East St. Louis-Senior repeats on top of Boys rankings

By Michael Newman

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East St. Louis-Senior used their relay power in trying to defend their 3A state championship. They came up short finishing second behind conference rival Edwardsville in the 3A standings. They did pick up all-state honors in all four relays including a state championship in the 1600 Meter Relay.

That strength showed up in the ILXCTF.com relays as they were the top Boys team for the second year in a row. The Flyers scored 185 points to put them ahead of the rest of the schools. Naperville Neuqua Valley, who won the 3200 Meter Relay at state, finished second with 168.5 points. Batavia (148.5 points), Bloomington (146 points), and Homewood-Flossmoor (140 points) rounded out the top five teams.

The West Suburban Conference-Silver Division proved to be the power conference in these rankings placing five of their seven schools in the top 20 with three of their schools in the first ten. The Southwest Conference, Mid-Suburban League, and Upstate Eight Conference each had two schools among the Top 20.

Cahokia finished in a tie for seventh overall. The Comanches were the only 1A/2A school that made it into the Top 20.

The ILXCTF.com (formally the DyeStat Illinois) Relay Rankings are based off the DyeStat TFX leaderboards (as of May 27, 2017) for the four relays that are contested at the IHSA State Meet. In the All Class, 3A, 2A, and 1A categories, the top 50 quartets are ranked with 50 points given to the fastest school down to 1 point for the 50th fastest.

2017 Boys Overall

Previous Winners

2017 3A Boys

There was little change to the 3A classification among the first three schools but the margin was closer. East St. Louis-Senior had the top score with 176 points with Neuqua Valley only six points behind scoring 170 points. Batavia, Homewood-Flossmoor, and Bloomington were the other schools in the first five.

3A Standings

Previous Winners

2017 2A Boys

Cahokia’s streak of 2A state titles ended this May but not in these rankings. The Comanches have been on top of the 2A classification for the five years the rankings have been held. They were on top again with the fastest 2A times in the 400 and 1600 Meter Relays along with the second fastest time in the 800 Meter.

Cahokia had the highest point total among all 2A schools with 188 points. It was their lowest winning total with all their previous scores at 197 points or higher.

Mascoutah, who did not finish in the Top 20 in 2016, finished second with 158 points. Only four points separated the next three teams headed by Chicago Morgan Park in third (130 points) followed by Springfield Lanphier (128 points) and Dolton Thornridge (126 points).

2A Standings

Previous Winners

2017 1A Boys

There was bound to be a new winner in this classification with 2016 champion Robinson moved to Class 2A for the 2016-17 track season.

Aledo Mercer County was the top 1A school scoring a record of 179 points for these rankings. The Golden Eagles were among the top three schools in the 400, 800, and 3200 Meter Relays. Mercer County finished seventh overall last year.

Rockford Christian was the only 1A school to repeat in the top five as they moved up to the second spot with 169 points led by their state championship in the 1600 Meter Relay. Carthage Illini West (167 points), Rushville-Industry (158 points), and Warrensburg-Latham (147 points) were other schools in the top five.

1A Standings

Previous Winners