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Charleston, IL- Back in the fall during the cross country season, New Trier superstar Ben Crane thought his team was in line to win a team trophy and possibly advance on to the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN). The Trevians fell short in both goals. Fast forward to the spring track season, things started looking promising for Crane and his mates, as they amassed a ton of arsenal that would put them in the mix for a state team title.
Head Coach Andrew Schmitt and his Trevians employed an all-around attack from the field and track to secure the victory. New Trier scored 45 points and held off Homewood-Flossmoor (40). Belleville West was nine points better than Chicago Kenwood, at 38, in collecting their first trophy, taking third place.
Event by event-
4x800: The main event race had to be ready to shine, especially after Chicago Payton put on a thrilling performance in establishing the 2A record of 7:38.95. What would the verdict be? Defending champ Downers Grove North had mainly been dormant or asleep during the outdoor season. They were fortunate enough to make the final, winning the final heat with the slowest of three sections. But the Trojans survived and advanced.
Downers North led with
Will Surratt (Jr) in 1:54.23 and the lead. But there was a fleet of 1:55 legs on their tail, such as Lincoln Way Central, Sandburg, Naperville Central, and Plainfield North, to name a few.
Second leg John Courtney almost held serve, slipping one spot, but ran 1:56.36. Normal Community used a 1:53.90 leg by junior
AJ Ince. That would be momentarily lived because DGN retrieves the lead on Grant Schroder's leg, clocking a blistering 1:52.89 to bust open the race and bring the anchor split to 5:43.47.
Junior
Philip Cupial won the 1600 title last year, but did not qualify this round. Still, the team had confidence in him anchoring and bringing home another win. Cupial would not disappoint, blazing home in 1:52.94 and prompting another meet record, actually the all time state record in 7:36.40!!! It is now a US#6 time to boot.
4x100: After witnessing Chicago Kenwood running 41.15 in the prelim, everyone has wondered what the final would look like. Edwardsville made the first aggression, leading through three legs, but it was close enough for Homewood-Flossmoor to get star sophomore
Zion Morrison the stick and drop an iconic leg. He slid down the homestraight and past the tape in a new state best 41.00. Edwardsville clocked IL#2 41.10. Six teams went under 42 seconds, making this the fastest race in state history.
3200: Enter
Ben Crane (Sr., New Trier) for the first time. Crane knew that
Jack Jennings (So., Palatine Fremd) won section two in a solid 9:16.24. That meant that he could not go out and cruise to an overall win. The goal was to score 10 points for his team. He controlled the race from the beginning, running a string of 67 and 68-second laps, touching the 1600 in 4:31. Then,
Carter Hayes (Sr., Palatine) locked in on him with a lap to go. But Crane pulled away with less than 300 to go to win in 8:57.13. Hayes held on for second in 9:01.42.
110HH: The state's top short hurdler
Jalyn Cole (Jr., Belleville West) had the confidence all season to get it done. His coach is Dawn Harper-Nelson. Yes, that one who was a legendary figure at E. St. Louis Lincoln, and she won the Olympic Gold medal at the 2008 Games in Beijing, China. He was destined to be a champion, and he narrowly missed the all-time record with a sizzling 13.82 (+2.2).
100: The wind was howling before the race, and it was almost certain that the wind would play a part in denying any records.
William Landwer (Sr., New Trier) and
Clayton Lakatos (Sr., Edwardsville) were among the favorites to win the title. Landwer got out of the blocks and put an end to an upset at 50m. He streaked across the line like he lost his mind after seeing 10.24 popping up. He also heard the meet announcer say, "IT'S AN IHSA ALL-TIME RECORD!" However, the wind reading indicated otherwise: +4.0 and negating such nonsense. Still, Landwer earned 10 points and the title of the fastest kid in Illinois.
800: The battle between
Nolan Lamoureux (Sr., Lockport) and
Owen Horeni (Jr., Yorkville) was one for the ages after both of them got in 53.4 in the first lap. Horeni bolted to the front and seemingly appeared as if he would win his first state title. But with 150m remaining, he began to lock up, and Lamoureux refreshed, powered past with less than 70m to go for the win in an IL#1 1:51.92.
4x200: Glenbrook North dazzled the crowd in the prelims with an IL#1 1:26.25- a dominating performance and threat to go under 1:26 on Saturday. They did not break any records on championship day, but they won convincingly, clocking 1:26.63.
400: Defending champ
Troy McLean (Sr., Belleville West) was more concerned about earning points for his team than setting records for himself. All eyes were on the 46-second kid,
Austin Rowswell (Sr., Lincoln Way West), but the hard-charging McLean would not be denied. He churned out a win in 47.98 and became the only speedster to break 48 seconds in any final.
300H: The long hurdles race is littered with talent throughout all three classes. In this one, defending champion
Amari Williams (Sr., Wheaton-Warrenville South) was ready to go after the state record before hanging up the track spikes for football at Northern Illinois University. Williams did not have the right foot pattern for the first hurdle. This is dangerous because it can throw off the rest of the race. Fortunately, he is technically sound and fast. By the middle hurdles, he gained an advantage over
Daylin Donaldson (So., Belleville East). Williams romped him in 36.94, producing one of the best efforts of all time. Had it not been for the early missteps, he might have broken the state meet record.
1600: Boos reign upon this talented group who sleptwalked through a first quarter in 1:13. An impatient
Rory Gaan (Sr., Fremd) roared to the front and dropped a 63 second circuit. Still, the time at halfway was 2:16, which was unacceptable. Another 63-second lap brought the race to 3:19 on the bell. No chance of a sparkling time,
Tommy Nitz (Sr., Huntley), who ran 4:10.68 in the prelims, had to motor home in 56.37 and the win in 4:16.24.
200: The wind was reading legal in the first two classes, and that had all eyes on Landwer, who earlier dropped a fast 100. No one saw the all-time record coming down, but he was blazing around the curve and a light year ahead of the field. This time, he would not deny, snatching the great Anthony Moorman's record of 20.89 that had stood since 1997. Landwer's 20.83 (+1.1) will be ingrained in the track fans' consciousness for a long time.
4x400: A crowded field for the showstopper field with carnage for the first three legs, with various teams switching leads. But it was Evanston who squeeked home past Lockport on senior
Dallas Amo's 47.26 anchor. The time, 3:17.73 is IL#4.
The 3A state championship was one of the fastest in IHSA history