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Bloomington, Ill – If Cole Henderson (Pekin HS) was going to win three events in the Illinois Top Times Championships Saturday night at the Shirk Center, it was going to have to be the hard way. Henderson had only run 22.72 in the 200 Meter Dash. That time was not fast enough to get him into the final section. In a way, he would have to race the clock as he had the fastest time in that section.

Henderson had showed that he was ready for this meet by running 6.39 for 55 Meters in Charleston a week before. He was on right from the beginning in the Long Jump. In his first attempt on the runway, Henderson shut the door in a way jumping 23-1 ½. He had a smile as he left the pit. He knew what he had done. Stacey Smith (Schaumburg HS) was the only athlete that got close as he finished second behind Henderson (22-8).

Henderson’s 60 prelim was impressive. He ran a state leading 6.85 showing that he was ready for anyone to go after him. There was a surprise in the heat before as Shandel Thomas (Schaumburg HS) ran a then state leading 6.93 seconds. It was Henderson that got off to a great start in the finals, but so did Thomas. Henderson won, but the margin was only four hundredth of a second over the surprising Thomas.

Henderson did look impressive in that 200. He led wire to wire storming out of the curve heading towards the finish line. He crossed the line with the win. Henderson then looked to the scoreboard and walked immediately off the track. The 22.46 that showed on the scoreboard was not the time he was looking for. He knew that the next section could / would be faster. His face was crestfallen as he just looked up at the Shirk Center ceiling.

Terry McGee was in the next section. Earlier in the meet, McGee had to run the race of his life to win the 400 Meter Dash. Cory Hertz (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) had a slight lead coming into the final straightaway only to have McGee surge by him in the final meters. It took a photo to separate the two as McGee came up on top by only one hundredth of a second (50.11 – 50.12).

In the final section it was all Jordan Duncan (East HS, St. Charles). He made a name for himself at the beginning of the month when he had an impressive double win at the York Invitational. His confidence has continued to grow in the past few weeks. McGee and Devin Ingram (Minooka HS) kept the stagger as they went around the turn. It was Duncan that found a burst of energy down the straightaway to win. He crossed the line in 22.16 raising his arms. As he was slowing down, he tripped over some blocks forcing him to crash to the ground. A few seconds later, he was up smiling and rejoicing what he had done. In the meantime, Henderson silently walked off the track. He had accomplished a lot in this meet, but still did not accomplish what he wanted to.

“It’s just a good feeling to get first place,”” Duncan said. “I’ve worked so hard. I have been running for the last seven years and it has paid off.”

The 3A Boys section of the meet was somewhat lack luster. Some of it had to do with a number of athletes that chose not to compete on Saturday, some was because of expectations that were not met.

All eyes were on the Pole Vault runway when Luke Winder (Plainfield Central HS) stepped on it. The only other athlete that was left in the competition was Andy Jatis (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox) who was having a great day clearing a personal best 15-0. Winder hit the box well in easily clearing 15-6. Jatis bowed out at that height leaving the focus on Winder, the bar, and the standards.

On this day, it was a little bit different than what we have seen from him during this season. He just nipped the bar on the first attempt at 16-6. His second attempt, the same thing. His third attempt was the same as he knocked the bar off as he was going over. In fifteen short minutes, his day was over. He went and sat down by himself trying to contemplate what had just happened.

“I was coming off the pole weird. I was coming off kind of sideways. It was a weird kind of day. I felt awesome,” Winder said. “I’m happy I came out with the win. I am happy on an off day that I could make 15-6. I am just blessed to just come out here and Pole Vault.”

It was a different story in the High Jump. It was supposed to be a battle between two of the best in the state. Jonathan Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake) was to go up against the athlete that finished behind him at last year’s state meet Mike Monroe (Providence Catholic HS, New Lenox). That match-up never happened as Wells decided to concentrate on the Long Jump and the Hurdles.

Monroe and Erik Miller (St. Charles North HS) had both cleared 6-8, but could not get past 6-9. Monroe won the event on fewer misses.

Lane Tech has dominated the two races that they have put their horses in the 4 x 800 Meter Relay. The Indians had the fastest seed time by eight seconds ahead of Yorkville. It showed pretty quickly that races are not run on paper. Pavlo Hutsalyk gave Lane Tech the lead at the first exchange as Jake Hoffert kept Yorkville close within two tenths of a second. It has been usually at the end of the first leg or during the second leg where this team has shown its dominance. It did not happen in this meet. Jon Vara ran a 1:59.1 leg, but Yorkville’s Richard Skogsberg stayed within a second of the lead.

It was during that the third leg when Yorkville took control of the race. Nolan Tweedy swung by Lane’s Oswaldo Lorenzana with less than a 400 to go in that leg. His 2:00 leg gave the Foxes a two second lead as he handed off the baton to Luke Hoffert. The Yorkville junior opened up the first 400 in 55 seconds extending the lead over David Schmieg to four seconds. Schmieg closed in the final 200 meters, but the Hoffert had a big enough lead. The margin of victory was two seconds as they ran the state’s third best time in the state (7:58.14).

The two 3A long distance races did not have drama. Patrick Perrier (O’Fallon HS) has been running by himself basically all season. This race on Saturday was not much different. He had company early on with Joseph Suarez (Plainfield East HS), Dan Lathrop (Plainfield South HS), and Christian Swenson (Loyola Academy, Wilmette) hanging close. Perrier looked smooth in his stride pulling away with each lap. Besides the 73 400 he hit from the 2400 to 2800, he basically hit 35 second laps most of the way in winning by eleven seconds (9:13.22). Peter Schaible (Jones College Prep, Chicago) moved up after the first mile by finishing second with a lifetime personal best (9:24.14).

Jake Hoffert likes to take and push the pace early. He did that in the first 400 as he went out in a blazing 62 seconds. Kyle Maloney (Jones College Prep, Chicago) bided his time waiting for Hoffert to come back. Hoffert ran the middle 800 in 2:17 giving Maloney a chance to get to the front. Maloney stayed on his side as they passed the 1200 in 3:19. The problem was that he did not go past. Hoffert found a second gear in the final 400 winning in 4:22.71, almost three seconds ahead of Maloney.

The 800 was the exciting race of the night. Michael Delaney (Oswego East HS) and Carl Klamm (Evanston Township) pushed each other to a great time. Klamm on three occasions tried to pass Delaney who would just not let Klamm past. Finally in the last 50 meters, the two were shoulder to shoulder as they approached the finish line. Klamm made one more final burst that was the difference as Delaney stumbled before the finish line. Klamm’s 1:56.67 was four tenths ahead of Klamm.

The problems that Minooka had at last year’s state meet followed them to this meet. In the 4 x 200 Meter Relay, Minooka and Thornton were battling for the lead on the second leg when the two teams made contact. Down went Mitch Miller of Minooka. It was Thornton’s race at that point. In the next event on the 400 Meter Dash, there was a malfunction where the sensor for timing did not pick up. They had to stop the race after 200 meters. Minooka’s Chris Wilson was in that section.

All of the focus turned to the 4 x 400 Relay for the Indians. Last May at the state meet, Minooka captured the state championship in the event. It did not look that way through the last race of the evening Saturday night. The Southwest Prairie Conference were in force as three of the four teams in the final section come from this tough conference. Oswego East was in control most of the race until it got to the final exchange. Chris Wilson took the baton for Minooka for the final 400 meters. He bided his time, then took the lead in the last 150 meters. Wilson’s 48.6 anchor split gave his team the win with a time of 3:25.49. Oswego East finished more than three seconds behind in second.

Antonio Shenault (Lake Park HS, Roselle) and Ti’fonte Hunt (Thornton HS, Harvey) faced each other at the Thornwood Open at the beginning of March. In that race, Hunt nipped Shenault by one hundredth of a second. It was the same type of race in this meet. Both athletes got off to great starts. Hunt had the edge coming off of the final hurdle. He held that edge winning this time by four hundredth of a second (7.95 – 7.99). Jonathan Wells finished third. The top three finishers in that race ran the fastest times in the state to end the indoor campaign.

In other meet action, Marcus Jegede showed he was the athlete to beat in the Triple Jump in 3A this year. He won fairly easily jumping 48-1. James Travis (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) was the only other jumper over 45 feet. He finished second with a 46-0 jump.

Last week Martinus Mitchell (Collinsville HS) went over 60 feet for the first time. He did not need that kind of effort Saturday in the Shot Put. His winning performance 57-8 was only seven inches ahead of Kyrin Tucker (Normal West HS).