Ja'Mari Ward (above) leaps a new IHSA State Meet Record in Friday's prelims. Ward was a part of 40 of Cahokia's 119 point total captured their fifth straight 2A team championship. (Photo: Tom Skelly)

Ward special in double jumps win; new 2A records for Eiker, Ege, and Bruno

By Michael Newman

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Charleston, Ill --- There was a look of joy on Cahokia Coach Leroy Milsap’s face as her watched his athletes take pictures with their 2A state championship trophy in Lantz Fieldhouse. He was also reflecting on what happened on the O’Brien Stadium track Saturday afternoon. Cahokia won their fifth straight 2A championship scoring an amazing 119 points. Burlington Central, Champaign Centennial, and Galesburg all tied for second with 37 points. Add the scores of the tree teams together and they still would not surpass Cahokia.

This was perhaps the most dominant performance by a team in IHSA state meet history. It also showed that they are the top team in the state regardless of classification. Some may want to debate that but facts are facts. This is the second time in three years that Cahokia has qualified 18 athletes to the state meet. In 2013, they advanced all of their qualifiers to the Saturday Finals. If it were not for Keondre Wells clipping the final hurdle of the 300 Hurdles and failing to qualify, Cahokia would have repeated the 2013 feat. The status of the program at the top is something that the Cahokia coach feels strongly about.

“This is the best team that I have ever had since I have been here. They proved it at this state meet this weekend,” Milsap said. “This team has been disrespected the last three or four years. There are a bunch of 3A schools that think that just because we are a 2A school, we are not the best. Our kids worked extra hard this year to prove that they are the best team in the state regardless of what class they are in.”

Their point total started to grow in the Friday prelims form national leading horizontal jumper Ja’Mari Ward. He took care of business on Friday putting up unapproachable marks that his competition would not be able to touch enabling himself to concentrate on the relays on Saturday. His third jump in the prelims of the Long Jump was a thing pf beauty even though he missed the board. He broke Oscar Wallace’s 46 year old IHSA state meet record when he jumped 25-0 ¼. In the Triple Jump, he surpassed the 2A record by two feet jumping 50-6. The jump was aided by a 2.4 wind. Too much wind meant no record. Immediately after the jump, Ward looked to the stands looking for his coaching asking if he could take one more jump. Milsap replied, “Go ahead. Let’s see what you can do.” Ward hit the board but barely fouled. The jump was close to 52 feet.

The energy that Ward saved on the jumps on Saturday was used in the two sprint relays that he would compete in. Cahokia and Phillips Academy were close to each other as Ward received the baton. He pulled away from Phillips’ Dwayne Collins in the final 50 meters to give Cahokia the win and a new IHSA Meet Record (41.12). Phillips was also under the 2A record running 41.46. Galesburg, with Josh Eiker anchoring, also was under 42 seconds (41.94) finishing third. The story was the same in the 800 Meter Relay. Ward ran second and piled up a huge lead for his teammates. Chrishawn Crosby and Keveion Akins brought it home as Cahokia ran more than a second better than they had run this year. The Comanches crossed the line in a new IHSA Meet record 1:25.83 to win by almost two seconds ahead of Galesburg (1:27.56). Hillcrest (1:27.77) and Evergreen Park (1:27.81) finished third and fourth also running under 1:28.

That will be the last time that you most likely will see Ward in a relay for Cahokia at the state meet. Milsap stated on Friday that his star pupil will be concentrating on individual sprints in 2016. Ward confirmed that after the meet.

If that does happen, it could make the 2016 2A sprints one for the ages. In 2015 at this state meet, it was Josh Eiker that was completely in charge setting two new 2A meet records. In the 100 Meter Dash, Eiker and Dion Hooker (Sycamore HS) came out of the blocks even. Eiker pulled away in the last 50 meters to run 10.57 for the win. Keveion Akins caught Hooker to place second (10.81 – 10.84). Eiker had a big lead coming out of the curve in the 200 Meter Dash. He broke his own 2A record by eight hundredths of a second running 21.20 for the win. Akins (21.66) and Vincent Gordon (Centennial HS, Champaign), a junior who is running track for the first time this year, ran 21.93 to finish third.

One of the biggest things that Milsap was proud of the most from his Cahokia team at this meet is that they won the 3200 Meter Relay for the first time in the school’s history. Cahokia and Johnsburg were even heading into the final 800 meters of the race. Tyran Lyons ran a 1:58.1 final leg to pull away from Johnsburg’s Matt Stelmasek to give Cahokia a seasonal best 7:53.83 win by a second ahead of Johnsburg (7:54.59). Metamora finished third (7:58.55).

Cahokia finished their sweep of the relays setting a new 2A record (3:17.57). Burlington Central’s Lucas Ege edged Rich Central’s Christian Williams for second by seven hundredths of a second (3:20.19 – 3:20.26).

Ege was one of the big reasons why Burlington Central took home a trophy from Charleston as he swept both hurdle races. Ege was disappointed after his prelim heat on Friday that he sat too long in the blocks. That did not happen in Saturday’s finals. He got off to a great start slightly ahead of Korrion Session (Cahokia HS) over the first four hurdles. Ege moved away from Session to run a seasonal best 14.15 to win ahead of Session (14.44) and Gamar Hayles (Rich Central HS, Olympia Fields) who ran 14.75 to finish third. The Burlington Central defended his 2A title but not without some competition. He had the lead coming out of the curve, but on his inside freshman Deion McShane (Freeport HS) crept up on him. Ege pulled away on the final two hurdles to break his own 2A record running 37.10 to defeat McShane (37.43).

The other 2A record came in the 1600 Meter Run. Alexander Bruno (Normal University HS) took the lead in the final lap, then held off Sal Flight (Fenwick HS, Oak Park) and Lance Mueller (Waterloo HS) in the final 100 meters for the win and a new 2A record (4:14.51). Flight was also under the old 2A record (4:15.96) to finish second. Mueller ran a personal best 4:16.67 to finish third.

Connor Stine (Olympia HS, Stanford) led wire to wire to win the 800 Meter Run. Stine led the pack through the first 400 in 56.8, then withheld challenges from Nick Wondall (Illiana Christian HS, Lansing) and Tim Krashevsky (Vernon Hills HS) in the next 250 meters. Stine pulled away to run 1:54.43 to win by two seconds ahead of Wondall (1:56.73), Krashevsky (1:56.74), and Effingham’s Sean Zerrusen (1:56.75).

The 3200 had Luke Beattie doing the yeomen’s leading in the warm and humid conditions that the race was run in. Colin DeYoung (Illiana Christian HS, Lansing) took over pulling away from Alex Keeble (Mahomet-Seymour HS) to win the state championship (9:21.63) three seconds ahead of Keeble (9:24.49). Beattie finished third (9:26.06) ahead of fourth place Walmer Saavedra (Lindblom HS, Chicago). The top four finishers in this race are all juniors giving high expectations in this event in 2016.

The High Jump was “highly” competitive as the top eight finishers cleared 6-6 or higher. Hunter Johnson (Frankfort HS, West Frankfort) won the state championship on fewer misses ahead of Noah Agnew (Vernon Hills HS). Both athletes cleared 6-9.

The biggest surprise in the 2A meet was the performance of Danny Walker (Kaneland HS, Maple Park) in winning the Pole Vault. The sophomore had a 14-0 personal best that he achieved at his conference meet. In Saturday’s competition, it came down to Walker and Bloomington Central Catholic’s Joe Bevilaqua with both clearing 14-3. Walker took it a step higher improving his personal best nine inches to clear 14-9 and earn a state championship.

Sam Sikon (Carbondale HS) completed a sweep of the 2A weight events. In the Shot Put, Sikon improved four feet on his 57-1 ¾ prelim mark with a 61-0 ¼ put to win the event by four feet ahead of Daniall Akins (Cahokia HS). Sikon also improved on his prelim throw in the Discus improving ten feet throwing 174-7 on his final throw. He won the event by nine feet ahead of Kane Carrigan (Harrisburg HS).