10 Storylines to Follow at Illinois Top Times 2024

 

By Michael Newman

 

Every year at this time some of the top athletes in the Illinois High School Track and Field test themselves once last time indoors before they head outdoors for the rest of the season. The Illinois Top Times Championships might turn out to be one of the most memorable in the meet’s history.

 

The two-day meet help inside the Shirk Center on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington starts with the Class 1A meet on Friday afternoon and evening followed two more meets with Class 2A and 3A Meets on Saturday.

 

Why this year being memorable? There are so many possibilities of new meet records at this facility. It is not a hope more so a probability. That is what makes this meet so great.

 

Here are 10 storylines to watch for in this two-day championship meet.

 

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From the Court to the Track

Becca Heitzig is having a great senior season at Lincoln Community High School before she heads to Iowa State University this fall. Heitzig last fall won the IHSA Class 2A State XC Championship while playing on the school’s volleyball team that made the IHSA Class 3A finals. Her winter season ended when she was part of Lincoln’s basketball team that went undefeated and won the IHSA Class 3A Girls Basketball Championship.

 

Her track season has started a little later because of her basketball season going longer as she expected. Heitzig is the two-time defending champion in the Class 2A 800 Meter Run. Last year in this meet , she will attempt to defend her titles in the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run.

 

Heitzig has only run in two meets this season but should be the favorite in both events. On little training a year ago, Heitzig ran 2:11.77 to win the 800. She has run the event this winter once with her 2:17.11 time four seconds ahead of the rest of the field. She blew away the rest of the field on Monday on the Shirk Center track running 5:01.49 for 1600-meters. There is a 45 minute gap between the 800 and the 1600 in this meet. Her chief competition will be Zoe Carter of Normal University who will also run in the 3200 Meter Run.

 

3A Sprints to light up the track Saturday afternoon

There are so many scenarios that we could see in the 3A sprints on Saturday afternoon in both the Boys and Girls sprints in this meet. Katelyn Lehnen of Chatham-Glenwood had a late start to her track season as did Heitzig. Glenwood’s Girls Basketball team also made the finals in Class 3A losing to Lincoln. The week after that game Lehnen was on the track at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The junior just missed the semifinals in the championship 60 Meter Dash and the finals in the championship 200 Meter Dash. That is saying a lot since most of her concentration was on basketball right before that.

 

Lehnen is the defending champion in this event in the meet that ended early for her pulling a hamstring just after winning the race. She set the 3A meet record last year. She will look to go after the overall meet record set by Ebony McClendon (7.45) in 2014. Zawadi Brown of Neuqua Valley could be the chief competition for Lehnen. Brown ran a state leading time of 7.13 for 55-meters last Thursday at the DuPage Valley Conference Meet. Tania Miller of Romeoville ran the same 55 Meter Dash time last week and will chase after the title along with Mariyah Robinson of Simeon and Kristyn Johnson of Bolingbrook. Lehnen, Brown, Robinson, and Johnson will all run in the final section of the 200 Meter Dash.

 

The Class 3A Boys 60 Meter Dash is wide-open. The sprinter that might have the edge is Da’jion Riley of Wheaton-Warrenville South. The  senior has made a big step up this indoor season going undefeated in the 55/60 Meter Dashes this winter. He has the fastest time in the state timed at 6.44. There are a number of runners that will challenge Riley for the win including Amari Alexander of Hinsdale South, Azariah-Henry Bolls of Romeoville, and Caleb Schultz of Oak Park River Forest.

 

The two previous sessions of the meet should have some great finals in the 60 Meter Dash. Ranaisha Howard- Dunigan of Limestone ran 7.73 last week at Monmouth and is the top seed Saturday morning in the 2A 60 Meter Dash. It could be Kayla Austin of Cahokia that could be the surprise in this event as well as the 200 Meter Dash. It could be Harley Rizzs of St. Laurence that has the advantage after running 6.93 last Friday to win the Chicago Catholic League Championships.

 

Reese Curtis of St. Anne has been the hot sprinter in Class 1A this winter. The senior has a best of 6.91 in a field where two other runners have run sub-seven seconds. Supreme Muhammad of Winnebago ran 6.85 in January but is seeded at 7.01. Ryan Williams of Hope Academy and Joshua Boahene of Holy Trinity will be runners to keep an eye on in this event. Alaina Lester of Belleville Althoff could make a clean sweep of all three Class 1A sprint races. She will be a big favorite in the 60 Meter Dash with Layla Lexus of Lycée Français de Chicago and Lia Patterson of Tuscola.

 

All-Americans ready to shine this weekend in the Shirk Center

We don’t see a ton of Illinois athletes especially indoors climb onto the podium to accept a top six finish All-American honors in one of the two national meets. There were 10 athletes that were among the best in the nation two weeks ago. Although some of those athletes have opted to get ready for the outdoor season, there is still a high number of the AA athletes that will compete inside the Shirk Center this weekend.

 

There were hopes when the initial Class 2A entries for this meet came out last week that 800 Meter National Champion Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic and double All-American Gavin Genisio of Benton could be racing in the 1600 Meter Run. The two runners will cross paths on Saturday inside the Shirk Center but will not race against each other.

 

Hilby could come home with three titles in this meet running in the 4x8 and 4x4 relays as well as being the top seed in the 400 Meter Dash. The 400 is not foreign to Hilby. He was all-state in the event as a sophomore. He will be challenged by Plamedi Nseka of Galesburg and Casey Borkowski of Jersey for the win.

 

The meet record and especially the Class 2A record in the 1600 Meter Run are in jeopardy and within reach of Genisio on Saturday. Genisio ran a 4:04 split for Benton’s All-American team in the DMR two week ago in Boston and then ran 4:07.25 to finish fourth in the 1 Mile Run. Jeff Thode ran 4:09.94 in 2009 to set the All-Time record that could fall to Genisio early Saturday afternoon. There is a good field to push him including Owen Morgan of Taylorville, Julian Baker of Mt. Zion, Gabriel McLain of Benton, and Carson Maroon of St. Joseph-Ogden.

 

Another meet record in Class 2A could fall in the Boys 3200 Meter Run late Saturday morning. Dylon Nalley’s junior season was hijacked by various illnesses and injuries. The Marion senior’s season has started in a different manner which included finishing sixth in the 5000 Meter Run at Nike Indoor Nationals. Nalley passed 3200-meters in that race at 9:05.5. Nalley earlier ran 8:50.47 for 2-Miles at Notre Dame in February. His seed time of 8:47 is 36 seconds faster than the rest of the field. The All-Time Meet Record was set by Tim Keller (8:58.96) set in 2000. Ethan Hogan ran 9:00.96 setting the 2A record. Both records could disappear on Saturday.

 

Zoe Carter of Normal University earned All-American honors in the 5000 Meter Run at Nike Indoor Nationals finishing sixth by running a 35 second final lap from tenth-place. Carter could take huge strides the rest of her junior season starting with this meet. Carter has run 10:51 this year and will be one of the favorites in the race. Waiting for her will be defending champion Sundara Weber of Sandwich. She has run the 3200 this winter only once but ran 11:01. Two more runners have run under 11:20 that include Natalie Bierbaum of Normal University and Erica Woodard of Tolono Unity. Carter will double back in the 1600 Meter Run where she will be the #2 seed behind Becca Heitzig.

 

1A distance encore between Rybak and Keller will be in the spotlight Friday night

The spotlight race of the Friday evening session of this meet could be the Girls 1600 Meter Run. Elana Rybak of Father McGivney and Isabella Keller of Father McGivney are no strangers on the track. The two faced each other three weeks ago at Eastern Illinois University separated by less than a second.

 

It will be different scenario in this meet with both running in events before they face each other. In the EIU meet, both ran just that race. Keller is the overwhelming favorite in the 3200 Meter Run as the freshman has the fourth fastest time in the event under roof this season in the United States (10:19.76). Kelsey Hildreth has the Class 1A meet record of 10:49.20 in 2014. It is a record that Keller could get. The field is good with Molly Farrell of Marshall and Kate Foltz of Tuscola her chief competition. Father McGivney has finished second in the 4x800m Relay the past two years. With Rybak part of the quartet, the Griffins should be the favorite to win.

 

The Charleston race between Rybak and Keller was a thriller as Keller pushed the pace from the gun Rybak right on her shoulder. Rybak finally took the lead on the final lap to win by under a second (4:51.05-4:51.96). I expect it to be that close again on Friday.

 

Who will be the King (or Queen) of the Ring in the Shot Put

The top two athletes in Class 3A Boys will face off Saturday in the only weight event in each of the three sessions of this meet. Jaiden Gary of Proviso East and Kaden Garland of Oak Park-River Forest are the only two athletes over 60-feet in the state and will be the favorites in this 3A classification. Marco Reynolds of Normal Community and Jaloni Wiley of Homewood-Flossmoor are the top two seeds in 3A Girls Shot Put.

 

Caleb Smith of Salem is the top athlete in Class 2A with a 58-4 best. The closest to Smith is Andrew Kinsman of Benton who enters the 2A Meet with a 55-7 seasonal best. Olivia Marshall of Geneseo is currently ranked #2 in the state with a 42-8.5 best. She will be challenged in the 2A meet from Carmyn Huston of Monmouth-Roseville with her 41-7.25 best.

 

The 1A Girls Shot Put opens the meet and could be one of the closest field events. Addie Stadsholt of Athens enters this meet with a seasonal best of 39-11.5. She will have company in the front with Lauren Orwig of Stark County, Hannah Gibson of Carlinville, and Kylie Smither of Fulton all capable of winning this event. Vaughn Frere of Rockridge is the favorite in the Boys meet with his 53-0 best. He is more than two feet ahead of Graham Meister, a freshman from Dwight, who leads the rest of the field.

 

Does Johnson finally get the horizontal jumps double?

The only roadblock that Dominique Johnson of Huntley has had over the last two years has been her sister Alexandria who won the Long Jump the past two years. Dominique captured the Triple Jump title also the past two years and will have a third straight title in her sights. Johnson has jumped 41-2 this indoor season and is ahead of the rest of the state by more than feet. Her best of the season is currently ranked third in the nation. The Long Jump could be tough to win with Gabriella Manzano of New Trier having the best mark in the state of 19-7.5 (US #17). Johnson has been close having jumped 19-6.75 (US #21) this season.

 

Phillips chases after distance double in Class 3A

Liv Phillips of Naperville Central is coming off a great double in Boston running 10:41.99 for 2-miles and 4:59.98 for the 1 Mile Run. Phillips came back last week to win the same double at the DuPage Valley Conference Meet. She will look to repeat the double on Saturday afternoon inside of the Shirk Center. She will be the favorite in the 3200 Meter Run. The 1600 Meter Run is loaded with talent and a number of runners only competing in that race.

 

Phillips is the top seed in the 3200 having run 10:40.07. The next runners are seeded 20 seconds behind Phillips but within 10 seconds of each other. Jane Lynch of Loyola Academy, Ava Hendren of Naperville Central, Danielle Jensen of McHenry, Brea Counihan of Lincoln-Way Central, along with Shania and Rianna Tandon of Naperville North are some of the runners that you see in the front along with Phillips.

 

We could see a few in this 15 runner field roll under 5-minutes. One of those runners could be Phillips. The other could be Annika Swan of St. Ignatius College Prep who has run 4:57.44 this season. Swan just missed winning last year finishing third. This could be her year. Emma Berres of Naperville North will be doubling back from the 800 Meter Run and would not count her out in this race. Veronica Znajda of Prospect and Sophia Ramirez of Washington will be among the front runners. Julie Piot of Naperville North could be among the top five finishers in this race. So could Meg Peterson of Prospect or Nicole Poglitsch of Wheaton-Warrenville South who could be surprises in the front.

 

A look at the Class 1A Relays

Father McGivney has been looking to win the 4x800m Relay in this meet and the state meet the last three years. It was Winnebago that got in the way. Bago is rebuilding so the quartet of Kaitlyn Hatley, Lilly Gilbertson, Jane Cummins, and Elana Rybak will look for the title Friday afternoon. The Griffins have the top seed in the event by 25 seconds ahead of Seneca and Kewanee Wethersfield. Father McGivney, with the same quartet in the 4x8, will be the favorites in the 4x400m Relay. Monmouth United and Pleasant Plains are about five seconds behind and will be the closest to challenge in that event. Monmouth United enters as the favorite with Virden North Mac their closest competition in the 4x200 Meter Relay.

 

Rockford Christian also seems to find a way in the 4x800 Meter Relay in this meet to cross the line for the win. The Royal Lions are one of four teams that could come away with the win. Pleasant Plains and Winnebago are two of the teams to keep an eye on in the front. The team that could win this relay is Elmwood who will have Isaiah Hill anchoring for the Trojans. Hill will also race in the 800 Meter Run. The fourth section of the 4x200m Relay should be lights out led by Winnebago and their anchor Supreme Muhammad who you will see all over the meet on Friday. Hope Academy, Maroa-Forsyth, and Morrison are close to Bago which could make it an interesting race. Keep and eye on IC Catholic Prep and Colfax-Ridgeview coming from the third section. Bloomington Central Catholic has the top seed in the 4x400m Relay, but it could be Winnebago, Morrison, or Rockford Christian the team that could win this event.

 

A look at the Class 2A Relays

Morton enters this meet’s Girls 4x800m Relay as a prohibitive favorite with a seed time of 9:44.19 which is 17 seconds ahead of the closest team Prairie Ridge. Mt. Zion, Mascoutah, and Rochester are some of the teams that could challenge for a top three finish. It could be a wide open 4x200m Relay. Normal University, with Reese Mitchell a part of it, could be the favorite in the final section of the relay along with Marian Catholic, Hyde Park, and Tinley Park. Triad of Galesburg from the third section could be a surprise in this relay. Five of six teams in the 4x400m Relay have times in the 4:14 time range. Galesburg at 4:12.03 is the one team that is not and could run under 4:10 for the win. The first section offers up Triad and Normal University as teams that might come away with the win.

 

Patrick Hilby will run in two of the three relays for Aurora Central Catholic and could be a difference maker for the Chargers. Marion is the top seed in the 4x800m Relay six seconds ahead of Morton. Marion ran that time with Dylon Nalley part of the quartet. Nalley will run the 3200. Morton has a good group led by Layton Knoop. Sterling will have Dale Johnson on their quartet and will challenge for the win. Aurora Central Catholic is the seventh seeded relay in this 12 team field. They have the luxury of a 1:48 800 runner anchoring for them. Aurora Central Catholic ran 3:26 last week at the CCL Championships in the 4x400m Relay with Hilby a part of that quartet. The Chargers are seven seconds ahead of the rest of the field. St. Laurence will be the favorite in the 4x200m Relay led by Harley Rizzs and Quinton Williams and the only 2A team that has run under 1:32 in this field. Mascoutah and Sterling will also be in the mix for the win.

 

A look at the Class 3A Relays

Defending 4x800m Relay champion Prospect will have athletes in this meet but will not have a quartet in this relay. St. Ignatius College Prep and Hinsdale Central are the top two seeds in this event. It is hard to tell if Annika Swan will run in this relay. She is not on the meet program but might run. Lincoln-Way East, Washington, Benet Academy, and Plainfield North are some of the teams that you could see challenge for the win. The 4x200m Relay is too close to call. Neuqua Valley has a strong team with a stronger anchor runner in Zawadi Brown. Huntley and Batavia have run in the 1:44’s and will challenge the Wildcats. Homewood-Flossmoor could set the final section standard as the big favorite in the third section. Prospect will have the top seed in the 4x400m Relay but will not run with their full lineup. Kenwood, Chatham-Glenwood, and Batavia have the talent to leave the Shirk Center with the meet win. New Trier and Lincoln-Way East will set the tone in the first section of the relay.

 

Most of the top teams this indoor season are not in this meet which will make this race in the 4x800m Relay extremely interesting. Plainfield North has run 7:56.94 but will not run their full lineup but will get experience in this high level meet. New Trier has a good group that could challenge as does Normal Community, Conant, and Bolingbrook. You could pick a winner from any of the final two sections of the 4x200m Relay. Kenwood has the top seed time in this event. Oak Park-River Forest, Belleville West, and Huntley are the other teams in the final section. Plainfield North and Naperville North could be the surprise teams in the third section. Plainfield North and Kenwood will be the teams to watch in the 4x400m Relay. Keep an eye on Grayslake Central who will have Trey Sato as their anchor. Sato has run 1:53 and will be the favorite in the 800 Meter Run.