Illinois Top Times Championships: 10 Storylines 

By Michael Newman for DyeStat

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The Illinois Top Times Championships take place Friday and Saturday at the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. 

Some of the top athletes in the state will compete, including 2016 New Balance National Outdoor champion Jelena Rowe of Bloom Township in the 3A girls high jump Saturday, 2017 All-American Zachery Bradford of Bloomington in the 3A boys pole vault, and Kathleen Young of Warrensburg-Latham who finished second in the shot put March 11 at New Balance Nationals Indoor and has won the 1A girls shot put the past three years in this meet.

You can watch all the action from this meet on our LIVE WEBCAST via RunnerSpace +PLUS starting at 3 p.m. CDT Friday.

Here are 10 storylines that you should keep an eye on at this meet:

Freshman attempts the distance double

Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West had a great cross country season, winning the IHSA 3A State cross country meet and then earning All-America honors at the Nike Cross Nationals. Her first track season has gone extremely well as she ran the fastest time in the nation with 10:15.95 in the 3,200 meters March 4 at Proviso West, then running 4:48.60 (U.S. #3) in the 1,600 the following week at York.

The freshman will go for the distance double in the 3A meet Saturday. The record set by Kayla Beattie of 10:15.1 in 2011 could be threatened by Hart. She will have competition in the 1,600 as Claire Hamilton of Naperville North and Brooke Wilson of Prospect have both run under five minutes in the event. Beattie came back on the double in 2011 to run the meet record of 4:51.1 at this distance. Will Hart repeat that feat this year?

How high will the girls high jump record go?

Reigning New Balance Nationals Outdoor champion Jelena Rowe of Bloom Township decided to skip the indoor national championships two weeks ago in New York to focus her efforts on this meet and then outdoors at the IHSA State Meet at the end of May, before defending her national title in June. Rowe has a very good chance to break the 5-10 meet record from Canton’s Nora Weber that has stood for 24 years.

The senior’s tune-up efforts have included clearing 6 feet in consecutive meets. She cleared that height March 11 at the Proviso East Lady Pirate Invitational, then last week at the Gene Armer Invitational at the University of Illinois. She is only the second Illinois female athlete to clear that height. She is the only athlete in Illinois’ girls history to do it twice. The top-ranked athlete in the nation in this event could make it three weeks in a row on the fast surface at this facility.

The ring is the thing at the east end of the Shirk Center

Illinois Wesleyan University made the decision a couple of years ago to build an addition to the Shirk Center that included a balcony overlooking the east side of the center and the track. That balcony will be put to good use overlooking the shot put ring as some of the top weight event athletes in the state will show off their abilities.

It will start Friday with Kathleen Young of Warrensburg-Latham in the 1A girls shot put. Young finished second in the shot put March 11 at the New Balance Nationals Indoor. She has won this event three years in a row and should make it a fourth. Young could also shatter her own record (49-1.25) that she set in 2015. It is a possibility since she has gone past the 50-foot mark seven times during this indoor season.

Saturday will have sisters Latavia and Nikita Maines of Centralia competing in the 2A girls shot put. The sisters made noise at the Southern Illinois University Invitational at the beginning of the month when Latavia had a 49-3 mark to move herself into the top 10 in the nation (U.S. #3), with Nikita producing a personal-best 45-5. Sam Sikon of Carbondale will follow in the boys shot put. He has the second-best mark in the state (62-11, U.S. #8) and could have his eyes on the 63-6.5 meet record that Lake Park’s Jeremy Kline achieved in 2011.

John Meyer of Lockport Township is now focused on this event after completing a season on his school’s basketball team. The junior has a 64-4 season’s best (U.S. #5) that could also threaten the boys meet record competing in the 3A shot put Saturday.

Bradford could have his sights on pole vault record

The possibility of the 2006 record of 17-1.25 that Pontiac’s Phil Hanson cleared is in jeopardy, especially with Zachery Bradford of Bloomington in this field. The junior has been on the rise this season, first clearing 16-6 at the University of Illinois on March 4 and then finishing fourth at the New Balance Nationals Indoors the following week, clearing a new personal best of 16-9.25 (U.S. #7). The All-American will be on his home runway, giving him an advantage if he even needs one.

Keller tries for repeat double in 1A meet

Anna Sophia Keller of St. Anthony High School in Effingham has been basically untouchable, going undefeated against Illinois athletes during the cross country regular season and having only one setback on the track when she finished second in the 3,200 meters at the 2014 IHSA State Girls Track Meet. Keller won both the 800 and the 1,600 in last year’s meet within a span of 75 minutes, running 2:15 and 4:52.

Her path to the double does have a roadblock, especially in the 800, where last year’s top two finishers in the outdoor 1A state meet will be in the field. Arielle Summit of Urbana University is the defending 1A champion and has already run 2:16.07 this season. Audrey Harrod of Hinckley-Big Rock finished second last year at state and could break up this race, as she likes to run a fast first 400. Keller’s seasonal best is 2:19. Keller will be the big favorite in the 1,600, as she ran 4:54.88 last week at the Gene Armer Invitational. Claudia Magnussen of Pana, who finished second to Keller at the state cross country meet, is the second seed in the event, more than 20 seconds behind Keller.

Robinson’s attempt in jumps/sprints triple

Jaimie Robinson of Homewood-Flossmoor willed her team to last weekend’s victory at the Southwest Suburban Conference Championships, winning four individual events. Robinson will be a part of Homewood-Flossmoor’s top-ranked 3A 4x200 relay in this meet. Her efforts in three individual events could put her in the spotlight.

Robinson will be the big favorite in the 3A triple jump Saturday. Her third-place finish in New York two weeks ago with a 41-8.5 mark at New Balance Nationals Indoor makes her a good bet to shatter the record of 40-2 held by two athletes. The long jump should be a great event with Robinson and Hannah Morris of Bloom Township the only athletes over 19 feet in this field. Morris has jumped 19-9.5 this season and is coming back from a foot injury that sidelined her a month, but she did jump 18-9 last week at the University of Illinois. Robinson’s best this season is 19-2. She will then head to the track, where she will be one of the favorites in the 200.

Mendez looks for meet record in 3,200; double in 1,600 could be tough

Clayton Mendez of Whitney Young High School in Chicago has used the frustration of finishing 79th in the 3A state cross country meet to advantage this indoor track season. The junior, who earned all-state cross country honors his sophomore year, caught some by surprise as he ran 9:01.89 (U.S. #2) to win at the Proviso West Invitational, improving his personal best by 26 seconds. Tim Keller’s 17-year-old meet record of 8:58.96 could be in jeopardy, though it could be tough. Mendez will have to do it by himself in the 3A 3,200, as he has the fastest seed time by more than 20 seconds.

Mendez will come back to run the 1,600 where the entered field will be tougher than the 3,200. It is led by two-time 2A state cross country champion and All-American Jack Aho of Grayslake Central, who ran 4:13 last week at the Lake Michigan Invitational in Wisconsin. Mendez has run 4:20 this indoor season.

Cahokia looks to flex 2A muscles Saturday morning

Six-time 2A IHSA state cross country champion Cahokia lost a few athletes from last year’s team, including U.S. Junior Champion Ja’Mari Ward and all-state athlete Anthony McRoberts. Cahokia has simply reloaded and will show the talent they have in this meet. The Comanches are led by Chris Stanley, who will be the favorite in the 800 and be a part of Cahokia’s top-ranked 4x200 and 4x400 relays. Brandon Roberson will be part of the relays, as well as one of the favorites in the 400. Cahokia also has Andra Ward, the sophomore younger brother of Ja’Mari, who will be one of the favorites in the triple jump, as well as a part of the relays.

Dunlap is looking for their first girls 2A state outdoor championship in May. They will have athletes entered in 13 events in this meet and could use Illinois Top Times as a gauge to see how good this group really is. The Eagles have the top-seeded time in the 4x800 relay and is second-seeded in the 4x400 relay.

New faces in the sprints

Last year’s top sprinters in this meet Derrius Rodgers, Josh Eiker and Ja’Mari Ward have graduated. Fresh faces could take charge in the 60-meter dash this weekend. Freshman Marcellus Moore has the fastest time in the state (6.89) and made it to the New Balance Nationals Indoor final. The 3A field is loaded with Jason Shannon of Wheeling, Declan Rustay of Hoffman Estates and Tony Rolfe of Chatham-Glenwood all capable of winning the event. The 3A girls field in the 60 is also deep, with Ozzy Erewele of Springfield and Danville’s Ameia Wilson some of the top athletes entered.

Ronald Reed, a junior from Decatur MacArthur, has a 6.95 season’s best in the 60 and could be the class of the 2A boys field. Peoria Central freshman Derria Edwards made her debut last week at the Big 12 Conference Championships a great one, running the fastest time in the state (7.51) in winning. All eyes will be on her in the 2A girls 60.

Carthage Illini West on the rise in 1A boys meet

One of teams to watch Friday is Illini West High School from Carthage, located near the Mississippi River in the western part of the state. The Chargers are the top-ranked boys team in 1A and could show off how good they really are in this meet. The one athlete to watch from this group is Connor Artman, who will compete in three individual events and possibly the team’s 4x400 relay. 

Artman has the top-seeded time in the 60-meter hurdles, even though he has run this discipline only one time. He will come right back to run the 60-meter dash, where he is one of the favorites in a deep field. Artman has the top seed in the long jump, where he could be challenged by Jordan Rowell of IC Catholic Prep. Jace Norman will be one of the favorites in the high jump, with four athletes entered with clearances of 6-6 or higher this indoor season.