By Michael Newman

With a few exceptions, the 1A Boys meet at the Shirk Center should have some of the top athletes in that Class ready to claim bragging rights on their events (for indoors at least). We still have a long way to go of course.

Kyle Landon (Chester HS, Chester) could be the premiere athlete to watch in the boys’ side of the meet. The senior had a great meet last week at Charleston clearing 7-0 in the High Jump tying him for the top mark indoors in the event nationally.

Could he go higher on Friday night? It will be something that fans will be watching for around the High Jump pit. There will be other great events that will be “must-see” events during session 1 of this meet.

Here is a look at the events in the Boys 1A Meet Friday evening.

On the track...

3200 Meter Run – This event will be missing two top runners on the leaderboard. Grant Nykaza (Beecher HS, Beecher) will be competing at the Florida State Relays this weekend while Nick Hess (St. Thomas-More HS, Champaign) will be focusing on the 4 x 8 Relay and the 1600 Meter Run.

The favorite in this event will be Jesse Hahne (Schlarman HS, Danville). Hahne ran his time at the beginning of the month at Carbondale (9:36.79). The race strategy may be similar to last year. Steve Schroeder of Monticello just ran his race and Hahne tried to hold on. He did run 9:36. We could see the same strategy with Hahne dictating the pace.

The next closest qualifier Ethan Duclose (Red Bud HS, Red Bud IL) has run 9:54 some 18 seconds back. It could be a race for second with Duclose, Luke Hill (Marquette HS, Ottawa), Kevin Claus (Riverdale HS, Port Byron), and Kenny Heaton (Sparta HS, Sparta) being his nearest competitors.

4 x 800 Meter Relay – Calling St. Thomas More the favorites in this event could be an understatement. The Sabers have the fastest time in the event by 19 seconds over Shelbyville. St. Thomas More has the eight fastest time overall in this event in the state. Shelbyville has a talented quartet, but will they be close to STM?

St. Joseph-Ogden, Byron, Urbana University, Deer Creek-Mackinaw, and Pleasant Plains will be some of the teams that will be challenging Shelbyville. I could see St. Thomas More running 8:02 or faster on Friday night.

60 Meter High Hurdles – Marlon Britton (Leo Catholic HS, Chicago) opened eyes when he ran the fastest time last Sunday in the state at the Chicago Catholic League Championships. He will be pushed by fellow CCL athlete Joe Morrow (Hales Franciscan HS, Chicago) and Peyton Holmes (Mercer County HS, Aledo). Britton had a clean run last week over the hurdles to run that time. With Morrow and Holmes close to him, he will need that type of race to keep it close.

Other athletes to watch in this event include Jalen Hemphill (Hales Franciscan HS, Chicago), Jason Bliven (Wesclin HS, Trenton), and Cedric Wynne (Leo HS, Chicago).

60 Meter Dash – Obviously the closest race of the night when sprint races are determined by eyelashes, this could be even closer. There are three sprinters that are equal that could walk away with the win.

Devin Johnson (Erie –Prophetstown HS, Erie) ran 7.06 at Rock Falls at the beginning of the month. He has the fastest time in the 60. Nick Rude (Newman Catholic HS, Sterling)  is close behing in 7.10 and will be close to Johnson. Corey Pryor (Leo Catholic HS, Chicago) ran 6.60 last week at CCL. Watch for him Friday night.

Others to watch include Brent Albertson (Flanagan-Cornell HS, Flanagan), Nathan Fippinger (Mercer County, Aledo), Carvel Dixon (Madison HS, Madison), and Eli Miller (Shelbyville HS, Shelbyville). We could see an under 7 second time winning in this race on Friday.

800 Meter Run – Blake Hale (Robinson HS, Robinson) has the fastest time in the state. He also has the fastest time in 1A by four seconds over Sam Powers (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign). Powers, I think, will be closer in this race. Michael Brown (Carmi-White County HS, Carmi) was last year’s surprise at the state meet when he had the fastest qualifying time. He has run 2:01 at the beginning of the month at Carbondale. He also has the ability to push Hale. With runners pushing him in this race, we could see the winning times in the low 1:56’s or perhaps lower.

Other runners to watch in this race include Sean Kelley (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign), Cory Powers (Shelbyville HS, Shelbyville), George Gunther (University HS, Urbana), and Jackson Halsmer (Byron HS, Byron).

4 x 200 Meter Relay – It will be a benefit for Leo Catholic that they run against bigger schools heading into this meet. Last week at the CCL, they got good exchanges as they ran 1:34.56 to place second behind 3A St. Rita. Conference rival Hales Franciscan will push Leo in this race. Also watch for Sterling Newman Catholic to be a factor in this race. They have been running hot the last couple of weeks led by Nick Rude.

Other teams to watch include Mercer County, Eureka, Tuscola, and Knoxville. Winning times in the high 1:33’s is what I expect.

400 Meter Dash – This is a wide open event where many of the athletes are newcomers. After this race, they could be a household name. Kyle Blievernicht (Teutopolis HS, Teutoplis) won the small school section of the Charleston Invitational. The 52.53 is the fastest time so far in Class 1A. Logan Ross (North Greene HS, White Hall) and Joshua Hennig (Lutheran HS, Springfield) look to be the two athletes that are closest to Blievernicht.

One newcomer in this event is Nicholas Meunier (Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley HS, Gibson City). The freshman ran 53.20 at an USATF event at Principia College. Recognize the name? Well, his sister Sydni was a multi all state performer for the school including state championships in the 800 & 1600. Keep an eye on him Friday evening.

Also watch in this event for Morgan Flynn (Williamsville HS, Williamsville), Brett Charlton (Eureka HS, Eureka), and Corey Pryor (Leo Catholic HS,Chicago). A winning time in the mid 51’s would not be out of the question in this race.

1600 Meter Run – With 1A time leader Grant Nykaza racing in Florida this weekend, the dynamics of how this race will play out will change. Jesse Hahne (Schlarman HS, Danville) has the fastest returning time in this meet (4:28.75). That was run last week at Gene Armer. How much energy Hahne exerts in the 3200 will determine his race strategy here. Connor Ehnle finished 2^nd to Nykaza last week at Charleston and will be a factor in this race. Nick Hess (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign) will be coming back from the 4x8 and could be the one to force the pace.

Two other runners from St. Thomas More, Jacob Helfich and Sam Powers, are in the event. We could see some team tactics. Other runners that I would watch for include Daniel Plunkett (Pleasant Plains HS, Pleasant Plains) Drew Knipfer (St. Joseph-Ogden HS, St. Joseph), Cory Landon (Carlinville HS, Carlinville), and Hayden Young (Paxton-Buckley-Loda HS, Paxton).

200 Meter Dash – Brent Albertson (Flanagan-Cornell HS, Flanagan) has worked to become a great 200 Meter Dash runner. Last year at the Erie Sectional, he finished fourth and failed to qualify for state in this event. He did go on to finish fifth in state in the 100 Meter Dash. So far this season, Albertson has been the man in the 200 recording the fastest 1A time (22.78) last week at the Gene Armer Invitational.

This is a great field. Joe Morrow (Hales Franciscan HS, Chicago), Nick Rude (Newman Catholic HS, Sterling), and Devin Johnson (Erie Prophetstown HS, Erie) are three athletes that I would keep a close eye on Friday. There are all capable of winning this event.

Other runners that I would keep an eye on include Broc Smith (Tuscola HS, Tuscola), Derek Williamson (Neoga HS, Neoga), and Riley McClendon (Leo Catholic HS, Chicago).

4 x 400 Meter Relay – The last race on the track Friday evening is wide open. Eureka has the fastest 1A time in the state after last week’s win at the Silver Streak Invitational. Deer Creek-Mackinaw was in that race and would like to get another chance at beating Eureka.

Robinson, Oregon, and Erie-Prophetstown are three more quartets that could pull off the win in this event. Also watch for Netwon and Pleasant Plains to be a factor in this race as well.

The field events...

Long Jump – It is not as dramatic as outdoors when Kyle Landon (Chester HS, Chester) has to go between the jumps runway and the High Jump pit. With the two events being held at the same time, you could see Landon shuttling between the two. The Chester senior has the longest 1A jump so far this season (21-7).

This could be a close event. Michael Randall (Knoxville HS, Knoxville) has been the surprise in the Long Jump so far this season. He did not have a mark that made the TFX lists the first two years. However this year he has come out with a bang jumping 21-6 at the Titan Invitational. Devin Johnson (Erie-Prophetstown HS, Erie) has big meet experience in the jump. His PR in this event is 22-11 outdoors. Also keep an eye on Corey Kersey (Neoga HS, Neoga), Kyle Kleeman (Carlinville HS, Carlinville), and Austin Kidwell (Watseka HS, Watseka).

Triple Jump – Kyle Landon is in this event but not the favorite. Corey Kersey (Neoga HS, Neoga) had only jumped 42-10 last year outdoors as a freshman. The sophomore had a great meet last weekend at Charleston winning the event in 44-0, the best in 1A so far this season.

Cedric Wynne (Leo Catholic HS, Chicago) could be Kersey’s toughest competition. Other Triple Jumpers to watch include Matt McDonald (Dupo HS, Dupo), Kyle Kleeman (Carlinville HS, Carlinville), and Eric Rydell (St. Joseph-Ogden HS, St. Joseph). It should take in the mid 43’s to win this event.

High Jump – Should there be any other favorite than Kyle Landon (Chester HS, Chester)? I think the question should be will there be a letdown after he cleared 7-0 at the Charleston Invitational last weekend. After clearing that height, that may free his mind from that 7-0 barrier and go higher this week.

The next closest jumper is the 6-4 height that TJ Henry (Rockridge HS, Taylor Ridge). But I think this competition will be for second. Watch also for Bjorn Adden (Pleasant Plains HS, Pleasant Plains), Alex McCrite (Egypitian HS, Tamms), and Kyle Hardy (Eureka). Another thing to watch is if Landon will enter the event after all the jumpers are out.

Pole Vault – Will we see Adam Coulon (Tri-Valley HS, Downs) go after 16-0 this week? Last week at the Gene Armer Invitational, he set the national indoor mark for a freshman clearing 15-6 ½.  He is not a lock in this event however. Jack Denby (Carlinville HS, Carlinville) cleared 15-0 at the beginning of the month at Jacksonville. He could be the chief competition. The freshman is vaulting more like a senior pressure wise. Last week, he was in a battle with Tyler Ginger and prevailed. We could see the same thing happen here.

Riley Smith and Josh Blume (Casey-Westfield HS, Casey) are two vaulters that will be in contention for a top finish. Other athletes to watch as well include Nathan O’Conner (Tremont HS, Tremont), Kolton Merritt (Eureka HS, Eureka), Matt McCoy (Lewistown HS, Lewistown), and Matt McCullen (Byron HS, Byron).

Shot Put – Ryan Pearce (Villa Grove HS, Villa Grove) made his season debut (55-7 ½) last week at the Charleston Invitational winning the event by seven feet. He is the overwhelming favorite in this event with the next closest competitor (Taylor Roberts, ROWVA HS, Oneida) over four feet behind.

Others to watch include Ben Foster (Annawan HS, Annawan), Jonah Waler (Aurora Christian HS, Aurora), and Stephen Gibson (Tuscola HS, Tuscola).

Good Luck Friday to all athletes, coaches and fans!