2023 IHSA State Track & Field Championships – Class 2A Boys Meet Storylines

 

By Michael Newman

 

Hogan, Nalley face off (again) in the 3200 Meter Run

We may want to remember this weekend this fall during the cross-country season. It should be memorable with three of the top Class 2A runners in the state facing off.

 

Ethan Hogan of Columbia was starting to figure out what running was all about during last fall’s cross country season. The fall season ended when he finished sixth in the 1A race at the IHSA State Cross Country Championships. His track season has picked up in a big way this spring with a 4:09.92 for the mile at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. He dropped his 3200 Meter Run in a big way running 8:49.61 at Arcadia. As a sophomore last spring ran 9;43.48 for the 3200 Meter Run and 4:31.63 for the 1600 Meter Run. He “just” earned all-state honors finishing ninth in the 2A 3200 Meter Run last May. Hogan should be finishing higher this weekend.

 

Injuries have been the main story for Dylan Nalley of Marion. The junior missed all of his sophomore cross-country season due to injury. He did race all of his sophomore season finishing fourth at last year’s state meet in the 3200 Meter Run with a best of 9:28.42 in the process. Nalley exploded last fall after a good summer of training. He went undefeated against Illinois runners including running 14:03 at Detweiller Park at the beginning of October. Nalley won 2A State in November, but his time was 1:44.7 on an extremely muddy course. As Hogan started doing what he was doing, there was no sign of Nalley. Another injury put him out for most of the track season. He showed at his conference meet he was ready to race since he ran in Kenosha at Champs Midwest running a solo double of 9:19.83 in the 3200 Meter Run and 4:28.62 in the 1600 Meter Run.

 

Dale Johnson of Sterling has rocketed to the front of the Class 2A distance front in the last couple of months. He finished 22 seconds behind Nalley at last November’s state meet. His times started to drop indoors finishing third behind Hogan in the 3200 Meter Run and second in the 1600 Meter Run at Illinois Top Times. The 9:28/4:21 double in this meet showed he was ready to step up. His big race was at Distance Night of Palatine where he stayed within the lead for most of the race running 9:16.73 to finish second in the 2 Mile Run (9:13.71 for 3200-meters). His sectional performance was impressive running a double of 9:19.54 for 3200-meters and a personal best of 4:19.26 in winning the 1600 Meter Run. He has shown this season he is in great shape. He is ready to show how good he is on Friday and Saturday.

 

Hogan and Nalley faced off last Thursday at the Salem Sectional in both the 3200 and 1600. Hogan ran 9:10.19 for the win with Nalley second (9:16.33).

 

There will be competition behind these three runners. Mac Kittrell of DePaul Prep ran 9:17.95 at Palatine and could be the closest to these three. Julian Baker of Mt. Zion and Joe Schwartz of Waterloo have times under 9:30.

 

It is hard to say how this race plays out. All of the front three long for a fast pace. I would love to see a time under 9-minutes, but fast times at a state meet are unpredictable. Riley McInerney ran 9:08.44 to set the Class 2A State Meet record. The record should fall unless it gets too tactical. I don’t think that will happen with this group, but I can’t predict it. All I know is it will be fun to watch on Saturday just after high noon.

 

Now add Genisio to the field in the 1600 Meter Run

It was a look of exhaustion that embraced the face of Gavin Genisio of Benton after finishing the 1600 Meter Run at last year’s state meet. He had run a personal best of 1:53.15 to finish second 90 minutes before in the 800 Meter Run. That race took him out of contention in the 1600 Meter Run as he dropped behind Wilson Georges to finish fifth.

 

He followed that up a week later at Magis Miles in Chicago  winning the 1 Mile Run (4:09.23) going through 1600-meters in 4:07.71.

 

Genisio got his first state title last November in winning the 1A State Meet title in the mud of Detweiller Park. He was greedy for a state title. Not that greedy. He signed up for sectionals for the 800 Meter Run and 1600 Meter Run for the Salem Sectional. This time he scratched out of the 800 to focus on the 1600 Meter Run.

 

The junior ran 4:11.05 indoors and 4:13.77 outdoors. Scratching out of the 800 Meter Run meant that he would not be doubling back at either the sectional or state meets. The sectional race played out perfectly as Genisio pulled away from Hogan and Nalley to win the 1600 Meter Run in a season’s best of 4:09.65. Hogan was 10 seconds back in 4:19.26; Nalley was third in 4:25.68.

 

The idea of running in just one race paid off for Wilson Georges when he blew away the field running 4:08.65 2A State Meet Record. The one race attitude could also make a difference Friday and then Saturday. The first heat on Friday features Dale Johnson along with Grayden Rill of Fenwick, Mac Kittrell of DePaul Prep, and Jackson Collman of Bethalto Civic Memorial. Hogan and Nalley will be part of the second heat that will also feature Patrick Hilby of Aurora Central Catholic who will be doubling back from the 800 Meter Run and Cale Smith of Decatur Eisenhower. The third heat features Genisio with Joe Schwartz, Julian Baker, and Charlie Richardson of DePaul Prep.

 

It could be déjà vu for fans in the stands. Last year it was Georges running against the clock for a title. On late Saturday afternoon, it could be Genisio chasing after Georges’ ghost.

 

A choice for the good for Aurora Central Catholic’s Hilby

Patrick Hilby made a charge for the finish in the 800 Meter Run at last year’s state meet falling short of Gavin Genisio to finish third in the race. He came right back to run 50.16 to finish sixth in the 400 Meter Dash.

 

Hilby had played football for his school for the past two years. He made the decision instead of going to summer football camp, Hilby would exchange his cleats for spikes and run cross-country during the fall.

 

It seems the decision paid off for him. Hilby was all-state in last November’s 2A State Meet finishing 20th. He looks stronger now and it shows in his races. He won indoors at Illinois Top Times in March with a 1:54.71. He dropped his time down to 1:52.32 to win over a great field in the 800 Meter Run. He has also dropped his 1600 time down to 4:18.84.

 

Genisio’s decision to just run in the 1600 Meter Run has opened a door for Hilby as the favorite in the 800 Meter Run. He will also run in the 1600 Meter Run and the 4x400m Relay. Hilby has a three second advantage ahead of the rest of the field. Caden Emmert of Sycamore leads four runners within in a second of each other that includes Payton Whitehead of Kales, Reese Dusek of Dunlap, and Mekeye Lomax of Marion.

 

Sprints gone wild in Class 2A

Get to O’Brien Field early Friday morning so you do not miss some of the top sprinters in action in the state in the 2A preliminary session. There are a number of great matchups in all three sprint events.

 

Jaylon Morrow of Kankakee will attempt to win all three sprint events in this meet. He raced against Braydon Waller of Marian Catholic last week at the Kankakee Sectional. Both ran state leading 10.56 times. Waller won the race after photo review. Chris Nelson of Herrin was a surprise winner last year in this meet as a freshman. His win Thursday at the Salem Sectional display he is ready to defend his title. Nathan Hippard of Mascoutah ran 10.61 earlier in the season. He did not have his best race at Salem finishing fourth. He is still a runner to keep an eye on in Friday’s prelims.

 

Nolan Mihas of Burlington Central had a big race at Genoa-Kingston last week running 10.66 and could be a surprise in Charleston. Cameron Williams of Glenbard South and Rasheed Johnson of Boylan Catholic ran personal bests last week and could be in line to finish in the top six. There are at least 17 runners that legitimately could make the finals. Too bad there are only nine finalists.

 

Enter the 400 Meter Dash, enter defending 2A champion Jackson Gilbert of Urbana in this event. He has only run this event three times this outdoor season in which all of them were under 48-seconds. His fastest came at his conference meet where he ran 47.18 which is among the top 40 runners in the nation.

 

This field should be good, but it could be hard to beat Gilbert in Charleston. He is almost one second ahead of the rest of the field. DeAngelo Hughley of Mahomet-Seymour ran 48.04 last week at Mattoon and could be the closest to Gilbert. Jayon Morrow ran 48.98 two weeks ago. He is in the groove to peak which we will see in the prelims and the finals. Devion Montgomery and Quentin Stepney of East St. Louis-Senior are runners you should see in the finals both with times under 50 seconds.

 

Gilbert, Waller, and Morrow ran within 13 hundredth of a second of each other in their sectional meets. Gilbert ran 21.24 at Mattoon to win ahead of Hughley (21.47). Waller and Morrow raced again at Kankakee at this distance. It was not as close as it was in the 100 Meter Dash. This time it was only five hundredth of a second with Waller again winning.

 

If the individual sprints would be exciting, the three sprint relays should be just as close. The 4x100m Relay is proof of that as four teams are within 12 hundredth of a second. East St. Louis-Senior ran the fastest 2A time (41.88) last week at East Alton-Wood River. Troy Triad (41.89), Urbana (41.92), and Herrin (42.00) are the next three teams ready to win. Mascoutah finished behind Herrin at Salem (42.18). They could all be in the mix for the win.

 

Troy Triad had a monster race in their sectional in the 4x200 Meter Relay (1:27.78) defeating Cahokia by a second and East St. Louis-Senior by another two seconds. The Flyers have the second fastest time in Class 2A run at Collinsville almost three weeks ago. A number of teams have a chance to get close to Triad but not the way that the Knights have been running lately. Herrin, Sterling, Morton, Tolono Unity, Galesburg, and Mt. Zion are teams to watch  for. All of those teams are under 1:29.50.

 

It should come down to the two area rivals East St. Louis-Senior and Cahokia for the 4x400m Relay on the last event on Saturday. The two teams faced off last week in their sectional with the flyers winning by almost three seconds. They have gone under 3:20 with a 3:19.61 2A leading time three weeks ago. The battle will be for second behind East St. Louis will between Cahokia, Urbana, Champaign Central, and Mahomet-Seymour all who have times under 3:25.

 

Migas looks to climb higher in the Pole Vault

It is unordinary to see an athlete win a state meet in the Pole Vault or as a sophomore. It shows that they have the mettle, the goods to climb higher in clearing the bar when the pressure is on the line.  Paul Migas of Lakes is one of those athletes in this event.

 

The junior had a great season in 2022 winning a state title and earning All-American honors both in the indoor and outdoor national meets. Migas achieved a personal best of 16-1 indoors at the Millrose Games in February.

 

He cleared 15-5 to win his state title last year. He may have to climb higher to defend his title on Saturday.

 

Migas cleared 15-11 to win at the Belvidere Sectional last week and is currently ranked #3 in Class 2A.

 

There are two athletes that are ahead of him with overall bests that have their mind on state titles. Kyle Hensley of Mt. Zion is the leader in Class 2A. The senior went over 16-feet for the first time clearing 16-4.75 last week at Mattoon. Cooper Schaad of Geneseo cleared 16-1.75 at Rock Island on April 21. He has not competed since that meet. He won his home sectional but only cleared 14-1.25. We will see if he competes or is healthy, or how high he flies in this meet.

 

Tony Keene of Harrisburg and Daniel Eberle of Aurora Central could both challenge for a top three finish. Both have marks over 15-0 this season.

 

TRACK NOTES

Only three athletes ran under 15-seconds heading into last week’s sectional meets. By the time we were completed last Friday, that number had climbed to seven. Demarlynn Taylor of East St. Louis-Senior led this event in Class 2A most of the season having run 14.57 at Belleville West at the beginning of April.

 

The two times came last week at Kankakee with winds at 2.4 m/s deeming the times wind aided. Ajani Rush of Hillcrest won that race with a 4.30 time. Michael VanHootegam of Marian Catholic was second with a 14.31 time. Rush’s previous best was 14.63 at Lockport on May 5. VanHootegam ran 14.54 two weeks ago at his conference meet.

 

Keshawn Lyons of Cahokia, Antonio Mack of Mascoutah, Jaden Bosse of Mt. Carmel, and Christian Kronk of Columbia all have times under 15-seconds.

 

Taylor ran 37.94 and Lyons ran 38.81 in their showdown in their sectional meet last week. The two are the favorites in this event. VanHootegam, Kronk, and Harper Bryan of Glenbard South all have times entering the prelims under 40 seconds.

 

Sterling has the fastest time in Class 2A (7:53.13) but that was run with their star Dale Johnson in their lineup. He did not run last week in the sectional meet. He is on the team’s relay card.

 

Defending 2A champion Lincoln will have a different lineup due to graduation but did run the 2A #2 time (7:55.81) last week at Lincoln. Marion ran 7:56.92 to win last week at Marion. Champaign Central, who won indoors at Illinois Top Times, will be a force in the event. Glenbard South, Bethalto Civic Memorial, Urbana, and Payton Prep are teams to watch in this relay.

 

FIELD EVENT NOTES

The one athlete that could stand out in the field events might be Nicholas DeLoach of Cahokia. The senior was all-state in three field events last season including winning the Triple Jump. He should be the big favorite again in this event. DeLoach jumped 47-2.25 in his sectional. Two weeks before that, he jumped 47-9.25. He has over a two feet lead ahead of the rest of the field that incudes Jayden Liese of Montini Catholic, Jayson Simmons of Hillcrest, and Lorenzo Cutler-Johnson of Cahokia.

 

Two sophomores lead the way in the High Jump led by Matt Pluff of Freeburg and Frederick Hassan of Kaneland. Pluff cleared 6-9 in a home meet on April 11. He has cleared over 6-5 twice this year. Once was indoors, the other was two weeks ago in his conference meet. Hassan is the hot jumper having cleared 6-7.25 last week at Genoa Kingston. DeLoach is one of the top five athletes from the sectionals. Drew Tucker of Metamora, Drew Rogers of Paris, and Gavyn Cothern of Richland County are athlete to watch to challenge for the win.

 

Broc Grogan of Morris jumped a sectional leading 23-2.25 in winning at Geneseo last week. Cameron Williams of Glenbard South has the top 2A mark this spring jumping 24-3.75 at the DuPage County Championships at the beginning of the month. Adrian Washington of Joliet Catholic and Aidan Wyzard of Sycamore could also challenge for the win.

 

Chase Crawford of Cahokia is having a great senior season that could end with a state championship in the Shot Put. Crawford achieved an outdoor best of 62-7.5 last week in his sectional and will be one of the favorites. David Russell of Illinois Valley Central has a 62-2.75 achieved at his conference meet three weeks ago. He will put pressure on Crawford this weekend. Caleb Smith of Salem and JehChys Brown of Centralia have gone over 59 feet this year and have the talent to win a state title.

 

Smith has thrown 186-6.25 in the Discus to lead this event in Class 2A. Russell and Smith all have throws over 178-feet and will challenge for the win.