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IESA began the state series in track and field in 1932. This will be
the 74th year for the boys. IESA began the state series for girls in
1972. This will be the 34th year for girls. A total of 226 member
schools entered the 2006 Class A state series and 96 percent, or
218, of the schools entering athletes in the qualifying sectionals
advanced at least one qualifier to the state meet. Competition in
Class 7A and Class 8A for both girls and boys will be in 14 events
for seventh graders and 14 events for eighth graders. There will be
a grand total of 56 events.
Preliminaries and finals are conducted on the same day in the
respective field events, which are spread over the two days. In the
100-meter dash and hurdles, there will be preliminaries and
semifinals on Friday, with the finals on Saturday. Timed finals are
the format in all other running events. The best times from all the
heats or sections in a respective running event determine final
places in that event.
Six field events will be contested Friday, beginning at 1 p.m.
The running events get under way Friday at 3 p.m. Competition
Saturday begins at 9 a.m. in four field events, the finals in the
100 and hurdles, and the remainder of the running events.
The complete time schedule for the weekend is available at
www.iesa.org. From the home page,
go to the
"Track and Field" link in the box on top of the home page and
then click on
"Class A Schedule." [To download Adobe Acrobat Reader for the PDF
file, click here.]
Also visit the FanZone
icon on the home page for meet information that spectators should
know.
Single-session tickets will be on sale at the stadium each day.
Tickets are priced at $5 for adults and $2 for students K-8 and
seniors.
The following area schools competed in Sectional 11 at Lewistown
High School on May 6:
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Delavan
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Easton Illini Central
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Glasford Illini
Bluffs
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Greenview
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Hartsburg-Emden
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Lewistown Central
(host)
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Lincoln Carroll
Catholic (co-op)
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Lincoln Chester-East
Lincoln
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Lincoln West Lincoln-Broadwell
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Pekin Rankin
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Pekin St. Joseph
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South Pekin
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Tremont
Here is a look at each of the four meets within the state meet.
7A girls
Two champions from last year return to defend their individual
event titles, and the chase for team honors appears to be wide open.
Emily Clay of Bloomington Cornerstone set the 7A pole vault
record last year at 7-11 and is the leading qualifier from the
sectionals at 9-0, topping a field of 19 vaulters. Brittney Algar of
Lexington won the high jump last year at 4-9 and is the
third-leading qualifier this year at 4-10. La Harpe's Tiffany Mohr
is the sectional leader at 5-1.
The one-two punch of Hannah Booker and Jamee Holmes in the 800
and 1,600 could give Tremont a springboard to the team title. Booker
is the leading qualifier in both events, and Holmes is No. 2. In the
800, Booker posted a 2:32.6 and Holmes ran 2:33.2. There are 47
runners in the 800. In the 1,600, Booker ran 5:31.0 and Holmes
5:32.4 in the sectional, with the pair leading 43 other qualifiers
by four seconds. The Turks also have the leading 4x400-meter relay,
with Holmes running the third leg and Booker anchoring. The relay
went 4:29.2 in the sectional. La Harpe qualified second with a
4:32.8.
Peoria Pleasant Valley's Kyvierra Hawkins is the leading
qualifier in the 100 and 200. She ran a 13.0 in the sectional in the
100 and 27.7 in the 200. Kaitlin Phillips of Hinckley is the leading
qualifier in the 400, where 44 runners have qualified for the state
meet. Phillips went 1:04.0, and there are four other qualifiers
under 1:05.
8A girls
Bloomington Holy Trinity will be hard-pressed to repeat as team
champion, but the Saints have one of the meet's standouts in Kelly
Curran.
Curran has a chance to earn points in three events, but the teams
to beat appear to be East St. Louis Jackson, Champaign St. Matthew
and Bismarck-Henning. Curran brings the top seed time into the 1,600
run at 5:33.50. She is third-best in the 800 at 2:33.5 and went 4-4
in the high jump.
East St. Louis Jackson is led by Alexis Fennoy, one of five 7A
champions in 2005 who return in their events in 8A this year. Fennoy
took the 100-meter hurdles last year in 16.0 and is the leading
qualifier with a 16.4 in the sectional. She has the fourth-best
qualifying mark in the 200 with a 27.9 and runs a leg on the
school's No. 1-seeded 4x100 relay.
Champaign St. Matthew is led by Alexandra Bechtel, the leading
qualifier in the 100 and 200 and a member of the leading 4x200
relay. Bechtel and Kayla Bush of Peoria Roosevelt each posted a time
of 13.0 in the 100 in the sectional. Bechtel ran 26.9 in the 200,
and the relay team posted a time of 1:55.3.
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 Bismarck-Henning's hopes rest with Jessica Brito, who won both
the 400 dash and the long jump in 7A last year. Brito is the leading
qualifier in the 400 with a time of 1:00.1. She qualified second in
the long jump at 15-4 after winning in 7A with 15-3.5. The long jump
leader is Courtney Doty of Walnut Bureau Valley North, who soared
16-1 in the sectional. Brito also is a member of her school's 4x400
relay, which qualified fifth.
The other 7A champions from last year returning in their events
in 8A are Emali Porter of Neponset in the shot put and Melanie
Thompson of Buda Bureau Valley South in the discus. Porter qualified
No. 14 in the shot with a sectional toss of 29-1. She won 7A last
year at 29-2.5. Thompson qualified third in the discus with a toss
of 95-2. She won last year in 7A with 88-5.
7A boys
Perennial team powers Hopkins Park Lorenzo Smith and Carthage
could battle for the 7A team title in a year when it appears the
race for the crown is wide open.
Dontez Pendleton leads Hopkins Park Lorenzo Smith with the No. 2
qualifying times in the 100 and 200. He also runs a leg on the No. 3
seed 4x100 relay. Pendleton posted a time of 12.2 in the 100, just a
tenth behind leader John Delaney of Buffalo Grove St. Mary's.
Pendleton is one of three in the 200 with qualifying times of 26.2,
behind the 26.1 of leader Jacob Bock of St. Joseph. The relay went
53.2 in the sectional. Buffalo Grove St. Mary's is the relay leader
at 51.4, with Delaney anchoring.
Carthage has the sectional-leading 4x200 and 4x400 relays, plus
several individual qualifiers. The 4x200 relay went 1:48.9 in the
sectional, nearly two seconds ahead of No. 2 Onarga Iroquois West at
1:50.8. The 4x400 relay went 4:05.2 in the sectional, more than two
seconds ahead of No. 2 Mansfield Blue Ridge Junior High at 4:07.8.
Carthage should also get points from Ser Whitaker in the 110
hurdles, where he is the No. 4 seed at 17.8, and Erick Klein in the
400 dash, where he is the No. 2 seed at 59.5.
Damon Hoene of Sigel St. Michael's is the leading qualifier in
the 800 and 1,600. He went 2:19.3 in the 800 and 5:06.1 in the
1,600. Rob Kinnick of Chrisman Scottland is the No. 1 qualifier in
the long jump with a sectional mark of 18-2.5. The next best is a
16-11 from Bryn Price from Neoga. Judson Wienke of Tuscola East
Prairie is the leader in the shot put and discus. Wienke posted a
45-8 in the shot and a 139-6 in the discus.
8A boys
Heyworth, Lexington and Metamora St. Mary's are the favorites to
claim the 8A team title. Each school has a standout performer, and
the one who competes best this weekend could bring the title to his
school.
In a meet where 10 of last year's 7A individual event champions
return, the relays could decide which school wins the team title.
Heyworth has the No. 3-seeded 4x100 team, which went 49.1 in the
sectional. The leader is Easton Illini Central with a 48.9.
Lexington has the No. 20-seeded 4x200 relay and the No. 1-seeded
4x400 relay. Lexington's sectional time of 3:52.6 in the 4x400 is
almost two seconds better than No. 2 seed Stewardson-Strasburg's
3:54.1. Metamora St. Mary's has the No. 34-seeded 4x200 relay and
the No. 24 seed in the 4x400 relay.
Metamora St. Mary's is led by Ryan Van Fossen, who is the No. 3
qualifier in the 800 and the No. 1 qualifier in the 1,600, and Ryan
Donnelly, who is the No. 4 qualifier in the 800 and the No. 3
qualifier in the 1600. Van Fossen, last year's 7A champion in the
1,600 in a time of 4:59.55, posted a time of 4:51.8 in the
sectional, five seconds ahead of No. 2 seed Andrew Schultz of
Heyworth at 4:56.7 and teammate Donnelly at 4:56.8. Van Fossen's
time of 2:13.8 in the 800 is two seconds behind T.J. Stinde of
Lexington, last year's 800 champion, who posted a 2:11.6 in the
sectional.
Lexington's Stinde also is the leading qualifier in the 400 with
a 54.1 in the sectional. Last year's 7A champion, Tanner Ewing of
Wyoming Stark County, qualified with the No. 5 seed time of 55.0.
Leading Heyworth is workhorse Jase Wilson, who won both the 100
and 200 in the 7A meet last year in record times and who is back in
both those events, along with the shot put. Wilson is the No. 1 seed
in the 100 with a time of 11.6, after setting the 7A record of 11.82
last year. Wilson is the No. 2 seed in the 200, with an identical
seed time of 24.3 posted by Brandon Brewer of Hopkins Park Lorenzo
Smith. Wilson set the 7A record of 24.18 last year. He anchors the
Heyworth 4x100 relay and is the No. 5 seed in the shot put with a
sectional mark of 42-1.
Other champions in 7A last year qualifying in their events this
year are Kam Mason of Fisher in the 100 hurdles with the No. 4 seed
time of 16.3; Marshall Link of Colchester West Prairie in the pole
vault with the No. 7 seed at 8-0; Bailee Ricketts of Elmwood in the
high jump with the No. 2 seed at 5-9; Tyler Link of Stronghurst West
Central, who won for Biggsville Union last year, with the No. 12
seed in long jump at 17-10; and Dillon Holloway of Brownstown, the
No. 1 seed in the shot put with a mark of 50-10. Holloway's
sectional mark is one inch farther than the current 8A record.
Holloway also is the No. 2 seed in the discus at 131-2.
[IESA news release] |
