4 time champion Lake Park and Edwardsville tie for second; Kahmari Montgomery dominates in sizzling 200 / 400 win; Fantastic Relays keep the capacity crowd on their feet; Winder sets IHSA record in the Pole Vault

 

By Michael Newman

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Charleston, Ill --- This story could have been written in Hollywood. “Retiring coach’s team wins state championship in final meet” could have been the headline. It was a surreal feeling as York Coach Stan Reddel stood towards the center of the field waiting for his team to get the 3A State Championship trophy.

 

“This is pretty surreal. I keep looking around for the cameras. I feel like I am in a Hallmark movie,” Reddel said. “To end your career at York, state champion, it’s a pretty good feeling. I have a lot of affection for the kids. My assistant coaches have allowed me to go a few more years.” 

 

York, who in the history of their school have only had four head coaches for track and field, had been this scenario before. When legendary Coach Joe Newton announced that he would end coaching track at the end of the 2000 season, the Dukes team stepped up to win Newton his only track state championship. The same feeling ran through the York team throughout this season knowing they wanted to send out the legendary coach in style. Reddel is the only coach to win state championships on two different schools (Walther Lutheran 1984; York 2009).

 

It was a battle throughout on this championship Saturday for this team. They ended up the day not winning one state title. It came down to the eight finalists getting points anyway they could. It started with Kyle Mattes finishing second in his section of the 3200. Two hours later watching the second section of the 3200 Meter Run, Mattes learned that he finished ninth overall giving his team an unexpected point. After that, York placing second in the 4 x 100 Meter Relay, Josh Farrar finished fifth in the 100 Meter Dash, Matt Plowman finished fifth in the 800 Meter Run, and the 4 x 200 Meter Relay finished third. Then Jarvis Hill, running out of Lane 1, squeezed out a seventh place finish in the event.

 

After that event, Lake Park and Edwardsville had no more competitors in the final four events. They were tied with 36 points. Thornton was done for the day with 32 points. York was fourth with 29 points. They had two athletes still competing. The gutty performances by Reid Smith and Alex Bashqawai at the end of this meet showed how this team had faced adversity during the year. They did not have their top distance runner Nathan Mroz the entire season with an injury. Still York found a way to win both their indoor and outdoor conference meet. But it was the York senior’s performances that would be legendary.

 

Reid Smith had qualified for both the High Jump and the Pole Vault. Before his sectional meet, he was diagnosed with mononucleosis. The decision was made to scratch him out of the Pole Vault so that he could save his energy for an event that he had a chance to place high in. Just before the 1600 was to start, Smith ran out of tries going out at 6-9. He knew that he had finished third. Technically the event was not over as Johnathan Wells and Erik Miller were still competing. The York camp knew that they were now tied for the lead with Bashqawai still to run the 1600. All they needed was one point from the quiet senior. He was running fresh in this event while 10 out of the 12 finalists were coming back from another distance race.

 

What the crowd at O’Brien Stadium did not know is that Bashqawai was going to be running injured. “He came up to us and told us that an old Achilles injury had flared up again,” York distance coach Jim Hedman said.

 

Through most of the race, Bashqawai hung back in the back of the pack sliding back and forth between ninth and tenth. Finally when Patrick Perrier started to pull away in the final 100 meters, Bashqawai navigated his way through the pack finishing sixth just ahead of 3200 Meter Champ Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS) by four hundredth of a second. Those four points clinched the third state championship for the school and the third title overall for Reddel.

 

“For Alex to run a personal best in his last race and hurting as much as he was is simply amazing,” Hedman added.

 

“We scored in eight events. No first places. In a way it makes it more meaningful,” Reddel said. “It was really a team effort.”

 

 

Here is a breakdown of each 3A race:

 

Seven schools entered the finals of the 3200 Meter Relay with times of 7:50 or under. Most times in the state finals, the winning time in the event drops a few seconds from the leading prelim times. In extra ordinary wins, the times drop even more. This was one of those years.

 

Neuqua Valley did not look like it would make the finals after their first leg of the prelims on Friday afternoon. Their team stormed back to run 7:47 to qualify for the finals. It was improbable that they would make it to state just barely qualifying at sectionals with a 7:55 time. Most of their success came down to the legs of Ty Moss who got his team to state with a 1:53 anchor at that meet.

 

The Wildcats made one change heading into the finals replacing freshman Isaiah Robertson with sophomore Connor Horn. Downers Grove North’s Tony Zea gave his team the lead at the first exchange running a 1:55.5 split. It was tight as the first five teams were within a second of each other. Horn had Neuqua Valley in tenth, but they were less than three seconds back.

 

A strong 1:54.8 second leg by Sandburg’s Matt Hetzler gave his team a close to one second lead ahead of Glenbard West, Crystal Lake South, and Lake Park. Neuqua’s Jeremy Stern moved his team up to eighth place with a 1:53.5 leg. The first ten teams were within three seconds of each other heading into the second half of the race. The halfway split of 3:50.5 for Sandburg showed that we were heading into dangerous waters for the next four minutes or less.

 

Neuqua Valley’s Nick Rafacz was hoping to qualify at the sectional meet in the 400 Meter Dash. After not accomplishing that, the Neuqua coaches approached the senior telling them of their plan to run him in the 4x8 relay along with the 4x4 relay at state. His fastest time was a 1:58.7 that he ran in a low keyed triangular meet. Mike Kennedy and Jamie Janota thought that Rafacz could be the key of getting the baton to ace Ty Moss within in sight of the lead. That is what happened in the prelims on Friday. Sandburg’s Sean Torpy continued to keep his team up front running a strong 1:53.8 third leg. An incredible 1:53.7 split by Rafacz took his team from eighth place to second as he handed off the baton to Moss. Only 1.8 seconds separated Sandburg and Neuqua Valley.

 

Moss caught Sandburg anchor Denis O’Callaghan 300 meters into the final leg. As they made the turn into the final lap, both runners were side by side neither of the two willing to give the other the slightest advantage. New Trier’s Peter Cotsirilos moved down the back stretch getting within 10 meters of the two. Coming off of the curve, Moss gained the slightest advantage ahead of O’Callaghan. That was all he needed as the two charged down the final 50 meters. Moss crossed the line first giving Neuqua Valley the team championship. His 1:54.1 anchor gave his team a 7:40.21 time.

 

“With three hundred meters to go, I knew I just had to stay on him,” Moss said. “I did what I do best and kick at the end. We all did a great job. This was not a single person. It was all of us together.”

 

Sandburg was next with 7:40.77. New Trier behind Cotsirilos’ strong anchor gave his team third, Only eight tenths of a second separated Barrington in fourth (7:47.11) and Downers Grove North in eighth (7:47.95). In any other year, Glenbard West’s 7:50.53 would give them an all-state finish. On this day, it would give them a tenth place finish. That is how special this race was.

 

~~~

 

The 400 Meter Relay in the prelims showed how fast the final could be with Edwardsville running the fastest prelim time (41.52). Bloomington, who has come on strong the last couple of weeks, was next with 41.57. York finished behind Edwardsville in their heat (41.78) and was looking for a faster time. Thornton had to make a change in their lineup after Cavion Clanton aggravated his hamstring in the 100 prelims. On paper, it looked like it would be a fast final. In reality, it was.

 

Edwardsville’s Craig James got off to a tremendous start making up the stagger on the first leg. Bloomington and York were close behind. A strong backstretch sprint by Josh Farrar put York in the title discussion putting them just behind Edwardsville. Thornton, Bloomington, and Minooka were waiting for a mistake to happen to get them in the mix. Both Edwardsville and York were on fire with their handoffs. The chances of a mistake were happening were null. The final exchange was even between Edwardsville and York. Rene Perry made one little surge in the final 5 meters to put him past York’s Itoro Akpakpan for the race win. Thornton and Bloomington were only separated by three hundredth of a second for third. A strong anchor by North Lawndale’s Terry McGee brought his team up to fifth place.

 

Edwardsville’s winning time of 41.46 was only four hundredths behind the IHSA record set by Cahokia eight years ago. York finished only two hundredths back of the Tigers (41.48). They ran the second and third fastest times ever by an Illinois school at a state meet.

 

~~~

 

The 3200 Meter Run was anticipated by distance lovers the most on this day. After seeing the times in the 4x8, the anticipation was building as the runners stepped to the line. Having seen how the two previous races went out, there was hope that would not be the case this time around.

 

It was not. Luke Hoffert (Yorkville HS) tried to push the pace from the beginning but he went by the 400 in only 66 seconds. It seemed pedestrian as the pack led by Jesse Reiser (McHenry HS) was three seconds back. Patrick Perrier (O’Fallon HS) and Zach Dale (Conant HS, Hoffman Estates) were content to stay in the pack waiting to see what was going to happen. The pace slowed down as Hoffert went past in 2:18. The pack went by in 2:20. This state race was on 9:20 pace. Something had to give.

 

It did as the pace slowed down to 3:31 at 1200 meters. At that point, Billy Magnesen (Central HS, Hinsdale) knew that if he wanted a chance in the race, he needed to go right now. He ran 66 seconds for the next quarter. Reiser, Perrier, Dale, Hoffert, and Zack Smith (North HS, Downers Grove) realized that Magnesen was not coming back started to move around the far turn. There was a three second gap at the half way point. It was starting to get exciting. “At the 1200, it was time to pick it up. I just kind of went for it,” Magnesen said after the race.

 

The pace slowed down as the pack went to 68 seconds for Magnesen. The pack led by Perrier and Reiser were on the same pace with 200 meters to go. It happened a few years ago when Martin Grady tried to do the same thing to the York pair of Andrew Smith and Jack Driggs. They caught him at 200 meters to go. It seemed that Magnesen had made a definitive move as the pack was not getting closer. It seemed that way.

 

With 800 meters to go, Magnesen still had the same lead. Reiser realized that he was running out of time and needed to go now. Hoffert and Smith dropped off the pace but Dale and Perrier refused to drop. The pace was picking up as the clock was ticking and distance was getting shorter to the finish. The trio ran a 64 seventh lap to get close to Magnesen. Right at the bell lap, the three passed Magnesen. “It was a little disheartening to be passed by those three guys at the same time,” Magnesen added. “With the guys that I have to run against in this state, I have nothing to complain about.”

 

One hundred meters later, Reiser put his head down and took off in an all-out sprint. Perrier and Dale could not react to that. The McHenry junior finished running the last mile in 4:23, the last 800 in 2:03, and the last 400 in 59 seconds. Weather dictated the pace of the beginning of the race, but Reiser dictated the finish. Perrier held off Dale to finish second (9:07.10 – 9:07.83). Hoffert sped by Magnesen right at the finish to nip him by three hundredths for fifth.

 

“I was thinking that he (Magnesen) was a great runner. I knew he was going to hold that for a while. I knew that Perrier and Dale would come with me,” Reiser said after the race. “Perrier has 1:51 speed. I was trying to get away from him as much as possible or else he would have beaten me.”

 

Since the conditions broke some of the runners in the later stages of the second section, the first two finishers of the first section Caleb Hummer (Danville HS) and Kyle Mattes (York HS, Elmhurst) placed seventh and ninth respectively. Every once in a while, one runner from the first section will get into the top nine, but not two.

 

~~~

 

Antonio Shenault (Lake Park HS, Roselle) had finished third a year ago and was the favorite in this event heading into the beginning of the season. Two setbacks to Ti’fonte Hunt (Thornton HS, Harvey) during the indoor season caused the Lake Park junior to re-establish his focus as he headed to the outdoor season. He headed to Charleston with a 14.11 best time. Coming out of the prelims, Craig James (Edwardsville HS) had the fastest time (14.16) with hopes of getting big points for his team.

 

The race was all about Shenault getting out of the blocks fast. That is what happened as he forced James and Hunt to come and get him. Hunt was even with Shenault approaching the final hurdle. He clipped it giving Shenault the slight advantage. Shenault finished first but just barely. The Lake Park junior held on for a three hundredth of a second win (14.14) ahead of Hunt exorcising the two indoor races that Shenault was defeated. James was next in 14.26. “It motivated me,” Shenault said about racing against Hunt. “I did not want to lose against him three times. My coach did not really give me any motivation. I just had to go out and do it myself.”

 

~~~

 

The secret to beating defending 3A champion in the 100 Meters Cole Henderson (Pekin HS) is very simple. If you can beat him out of the blocks and lead him at 30 meters, you have a fighting chance. In the last two years, no one has been able to do that. No one was able to do that in the final Saturday. He got off to his trademark start showing once again that no one would catch him. The wind was legal (+1.8). The time of 10.53 gave him his second state title in a row. Titus Booker (North HS, Grayslake) and Scotty Miller (Barrington HS) finished behind in second and third. Booker was only eleven hundredth back but it seemed like a light year.

 

~~~

 

You always want to beat the defending champion when you get into a state competition. Johnny Leverenz (Danville HS) has been defeated only one time in the 800 Meter Run this season by 2A champ J.D. Lafayette. No 3A runner was ahead of him in the finish although Matt Aniywo (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) came close at the sectional race a week before. No one has been able to catch him. The only thing to catch Leverenz the week coming into the state meet was a cold. He was not at 100% as he stood on the line waiting for the gun to go off. No one in that race knew that. The aura of the champion can prevail over adverse situations as the one that hit the Danville senior.

 

Leverenz pushed the pace from the start taking the lead and trying to drain the kick out of Aniywo and Moss. He passed by the 400 in 55 seconds. Matt Plowman (York HS, Elmhurst) and Kevin Grahovec (Marmion Academy, Aurora were close behind. Leverenz continued to extend his lead down the back stretch. Both Moss and Anyiwo started to move on Leverenz, but their move was too late. Leverenz won his second title in a row (1:52.00). Aniywo closed but ran out of real estate finishing second (1:52.38). Moss finished in a solid third with Tony Zea (North HS, Downers Grove) passing Plowman in the final 5 meters for fourth.

 

“The strategy was to get out hard. I knew that they all had good kicks. I knew when it came down to it, they might be able to kick me,” Leverenz said. “I was feeling a little bit sketchy before the race. When I stepped on the line, all the nerves, all the pain went away. Last year was memorable because the state title was my first one. Repeats are fun too.”

 

~~~

 

Schaumburg was definitely running with a chip on their shoulder after they were disqualified for an exchange violation in the 400 Meter Relay prelims. They had been rated in the top three in both events all season. Their emphasis and focus changed to the 800 Relay. They showed that they were the team to beat in the prelims running an amazing 1:26.08.

 

The Saxons became a little more dangerous when they made a change in their lineup moving Shandall Thomas from anchor to the second leg. Jarman McMillan was moved to anchor. The move worked as Thomas would give his team the big lead making other teams in the race come and get them. That is what happened Saturday. The Saxons dared teams to come and get them. No one could. Thornton, substituted Tavares Hale for the injured Cavion Clanton, and the Wildcats did not miss a beat finishing second (1:26.26) behind that of Schaumburg’s 1:26.13. York’s run in the sprint races continued finishing third only four tenths behind Thornton.

 

~~~

 

This is one of those times that I would have to say that if you get a chance to watch Kahmari Montgomery (Central HS, Plainfield) compete in the next year, do not miss the opportunity. He is a special athlete that will be one of the best in the nation for years to come.

 

Montgomery had shocked many within the Illinois track community when he ran 47.32 at the Joliet West Sectional. Now at the state meet, there were big expectations that the junior had to fill. He did that with flying colors in the 400 Meter Final. His preliminary time of 47.39 was the only performance under 48 seconds. As he came down the homestretch, it looked like he had more in his tank.

 

Chris Wilson (Minooka HS) was his main competition and had opened up a big lead as they approached the far curve. Montgomery looked comfortable letting the race come to him. In the middle of the far curve, he started to make his move. He caught Wilson and Zac Espinosa with one hundred meters to go. He started pulling away from the rest of the pack but Wilson, still behind Montgomery, was keeping pace. Matt Aniywo, who had just finished second in the 800, came out of the pack and was pushing on the two.

 

It did not look like Montgomery was running what he was running. His stride looks so effortless. He crossed the line as did the rest of the field. The capacity crowd saw the time pop up and roared. Montgomery had run under 47 seconds: 46.82. Wilson had dipped under 48 seconds for the first time running 47.40. We have said the phrase “in any other year that time would have won”. Well, this was not any other year. Montgomery is not any other athlete.

 

“I got out to a good start. I had a great competition with Chris Wilson. He is the one runner that I have been trying to come after since the day I started,” Montgomery said. “When I got to the 200, my mindset was that no one was going to get me. No one was faster than me. I think I am the greatest. That is what I was thinking as I was coming out of that curve. It was the best feeling that I ever had in my life.”

 

Matt Aniywo completed an amazing double running a personal best (48.11) to finish third. Espinosa finished fourth running out of Lane 9.

 

~~~

 

Just as the crowd was starting to calm down from Montgmery’s race, the athletes for the 300 Intermediate Hurdles stepped into the blocks. It would be part two of a battle between Conor Dunham (St. Igantius Prep, Chicago) and Imani Payton (North Lawndale Prep, Chicago). The two had faced each other the week before at their sectional race with Dunham coming out on top.

 

Payton got out of the blocks well from Lane 5 making up the stagger on Edwardsville’s Craig James and Isaiah Michl half way on the curve. Dunham, in Lane 3 was also moving. By the time, he made it to the home straight and the final three hurdles, the two were even. Dunham willed himself over down the stretch surpassing Payton. Another wow went through the crowd as Dunham crossed the line. The St. Ignatius senior had just ran 36.90 just missing Jon Schweighardt’s state record by thirteen hundredths of a second. Payton finished second running a personal best 37.33. Luke Pilliod (Glenbrook South HS, Glenview) and the rest of the pack looked like they were in another race the way that Dunham and Payton ran. Pilliod still finished third (38.19) running a personal best by more than half a second.

 

“I did not really envision that. The problem with me is my nerves. I get so nervous before a race. This morning I threw up a little bit. My main focus is to make my mind go blank and trust my body,” Dunham said. “It still really has not hit me yet. I did not think I was going that fast.”

 

~~~

 

Nine out of the twelve athletes running were coming back from a race earlier in the meet. Only Chris Korabik (St. Ignatius Prep, Chicago), Jake Hoffert (Yorkville HS) and Alex Bashqawai were fresh. The big question was if Patrick Perrier could come back from his 3200? Would Jesse Reiser be able to complete the distance double? What about Johnny Leverenz? He was not 100%. Could he find just a little within him to capture the race. All of those questions would be answered in the next four minutes.

 

Zack Smith, who had finished sixth in the 3200 earlier in the meet, took the lead along with Jake Hoffert and Patrick Perrier by his side. The pace at 62 seconds demonstrated that this would be a fast race. It was close that first 400 as all twelve runners were within two seconds of each other. Smith and Perrier still led at the 800 but the pace had slowed down to 2:07. Reiser had positioned himself into third waiting for the right moment. Zach Dale was close in hand waiting to go. Bashqawai and Leverenz were in the back of the pack waiting for that right moment.

 

With 500 meters to go, there were six runners across vying for the lead. Emerging from the pack came Korabik who had decided that now was the moment to go. Perrier stayed with him as the two passed the line in 3:10.7. Hoffert, Dale, and Ryan Clevenger (North HS, Downers Grove) were a second back. Reiser were is in a line in sixth. Leverenz started to drop back. His tank was empty.

 

Korabik and Perrier ran side by side down the back stretch. With 200 meters to go, the O’Fallon senior made one final surge. It worked as he opened up a lead on Korabik. Dale moved up and was now trying to go after the two. This race was Perrier’s as he approached the line. His arms went up in the air. The state championship on the big blue oval that had eluded him the past few years was no longer hiding. It belonged to him. He covered the last 400 meters in 59.4 seconds.

 

“I switched my training to become more of a mile / 8 guy. I knew I could do this today because I had a really bad race at Edwardsville,” said Perrier. “The 3200 was a hard race. Hats off to Jesse. He’s a fantastic runner. I just wanted to come back and win the mile. That was it. I was so pumped. To end up on big blue with a state championship, I was so excited.”

 

Clevenger caught Korabik at the line. Korabik was given second as he was five thousandth of a second ahead of Clevenger. Dale and Hoffert were next in four-five. Bashqawai caught Reiser just at the line by fur hundredth of a second for sixth.

 

~~~

 

Cole Henderson had won the 100 and was looking to defend his 200 title. Kahmari Montgomery was looking for the 200 Meter Dash title to complement the 400 title that he won earlier in the meet. Something had to give.

 

Henderson got off to a great start and had a big lead coming off of the curve. Montgomery caught him in the last 50 meters. The strain of the speed they were running was showing on their face. The Plainfield Central had the edge in the last 10 meters crossing the line in 21.25. Henderson ran a personal best 21.35 to nail down second. Freshman Cary Lockhart (Bloomington HS) showed that he is the future of sprinting in Illinois placing third.

 

“After seeing the times that he (Henderson) ran on DyeStat, I knew I could beat him. Nothing is done without the man upstairs” Montgomery said. “I am so thankful for what I have done. Cole Henderson is such a great guy. He is the best competition I ‘ve had so far.”

 

Overall, there were seven runners that ran faster than 22 seconds in this final. It was just simply amazing.

 

~~~

 

East St. Louis-Senior entered this final as the overwhelming favorite having run a 3:17.01 comfortably in the preliminaries. A new scenario had popped up involving the team race. York had enough points to win the team championships. No one in this race would be able to catch them. Neuqua Valley had 27 points. If they could win this race, they would be able to leapfrog five teams and capture second place.

 

Eastside has so much pride when they step to the line in this race. There is so much tradition for this team in the event. The Flyers have won this race at the state meet an amazing eleven times. No other school can claim that kind of record. They were looking for the repeat so to speak. Last year, they won the 2A edition of this race.

 

East St. Louis took command of this race early on front loading the front two legs with Jawaughn Askew and Roosevelt Davis. They opened up a lead that they would not relinquish. The lead was not as big as it was in the prelims, but the outcome of the race was never in doubt. They crossed the line in 3:16.59. A charging Sam Bransby closed the gap for Naperville Central giving them second. It the process, they held off crosstown rival for that place. Neuqua moved up on the final 400 meters from a great final anchor from who else but Ty Moss.

 

In the field events –

 

The tables turned a little bit for Cole Henderson in the Long Jump. A year ago in the Saturday finals, Henderson won the state championship in his final jump. The Pekin senior was fifth on Saturday entering into the final jumps behind surprise leader Elijah Douglas (Crete-Monee HS). Henderson took care of that jumping into the lead with a 23- ¾ effort. He thought that he had the title. On the final jump of the competition, Johnathan Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake) soared to the same distance as Henderson (23- ¾). To break the tie, they had to go to both athlete’s second best jump. Wells had that advantage by 2 ¼ inches giving him his second overall career state championship.

 

“I definitely knew I had some pressure. I was sitting in third by a couple of inches,” said Wells. “I knew I just had to pop a big one. I tied it up and it went in my favor. I am happy about that.”

 

~~~

 

Marcus Jegede (Lake Park HS, Roselle) sat on the sideline and watched the final of the Triple Jump. In the preliminaries, he soared out to a 48-4 ¾ jump giving him more than a two foot lead. He did get a little bit of a scare when Chris Walker (West HS, Aurora) moved from fifth to second with a 46-11 ½ personal best. Jegede still had a secure jump that was enough to end his prep career at Lake Park with a state championship. “I was really nervous yesterday. My coach put a lot of pressure on me,” Jegede said afterwards. “If I was not in the Long Jump, he told me I better win the Triple Jump. I was happy that I could do that for him.”

 

~~~

 

It was only fitting that Luke Winder (Central HS, Plainfield) end on a high note. He perhaps was the most dominant track & field athlete this season going undefeated in all of his competitions. He played the game a little conservative coming in at 15-0 regardless of where any of his competitors were at. That was decided before he even stepped onto the track on Saturday. Only Andy Jatis (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox) and Steven Bradford (Bloomington HS) remained at that height. Winder easily made his first attempt at that height and passed at 15-3. When Bradford went out at 15-6 having cleared 15-3 and finishing second, Winder had won his second straight championship.

 

He had the bar moved to 16-6. He cleared that height easily. Now it was the matter of getting the state record. He had the bar raised to 17-3. “I was over the bar and looked down and saw the bar with my face over it,” Winder said. I knew I had made it. I looked at my dad. I looked at my coaches. It had finally happened.”

 

It was a state record. He went over to his brothers and his father and celebrated the moment. He stepped up to 17-7 and made three good attempts but could get over. He will save that height for another day.

 

“I broke the indoor record, the outdoor record, and the state meet record. Those were my three big things that I wanted to do this year,” Winder added. “I can’t ask for anything better than that. I am just so blessed for the opportunity to be out here.”

 

~~~

 

It was a huge battle in the High Jump when seven athletes were still left as the bar was raised to 6-8.One early casualty in the event was last year’s second place finisher Mike Monroe (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox). At his final attempt at 6-6, as he approached the pit he skidded as he started to make his pivot. He slid into the pit braking the plane of the bar. The disappointment showed on his face when he was told that his day was over.

 

Erik Miller (St. Charles North HS) and Johnathan Wells were the only two athletes to clear 6-9. The bar was raised to 6-10 where again both cleared the height. At 6-11, Miller’s day ended. Wells continued on as he cleared that height for the state championship. At 7-0, Wells cleared again making him one of the top ten athletes in the country to clear seven feet or higher this season. “I was really happy that I cleared 7-0 again,” Wells said. “I wanted to again all year from the beginning of the year. There was definitely some good competition here today.”

 

~~~

 

There were no major changes in the Shot Put and the Discus in the 3A finals. Stephen Hubona had three throws over 175 feet in the Friday preliminaries. Ricky Hurley (Cary-Grove HS) moved up seven feet in the finals (176-7), but it was not enough as he maintained second place. John Harris (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) ended his surprise season finishing in third (168-0).

 

The Shot Put was the same story as there were no major improvements in the final three efforts. Martinus Mitchell (Collinsville HS) and Kyrin Tucker (Normal Community West HS) ended their great seasons finishing 1-2 in the event. Mitchell’s 61 – ¾ put was 6 ¼ inches better than that of Tucker.