By Michael Newman

Since the action was a little low over this Easter weekend, we will incorporate the weekend meets into the latest edition of notes. Maybe with just a little twist…

Athletes out of state

I think we are going to see this more and more as the season goes on. The big question will be is how it will affect these athletes at the end of the track season. I know that is something that I will be watching for.

For Lincoln-Way East and their fabulous sprinters, their road show entered Austin, TX this week. They turned many heads this weekend as they showed that they are one of the top sprint groups in the country. The Lady Griffins swept the sprint relays winning the 4 x 100 Meter Relay (46.59) and the 4 x 200 Meter Relay (1:37.55). The 4x1 time is rated 5^th nationally and the 4x2 is the best in the country. I can’t wait to see what is next for the quartet of Alexis Hyshaw, Asia Brown, Alexis Antoine-Pierre, and Aaliyah Brown!

Aaliyah had a great day individually winning the 100 Meter Dash. Her wind legal time of 11.63 is the third fastest in the country. She will only get faster and it is only the beginning of April. Alexis Hyshaw also competed in the 100 and ran a wind aided 12.18.

Danville also raced at the Texas Relays and came back to Illinois with some positive results. Alexus Jimison-Miller finished sixth in the finals of the 100 Meter Hurdles running a state leading 14.26 time. Danville also competed in the 4x1 relay (49.54) and the 4x2 relay (1:44.72)

Matt Anyiwo and Jordan Culpepper (Homewood-Flossmoor HS, Flossmoor) decided to spend their spring break on the left coast where they ran in the Stanford Relays this past weekend. The 800 Meter specialist Anyiwo dipped down to the 400 Meter Dash (50.49). Culpepper competed in the Long Jump where he achieved a mark of 20-9 ½.

Down state

While most of the Chicago area schools were on spring break, there was some action south of I-80.

The biggest meet was the Lady Maroon Invitational at Belleville West. The host Lady Maroons and Edwardsville will be battling for the state championships in May and it was evident that both teams will be strong in that state meet chase. Edwardsville won last Friday based on a strong field event squad. The Lady Tigers scored 84 of their 162 points in the field. Considering that those athletes will figure strongly at state, it would be wise to keep a close watch on them this season. Edwardsville placed 1-2 in the Triple Jump, Shot Put, and Discus. Emmonnie Henderson won the Discus throwing 158-8 which is the fourth longest throw in the country. She opened up the season in the Shot throwing 45-2.

Belleville West will be dangerous on the track with Claudette Day and Jasmine Berry. Day won the 100 Hurdles (14.96) while Berry finished second. Berry won the 300 Hurdles (46.74) while Day finished third. The one surprise for West was the performance of Sophomore Ni’jia McNamee in the 400 Meter dash. A transfer from East St. Louis-Senior where she ran 57.92 in 2012, McNamee went under sixty seconds in her first outdoor meet (59.61). She will be a plus for West in that event along with the relays.

At the O’Fallon Relays, plenty of good performances happened in the field. Justin Kertchmer (Waterloo HS, Waterloo) in his first outdoor meet cleared 6-6 to win the High Jump. Kretchmer’s teammate Brendan Duncan had a good day in the rings winning the Discus (170-0) and the Shot Put (55-5 ½). Trae’mon Franklin (O’Fallon HS, O’Fallon) won the Long Jump (22-1).

On the track, Edwardsville again was in the 42’s in the 4 x 100 Meter Relay running 42.42 then coming back to win the 4 x 200 Meter Relay (1:30.25).

At the Teutopolis Invitational, Riley McInerney (Charleston HS, Charleston) won the 3200 Meter Run (9:33.0) and then came back and cruised to the win in the 1600 (4:32.0). He will be one of the distances guys in 2A to watch this spring.

The DMR

The early season relay meets give the distance programs around the state to put together the Distance Medley Relay (1200, 400, 800, 1600) and then let that relay rip. Right now, it is a close battle for the state lead with O’Fallon (10:45.25) just ahead of Springfield (10:45.74).

That lead may change again this weekend when relay meets at Prospect, Conant, and Hinsdale take place. Also Palatine’s Chris Quick and York’s Jim Hedman will be putting together DMR’s for their annual dual meet on Saturday. Last year, Palatine ran 10:21 to outdistance York by five seconds.

No…the DMR will not be in the Midwest Distance Festival. Maybe we should try to push for it for the state meet and run it on Friday. Just a thought.

And finally….

We could see some great performances on the first full weekend of outdoor track for most schools. If you are in the southern part of the state, great meets will happen at Springfield with the Girls Spartan Invitational hosted by Springfield Southeast. Some of the top girls teams will be in attendance. Some of the top sprint powers including Edwardsville, East St. Louis Senior, and Cahokia will be at the Belleville West Invitational. If the weather is great, we will see relay times in the 41’s, 1:28’s, and 3:19 ish. That’s just a gut feeling.

In the Chicago area, where to start? There are great meets all over the place where you cannot go wrong. Prospect holds their girls & boys relay meets on Friday and Saturday. The Homewood-Flossmoor Girls Invite is this Saturday. The Schaumburg Saxon Invitational and the Wheaton North Best 4 Meet features 3A Boys team powers Lake Park and host Wheaton North.

If relays are your cup of tea, head either to the Conant Relays in Hoffman Estates or the Hinsdale Relays in Darien. There are many more meets in the state this weekend. You can check out the entire list of meets on dyestatil.com…

Oh…yea. That little meet called The Arcadia Invitational outside of Los Angeles. How many people will be watching that online Saturday night? I know I will! The distance races should be dynamite. Meet Director Rich Gonzalez always brings the best together from all over the country to run some sizzlin' races.

Have a good weekend everyone. Enjoy the spring air!

msn