Photo: Imani Carothers celebrating her win in the 100 Meter Hurdles last year. She is also a good horizontal jumper (Laura Duffy Photo)

By Michael Newman

[email protected]

The spot to be at the start of the state finals in May is the east end of the track by the horizontal jumps. It will be the final time that you see Imani Carothers jump as an Illinois prep athlete. The senior from Brooks College Prep has won the 2A State Triple Jump twice. Her jump last year of 42-10 in Charleston was an all-time state meet best regardless of conditions. Carothers also has another field event state championship when she won the Long Jump her sophomore year. It was Erika Furbeck of Geneseo that won the event last year while Carothers had to settle for second. Both senior will push each other to further distances in 2018. The question is how far will they go past the 20-foot barrier.

Both the High Jump and the Pole Vault are loaded 2A events this spring. Don’t sleep on the weight events also. There are some quality athletes that will compete in both event. The movement if East St. Louis-Senior down to 2A this season adds Evangelynn Harris into both events.

Here is a look at each of the six field events that will take place in 2A this season.

LONG JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – Both Imani Carothers and Erika Furbeck should challenge for the state championship again this spring in this event. Carothers jumped over 19-feet four times. After her second-place finish at state, she followed that up by finishing fifth at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals. Furbeck went past 19-feet in three meets. Her jumps in that 19-foot range were all past 19-5. The first chance we could see the two compete against each other is the Illinois Top Times Championships in March. Any time that the two compete against each other this season should be memorable.

There are six athletes that went past 18-feet last outdoor season besides Furbeck and Carothers. Five of them were all-state athletes in the event led by Springfield Southeast’s Serena Bolden. Jaden Christian of Reed-Custer, Savannah Sullivan of Dunlap, LaQwasia Stepney of Cahokia, and Camille Osborne of Rich South all finished in the top nine. All again will be looking for a finish in the top five. Aanise Sajna of Dunlap qualified for state but failed to make it to the finals. She did jump 19-1.25 during the regular season. She could be a threat for a top spot in her senior season.

TRIPLE JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – Imani Carothers should be a lock to win her third straight state championship in this discipline. It could be tough for her as this event is loaded heading into the 2018 season. Six other all-state athletes are back to challenge Carothers.

Carothers state jump of 42-10 was her only effort past 40-feet last season. She did it one other time in her career that at state in winning in 2016. She does not compete indoors in this event so getting her steps down takes a little longer outdoors. Nevertheless, that formula works being that she has won two state championships.

Juniors Jayla Campbell of Rich Central and Serena Bolden finished second and third last spring and could be the chief competition for Carothers. They are also the only other athletes to go past 39-feet last season. Aanise Sajna and Jaden Christian were all state last season as where Summerlyn Smith of Mattoon and Meghan Willerton of Metamora. All four should challenge for top five finishes. Ahmia Dorsey of East St. Louis-Senior was competing in Class 3A last spring. She is one of the top ten returnees in 2A. It would not surprise me that she finishes in the top five.

HIGH JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – This could be a tough event in 2A with six of last year’s top seven finishers at state all returning. Only two athletes in 2A went past 5-6 last spring. Both athletes took the top two spots at state. Diamonasia Taylor of Urbana was destined to win the state title last year after winning the 2A title indoors at the Illinois Top Times Championships. Taylor cleared 5-7 or better five times last outdoor season. Her 5-8 clearance in winning the 2A State title in Charleston was a personal best. Knowing how tough it is to get a personal best like she did in a big competition exhibits how mentally tough she is right now. A six-foot clearance is in her future but when is the question.

Sarah Flight of Charleston finished second behind Taylor last year clearing 5-5. Her best jump last season was 5-6 when she did that twice in meets last April. Flight has already cleared 5-7.25 in Champaign earlier this month.

One athlete to keep an eye on is Taylor’s teammate Shaniya Howard. She finished fourth as a sophomore at state with a 5-6 personal best during that season. Howard missed all indoor season in 2017 but did qualify for state only clearing 5-1 outdoors. A healthy Howard in her senior year could mean a top four placing with her teammate Taylor.

Bryleigh Buchanan of Harrisburg placed third in 201 and could contend for a top five finish. Carly Tucker of Metamora cleared 5-3 during the season but did tie with Buchanan for third in Charleston. Keep an eye on her.

POLE VAULT

Top Returnees

Notes – This event is just as tough in 2018 as the High Jump. The top three athletes in 2A, led by state champion Aliyah Welter of Monticello, are back as three other all-state athletes. You can add in Lauren Seaver of Normal University also as her school is now back in 2A after two years in 3A due to the “IHSA Success Factor”.

Welter was pushed by Mt. Zion’s Josephine Held most of last season as they finished 1-2 at state. Welter’s personal best last year was 13-1 while Held had a 12-6 best. Add in Seaver who had a 12-6 best while finishing third in 3A and you should have a good competition in this classification this season.

Rhiannon Held, Josephine’s sister, cleared 11-7.25 as an eighth-grader and should be a factor this spring. Sydney Bertschy of Dunlap and Taylor Milsap of Tolono Unity both finished in the top five. Both should be in that range again.

Stephanie Jacobs of Freeburg, Samantha Spencer of Providence Catholic, Landis Brandon of Monticello, and Maria Pletcher of Mahomet-Seymour had season bests of 11-0 or better last year. Any of these athletes should be close to or better than 12-0 this spring.

SHOT PUT

Top Returnees

Notes – There will be a new queen of the 2A ring this season as state champion Latavia Maines and five of the top six finishers have graduated. Tayla Schwarz of Dixon finished third at state last May and will have her eyes set on the state title in this discipline. She went past 41 feet four times during the 2017 season.

Evangelynn Harris of East St. Louis-Senior finished eighth last year competing in 3A. Now that her school is in 2A for this season, she could be the biggest threat to Schwarz. Harris’ last season record is impressive going past 41 feet in 10 of the 11 meets that she competed in. Her seasonal best was 45-11 at the end of April at the St. Clair County Championships. She had an “off-meet” at state as she was in the 41-foot range. She does have the talent to surpass 46 feet and go after the 2A title.

Nikita Maines of Centralia and Madelyn Daiber of Greenville were both all-state last year with hopes of repeating that in 2-18. Harris, Schwarz, and Maines were the only athletes that return that have seasonal bests of 40 feet or better. Claudia Workman of Clinton and Addison Cox of Morton both made last year’s finals. They could make to the podium in Charleston.

DISCUS

Top Returnees

Notes – The story is the same in this event as it is in the Shot Put. Tayla Schwarz and Evangelynn Harris should be the class of this event. They are the only athletes returning that had season bests past 130 feet. Schwarz is the athlete that everyone will have their eyes on being that she has been the state champion the past two seasons. She was fourth her freshmen year in 2015.

Harris went past 130 feet five times last spring with her 135-8 personal best in her first meet the best of the year. She did not make it to state finishing eighth in her sectional meet. Consistency in her throws this spring could get her close to Schwarz.

This event is wide-open for the next seven state spots with Lanaeja Carter of Urbana and Sydney Apgar of Carbondale earning all-state honors in Charleston. Kelly Pottorff of Troy Triad and Lydia Wells of Mendota are the only other athletes back that have gone past 120-feet. This event is an event of opportunity. It will be interesting to see who will step up into the spotlight to challenge Schwarz.