By Michael Newman

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Get to the shirk center early on Saturday morning. You won’t want to miss the 2A Girls Long Jump. The field is loaded in that event with three athletes ranked in the top ten nationally according to DyeStat TFX. Erika Furbeck of Geneseo, ranked #3 nationally, leads that group.

The meet starts at 9:05 AM with the field events. The first running events commence at 10:15 AM with the 3200 Meter Run. Imani Carothers of Brooks College Prep will be in the Long Jump and could break two meet records in the second session of this meet including the 60 Meter Hurdles.

Here is an event by event preview at the competition in Saturday’s 2A Meet.

 

Meet Program | Meet Schedule | Live Webcast

 

SPRINTS/HURDLES

GIRLS

 

60 Meter Hurdles – It is hard to imagine anyone winning this race other than Brooks College Prep’s Imani Carothers. The senior is going for her fourth straight win in this race. No other athlete has been able to do that in any of the events in this meet. Carothers has a state best time of 8.47. No other athlete has run faster than 8.85. The great Shamier Little holds the meet record at 8.60. That record could fall in the prelims.

There will be two races. Carothers chase for the record. The rest of the field chasing for second-place. Emelia Ness of Monticello leads the pack having run 9.08 indoors. Freshman Brooke Barkocy of Burlington Central and N’Dia Jackson of Springfield Lanphier are some of the runners that will challenge for the second spot.

60 Meter Dash – This race could be a close on involving Imani Carothers again. Carothers ran 7.72 last Sunday at the Chicago Public League Championships losing to Amira Young by only two hundredths of a second. Kiara Pauli of Dunlap is running hot of late. She ran the best 2A time in the state last week of 7.65 at Galesburg’s Last Chance Meet.

It won’t just be these two challenging for the win. This is a loaded field with a number of runners capable of winning. Serena Bolden of Springfield Southeast has a 7.78 seasonal best. Erika Furbeck of Geneseo has run 7.80 this year indoors. Jayla Campbell of Rich Central, Erin Long of Sterling, and Tredaja Harris of Mt. Vernon have run 7.91 or faster and could be across the line first in the finals.

400 Meter Dash – Jayla Campbell of Rich Central will busy on Saturday competing in four events. She will be the favorite in this event having the fastest 2A time at this distance (58.45). Summerlyn Smith of Mattoon ran a personal best of 59.21 last Monday on the Shirk Center track with hopes the momentum will carry over for this weekend. Kynzee Boastick of Urbana is the only other runner in this field under 60-seconds having run 59.60 last Saturday at the Gene Arber Invitational. Don’t be surprised if she ends up winning this event.

Raven Moore of Springfield Southeast and Tya Morgan of Lindblom Academy are within reach of a top five finish. Lizzy Hoenes and Sarah Georgieff of Dunlap, Tesa Roberts of Brooks College Prep, and Emily Silge of Carmel Catholic also could end up in the top five.

200 Meter Dash – This one-lap race is wide-open with the top five entered runners all within three tenths of a second of each other. Kiara Pauli has the top 2A time (26.21) run at Jacksonville at the beginning of the month. Tredaja Harris, Tiera Jones of Evergreen Park, Jyana Anderson of Urbana, and Jayla Campbell all are 26.49 or faster and could be under 26-seconds in their section. Mattie Lieb of Monticello and Erin Long are also possibilities of finishing in the top five.

 

SPRINTS/HURDLES

BOYS

 

60 Meter Hurdles – Outdoor 2A 110 Highs champion Bret Dannis of Peru St. Bede leads this field looking to repeat last year’s meet win. He has the top time in the state (7.87) which betters last year’s 7.92 winning time. William Session ran 7.87 to set the meet record two years ago. The possibility of Dannis surpassing it is pretty good.

There is good competition behind the defending state champion. The chief threat to Dannis is Niko Neal of Harrisburg who ran 8.03 earlier in March. Solomon Wilson-Smith of Tinley Park has run 8.22 at this distance. Steven Migut of Tolono Unity has an 8.23 time. Both will challenge for a top three finish. The wildcard in this race is Freeport’s Deion McShane. The state record holder outdoors in the 300 Intermediates has run two indoor races this winter. He has not done that the past couple of years. The 7.61 for the 55 Meter Hurdles that he ran last Saturday in Wisconsin is the state’s fastest time for that distance. I would never count McShane out. He should also challenge for the win.

60 Meter Dash – Ronald Reed of Decatur MacArthur is the defending champion in this event. The senior started off his season running 6.87 in winning the Vanderbilt Invitational. Reed ran 6.89 seconds to win last week at Charleston. Dawson Kaiser of Tolono Unity ran 6.99 to finish second. Kaiser again could be challenging Reed for the win in this race.

Brailyn Johnson of St. Laurence ran 7.04 to win the Chicago Catholic League Championships last Saturday. Christian Phillips ran 7.07 to win the Gene Armer Invitational last Saturday. Both sophomores could challenge for the win in this race. Tori Clinton of St. Laurence, Finnigan Schirmer of Marengo, Josh Diekoff of Peoria Richwoods, and Romell Clark of Dunbar are talented enough of making it to the finals along with finishing in the top five. This could be a close finish on Saturday.

400 Meter Dash – Gavin Jaime of Providence Catholic caught a lot of attention after running his IL #2 49.29 to win at the Chicago Catholic League Championships. His win made up for his second-place finish at the end of February in the ICOPS Championships behind Colin Dwyer of St. Laurence who ran 50.29. Jaimie’s time last week was a wow. The two will challenge for the win both possibly going under 50-seconds. Sophomore Jerry Harper of Rantoul could be a surprise in this race. Devon Bolden of Thornridge has run 50.89 and could be a surprise in the front. Brandon Bretz of Mahomet-Seymour has only run 52.10 but has a 49.62 personal best outdoors. I would keep an eye on him.

200 Meter Dash – Bret Dannis finished second in this event last year and could challenge for the win. He has a seasonal best of 22.53. Gavin Jamie has the fastest 2A time (22.46) run last week in his win in the CCL Championships. Finnigan Schirmer surprised some last Saturday running 22.78 in Wisconsin. He could surprise in this race. Matthew Hamer of St. Laurence, Brett Schenck of Princeton, and Matthew Patrick of Centralia are some of the runners to watch challenge for a top three finish.

 

DISTANCES

GIRLS

 

3200 Meter Run – The first race on the track Saturday morning will be a rematch between the top two finishers in last November’s 2A State race. 2A State XC Champion Jenna Schwartz of Waterloo ran 11:16.07 at Principia on March 10. Last fall’s second-place finisher Campbell Peterson of Dunlap has the fastest 2A time this winter (11:15.30) run on the Shirk Center track in February. The two could push each other to a close to 11-minute time.

Margaret O’Brien of Fenwick lowered her personal best down nine seconds to run 11:21.60 at last Saturday’s GCAC Indoor Championships. She could be one of many surprises in this race. Ayah Aldadah of Dunlap, Libby Cultra of Urbana, and Kylie Hagmann of Woodstock all have run times between 11:32 and 11:34. All three could challenge for finishes in the top three.

800 Meter Run – Three of the top four finishers in last year’s race return led by defending champion Rachel Hickey of LaSalle-Peru. The 2016 state champion opened her season running 2:16.82 to win at Batavia Distance Madness. She looked strong in that race and could be able of running 2:14 or under. She will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Relay. Gillian Fiene of Illiana Christian has run only one race on the track since missing all her cross-country season due to injury. Her time of 2:16.73 at the University of Kentucky is the fastest 2A time indoors. Fiene finished less than a second behind Hickey in last year’s race. It could be closer on Saturday. Shaheeda Dade of Lindblom Academy ran 2:18.98 in winning the Chicago Public League Championships on Sunday. She could also be a factor in this race.

Brooke Delahanty of Rosary finished second behind Hickey at Batavia and is also capable of winning this race. She has a personal best of 2:16.39 run last spring. Don’t count her out. Payne Turney of Clinton and Kayla Whitworth of Freeburg are some of the other runners in that race that could be among the top five finishers.

1600 Meter Run – The top eight runners in this event have times within six seconds of each other making this race extremely close. Campbell Petersen and Jenna Schwartz will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run. Petersen has the fastest seed time in this race (5:12.62) while Schwartz ran 5:13.28 last Saturday at the Gene Armer Invitational. Franny Verville of Dunlap will be running in the 3200 Meter Relay, then this race. Verville will be a threat up front having run 5:13.14 this season.

Libby Cultra doubles back from the 3200 Meter Run. She ran 5:15.49 last week. Lydia Roller of Staunton could end up winning this race. The freshman ran 5:17.04 at Principia and could be able to run under 5:10 on Saturday. Payne Turney will be doubling back from the 800 Meter Run and ran 5:17.23 last Monday. Sara McCoy of Northside Prep and Alyssa McPike of Monticello have both run 5:18. Both could be surprises in the top five.

 

DISTANCES

BOYS

 

3200 Meter Run – Mathias Powell of Mahomet-Seymour surprised some by running 9:18.97 at the beginning of March at the University of Illinois. He defeated 1A State 3200 champion Logan Hall by 15 seconds. The junior is priming himself for a great rest if the track season and then cross-country in the fall. He will be the runner to watch in this race.

Charlie Parrish of Freeburg ran 4:30.03 for 1600-meters last week after running 9:31.24 the week prior. He could challenge Powell up front. Stephen Poorten of Sycamore is a tough runner having run 9:36.11 last week in conference race. He could join Parrish and Powell in the front. Jack Brewster of Marmion Academy, Ryan Hodge of Mahomet-Seymour, and Dawson Smith of Rock Falls could challenge for a finish among the top finishers.

800 Meter Run – Looking at the entries in this race, this could be a wild race. Josh Cable of Rochester is the defending champion and will be looking for the repeat. Cable enters this race with the fifth fastest 2A time. This race will be close. The top four seeds are separated only by a second.

Nick Oakley of Charleston has the top 2A time having run 1:58.05 at the beginning of the month in his conference meet. Jared Shuckman of Normal University ran 1:58.52 on the Shirk Center track at the end of February. He could be a difference maker in this race. Nick Swartzendruber of Geneseo has found success in this distance. He has run 1:58 twice in the last week having run 1:58.17 to win his conference meet. What makes him dangerous is that he has a personal best of 49.97 at 400-meters and was all-state in that event last May. Cayden Kirkham of Waterloo and Austin Knight of Carterville have both run under 2:00 minutes this winter. Watch for them near the front in this race.

1600 Meter Run – This could be a close race with all 15 runners having times within eight seconds of each other. Mathias Powell and Ryan Hodge have the top two seed times, but both will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run. Nick Oakley has the third fastest 2A time. He will be coming back from the 800 Meter Run. Jacob Gebhardt of Sterling could be the one runner to watch. He started his track season at the beginning of March having competed for his school’s swim team. Gebhardt has a 4:28.24 season’s best but ran under 4:20 five times last outdoor season. He could push the pace from the start on Saturday.

Hayden Wimberley of Salem will also be running this race fresh having run 4:28.98 last week at Charleston. Michael Rutkowski of Marion and Keoni English of Marmion Academy both have times of 4:29. Michael Ronzone of Marmion Academy has a 4:31.14 season’s best. He has also a personal best under 4:20. He could be a surprise in this race.

 

RELAYS

GIRLS

 

4x800 Meter Relay – Dunlap showed dominance in winning all four relays at last year’s state meet. That trend could continue Saturday in this relay. The Eagles have the fastest 2A time (9:52.12) and the only time under 10-minutes entering this meet with Franny Verville and Andrea Copeland leading the quartet. Mattoon, Eureka, Fenwick, and Tolono Unity have run under 10:10 and could be the top teams to get close to Dunlap. LaSalle-Peru ran 10:11.09 in their conference meet. They could be a threat in the front if Rachel Hickey is in it. Carmel Catholic has run 10:11.56 and could be the surprise team.

4x200 Meter Relay – Dunlap ran 1:45.94 last week with Kiara Pauli and Aanise Sajna part of the quartet. They will be the slight favorite ahead of Urbana with Jyana Anderson and Diamonasia Taylor who ran 1:46.84 at the Gene Armer Invitational last week. Springfield Southeast, Lindblom Academy, and Springfield Lanphier all have times under 1:48. It could be Southeast with Serena Bolden and Raven Moore that could challenge Dunlap.

4x400 Meter Relay – Dunlap will look for the triple if they can win the first two relays. It could be a tougher task as the Eagles have the fourth fastest 2A time in the state. Lindblom Academy and Springfield Southeast have the top two seed times in this event ahead of Dunlap. It could also be Urbana that could look for the team win. They have a time similar to what Dunlap has.

 

RELAYS

BOYS

 

4x800 Meter Relay – This race does not have the strength that it usually has since defending state champion Normal University and Geneseo did not field teams in this meet. Marmion Academy enters with the top seed time (8:18.05) with Michael Ronzone part of the group. Marion has run 8:23.25 and could be the one team to upend the Cadets especially if they have Levi Bryant and Michael Rutkowski part of their quartet. Mascoutah is a southern power that has run 8:24.77 and could challenge for the win. Metamora could sneak up on teams with four underclassmen a part of their squad. Monticello, Burlington Central, and Dixon could also be surprises in the front.

4 x 200 Meter Relay – St. Laurence has showed their strength in the sprints all indoor season and could make their presence known in this meet. Their 1:32.99 time in winning the Chicago Catholic League Championships is tops this 2A indoor season led by Brailyn Johnson and Tori Clinton. Urbana also has a good group with Christian Phillips leading off. Their 1:33.36 time could challenge St. Laurence for the win. Chicago Public League power Morgan Park ran 1:33.48 behind Urbana last week and could also be a threat in the front. Dixon, Tolono Unity, and Mascoutah cannot be counted out for the win. They have times all under 1:35.

4 x 400 Meter Relay – This race is wide-open with Providence Central having the edge especially if sub-50 400-meter runner Gavin Jamie is anchoring. The Celtics ran 3:29.55 in their league meet last week. Geneseo traditionally has a good 4x4 group and should show that in this meet led by Nick Swartzendruber. Dunlap and Burlington Central are also teams that could force their way to the front in this race.

 

FIELD EVENTS

GIRLS

 

Long Jump – This could be one of the best events this weekend. It’s loaded with three athletes that are ranked in the top ten nationally. Erika Furbeck started out strong this indoor season jumping 20-1.5 (US #3) in February. Furbeck is the defending state champion in this event. Imani Carothers jumped 19-11.75 (US#5) to win at Homewood-Flossmoor the day after Furbeck’s mammouth jump. Serena Bolden jumped 19-6 (US #9) and finished behind Carothers. On this fast runway in the Shirk Center, any of these three could win this event. With the quality of the three athletes, we should see Jaimie Robinson one-year old meet record of 19-11 fall. The three athletes finished in the top three last year with Carothers winning.

Camile Osborne of Rich South is the only other athlete in the field that is over 18-feet and could challenge for a top three finish if one of the big three falters. Dunlap’s Aanise Sajna and Amy Pineda of Eureka could be surprises in this event. Also keep an eye on Jayla Campbell. She is better known in the Triple Jump. She could unleash a jump in the 18’s on Saturday.

Triple Jump – Serena Bolden could make another splash in this event. The Springfield Southeast junior jumped 40-8.75 (US#6) on this Shirk Center runway at the beginning of the month. Bolden finished second behind Imani Carothers at Homewood-Flossmoor. With Carothers not competed in this event at this meet, all eyes could be on Bolden.

Jayla Campbell should be the chief competition for Bolden. The senior from Rich Central finished second at state last May. She also has a 38-10 seasonal best and could challenge Bolden for the meet title. Camille Osborne could challenge for a top three finish. She almost two feet behind Campbell’s seasonal best. Aanise Sajna could challenge for a top three finish as she is within an inch of Osborne.

High Jump – Diamonasia Taylor of Urbana jumped into the state spotlight in this meet last year when she cleared 5-8 to win the meet championship. Teammate Shaniya Howard missed last year’s meet but could challenge for the win. Urbana could go 1-2 in this event. Both athletes have cleared 5-6 this season. Sarah Flight of Charleston finished second behind Taylor in last year’s meet. She would like to go one step higher on Saturday. Flight started her season early jumping a 2A seasonal best of 5-7.25 at the University of Illinois on January 6. Since that meet, she has gone no higher than 5-6.5. She has that jumping consistency this season to challenge for the championship.

The surprise in this event could be Macie Gebhardt from Sterling. The freshman cleared a personal best of 5-5 last Saturday in her conference meet. She is the unknown in this event. The big meet atmosphere could drive her to higher heights. Alyssa Baltimore of Decatur Eisenhower and Carly Tucker of Metamora are some of the athletes that could also challenge for the win in this event.

Pole Vault – Monticello’s Aliyah Welter will be the athlete to watch in this event. The defending state champion in this event has cleared 12-6 in all four of the meets that she competed in this winter go undefeated in those competitions. She has a personal best of 12-9 outdoors and could surpass that in this meet. Welter won in this meet last year clearing 12-3.

The field is good behind Welter. Josephine Held of Mt. Zion cleared 12-0 on Monday in Shirk Center finishing behind Welter. She is one of the athletes that could win. Stephanie Jacobs of Freeburg, Mara Pletcher of Mahomet-Seymour, and Samantha Spencer of Providence Catholic all have cleared 12-0 indoors and could be in the title mix. Rhiannon Held, Josephine’s freshman sister, cleared 11-8.5 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and could join the 12-0 club in this meet. 11 of the 13 athletes in this field have cleared 11-0 or higher entering this meet.

Shot Put – East St. Louis-Senior’s Evangelynn Harris has the best 2A mark this winter in the state. She will not be competing in this meet opening up this event. Tayla Schwarz of Dixon heads the field with her 40-7 put that she achieved at Sterling on March 10. Nikita Maines of Centralia, who finished fourth last year in this meet, has a 40-4 on her seasonal resume. Kelly Potorff of Troy Triad achieved a 40-1 personal best at Charleston two weeks ago. They are the only three athletes in this meet that have gone past 40-feet. Any of these three could win it.

Jayden Ulrich of East Alton-Wood River could be the surprise in the event. The freshman achieved a personal best of 39-9.5 in Wisconsin last Friday. She could up her personal best in this meet. Mye’joi Williams of Rantoul is also someone to watch having a 39-2.5 seasonal best coming into this meet.

 

FIELD EVENTS

BOYS

 

Long Jump – It is anyone’s guess who will win this event. The top seven athletes entered are within 11 inches of each other. Justin Houston of Brooks College Prep won the Chicago Public League Championship on Sunday and has the best 2A mark this season (22-3) achieved in February. Tori Clinton of St. Laurence is within three quarters of an inch of Houston and the only other athlete in this field that has gone past 22-feet indoors.

David Emuze of Springfield Southeast, Alex Saunders of St. Laurence, and Thornridge’s Leondre Pollard are all within reach of the front two and winning this championship. It could take a 22-6 mark to win this event.

Triple Jump – All eyes will be on Cahokia’s Andra Ward in this event. The junior has continued to improve this indoor season with his 47-5 jump last week at the Lemont Invitational. It is the best in the state indoors this season. Don’t be surprised if he jumps past 48-feet in this competition.

Alex Saunders, with his 45-8 jump last Saturday at the Chicago Catholic League Championships, is the closest competitor to Ward. Kalen Murphy of Belvidere jumped 44-9.75 at his conference meet last week could also pressure Saunders for second-place in this meet. There are no other athletes that have gone past 44-feet in this field besides these three.

High Jump – Ethan Poston of Metamora finished fifth outdoors at last year’s IHSA State Meet. He should be the favorite in this event having cleared a 6-10 personal best last Friday in Sterling. Cameron Dawson of Pontiac and Zach Pluff of Freeburg have cleared 6-6 and are the closest to Poston.

A’Jonte Lee of Springfield Lanphier, Jonathan Decker of Tolono Unity, and Ethan Grasl of Mattoon all have 6-4 season bests to their credit. If Poston is off, any of these athletes could step up for the win.

Pole Vault – This will be a fun event to watch. Four athletes entered in this event have gone 15-0 or higher. Callan Whitehouse of Mahomet-Seymour has the second-best clearance in the state (16-0) and will be the athlete to watch Saturday. He has cleared 15-6 in two other meets making him the favorite. Jack Pompe of Dunlap has a 15-3 best and is ready for the challenge. Chandlar Ifft of Prairie Central and Jadon Elliott of Troy Triad both have 15-0 bests that could clear higher heights in this meet.

Shot Put – Mahomet Seymour’s Hunter Hendershot moved into the 2A spotlight this indoor season. The sophomore enters this meet with his 55-7 personal best. He has progressed during the season. 56-feet or better is not out of the question in this meet.

Dunlap’s Austin Klokkenga is the closest to Hendershot with his 54-3 best last Saturday at the Galesburg Last Chance Meet. It is a toss-up after that with Jack Currie of Carterville and Zach Matson of Prairie Central both with 52-10 seasonal bests. Austin Kasap of Metamora is the only other 2A athlete past 52-feet.