Tonyprepster, Coach Pierre, and Downstate Dave breakdown the boys state championship!
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0:00-2:09 introductory
2:10-12:55 Class A Boys recap: Morrison repeats as team champion, scoring 51 points. Pleasant Plains takes second with 34, and El Paso-Gridley surprises them all with the 3rd-place trophy at 29... Morrison senior star Brady Anderson was the star of the show, maybe all classes combined. He won four gold medals (3 state records, #1 in 200m- 20.98). Dawveed Holland of Crete (Illinois Lutheran) battled Landyn Mitchell of Centralia (Christ Our Rock Lutheran) in the triple jump. They produced the #1 and #2 marks in the season. Mitchell almost set the classification 110HH record; Dave: Chaz Oberkfell of Gillespie won the 3200 from the slow section; Tony: Class A all-around was spectacular from top to bottom, and this was the best-ever meet for the class. There is a ton of talent returning as well.
12:56-22:26 Class 2A recap: The trophy teams were Metamora 46, Cahokia 39, Carbondale 36; Pierre breakdown-- D'Mario Jackson gets Danville's 1st sprint triple crown. The "Showstopper" is back baby!! Dawson Rogers of Paris wins HJ with a chilling 6'10.25". Metamora drops crowd-raising performance in the 4x2 with Jaiduan Cranford on anchor. The speedster gets redemption for his Redbirds. It was an all-time record-setting performance between Isaiah Whitaker and Andrew Nuyen... oh, Joseph Friedrich was not forgotten in the DT.
22:27-32:00 Class 3A recap: Evanston 56, Belleville West 49, Chatham-Glenwood 42 are the team trophy recipients. Where do we start?? So many great performances on the docket. The Wildkats win their first title since 1979 on the high-jumping exploits of Jaden Jean-Paul. Pierre: Fast 4x100s, 4x200s; Belleville West's Jalyn Cole repeats in the 110HH with an emotional display. Geneva junior Bennett Konkey showed and proved that he was indeed for real... Ben Gorsage of Washington won a great 800 battle vs. Owen Horeni... Philip Cupial leaves a great legacy for Downers Grove North; Patrick Peterson of Dunlap sets a sophomore record in the discus throw (201'5"), and Aidan Connors of Plainfield North takes the 3200 in 8:55.95.
32:01-36:54 Final Housekeeping items: Pierre eats crow for dissing the 4x4s. The IHSA State schedule is an advantage to 1A schools. It is time to solve the 3200m tanking at sectionals. It was a major #trackscandal this year, and it will continue unless addressed. Better decisions about flipping the track for wind advantage can be made; we are seeing a trend of boys graduating early.