By Michael Newman, ILXCTF.com

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The final session of the Illinois Top Times Championships beginning Saturday afternoon features some of the top Class 3A athletes in the state.

When the meet finishes Saturday evening, it could be two freshmen athletes that everyone is talking about. Katelynne Hart burst onto the high school running scene last fall winning the IHSA 3A State Cross Country title and earning All-American honors at the Nike Cross Nationals. She has been running great this winter with the top time in the United States in the 3200 Meter Run and third fastest national time in the 1600 Meter Run. She will compete in both events at his meet.

Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North has been making noise in the sprints having the fastest state times in the 60 Meter Dash and the 200 Meter Dash. He will compete in both events could help his school Plainfield North to a win in the 800 Meter Relay.

Don’t forget about All-Americans Jaimie Robinson in the Triple Jump and Zachery Bradford in the Pole Vault. Both could set new meet records in their events. Jelena Rowe is the defending outdoor national champion in the High Jump and has the best performance in the nation in the event. She could go higher in this meet setting a new meet record in the process.

Here is a look at each of the events that will take place on Saturday. You can also watch the meet via the LIVE WEBCAST on RunnerSpace +PLUS.

3A Meet Program

Field Events

Shot Put

Girls – Courtney Morgan of Metea Valley will look to repeat her 2016 championship. The defending 3A state champion is currently ranked third in the state (45-11.25) with four meets going past 44-feet. There are three other athletes in this field that have gone past that 44-foot mark. Elle Weltha of Bloomington increased her seasonal best by four feet with a 45-0.5 (IL #6) put at the Big 12 Girls Conference Meet on March 13. Abena Atuobi of Warren Township started the season with a personal best of 40-9. She improved that by almost four feet with a 44-8 (IL #7) effort at the Lake Michigan Girls Invitational last Friday. Oluwasheyi Taiwo of Thornwood achieved a personal best of 44-7 (IL #10) at last Saturday’s Southwest Suburban Conference Meet. Any of these three athletes could unseat Morgan at the top.

Boys – All eyes will be on John Meyer of Lockport Township in this competition. Ever since the basketball season is over, Meyer has been in the ring full time and it has showed. He had a 64-2 effort at a home quad meet on 64-2 improving his seasonal best by four feet. The following week at the Southwest Suburban Conference Meet, Meyer improved his seasonal and personal best up to 64-4 (US #5) which is the best in the state. He will go after Jeremy Kline’s meet record of 63-6.5 if it is still standing since Carbondale’s Sam Sikon will compete in the morning session. He is the class of the field with the next closest athlete Chago Basso of Lake Park nearly six feet behind him. Basso enters the meet with a 58-11 season’s best.

High Jump

Girls – It was a good thing for this meet that Jelena Rowe of Bloom Township decided to put her focus on this meet and the outdoor season including the state meet and the New Balance Outdoor Nationals where she is the defending national champion. Rowe has a good chance to break Canton’s Nora Weber meet record of 5-10 that has stood for 24-years now. Rowe is on a hot streak clearing 6-0 in her last two meets. She is the second Illinois Girls athlete ever to clear that height. She is the first to clear 6-0 in consecutive meets. She could make it three in a row Saturday afternoon. The field is good behind Rowe but that might not matter since he Bloom Township athlete seems to be in a class by herself. Kameesha Smith of Thornwood is the defending meet champion and has cleared 5-6 this season. Ololade Ayoola of Lincoln-Way East has also cleared 5-6 and could be a threat for the win if Rowe has an “off-day”.

Boys – This field is loaded with some of the top athletes in the state in this event here to compete. Jay Hunt of Batavia has cleared 6-9 this season and has the highest clearance is not here. There are still seven athletes that have cleared 6-5 or better. The field is led by Frank Massey of Bloom Township who cleared 6-8 at Evanston’s Dan Phillips Relays on March 10. Brandon Ellis of Warren Township cleared 6-7 at Glenbrook South on the same night. Lawrence Knish of Wheeling is jumping hot clearing 6-7 to win the Mid Suburban League Invitational last Saturday. Tory Deal of Granite City cleared 6-6 at Principia College on March 11 and could also be a threat at the top spot. This field is deep. Any of nine in this field of 20 athletes could end of the winner.

Pole Vault

Girls – It looks like the 3A title will stay in the Bloomington-Normal area with the top three athletes in this event all from this region. Lauren Seaver of Normal University has the top seed mark of 12-4 (IL #3) achieved at the Reno NV Pole Vault Summit in January. Seaver has also gone past 12-0 in winning the Windy City Pole Vault Summit and 12-2.5 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. Nikki Ogorek of Normal Community cleared 12-0 (IL #4) in winning the Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships. Brooke Misukonis cleared 11-6 on this meet’s runway and could be in the mix up front. Alyssa Morello of Lake Zurich also cleared 11-6 last Friday at the Lake Michigan Invitational and could be a threat for the win.

Boys – Zachery Bradford of Bloomington is the defending 3A state champion and the defending champion in this meet. It is a good bet that he will repeat his 2016 title. He also has a good shot to get the meet record of 17-1.5 set by Phil Hanson in 2006. Bradford is on the move up first clearing 16-6 to win at the Charger Classic on March 4 and then clearing 16-9.25 to earn All-American honors by finishing fourth at the New Balance Indoor Nationals. The junior is the top guy in this field with Colton Weber of St. Charles East clearing 15-1 (IL #3) his closest competition. Lucas Weaver of Providence Catholic and Sam Peschke of Crystal Lake South are the only other athletes in this meet that have cleared 15-0.

Long Jump

Girls – Two of the top three athletes in the state in this event will square off in which we could have an athlete go past 20-feet. The 19-10.75 meet record set by Janile Rogers of Minooka in 2014 could be threatened. Hannah Morris of Bloom Township has the state seasonal best of 19-9.50. An injury at the end of February slowed Morris down a little. The 18-9.75 that she achieved last week at the Gene Armer Invitational shows that she has ready to go. Jaimie Robinson of Homewood-Flossmoor has jumped 19-2.75 (IL #3) and will be the one athlete that could challenge Morris for the title. Isabel Maletich of Downers Grove North achieved a personal best of 18-6.5 at the WSC-Silver Meet last Friday. She is another athlete that you should watch for.

Boys – There are two athletes that I would keep an eye on in this even. Ayo Abiona of Sandburg has the best state mark in this event (23-5) at Joliet West at the end of February. Tony Rolfe of Chatham-Glenwood jumped 22-11 (IL #3) at Jacksonville on March 3 and could win this event also. I would also keep an eye on Grayslake North’s Griffin Gawenda that jumped 22-7 (IL#6) last Saturday at the Lake Michigan Invitational. He could find his way to the top of the podium. 

Triple Jump

Girls – The meet record of 40-2 is in trouble especially with Jaimie Robinson competing Saturday in it. She is the overwhelming favorite. The senior has gone past the meet record six times already this indoor season. The 41-8.5 jump that gave her All-American honors and a third-place finish at the New Balance Indoor Nationals is only two inches off her personal best. The battle should be the second spot. Cami Robinson of Waubonsie Valley achieved a 38-0 (IL #2) jump in her first time competing in the event last week at the DuPage Valley Conference Championships. She is one athlete that I would keep an eye on as well as Isabelle Kennedy of Lake Park, Natasha Schaffer of Prairie Ridge, and Tabor Gleason of Cary-Grove.

Boys – Only two athletes in this meet have gone past 46-feet with two athletes close to doing that. It could happen this weekend. Tony Rolfe’s 47-4 (IL #2) jump at Jacksonville makes him the one athlete to watch for the win. Kevion Polk of Rockford Guilford jumped 46-0.25 at the NIC-10 Conference Meet on March 15 and could push Rolfe for the meet championship. Diamond Anderson of Hinsdale South and David Oluyadi of Lane Tech have both jumped 45-10 indoors. One of both these athletes could go past 46-feet in this meet.

Sprint / Hurdle Events

60 Meter Hurdles

Girls – This is a wide-open event with the top four seeded athletes at 9.2 or faster. Halle Bieber of Naperville North ran the second fastest time in the state for the 55 Meter Hurdles (8.46) at the DuPage Valley Championships and is the top ranked athlete for this event in his meet. TyKiaza Jones of Granite City, Kayla Walters of Bolingbrook, and Mya Robinson of Thornton all ran 9.14 last weekend. All three athletes, along with Bieber, are capable of the win in the finals.

Boys – Edwardsville’s Travis Anderson has the fastest indoor time by two tenths of a second ahead of the rest of the 3A athletes this indoor season. The door is wide-open with Anderson and Edwardsville already concentrating on outdoor meets. Jayvious Johnson of Machesney Park Harlem has the fastest time (8.20, IL #3) entering this meet of athletes competing. Landon Keefover of Antioch has run 8.28 (IL #5) for this distance. He does have the second fastest time in the state (7.65) for 55 Meter Hurdles. Michael Banks of Lane Tech and Ben Thoms of Plainfield South are other athletes that I would keep an eye on in this event.

60 Meter Dash

Girls – This is going to be a fun final to watch. Sophomore Ameia Wilson of Danville has run 7.63 (IL #2) having the fastest time of the field. Fellow sophomore Lyn’Nikka Vance of Crete-Monee ran 7.67 last week at the Gene Armer Invitational and will be a threat to win. Ozzy Erewele of Springfield made the finals last year finishing third. She ran 7.68 last Monday on the Shirk Center track making her one to watch. Nya Carr of Buffalo Grove ran the second fastest time for the 55 Meter Dash (7.13) last Saturday at the Mid-Suburban League Invitational. I would keep an eye on her in this meet. Brimonet Buggs of DeKalb and Tanayea Kimbrough of Proviso West could be surprises in this event.

Boys – Just like the Girls race, this final will take a photo to determine the winner. That’s how close this will be. Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North is having a great first year of high school track having the best time in the state fir this distance (6.89). He already has accumulated bug meet experience running the UK High School Invitational and the New Balance Invitational this indoor season. He could be tough to beat. Tony Rolfe made noise running 6.92 at Jacksonville and is one of the many athletes that could threaten for the win. It took a photo to determine that Jason Shannon of Wheeling nipped Declan Rustay of Hoffman Estates by one hundredth of a second (6.43-6.44) in the finals of the 55 Meter Dash at last Saturday’s Mid Suburban League finals. Both will be up front in this race. Tyler Elmore of Bolingbrook, Alonzo Taylor-Jones of Metea Valley, Aaron Westmoreland of Crete-Monee, Ayo Abiona, and Bobby Nuzzo of Mundelein are some of the runners to watch in this event.

400 Meter Dash

Girls – 2016 3A State Champion Kylie Welch of Bloomington leads this talented field that will be without Illinois list leader Dajour Miles of West Aurora who is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Welch has run 57.34 (IL #4) having the top seed time. Tamia Rayford of West Aurora is the only other athlete under 58-seconds (57.84, IL #5) and could challenge Welch for the win. Zakiya Johnson of Kenwood and Daijah Brown of Plainfield South are in the fourth section and may be in the front at the end. Watch for Ololade Ayoola and Kameesha Smith running in the third section to set a fast time for the runners in the final section to shoot for.

Boys – Gavin Jaimie of Providence Catholic had a great meet last Sunday at the Chicago Catholic League Championships including running 50.66 (IL #5) to win the 400 Meter Dash. He should be one of the runners to watch in this race. Brandon Adams of Minooka ran 50.88 (IL #6) early in January at Texas A&M but has not run in the past few months due to a hamstring injury. The junior is talented and could win this race if he is healthy. Antonio Davis of Bloom Township has also run under 51 seconds and could challenge these two for the win. Luke Sutherland of St. Charles North could be a surprise in this race having run 51.04 at York at the beginning of March.

200 Meter Dash

Girls – Jaimie Robinson has run 25.01 (IL #4) and is the athlete to watch in his race. Teammate Olivia Oliver has run 25.49 (IL #7) while Ameia Wilson has run 25.50 (IL #8). Both could challenge for the win. Kylie Welch has run 25.63 (IL #9) and is doubling back from the 400. I would keep an eye on her. Annie Walsh of Prospect and Jaclyn Greci of Lockport Township are some of the other athletes in this event that I would keep an eye on.

Boys – Marcellus Moore ran 21.95 on the oversized 291-meter track at the University of Kentucky in February and has the fastest time this indoor season in the state. Brad Garron of Evanston Township showed what he had at the end of February at Olivet Nazarene when he ran 22.28 (IL #3) to defeat Moore by six hundredths of a second. Duben Anikmandu of Huntley ran 22.31 on his home track to win the Fox Valley Conference Championships could be the surprise in this event. Cary Lockhart of Bloomington, Declan Rustay, and Tyler Elmore are some of the runners to keep an eye on in this event.

Distance Events

3200 Meter Run

Girls – If you have not had the privilege to watch Glenbard West Katelynne Hart run on the track, this might be the meet to go to. The freshman does not run like a freshman as evidenced by the fastest time in the nation 10:15.95 solo 3200 Meter Run at Proviso West on March 4. The meet record by Kayla Beattie of 10:15.06 (2011) is in serious jeopardy. The rest of the field is 30 seconds behind Hart led by Naperville North’s Alex Morris. The sophomore has improved her personal best by 40 seconds this indoor season down to 10:44.26 (IL #5). Hart’s teammate Lindsey Payne has been recovering from an illness that slowed her down this indoor season. She did run 10:48.6 in flats in February on a 160-meter track. I could see her pushing Hart in this race.

Boys – Clayton Mendez of Whitney Young sent shock waves across Illinois when he ran 9:01.89 (US #2) for the fastest time in the state. He is within three seconds of Tim Keller’s 10:58.96 meet record that was run in 2000. Mendez has not raced since the end of February preparing for this race. He will be doubling back later in the meet in the 1600 Meter Run. Will he run for the record or run for the win in this event? Caleb Washington of Shepard was impressive in his win at the Batavia Distance Madness Meet on March 10. His time of 9:24.18 (IL #9) is more than 20-seconds behind that of Mendez. It could be interesting if Washington stays close to Mendez throughout this race. Jack Worman of Hoffman Estates has run 9:25.25 and could be among the front pack with Bennet Peterson of Oswego and Jeremy Adams of Jones College Prep.

800 Meter Run

Girls – State list leader Katelynne Hart is not in this event. Emma Moravec of Downers Grove North ran 2:15.53 (IL #2) to finish behind Hart last week at the WSC-Silver Championships and has the fastest heat time in this meet. Jenna Diers of Lincoln-Way West ran 2:16.21 (IL #4) at the New Balance Indoor Nationals and could be one of Moravec’s chief challengers. Madison Marasco of Schaumburg showed a great kick in winning last Saturday at the Mid Suburban League Championship and could end up winning this race. Isabelle Christiansen of Oswego ran a personal best last week at Plainfield North and could be a surprise in this race along with Rebecca Odusola of Mather.

Boys – This race is wide-open with all 12 runners under two minutes this season and within two seconds of each other. There are no surprises in this race. Brian Kuehl of Geneva has the top seed time with his 1:58.03 (IL #4) that he ran to win the Batavia Distance Madness Meet ahead of Arturo Santoro of Jones College Prep and 3A State Cross Country Champion Soren Knudsen of Minooka. Knudsen pushing the pace could make the winning time under 1:56.6. Wes York of Waubonsie Valley looked smooth last week in his win at the DuPage Valley Conference Championships and could win this race. Jon Prus of Crystal Lake South and MSL champion John Gerardi of Rolling Meadows also could be in the mix for the win.

1600 Meter Run

Girls – This is one of the spotlight events of the entire weekend. There are so many quality runners in this race. Katelynne Hart will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run earlier in the meet. She has been successful on other doubles this indoor season most recently running the 3200 Meter Relay, then 2:14 in the 800 and 4:56 in the 1600 last week at the WSC-Silver Championships. Brooke Wilson of Prospect and Claire Hamilton of Naperville North both have gone under 5 minutes indoors this year and most likely will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Relay. Expect both towards the front in this race. Hannah Ricci of Naperville North and Emily Shelton of Minooka will be doubling back from the relay. They could be in the front also. Lindsey Payne will be doubling back from the 3200 Meter Run. I expect her towards the front. Katherine Olsen of DeKalb could be he surprise in this race. She was close to Shelton at Batavia until the final 200-meters of the race. She could be a surprise in this race. Kayla Beattie’s 4:51.06 meet record could be surpassed here. Like I said, this is one race I am looking forward to.

Boys – With six runners under 4:22 entered in this race, we could see a winning time under 4:16 Saturday night. Jack Aho, who won this race last year, ran 4:13.39 to win at the Lake Michigan Invitational last Saturday and is considered the favorite in this race. Alex Tam of Libertyville was six seconds behind Aho last weekend and should be a threat in this race. Clayton Mendez will be doubling back from the 3200 Meer Run. He did run 4:20.1 at the beginning of February. He does have great finishing speed having run a 1:55 split at the DGS Relays at the end of February. Mendez is a factor in this especially if it comes down to a tactical kicker race. Zach Albrecht of Jacobs surprised some with the 4:20.23 that he ran to win at the Fox Valley Championships. He won’t be a surprise up front in this race. Tyler Dau of Geneva is a smart tactical runner with a great kick at the end. Keep an eye on him. Jaime Marcos of Von Steuben is another runner that could surprise in this race.

Relay Events

4x800 Meter Relay

Girls – This race is wide-open. Naperville North ran the state’s fastest time of 9:27.78 last week at the DuPage Valley Championships and could have a similar line up in this field including Hannah Ricci and Claire Hamilton. Minooka ran 9:29.46 at the DGS Relays and most likely will load their quartet up led by Emily Shelton, Ashley Tutt, and Mackenzie Callahan. Hersey looked strong last week in running 9:30.29 to win the Mid Suburban League Invitational race. Glenbard West ran 9:32.08 at the NCC Cardinal Classic with Katelynne Hart in the line-up. Hart will not be in this race concentrating on the two individual distance events. Yorkville and Schaumburg have run 9:33. I would not count them out of this race. Prospect, with Brooke Wilson a part of their quartet, could push the Lady Knights into the top three. Could we see a winning time under 9:21 in this race?

Boys – We won’t see WSC-Silver teams in this field that comprise five of the top ten times this season in his event. Whitney Young has the fastest time in the state (7:58.43) but that was with Clayton Mendez running a 1:55 split in it. With Mendez most likely running individual events, Whitney Young still could be the favorite in this race. Minooka ran 8:04.60 in that same race with Soren Knudsen running a 1:57 anchor leg. The Indians could push for the win in this race. This race is wide-open after that. Plainfield East and Oswego along with Metea Valley are possibilities for the win.

4x200 Meter Relay

Girls – Homewood-Flossmoor is the team to beat especially with Jaimie Robinson in their line-up. The Lady Vikings have the fastest time in the state (1:42.74) and have the fastest seed time by more than two seconds. Romeoville ran great last week winning at Plainfield North with a 1:45.12 time on a 180-meter track. I would watch for them. Naperville North, Proviso West, Bolingbrook, and DeKalb are other schools that I would watch for in this even.

Boys – This event should be a wild one. The winning team could come from a section other than the final one. Plainfield North, with Marcellus Moore in the quartet, Hoffman Estates with Declan Rustay leading off, Bloomington with Cary Lockhart a part of their squad, and Crete-Monee led by Aaron Westmoreland make up the final section. It could be Evanston Township from the third section that wins this event. The Wildkits have run 1:32.44 but that was at the end of February at Olivet Nazarene. I could see them, with Brad Garron among those in their lineup, to run under 1:31. Bloom Township and Metea Valley also have the talent to win.

4x400 Meter Relay

Girls – Lincoln-Way East looks like the team to beat. The Griffins ran the fastest time in the state (4:01.17) at the DGS Mustang Relays and that was not with their top quartet. A time of under four minutes is possible for his team. Glenbard West has run 4:04.20 (IL #3) but that was with Katelynne Hart running. It is not expected she will run in this race but you never know. Neuqua Valley and Naperville North were only separated by six hundredths of a second last week at the DuPage Valley Championships with Neuqua Valley winning. These two squads could challenge for the win in this race. Proviso West, Downers Grove North and West Aurora are teams that I would watch for.

Boys – Only two seconds separate the 12 teams entered in this event. Anything could happen in the final even of this meet. Evanston Township will load this relay up looking for their second possible relay win in this race. Plainfield South and Bloom Township could be their chief competition. Joliet West surprised most by running 3:29.80 last week at the Southwest Prairie Conference Meet for the win. They will not surprise anyone this time in this race Saturday night.