By Michael Newman, special for DyeStat.com

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Bloomington -- The Illinois Top Times Championships on Friday and Saturday at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center was the coming together of some of the top high school track and field athletes across Illinois. When all was said and done after the 3A boys 4x400 relay Saturday night, this competition could have been one of the best in meet history.

Before heading out to the unpredictable weather of the Illinois outdoor track and field season, here are the seven things to remember from what happened at Top Times the past two days

1 – Rowe’s US #1 High Jump

The 3A boys 4x800 had just finished and the crowd was still cheering. A hush of silence suddenly overwhelmed the capacity audience in the Shirk Center. Jelena Rowe of Bloom Township was standing at the southwest corner of the high jump area focused on the bar that stood in front of her. She had won the competition and had just cleared 5-11 on just her fifth attempt of the day. She had the bar raised to 6-1. She had cleared 6-0 in her last two meets. Why not go one inch higher this time?

A long stride closing in on the bar, a pivot to the left, and up effortlessly over the bar with a couple of inches to spare. She just grazed the bar and started to move a little up and down. It did not come off the standards. It might have with the explosion of cheering as Rowe bounced out of the pit and over to her coach Andrew Schmitt.

“My coach just basically told me to have fun,” Rowe said after her jump. “I just went for it. There are little things that I need to work on with my technique. Right now, I am so happy!”

The ease of that clearance at 6-1 is evidence that higher heights could be in the near future for this senior. The outdoor season will be an adventure for her as she looks to defend her New Balance National Outdoor title this June.

2 – The matter of Hart in setting the meet record in the 3,200

Watching Katelynne Hart of Glenbard West run a race on the track is hypnotic. She takes the lead early and continues to stretch it out during each lap. You focus on her and lose track of the rest of the pack because you wonder if she is on pace for doing something great. The freshman did do something great once again Saturday in the 3A girls 3,200.

Hart shot to the lead and had opened a 20-second lead on teammate Lindsey Payne and Naperville North’s Alex Morris as she passed through the halfway point in 5:03.6. It was the same time she went through when she ran 10:15 at the beginning of the month. This time she maintained her pace longer. She crossed the line with a smile on her face and lowering the meet record down to 10:11.51 from the 10:15 that Kayla Beattie set six years ago. Hart lapped all but Payne and Morris in the race. That is not anything negative against the rest of the field. Eight of the 15 runners in the race achieved personal bests.

The routine was the same in the 1,600 almost three hours later when she pushed to the lead at the start and did not look back. She was looking to take down Beattie’s record in the event but fell short by two seconds. She pushed hard to the line and her face shrunk in disappointment after she heard the PA announcement of her time of 4:53.68. There is nothing wrong with that. She sets her standards so high expecting to achieve them.

And she’s only a freshman.

3 – Here’s to you Miss Robinson

Jaimie Robinson of Homewood-Flossmoor was visibly tired after winning the 3A girls 200. She had a busy and a successful day of competition, winning three individual events as well as anchoring Homewood-Flossmoor’s 4x200 with a 24.4 split as the Lady Vikings won the event.

“It has been a long indoor track season,” Robinson said.

Her first meet of the year was at the end of November.

“All I want to do is relax and enjoy this spring break. I want to get some workouts in getting ready for outdoors.”

Before her rest and relaxation was to begin, Robinson swept the two 3A horizontal jump events. The long jump distance was unexpected as she jumped a personal-best and meet-record 19-11 for the win. She came back to go over 41 feet again this season with a 41-4.50 jump to win the event leading the field by over four feet. She ended her day running 25.00 to win the 200-meter dash ahead of Danville’s Ameia Wilson.

“Our relay did not have the best of time while we were in New York,” Robinson stated. “We all agreed to come out here and just have fun today. I think we accomplished that.”

4 – The Moore the better

His composure at the starting line, the way he explodes out of the blocks and the tenacity he has at the finish makes it hard to believe that next to the name of Marcellus Moore of Plainfield North is stated freshman on the meet program. Moore, in fact, is only 14, with his 15th birthday coming in June. His age did not show as he won two high stakes sprint races in this 3A meet.

The freshman got off to a great start in the finals of the 60-meter dash against some of the top boys’ sprinters in the state. He may have snuck up on some people since he was out of the main view running in Lane 2. He surged at the line knowing that he had won he said after the race. There was a one-minute wait before the times came up on the scoreboard. Moore had the edge with a personal-best 6.86 to win, just three-hundredths ahead of Bolingbrook’s Tyler Elmore.

The 200 final was a rematch of a race from a month earlier at the Lockport Boys Open when Evanston Township’s Brad Garron came from behind to defeat Moore by 0.08.

“I put that race at the back of my mind today,” Moore said. “I just went out there and ran.”

He got off to a good start, making up the stagger on Garron in the first 100 meters. As they came off the turn, Garron tried to make the same type of pass he did the race before. This time Moore was ready as he held him off in the final 20 meters, running 22.13 and him winning by 0.08.

5 – Distractions do not hold Keller back from repeating 800/1600 double

Four-time 1A state cross country champion Anna Sophia Keller of St. Anthony has succeeded in races because of the routine that she has in the days before a big meet. That was changed up for this year’s meet as Keller attended a school retreat, resulting in less sleep than she was used to before a meet.

“I was not allowed to run on Thursday. I was old there would not be enough time. There were activities that were to be done,” Keller said. “During that time, I meditated and thought and prayed about today.”

She did not look loose at the start of the 800 meters. Hinckley-Big Rock’s Audrey Harrod shot to the lead going through the first 200 in 31 seconds. Keller was in sixth place, four seconds behind the lead. She said afterward that the first couple of laps she felt tight. She opened up on the third 200-meter circuit of the track passing runners, but was still three seconds behind Harrod. Keller started making up ground on Harrod and passed her in the final 50 meters. She ran 2:16.25 to win ahead of Harrod’s 2:17.92.

It was typical Keller in her final career individual race on this track taking the lead in the first 200 meters of the race. Pana’s Claudia Magnussen stayed within four seconds of Keller for the first half of the race. Keller pulled away in the final three laps to run 5:02.51 to finish nine seconds ahead of Magnussen (5:11.90).

“My times were not as fast as they were when I won last year,” Keller said. “I did have those distractions but I was glad I was able to overcome them. I am happy that I was able to repeat my wins.”

6 – Excitement in the Shot Ring

The expectations of overall meet records never materialized in the shot put in this meet. The quality of the fields did produce some exciting competitions.

Kathleen Young of Warrensburg-Latham, who is ranked second in the nation, won the 1A shot put for the third time but not at full strength. She was hit by the flu bug at the beginning of the week and missed a few days of school. She refused to use that as an excuse. Her first-round put of 48-9 was her best of the six rounds and enough to win the event.

Latavia Maines of Centralia, ranked third nationally coming into this meet, had a 46-9 best heading into the final round. She improved on that with a new 2A meet record of 48-7 to win the event. Courtney Morgan of Metea Valley repeated her 3A title in the event achieving a new personal best of 48-8 (US #4) to win ahead of Bloomington’s Ellie Werha, who also achieved a personal best of 47-7.75 (US #8) to finish second. There are now four Illinois girls that are ranked nationally indoors in the top eight.

Sam Sikon of Carbondale set a new 2A meet record in of 62-8.5 in his third-round attempt in winning the competition for the second year in a row. He fouled in his final three attempts in which two of them were near 60 feet.

John Meyer of Lockport Township had to come from behind to win the 3A shot put. Justin Braskett of Harlem was the surprise leader heading into the fifth round improving his personal best four feet to 58-5.25. Meyer responded in the fifth round with a 60-3 put to win the event. Andy Bird of Hamilton/Warsaw won the 1A shot put Friday night with a 54-7 personal best. Dillon Birch of Shelbyville also had a personal best of 53-9.25 to finish second.

7 – Hamblen comes back after 3,200 DQ

Class 1A cross country champion Brayden Hamblen of Rock Falls looked comfortable in the 2A 3,200 Saturday morning pulling away from the pack to run 9:24 to apparently win the race. Five minutes after the conclusion of the race, the senior was disqualified for cutting in too early. The race started with two groups of runners starting in staggered waterfall starts. Reviewing the video after the meet, it appears on the backstretch of the first lap of the race, Hamblen looked confused looking around thing that he should cut in. He did as he entered the turn 100 meters into the race. He realized that was too soon and he got back in his lanes. It was too late.

“I never heard it explained to me when we checked in or at the starting line,” Hamblen said after the race. “There is nothing I can do. All I can do is focus on the next race.”

He was in focus for the 1,600, controlling the race at the start having the lead after the first lap. He pulled away in the final 300 meters to win (4:25.23), just ahead of Marion’s Zach Young (4:25.44) and Marmion Academy’s Michael Ronzone (4:25.46).