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Date: Saturday, March 29
Time: Field events- 8am; Track- 11:10am
Location: Dr. Conrad Worrill Track & Field Center
Opening statement: "ONE CLASS. ONE GOAL. ONE STAGE." This is the official mission statement of the Illinois Indoor Championships, which, in its inaugural state, is going to shake up the way the indoor track and field scene is seen moving forward. For example, this will be an opportunity for the best and most talented athletes to compete against one another. In other words, there are no barriers or classifications.
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Girls-
Jaloni Wiley (Jr., Homewood-Flossmoor) has propelled herself into the national spotlight after tossing the ball 46'0.75" several days ago in a low-key meet. She is currently ranked #16 in the country and will have an excellent opportunity to move into the top 10 nationally and all-time in the state. It will take just 47'2.50" to get the job done. There to push her will be Leijla Maljevic (Jr., Evanston), who has tossed the iron ball 40'4.50" this winter.
Dominique Johnson (Sr., Huntley) is the state's premier dual-threat long/triple jumper and ranks among the national leaders. Johnson will contest the LJ first, where she ranks #1 in the state and #16 in the country, leaping 19'8.75." Could we see a 20' clearance on meet day? Johnson will double back in her favorite event, ranking #2 in the country at 42'5."Johnson is already the state's all-time best indoors.
Naomi Bey-Osborne (Sr., Kankakee) appears to be back and ready to close out her indoor campaign. The future U of Illinois star warmed up in the 400m several weeks ago at her conference championship in 57.77. Her coach, Marques Lowe, said, "It was an easy 57." He believes that, with all things equal, his pupil could drop a time somewhere in the 55-second range. The unheralded Alaina Steele (So., Lincoln-Way East) dropped a 57.28 PB last weekend and could threaten Bey-Osborn's title hopes. They are expected to duel in the final event of the evening, the "showstopper."
The distance arena will not be lacking as some of the premier performers are on the scene. In the day's first entree, the 3200m, "Sunny" Sundara Weber of Sandwich and Annika Swan of Chicago St. Ignatius will meet in the battle of juniors. Weber has run well at Gately, posting a PB of 10:18.23 for the two-mile. Swan, who anticipates running in the prestigious Arcadia Invite, must get within 10:15 to run in the championship section. Allison Shutler (Fr., St. Ignatius) and Kyla Babb (Jr., Westmont) will be looking to provide depth, if not a role of spoilers. Weber, Babb, and Shutler are slated to compete in the 1600m. Weber is ready
Erin Hinsdale (So., Wheaton St. Francis) ranks #2 in the state for the 800m. She is within striking distance of Emily Stecky's time of 2:13.02. Look for a strong challenge from Lily Hodneland (Sr., Hinsdale Central) and a deep field that possesses nine performers under 2:20.
Plainfield North is entered in all three relays and will be the favorite in two of them. Let's start with the 4x800. The Cats enter with the fourth-best time in the state, running 9:24.78. They were without one of their top runners at the DGS Mustang Relays earlier in the season. If pushed, we could see a time close to 9:10.
The next event for Plainfield North is the 4x200, where they appear to be at their best. Earlier in the month at the Mustang Relays, anchor senior Lauren Dellangelo used a blow torch to run down Prospect to the sounds of a rock concert in 1:40.63. North Central College's flat track was favorable on that day. We will see how fast the Tigers can roll on the autobahn-like Gately track.
Boys-
3A #1 Chicago Kenwood is a team hitting its stride at the right time as the indoor season comes to a close. The Broncos are loaded and will be in a bevy of events. They will have high-level talent in the 60, 4x200, 4x400, 400, and the 200.
The 4x200 clocking (1:27.78) is presumed to be the fastest ever for an IL quartet. They appear to be on record to duplicate the feat again. That will be tough if senior ace
Logic West isn't on the relay. West is entered in the 400 and will probably stay there to compete against the favored
Austin Rowswell (Sr., Lincoln-Way West).
Senior
Parrish Hartley Jr. of Kenwood will not participate in the jumps but will run the 60, 200, and probably a relay instead. Fellow senior teammate Armond Boulware is in the 200 and may be able to knock off Rowswell. The final event of the meet, the 4x400, will be something special to watch, especially if Rowswell is anchoring for his team. We could see two teams going under 3:20--that would be a first in state history.
The 60m field is loaded! 7 of the top 15 speedsters are here, led by IL#3
William Landwer (Sr., New Trier), who has clocked 6.85.
Plainfield North will try to break 7:50 in the 4x800. If so, they would be the third team to do so, behind Downers Grove North and Chicago Payton.
The state leader in the triple jump is the emerging
Treycen Bownes (senior, Plainfield North), who will be looking to crack 49'.
Kwabena Osei-Yeboah (Sr., Oak Park-River Forest) is the defending state champion in the 3A long jump and is considered the top overall performer. So far, he rates IL#3 as having the best season with a 23'4".
The 3200m is expected to be a fast and furious race. Ben Crane (Sr., New Trier) opted out for a much-needed vacation, so
Tommy Nitz (Sr., Huntley) is the favorite. Nitz has been lights out this winter, running a lifetime best 9:05.30. He will get a rematch against
Rory Gaan (Sr., Fremd), who he defeated at the Batavia Distance Madness earlier this month. A deep field will also consist of
Aidan Connors (Jr., Plainfield North),
Jack Jennings (So., Fremd), and
Josiah Narayanan (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South), to name a few.
Maximilian Sudrzynski (Sr., Jacobs) is a new name in the 1600m and has been running lights out. He broke out in the fall as an all-state cross-country runner and continued his assault this winter by running IL#2 at 4:13.77. A total of five boys are under 4:20 converted.
