Glueck sets meet record in Long Jump; Zacharias wins in meet record in Pole Vault; Charlton breaks 60 m record

By Michael Newman

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Bloomington, Ill ---If the competition in the 1A meet of the Illinois Top Times Championships is any indication of what is to come, then fans should anticipate a festive Saturday at the Shirk Center.

Two meet records were broken within the first two hours of competition in the 1A meet. It started in the Girls Long Jump, Amelia Glueck (Tremont HS) soared out to a season best of 18-2 to establish a new meet record. Later in the Girls Pole Vault, Morgan Zacharias (Reed-Custer HS, Braidwood) cleared 12-3 ¼ to establish another meet record.

In the 60 Meter Dash, Brett Charlton (Eureka HS) broke Nick Rude’s meet record running 7.00 to win the race.

Here is a look of what happened Friday evening in the 1A Meet

Sprints

A malfunction with the gun at the beginning of one of the Girls hurdle races forced the meet organizers to run the finals in two sections. To accommodate some of the athletes that would be coming back in the next race, the 55 Meter Dash, the fast section was run first. Jenny Kimbro (Jamaica COOP) got off to a great start to win the first section in 9.18 seconds. Peyton Wade (Aurora Christian) finished second (9.42). Kimbro rushed back to the starting line to participate in the 60 Meter Finals. She finished seventh. In the 60 final, Danielle Crawley (Sherrard HS) got off to a great start to hold off Glueck for the win (7.95-7.99).

Miranda Marry (Fisher HS) finished third in that race. She did not have to take a back seat to the other sprinters in the 400 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash. Marry took the lead at the break in the final section of the 400 Meter Dash. For the next half a lap, she held off Amanda McClain (Sullivan HS) from passing her. She broke away in the final 50 meters to win the race over McClain (57.83-58.27).

In the 200 Meter Dash, Marry got off to a great start making up the stagger on the far turn. She came down the straight away holding off Amelia Glueck to win her second race of the meet (26.12 – 26.29).

The Boys sprints provided similar excitement. In the finals of the 60 Meter Hurdles, Josh Kirby (Peoria Christian HS) got off to a great start, then held off Vaughn Gentzler (Paxton-Buckley-Loda) to win the race (8.50 – 8.52).

The 60 Meter prelims showed that the finals would be closer than expected. Brett Charlton (Eureka HS) had the fastest time by one hundredth of a second ahead of Theodore Hopkins (Leo Catholic HS, Chicago). The two lined up next to each other in the finals. Charlton got off to a great start that Hopkins could not respond to. Charlton won the race with a 1A state best time of 7.00. Hopkins finished second (7.06).

Charlton provided some excitement in the 400 winning section 2 in 51.77. It took a surge in the final straightaway in the third section by Jacob Sholl (Illini West HS, Carthage) to win the event (51.32). It was a seasonal best for the junior.

Charlton was involved in more excitement in the 200 Meter Dash. He had the lead as they left the turn into the final straightaway. Andre McGill (Madison HS) surged past both Charlton and Sholl to capture the event title in 22.79. Charlton and Sholl were only five hundredths of a second back with Charlton capturing second.

Distances

You could predict who would win the 800 Meter Runs by looking at who was leading after the first lap in both the Girls and Boys races. In the Girls race, Cassie Mundekis (Midwest Central HS, Manito) had opened up a three second lead as she passed by the first 400 in 69 seconds. The senior surged on the third lap pulling away for a seven second win (2:17.67). Taylor Edwards (Arcola HS) made a move in the final 20 meters to pass Haley Miller (Tremont HS) to finish second.

The confidence of Tye Sutherland (Cumberland HS, Toledo) continues to grow with every race this season. He only had less than a 2 second lead after the first 400 of the race. He made a move on the third lap to pull away from the pack. Sutherland glided in to win with a season’s personal best 1:58.15). Wyatt Avenatti (Georgetown-Ridge Farm HS) tried to catch Sutherland with no avail as he finished second ahead of Sam Powers (St. Thomas More, Champaign).

Just like the 800 Meter Run, the 3200 Meter races mirrored each other. Kelsey Hildreth (Byron HS) had the race won after the first four laps as she opened up a 4 second lead on the rest of the pack. The lead grew to ten seconds at the mile as she passed in 5:23. Adrienne Brauer (PORTA HS, Petersburg) passed in 5:33, but it did not look like she was making up any ground. The lead grew to 14 seconds at 2400 meters, then 17 seconds with 400 meters to go. Hildreth sensed that she was close to breaking the 1A meet record held by Katelyn Bastert seven years ago. A final 35 second 200 did the trick as Hildreth crossed the line in 10:49.2, the fourth fastest time in the state this season regardless of classification. Brauer, who was entered in tow more races this day, finished second (11:12.90).

The strategy for Eric Ponder (Tuscola HS) is simple for him, but tough for the people that he races against. He will go out a breakneck pace challenging his competitors to come after him. That happened early on in this race with TJ Pitcock (Byron HS), Kenny Heaton (Sparta HS) and Tanner Chada (Aurora Christian HS) trying to say close to the junior. It did not work. They stayed with four seconds of Ponder as he went by the 2k point. Ponder picked up the pace running the next 400 it seemed, but it was only 76 seconds. The rest of the pack dropped to an 80. The race was over at that point. Ponder went on to a 13 second victory as Heaton held off Pitcock for second.

The highlight of the distance races were the 1600’s. The Girls got to go first. Annemarie Michael (University HS, Urbana) decided to push the pace from the start breaking the pack apart. Only Maria Brauer (PORTA HS, Petersburg) and Daly Galloway (Dwight HS) decided to stay close. The three runners were together as they passed the 800 in 2:37. With 400 meters to go Brauer made her move going by Michael, Galloway started to fade back. At the bell lap, Michael retook the lead determined to keep it this time. Michael held off a charging Brauer to win by only four tenths of a second (5:13-33 – 5:13.72).

The Boys race was even more exciting. Jon Davis (Oakwood, Fithian) used the same approach as Michael taking the lead at the start. The problem was that the pace kept all 12 runners close together. The pack went through 800 Meters at 2:18. The last 400 meters was looking to be a kick fest. With three laps to go, Nick Hess (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign) decided that enough was enough. He started to pick up the pace. Up to join him was Connor Ehnle (Tremont HS) as the 1200 lead was only 3:27. Hess was first to make a move with Ehnle refusing to let go. Davis was part of this discussion as well as he decided to stay back and wait for his moment to strike. The last 200 meters had Hess trading off the lead with Ehnle back and forth. As the trio swung off the far turn, it was Davis that was in a full sprint pulling away from both Hess and Ehnle. Davis crossed the line first (4:28.93). Hess crossed the line second less than a second behind (4:29.65).

Relays

The most exciting race of the evening was the Girls 4 x 800 Meter Relay. Deer Creek Mackinaw, Petersburg PORTA, and Tolon Unity traded of the lead for the first three legs. In the final 400 meters, it looked like Adrienne Brauer would give PORTA the win. It was amazing because she had just run the 3200 Meter Run 35 minutes before. In the final 40 meters, Unity’s Hannah Stone came up beside Brauer. They crossed the line together. Tolono Unity was given the win over PORTA though both schools had the same time (9:55.82).

Illini West controlled the other two Girls relays. They easily won their final section of the 4 x 200 Meter Relay by more than a second over Sherrard (1:48.56). Sullivan finished second running 1:49.97 in section 2. Illini West also won the 4 x 400 Meter Relay (4:10.62) ahead of Erie- Prophetstown and Williamsville.

The Boys 4 x 800 Meter Relay was no contest. St. Joseph-Ogden pulled away in the third leg winning the race by three seconds over Pleasant Plains (8:29.67 – 8:32.25). Leo Catholic showed their dominance in the 4 x 200 Meter Relay. Madison’s Dajaun Thorpe had a 3 second lead as he started to head down the far straightaway on the final leg. Leo’s Theodore Hopkins passed Thorpe like he was standing still in those 50 meters. Hopkins crossed the line giving Leo a season’s best 1:33.95. Erie Prophetstown’s section two winning 1:36.13 was just a tenth ahead of Madison for second place overall.

Onieda Rowva ran 3:36.65 to win the 4 x 400 Meter Relay from the second of three sections. Bureau Valley finished second overall in this race.

Field Events

We mentioned the exploits of Zacharias and Glueck earlier. But there were plenty of other things that happened. Karissa Roman (Wethersfield HS, Kewanee) and Tessa Holland (Fieldcrest HS, Minonk) both cleared 5-6, but Roman was declared the winner on fewer misses. Megan Reed (Cambridge HS) was the favorite heading into this event. That held true as she jumped 36-1 to win the event. Elizabeth Bristow (St. Thomas More HS, Champaign) was a foot behind in second place. Karly Goodman (Arthur HS) improved on her season’s best to 39-2 ¾. She won the Shot Put by over two feet ahead of Rachel Clowers (Pleasant Hill HS).

Jack Denby (Carlinville HS) rebounded from a sub-par performance a week ago at Charleston by besting Riley Smith (Westfield HS, Casey) to win the Pole Vault. Denby’s best clearance was 16-0. Smith finished in second (15-6).

Corey Kersey (Neoga HS) pulled a little bit of a surprise by winning the Long Jump (20-11.75). His margin of victory was two inches ahead of Luke Rasmussen (Lowpoint-Washburn HS). Kersey, who is the 1A defending champion in the Triple Jump,showed that he has not lost a step. He won with a leap of 44- ¾. Chris Walker (North Boone HS, Poplar Grove) was a foot and a half behind in second.

The High Jump produced somewhat of a surprise. Tyler Owen (Georgetown-Ridge Farm HS), Matt Utterback (Pleasant Plains HS), and Luke Rasmussen (Lowpoint-Washburn HS) all cleared 6-6. Owen won the event on fewer misses with Utterback finishing second.

Jason Fry (Stewardson-Strasburg HS) was the top seed entering this competition. He left with the championship with a winning put of 53-1 ½. Stephen Gibson (Tuscola HS) finished second.