By Michael Newman

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Here is a look at the 3A Meet at the Illinois Top Times Championship on Saturday afternoon. Field events will begin at 2:00 PM. The first running event will start at 3:30 PM.

 

FIELD EVENTS

 

Long Jump – 2:00 PM

Girls – This is a loaded event. Eight of the top ten 3A jumpers are competing in this meet. Emma Spagnola (West HS, Aurora) is the hot jumper right now in the state. She followed up her 19-2 ½ national’s jump with a 19-0 jump in the first round at her conference meet. She is not an automatic winner here. She will have some competition pushing her perhaps farther.

 

This could be the best event that Maya Neal (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) competes in. She soared 18-10 ¾ at the end of February in Kentucky. Both Neal and Spagnola could push each other into the mid 19’s. Janille Rogers (Minooka HS) was close to her season’s best of 18-8 ¼ last week at Plainfield North. She could step up on Saturday.

 

Cheyenne White (Waukegan HS) has been the event’s surprise this season. She has come on strong the past two weeks. She jumped 18-5 at her conference meet last week in flats. She could go farther this weekend. Khalia McIntyre (Shepard HS, Palos Heights), Cydney Anderson (St. Ignatius Prep, Chicago), Anna Laudizo (North HS, Plainfield), and Brittani Griesbaum (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) have all gone over 18 feet this year. All of these jumpers could push themselves into the top three.

 

Boys – This event is loaded as well. Four of the top five jumpers in 3A are all entered. Stacey Smith (Schaumburg HS) best jump in this event in 2013 was 22-1. He surpassed that in a big way last week at the MSL Meet jumping 23-4. It’s the second best jump in the state behind Ja’Mari Ward. There are some great athletes behind him that will push him and have a shot of winning this event.

 

Jonathan Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake) cleared 7-2 in the High Jump. His 23-1 best in this event is not too shabby. Watch him take his jumps early so he can save his energy in the High Jump that will be occurring simultaneously. He will be a factor in this event. Marcus Jegede (Lake Park HS, Roselle) jumped 22-11 when he faced Ja’Mari Ward. He is a big meet jumper. We could see him over 23 feet in this meet.

 

Cole Henderson (Pekin HS) had only jumped 22-2 ½ coming into this meet last year. He finished second going over 23 feet. He has jumped only 22-4 this year. He is a big meet jumper like Jegede. We could also see him over 23 feet. James Travis (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) has more success in the Triple Jump. He has gone 22-1 this season. He could be in the mid 22’s in this meet. Imani Payton (North Lawndale College Prep, Chicago) jumped 21-11 back in December at the University of Chicago. He has the talent to be in the upper 22 range in this meet.

 

Triple Jump – 4:00 PM

Girls – Two of the bigger surprises in the horizontal jumps this season will face off against each other in this event. Allison Chmelik (East HS, St. Charles) finished fourth in this event last year and seventh at state outdoors. She has improved by over a foot (37-6 ¼). Cheyenne White (Waukegan HS) jumped 37 feet two days is arrow last week. She will be dangerous in this event. The possibility is that the two could push each other past 38 feet.

 

Hannah Schilb (North HS, St. Charles) has jumped 36-11 last week behind Chmelik at her conference meet. She could be a factor in this event. Ivory Cassell (Bloom Township HS, Chicago Heights), Khalia McIntyre (Shepard HS, Palos Heights), and Janile Rogers (Minooka HS) all are capable of placing in the top three in this meet.

 

Boys – This could come down to two athletes. This could be Marcus Jegede’s (Lake Park HS, Roselle) best event. He soared to close to 48 feet (47-10 ½) on a short runway at Olivet Nazarene. We could see him over 48 feet in this meet. James Travis (Waubonsie Valley HS) continues to get better in every meet that he jumps in. Last week, he won the Upstate Eight with a 47-5 ½ personal best. He has the talent to go past Jegede in this competition.

 

There is almost a two foot drop off between the top two and the next closest jumper Stacey Smith (Schaumburg). He had a hot competition last week at North Central College. We will see if he can continue that upward swing. Garrett Lyle (Bloomington HS), Sheldon Pierce (St. Ignatius College Prep), and Davonte Smith (East St. Louis-Senior) will also chase after an over 45 foot jump in this meet.

 

High Jump

Girls 4:00 PM – This could be a wide open event with some of the top jumpers in the state deciding not to participate. Stepahnie Mueller (North HS, Naperville) had a break through last week when she cleared 5-7 at her conference meet. Jess Skudlarek (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) jumped 5-6 two days later at the same facility (North Central College). Mani Lock (Lake Park HS, Roselle) could also challenge for the win. Rachel Augius (Yorkville HS), Danielle Griesbaum (Lakes HS, Lake Villa), and Kenna Lonergan (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) all are capable of winning in this meet.

 

Boys 2:00 PM – This will be a great event to watch. Jonathan Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake) has the nation’s best jump (7-2). Even though Mike Monroe (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox) has only cleared 6-7 this season, he has the ability to challenge Wells on Saturday.

 

It will not be only Wells and Monroe. Erik Miller (North HS, St. Charles) has cleared 6-7 this year. He was all-state last season. He should enjoy this pressure atmosphere. Todd Berkenpas (North HS, Belvidere) cleared 6-7 at his county meet. He should be in the mix of things. Watch for Peter Andreano (Minooka HS), Kyle Postal (McHenry HS), and Manny Bofah (North HS, Plainfield) all are capable to be in the 6-7 / 6-8 range. That will put them in the first three. In most cases, you do not see great High Jumps in championship events. You could see one in this meet.

 

Pole Vault

Girls 4:00 PM – Brooke Catherine (Normal Community HS) established 2 PR’s earlier this month at the Windy City Pole Vault Summit when she first cleared 12-3 then 12-6. She would be one of the favorites in this event. Hannah Swift (Pekin HS) should be comfortable with the Shirk center runway. She competed on it the first two years while attending Clinton HS. She also established a PR at Wind City. She should challenge Catherine in this meet.

 

Mackenzie Gallagher (Normal West HS) cleared 11-10 at Reno at the end of January. She could go over 12 feet in this meet. She has the talent to do so. Danielle Wojciechowski (Lake Park HS, Roselle) cleared an 11-6 season’s best last week. She could clear a little higher Saturday afternoon. Also watch for Nicole Ogorek (Normal Community HS). She could be another that could be pushing the 12 foot barrier in this meet.

 

Boys 2:00 PM – So…who will finish second in this meet? We all have a good idea who the favorite should be. It is not a knock against the rest of the 3A athletes in this event. It is a matter of fact of how far ahead Luke Winder (Central HS, Plainfield) is compared to the rest of this classification. What will most likely happen is the entire competition will run out of attempts, then Winder will start to make his assault on dizzying height after dizzying height. His 17-10 ½ attempts last week after he cleared 17-5 were only preparing him this week. We will see how high he goes Saturday afternoon.

 

Anthony Mazzola (Jefferson HS, Rockford), Kaleb Kirby (North HS, St. Charles), Andy Jatis (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox), and Ryan Ashembremer (Normal West HS) all will compete for who is ahead of the rest of the pack. Most likely, they will not be ahead of Winder.

 

Shot Put

Girls 2:00 PM – This is a deceptively good event. Banke Oginni (Hoffman Estates HS) has a season’s best of 47-9 ½. The next closest athlete is three feet behind her. Aaliyah Covington (Edwardsville HS) has competed twice this year since coming out from Basketball. She has a season’s best of 44-4 ¾. If Oginni has an off day, Covington could be the one athlete to surpass her.

 

All thirteen athletes in this event have gone past 40 feet. You will need to be 44 feet or higher to place in the top three. Watch for Jennifer Donnell (Conant HS, Hoffman Estates), Erin Reese (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect), Fiona Kanam (Niles West HS, Skokie) and Holly Julifis (Metea Valley HS, Aurora) to get close to that barrier.

 

Boys 4:00 PM – The top six athletes in 3A will all step into the ring at the Shirk Center. It should be Part 2 of the Charleston Invitational when Martinus Mitchell (Collinsville HS) went over 60 feet for the first time in his career in route to a 60-10 put. Kyrin Tucker (Normal West HS) also achieved a PR when he had a 58-9 ¾ performance in that meet. The two should pick up where they left off. We could see both over 60 feet in this meet.

 

Curtwan Evans (Lake Park HS, Roselle) continues to improve in every competition he is in. He is now up to 57-7 ½. It would not surprise me that he could finish ahead of Tucker or even Mitchell. Ricky Hurley (Cary-Grove HS) is similar to Evans where he just gets better with every meet. He is currently at 57 – ½. He could be in the top three in this meet. Keep an eye also on John Harris (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora), Kyle Hedge (South HS, Crystal Lake), and Jared Kern (Harlem HS, Machesney Park). They could all sneak into a top finish.

 

 

TRACK EVENTS

 

3200 Meter Run

Girls 3:45 PM – We could see some fast times in this event regardless that we only have one of the top seven athletes in 3A missing. Lindsay Graham (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) ran a great 10:45 last week at her conference meet. She has the fastest entered time by 22 seconds. Her teammate Lisa Luczak is the defending champion in this event. You could see some team tactics from these two working off of each other during this race.

 

The same thing could be said about the Downers Grove South trio of Haley Albers, Amanda Thate, and Abby Kargol. Albers ran 11:16 at her conference meet last weekend and could challenge the Glenbard duo. Thate and Kargol are close behind. Any of these three Lady Mustangs could place within the first three.

 

Boys 3:30 PM – This field is a little barren also. Only Patrick Perrier (O’Fallon HS) is the only athlete out of the top 7 3200 athletes in 3A that is racing in this event. This should be all Perrier. He ran solo in his last race at SIU. We could expect more of the same in this race.

 

Dan Lathrop (South HS, Plainfield) has the next fastest time in this race running 9:27 at the beginning of the month at Champaign. He does have a personal best of 9:17. He could be the one to push Perrier under 9:10. After these two runners, it is a toss-up who will finish next. Keep an eye on Joesph Suarez (East HS, Plainfield), Peter Johnsrud (Oswego HS), Christian Swenson (Loyola Academy, Wilmette), Dan Cotton (Bartlett HS), and Peter Schaible (Jones College Prep) to challenge for a sub 9:30 time.

 

60 Hurdles

Prelims 4:00 PM; Finals 5:05 PM

 

Girls – We should get to see some of the top hurdle athletes competing in this race. Emma Spagnola (West HS, Aurora) should be the athlete to beat. She ran 8.61 at New Balance. She has a top 15 time in the nation. Jayla Stewart (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) could be Spagnola’s chief competition. She has run the state’s second fastest time in the 55 hurdles (8.14) only thirteen hundredths behind Spagnola. Maya Neal (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville) would be another athlete to watch. She has the state’s second best time in the 60 hurdles. That time (8.94) is three tenths behind Spagnola.

 

Other athletes to keep an eye on Saturday include Morganne Jones (Oswego East HS), Princess Shodipo (Oswego HS), and Kate Shifflet (Normal West HS).

Boys – At the Thornwood Open at the beginning of March, Ti’fonte Hunt (Thornton HS, Harvey) nipped Antonio Shenault (Lake Park HS, Roselle) by one hundredth of a second. After that race, Shenault said he hated the feeling of losing. The two meet again on Saturday. It should be just as close of a race again this time. Shenault last week ran a state’s best 7.38 in the 55 hurdles.

 

Imani Payton (North Lawndale College Prep, Chicago) ran his fastest time in the 60 hurdles (8.23) in Texas in January. He ran 8.32 last week at Champaign. He could be a threat in this event. Other athletes that I would keep an eye on include Jonathan Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake), Eric Walker (St. Rita HS, Chicago). Demetrius Mitchell (Thornton HS, Harvey), Christian Neal (Bloomington HS), Shabari Bailey (Minooka HS), and Tyler Kirkwood (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora).

 

60 Meter Dash

Prelims 4:20 PM; Finals 5:15 PM

 

Girls – The top four athletes are missing from the sprints. It makes the mystery of this event even more intriguing. This is wide open. The on sprinter that I would tab the favorite is Brittany Thomas (Bloom Township HS, Chicago Heights). She has the fifth fastest 60 meter time in 3A (7.74).

 

After that, who knows? Keep an eye on Natajah Simmons (Oswego HS), Jessica Watkins (Bolingbrook HS), Makayla Pierce (Westinghouse Academy, Chicago), and Patrice Jones (Hononegah HS, Rockton).

 

Boys – People that saw Cole Henderson (Pekin HS) rip through the 55 last week in Charleston in 6.39 said there’s the sprinter we saw in O’Brien Stadium last May. It took Henderson one week to warm up. It looks like he will be the guy to beat in this race. In Champaign at the same time last week, Julian Hylton (Lincoln-Way North HS, Frankfort) also made his debut running 6.95 in the 60. The margin of victory for Henderson over Edwardsville’s Craig James was only a hundredth of a second. It could be that close in this race.

 

Terry McGee (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago) ran 7.00 in Champaign right behind Hylton. He could be a threat in this race as well as Antonio Shenault (Lake Park HS, Roselle). Also keep an eye on Cavion Clanton and Jauan Wesley (Thornton HS, Harvey), Tony Durns (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora), D’Aaron Williams (Romeoville HS), Devin Ingram (Minooka HS), and Leland Groves (Normal West HS). How close can this race get on Saturday? 

 

4 x 800 Meter Relay – 4:35 PM

Girls – Palatine and Downers Grove North, the schools with the fastest 3A times in this event, will not be racing here. It still should be a close race. Loyola Academy, who finished second at the Mustang Relays, has the fastest time in this event by two seconds ahead of Yorkville. Hoffman Estates continues to improve. They dropped their time down to 9:32.8 at their conference meet last week. Prospect could be a factor in this race. Last week they ran 9:37 without Christina Santiago. She should be part of Prospect’s quartet. It will make the Lady Knights a threat. St. Charles East, Downers Grove South, and Minooka all will be challenging for top three finishes.

 

Boys – Only two of the top ten 3A teams will be competing in this meet. The big favorite is Lane Tech. Their 7:54 time from the Mustang Relays still remains the top time in the state. They have the fastest seed time by eight seconds ahead of Yorkville.

 

Lake Park, Plainfield South, Marmion Academy, and Crystal Lake South should be challenging for top spots. When it comes down to it, it would be a big upset if Lane Tech did not win this race.

 

800 Meter Run – 5:20 PM

Girls – This race will come down to two mile aces stepping down to the 800. Lauren VanVlierbergen (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) has been running great races this winter on small tracks. Her 2:14.7 time was run at Wheeling at the beginning of March. She will be challenged by Christina Santiago (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect). Santiago will be coming back from the 4x8. She showed she is fit to do the double. Take a look at last week when she ran 4:59 for the 1600 after running 2:16.10.

 

The two athletes could steal this race are Emma Moravec and Stephanie Urbancik (North HS, Downers Grove). Both are concentrating on individual events compared to their relay that they usually participate on. If the pace starts out slow, either of these athletes could win. Also keep an eye on Erin Falsey (Schaumburg HS), Danielle Griesbaum (Lakes HS, Lake Villa), and Allie Wilson (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) to be near the front in his race.

 

Boys – It could be a good race regardless of the fact that the top six 3A runners in this event will not be on the line on Saturday afternoon. The event is so deep this season that it might not even matter. Two juniors that made the state finals last season will be in the spotlight. Carl Klamm (Evanston Township HS) and Bryce Richards (Mundelein HS) are only separated by one hundredth of a second on the TFX list. Richards is the hot runner after running to run 1:57.14 to win in Wisconsin last Saturday. Richards finished 2^nd in state last year. He could have the slight edge in this race over Klamm.

 

Michael Delaney (East HS, Oswego) has been a bit of a surprise this year. Last week at Champaign, he ran 1:57.71 for the win. He could surprise in this race too. Kyle Hatton (Grant HS, Fox Lake) finished behind Richards last week. He could be ahead for the win in the Shirk Center. Other runners that I would watch include Eric Dade (Lake Park HS, Roselle), Kevin Grahovec (Marmion Academy, Aurora), and Sergio Llanes (East HS, Plainfield).

 

4x 200 Meter Relay – 5:30 PM

Girls – Homewood-Flossmoor has the top seed time (1:43.86) and will be the favorite in this event. Their time is a second and a half ahead of West Aurora. Don’t be surprised if the Lady Vikings flirt with a 1:41 time or better in this race. Bloom, Minooka, and Westinghouse could be towards the front also.

 

Boys – Could we see a sub 1:30 in this race? It is a good possibility. Thornton has the second fastest 3A time in the state. Their time is the fastest in this meet. They have the talent to do it here led by Ti’fonte Hunt and Jauan Wesley. They have an extremely sprint group. Another team to watch is Plainfield East. They ran 1:31.29 a couple of weeks ago at the Mustang Relays. They could be Thornton’s biggest threat. Minooka, Plainfield North, and Bloomington will also be challenging for the win.

 

400 Meter Dash – 5:55 PM

Girls – The difference of two and a half seconds between TFX list leader Briyanna Desrosiers (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago) and the rest of the pack is kind of deceptive. Desrosiers ran her 55.04 in January at a meet in Arkansas. Since that meet, she has been running times in the mid 56’s. She will be closer, but it will be closer than most people think.

 

Simone Carr (Glenbard North HS, Carol Stream) was all-state in this event last year and could pose the biggest threat to Desrosiers. Emma Spagnola (West HS, Aurora) pushed Carr at the DVC last meet. She could surprise in this race. Jordan Shead (East HS, St. Charles) ran 58.36 in her conference meet. She could be the one runner that ends up winning on Saturday.

 

Boys – That same reasoning applies for Imani Payton (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago) that we talked about in the Girls race. Payton ran 50.30, but he did that in January. His best time after that was 52.19 at Proviso West at the end of February. That leaves the door wide open for a number of athletes to win in this race. The biggest threat to Payton could be Cory Hertz (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) who ran 50.77 last week at Carthage. Roosevelt Davis (East. St. Louis-Senior) could threaten in this race also. He ran 50.98 on an oversized track in Kentucky this past February.

 

The race winner could also come from the second race section. Keep an eye on Kenny Lewis (East HS, Plainfield) that ran 51.33 this indoor season, but has a 48+ second PR outdoors. Chris Wilson (Minooka HS) could also be a factor on who wins in the individual race.

 

1600 Meter Run – 6:10 PM

Girls – This race will be without defending champion Madeline Perez who is resting up from a slight injury suffered a couple of weeks ago. I still think we will have a fast race in this meet. Lauren VanVlierbergen (Jacobs HS, Algonquin) will be coming back from the 800 45 minutes before. She ran 4:55 solo on a short track. It will be interesting to see what she does here.

 

Megan Biddle (Hoffman Estates HS) doubled last week from the 4x8. She showed that she is stronger off of that just missing going under 5:00 minutes (5:00.3) in placing second to Christina Santiago. If anyone will push VanVlierbergen in this race, it will be Biddle.

 

The one runner that could threaten these two is Skyler Bollinger (Yorkville HS). She ran her 5:11 on Hononegah’s 200 meter flats only track. It is three weeks later. She could be pushing the pace up front as well. Also keep an eye on Toree Scull (East HS, St. Charles), Gabby Suarez (Streamwood HS), and Vanessa Sanchez (Rolling Meadows HS) in this race.

 

Boys – This could be a deceptively fast race. Patrick Perrier (O’Fallon HS) will be coming back from the 3200. At SIU, he came back from running 9:12 and responded with 4:21. It could be faster here. Jake and Luke Hoffert (Yorkville HS) ran 4:22 last week at their conference meet. They will be coming back from the 4x8. They will be a factor.

 

Jeremy Lozano (Lake Park HS, Roselle) finished behind Nolan McKenna last week at the DVC meet. He could be a surprise in this race. Markiyan Protsiv and Kyle Maloney (Jones College Prep, Chicago), Dan Lathrop (South HS, Plainfield), and Henry Mierzwa (Maine South HS, Park Ridge) could threaten up front also.

 

200 Meter Dash – 6:25 PM

Girls – Briyanna Desrosiers (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago) should be the favorite in this race. She ran 25.03 two weeks ago at nationals. She will be tough to beat in this race. Maya Neal (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville), Antoinette Broughton (Homewood-Flossmoor HS), and Brittany Thomas (Bloom Township HS, Chicago Heights) will be the chief challengers to Desrosiers in this meet.

 

Boys – It’s a wide open event. Terry McGee (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago) has the fastest time in the state this year running 22.39 at Arkansas in January. Devin Ingram (Minooka HS) and Cory Hertz (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) could be McGee’s biggest threat in this final section.

 

I would keep an eye on Section 2. Cole Henderson (Pekin HS), the defending champion in this race, was placed here. He could win from this section. Jordan Duncan (East HS, St. Charles) will also be a threat in this race.

 

4 x 400 Meter Relay – 6:50 PM

Girls – St. Charles East will be the big favorite in this race. Their 4:01.92 is the fastest time in the state. It is also more than three seconds faster than the closest team in the field Minooka. West Aurora and Bloom Township could pose threats in this race.

 

Boys – This will be a close race. That is how the last race of the meet should be. East St. Louis-Senior ran the fastest time in the state (3:24.74) on the oversized track of the University of Kentucky in February. The Flyers will be pushed by Minooka, Plainfield East, and Oswego East in this race.