Tra'Monti Williams (Jr., Chicago Payton) and Owen Lilley (Sr., Chicago Lane) linked up late and fought on the final half lap. Williams who commanded the race, got a strong challenge from Lilley with 60m remaining. Williams held on for the nail-biter 1:57.57 to 1:57.74.

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