Johnston City's Farmer wins two state titles
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[You wouldn't have known Johnston City's Daniel Farmer had just won his second state championship Saturday by watching his reaction after crossing the finish line in the 200-meter dash at O'Brien Stadium.
All the 6-foot-5, lanky senior did was stop, turn around, shake a few hands and grab a cup of water. He had every right to give a wild celebratory reaction after winning his second race at the IHSA Class 1A Boys State Track and Field Meet.
"It would've looked kind of stupid if I had thrown my hands in the air and lost," Farmer said. "It was a really close race."
OK, good point. But the timers, the lasers, the cameras and whatever else at the finish line proved beyond all doubt that Farmer was the fastest man on the track in both the 400 and 200 meter races in the small school division.
"It feels really great," Farmer said after eventually cracking a smile. His times of 49.25 and 22.37 weren't what he wanted to run, but were enough to make plenty of history. And it came after placing eighth in the 100-meter dash, giving him three medals for the day.
"The 100 is a little short for him," said Johnston City track coach Dan Mings, who helped Farmer's speed flourish after seeing him run as the kicker for the Indians football team, which Mings also coaches.
"He's got a heck of a stride," Mings said. "He's had a really good year. He's actually a four-time state champ because he won the 200 and 400 at the indoor state meet, too. I'm so pumped about it because he's a great kid, a solid citizen, a polite young man. He deserves everything he gets."
After the 100, in which he ran from the far inside lane and was clocked at 11.0 seconds, Farmer came back to run the 400 and made a huge push on the final turn, making up a long stagger and winning the race easily -- with no emotional reaction at the finish line.
"My start felt a little slow," Farmer said. "At about the 150-meter mark, I started picking it up. The last 300, I just went straight, kept my form and picked my knees up. That helped a lot.
"I wasn't happy with it. But I guess I should be."
Not long after, Farmer was back on Eastern Illinois University's blue track for the 200 and again made up the stagger on the curve and held off a strong field at the wire.
"The curves are where I'm at my best," Farmer said. "Then when it gets straight, I just stride it out. After the curve, I knew I was in front so I just kept my pace. When I saw guys in the corner of my eye, I just strided it out a little more and ran a little harder."
Farmer hopes to return to Charleston as a member of the EIU track team this fall.
One other Williamson County athlete brought back a medal from the state finals.
Carterville senior Chris Aschemann busted off a discus throw of 156 feet, 8 inches on his final attempt Saturday.
It topped his previous personal-best mark by almost three feet and was nearly six feet farther than his best attempt at state to that point.
"The wind picked up perfectly and caught the disc. It took off on me. It felt good," Aschemann said. "If I hadn't thrown that one very good I would've ended up sixth or seventh. I just wanted to end on a high note. That's what I was going for."
Aschemann is headed to Olivet Nazarene University to throw both the shot put and discus.
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