2023 IHSA State Track & Field Championships – Class 1A Boys Meet Storylines

By Michael Newman

Okeke could be all-state four times; Could they all be gold?

The Class 1A team championship is wide-open heading into Thursday’s preliminary session. It could be the four event winner from Judah Christian, Daryl Okeke.

The senior from Champaign swept both hurdle races, both sprint races, last Friday at the Westville Sectional. He enters Thursday’s prelims as one of the favorites in both hurdle races. The two sprint races are so close. He could also be in the mix for wins in the 100 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash. Four wins equals 40 points which could possibly lead to a team trophy.

The last time he ran on the blue track at Eastern Illinois University, Okeke finished third in both hurdle races and failed to qualify for the finals in the Triple Jump. He has been perfect outdoors going undefeated in both hurdle events. His 14.15 time run almost two weeks ago at St. Teresa is the fastest time in Class 1A heading into this weekend’s competition. Jackson Kern of Auburn and Brady Larson of Maroa-Forsyth are the only other athletes that have run under 15-seconds in the shorter of the two hurdle races.

It could be a closer race for Okeke in the 300 Meter Hurdles. His time of 39.43 also run at St. Teresa is ranked #3 in Class 1A. Gage Smith of Shelbyville (38.75) and Kern (39.32) have the fastest two times seasonally. Smith ran the fastest sectional time (39.76) at Tuscola ahead of Okeke’s 39.90 sectional winning time.

Okeke is a good bet to make sprint finals but will need great races to make it to Saturday’s finals. He has a seasonal best of 11.01 run at Paxton-Buckley-Loda three weeks ago and is among the top 15 in a crowded 1A 100 Meter Dash. Peyton Locke of Rockridge right now enters the state meet as the hot sprinter in Class 1A after running 10.79. Parker Wolf of Newton ran 10.72 at Shelbyville two weeks ago and could chase after the title. Supreme Muhammad of Winnebago, Joshua Boahene of Holy Trinity, and Charles Shaw of SIU-E Charter are all runners that could win that event. This event develops the favorite in the prelims where one sprinter gives the fans the “oooh” moment and stands out ahead of everyone else.

Okeke is ranked #6 in Class 1A in the 200 Meter Dash and will be in contention for this event’s title. Muhammad and Locke are the only Class 1A runners under 22-seconds heading into this weekend. Shaw, De Byron Boyd of Madison, and Carter Wasson of Steeleville are some of the runners that will be towards the front.

Records wait for the freshman to capture them

The mystery in the finals of the Class 1A Pole Vault is who will finish second in this event. Unless something dramatic happens, freshman Isaiah Whitaker of Bloomington Central Catholic should be the huge favorite to win his first state championship.

Whittaker will be chasing after a number of records in this meet. His best came at Metamora on a perfect night to compete on April 28 where he cleared 16-9.25.

The Class 1A state meet record came in 2019 when Kyle Kruthoff of Erie  cleared 16-8 to set the record. The IHSA Meet Record was set by Zachery Bradford of Bloomington when he cleared 17-6 in 2018. If we look at National Class Records, we look at the records that Armand Duplantis set. The freshman record by Mondo in 2015 is 17-4.5.

Three other Class 1A athletes in this meet have bests over 14-feet this season led by Marcus Czapar of El Paso-Gridley (14-10). Also in that group is Griffin Kimbrel of Pana and David Staller of Robinson.

We saw at Illinois Top Times Championships in March where Whitaker came into the competition after the rest of the field had exhausted their attempts. That could happen on Saturday. Whitaker then can go record hunting.

Murray looks to double up

A false start by top seeded Riverdale last week’s Class 1A Rockridge Sectional might have been a blessing in disguise for Riverdale Tommy Murray of Riverdale. He was scheduled to be on that quartet in that race. The Creighton University signee will now focus on the two individual events where he should be one of the favorites in both.

Murray has been all-state twice during cross-country including third in last year’s state meet. He has been all-state in track three times including last year when he finished fourth in the 3200 Meter Run and third in the 1600 Meter Run.

Some of his top competition from last fall will be in other places this weekend. 1A State XC champion Gavin Genisio runs for Benton in Class 2A. Defending Class 1A champion Isaac Teel of Pinckneyville will not be racing this weekend. He was forced to scratch from his sectional’s 800 Meter Run and will not compete in Charleston this weekend. It opens the door for possibilities at state for Murray.

The Riverdale senior enters this meet with the top Class 1A time in the 3200 Meter Run having run 9:14.72 in early April in East Moline. He will have two runners in this race that will put pressure on him. Akili Parekh of Latin School missed all of the indoor season due to injury. He showed he was back running 9:15.55 in early April at Arcadia. Jackson Barrett of Tuscola dropped his personal best down to 9:15.85 at Distance Night in Palatine in April. Barrett and Parekh will be the runners to push Murray in this race.

I would not count out Logan Beckmier of Arthur-Lovington, Will Foltz of Tuscola, Weston Forward of Rockford Christian, and Carson Maroon of St. Joseph-Ogden in this race.

Murray’s 4:16.02 for 1600-meters at Palatine was a statement maker that will carryover in this weekend’s finals. There will be a number of runners that could win this final besides Murray. Tuscola’s Barrett and Josiah Hortin will also be doubling back from previous races and will be factors in this race. Daniel Winkelman of Harvest Christian Academy will run in the 4x800m Relay and 800 Meter Run before he steps to the line in this event. He ran the same events last year and finished second at this distance. He is a runner that could push Murray. Isaiah Hill of Elmwood will run the same triple as Winkelman and could also push up front. Bryson Grant of Iroquois West could surprise in this race. He ran 4:23.83 two weeks ago at St. Teresa. This will be his only event in this meet.

Who will be king of the ring in Class 1A?

It was Daniel Lucas that won the Shot Put and Garrett Taylor that won the Discus in last year’s state meet. Taylor will have defense of his title on his mind and get points for Salt Fork as they go after another state team title.

He could have Tuscola’s Chris Boyd in the way of a state championship in the Shot Put and possibly the Discus. Boyd finished second, Taylor third in last year’s state meet in the Shot Put. Taylor has the best mark in Class 1A of 60-10.75 for the Shot Put. Boyd last week in his home ring (59-8.5) in the Shot Put.

Taylor has his eyes on a second Discus title. He has the Class 1A lead with a 191-3.25 throw. Boyd did not make the finals last year finishing 16th in the state prelims. Boyd is seeded second in sectional performances. His best this season has been 174-8.75.

Mitchell Myers of Arcola has emerged in his second season after finishing third last year in state in the Discus. He could challenge for titles with bests of 184-10.5 (1A #2) in the Discus and a 54-11.5 best (1A #3) in the Shot Put.

Kooi goes for three wins in the field events

Mason Kooi of Springfield Lutheran will look for three wins this weekend in the field events. His top event is the High Jump. The senior is the defending champion in the event clearing 6-10 for the win. Kooi has surpassed that mark clearing 7-0 (US #7 tie with 10 other athletes) at a meet at Riverton at the beginning of the outdoor season. Kooi is not a lock to win. Noah Gilmore of Robinson cleared 6-9 this season along with Ben Roedl of Altamont, Lance Wiegand of Eureka, and Ty Brachbill of Shelbyville all have cleared 6-5 or higher.

Kooi is tied with Kaiden Droste of West Central in third in the Long Jump heading into the state meet. Robert Greer, only a freshman from Sparta, has a 1A best of 22-5 and was the leading athlete after sectionals winning last week at Nashville.

Max Milbrath of Pecatonica had the top mark in the Triple Jump last week in sectionals at Oregon with a 43-9.5 best. Millbrath’s seasonal best is 43-11.25. Kooi has a 43-11 best and could challenge for a state title. Royce Harper of St. Teresa jumped over 45-feet this season. He has jumped over 44-feet seven times this year in outdoor meets.  

Track Notes

The 800 Meter Run in Class 1A is not as crazy in numbers as we will see in Class 3A this weekend. The chase for the state title is wide-open with a number of runners capable of winning this two lap race. The key, like the 2A and 3A races, will be advancing out of Thursday’s prelims.

Julian Aske of Beacon Academy missed a state title last year by two tenths of a second behind Eli Mojonnier. Aske ran 1:55.03 (1A #4) at Palatine and will be in the hunt of moving up one spot. Ryan Hendrickson of St. Thomas More made it a double header last year in the state finals playing for his school’s baseball team in an IHSA Sectional game. Hendrickson has raced twice in the 800 this fall again splitting his time between the baseball diamond and the track. His 1:56.08 time (1A #8) last week in his sectional meet gives him the top sectional time heading into Thursday.

Daniel Winkelman ran 1:54.57 at Palatine in April and will be watched for in the front at the end of the race. Isaiah Hill of Elmwood has the fastest 1A time (1:54.26) and will have the 4x800m Relay and the 1600m Run in his schedule along with Winkelman. Charlie Bardwell of Eureka has run under 1:55 this year (1:54.81, 1A #3) and will be a factor in this race. Noah Britton of Rock Island Alleman, Josiah Hortin of Tuscola, and Caleb Kernaghan of St. Teresa will be runners to watch in all-state positions in this meet.

There is a wider gap on who could win the 400 Meter Dash on Saturday. Zach Powell of Pleasant Plains did not run in his sectional race and will be unable of defending state title. Bjorn Carlson of Rockford Christian, who finished third a year ago, and Reece Curtis of St. Anne, who was all-state in sixth, are the top runners in this event. Curtis is the only runner in this field under 50-seconds (49.95). Jacob Huber of Father McGivney has a 50.62 best and could threaten for the win along with Parker Wolf and Owen Mahaffey of Newton.

Relay Notes

The Class 1A relay events factor maybe even more on who will win a state team title than the other two classes.

There are a number of ways that the 4x800m Relay could go in this meet. I would keep an eye on Harvest Christian Academy in the front. The Lions easily won at Illinois Top Times in that race by strong final two legs from David Peterson and Daniel Winkelman. Bot have bests in the open 800 under two-minutes. HCA has run in only two relays outdoors. They should improve on that time in the next two races. Rockford Christian is the defending champion and should be all-state in this event. Their top runner Aidan Sosnowski may focus on the open 800, If he is in their quartet, keep an eye on the Royal Lions. Williamsville had the fastest time in 1A and last week’s sectionals with an 8:07.13.  Elmwood, St. Teresa, Newton, and Rock Island Alleman may be teams to keep an eye on.

Bloomington Central Catholic, Madison, Salt Fork, and St. Teresa are the only teams under 43-seconds in the 4x100m Relay with BCC running the best time of 42.71 last week. Shelbyville, who has a best of 43.01 this season, Pleasant Plains, and Lena-Winslow are worth keeping an eye on.

Ridgeview ran the fastest sectional time of 1:30.33 in the 4x200m Relay. Forreston is next at 1:30.79. Shelbyville has the top Class 1A time (1:29.53) followed by Winnebago, Madison, and Decatur St. Teresa.

How close could this final in the 4x400m Relay be? The top three teams of St. Teresa and Heyworth (both at 3:27.10) followed by Morrison (3:27.12) are separated by two hundredths of a second. Rockridge, Auburn, and Ridgeview have times also under 3:28. Morrison time from last week is the top sectional time.