Top teams: Herrin 61.5, Winnebago 43, Rochester 36, Champaign (St. Thomas More) 27, Chicago (Leo) 26

Herrin came to Charleston to seek and conquer.  The Tigers did that.  The business trip is complete.  Zach Riley called yours truly from his dorm room at Eastern Illinois University on Friday afternoon inquiring about his long lost IPTT athlete of the meet trophy.  But the question is thrown back at him about when he was going to come and pick it up. “I’m gonna go practice after the 3A prelims are over,” he politely and softly uttered.  The task at hand was about getting better and helping his team win a state championship.  Riley walked around the infield at times under an umbrella cheering on teammate Brian Pankey in the triple jump and then dashing on to the track for relays. So, it’s no surprise that Herrin is more than a bunch of athletes bullying their way to a title.  They are a TEAM among its stars.  The final stats more than proved that when 4:30pm rolled around.

Winnebago ran well but not quite good enough to defend their title against a dominant Herrin bunch.  The Indians used everything in their arsenal to get over Herrin: throws, relays, and several open events weren’t enough to surpass the Riley and Pankey duo.

Rochester had 26 points going into the last event and needed an 8th place finish in the showstopper in order to earn a spot on the podium. They got 10 points and a class record… and a spot on the podium.

Track-

Beecher at the final exchange of the 4 x 800 Relay

4x800m relay-
Beecher 7:57.41 [1:58.2, 2:00.5, 2:01.8, 1:56.9]
Elmwood 8:00.16
St. Joe-Ogden 8:03.00
Summary: Beecher had one mission and that was to secure a state championship… and if a record was in the offering that would be awesome.  Big brother Griffin Nykaza led things off in a swift 1:58 split that set things up nicely for the favored Bobcats, whose seasonal best was a solid 8:01 coming into the state championship series.  Elmwood and several other teams keep the pressure on through three legs until little brother Grant Nykaza took the stick and virtually closed the door on the Elmwood Park and put the first official track race in the scoring book.

4x100m relay-
Herrin 42.77
Chicago (Leo) 42.92
Stanford-Olympia 43.14
Summary: Herrin actually broke the class record in the prelims with a smoking 42.13.  The stakes were higher in the final with 10 points and a championship on the line; the passes were a little safer around the track which enabled Leo stay close through three legs.  To complicate matters even more, there was a noticeable bobble on the final exchange between usually steady tandem Pankey and Riley.  Riley was able to quickly rite the situation in stride and holds back a charging Leo team.

3200m-
Justin Rehfeldt (Rockford Christian) 9:31.62 [4:47/4:41]
Sandro Mazza (Melrose Walther Lutheran) 9:32.99
Scott Janusick (Spring Valley Hall) 9:37.70
Summary: keep in mind that the section 1 winner Chase Coffey (Farmington) ran 9:40.74 when the heat index was a moderate at 10am.  Coffey’s state performance was a successful closer and enduring a previously lackluster outdoor campaign; he only ran 10:03 coming in after completing a great indoor season that resulted in a second place finish at IPTT to Rehfeldt.  Speaking of Rehfeldt, he knew Coffey ran 9:40, but the plan was to conserve as much energy for the 1600m final and still win the deuce.  Rehfeldt stayed on Mazza’s shoulder or just behind him or several runners before taking the lead with 900m to go.  Rehfeldt continued his hard surge as the final 2:15 800m as well a swift last 65-second quarter attests. “It’s pretty hot out here and I knew what I needed to do get under 9:40,” said Rehfeldt shortly after his win.

110HH- (-0.1)-
Tanner Ewing (Kewanee-Weathersfield) 14.59
Ser Whitaker (Carthage Illini West) 14.60
Dan Eubanks (Sesser-Valier) 14.86
Summary: it was as close as it could get for two of the classes best short hurdlers.  Ewing and Whitaker traded blows over the first 3-4 barriers but neither would budge.  The matter wasn’t settled at 7 or 8 and it still looked like a tie from a naked eye when they both crossed the finish line. After a few seconds, the scoreboard exalted Ewing as official champion.

Tanner Ewing Prevailed in the 110 High Hurdles

100m- (-0.2)-
Jaelin McWilliams (Murphysboro) 11.04
Jimmie Smith (Canton) 11.07
Jade Ackerman (Champaign St. More) 11.18
Summary: McWilliams wasn’t supposed to win this race- the title was supposed to go to either Smith (prelim leader) or Ackerman.  But that’s why they run the races as it’s said.  McWilliams got slightly ahead of the field but it closed with Smith looking to get the win but could over the deficit. Ackerman was totally out of it; he didn’t even have a chance because of a slow start.  McWilliams carried his momentum all the way to a victory.

800m-
Griffin Nykaza (Beecher) 1:57.92 [59.0
Bryant Simpson (Fairfield) 1:58.75
Eric Leonard (Sangamon Valley) 1:58.85
Summary: the leader took the pace out in pedestrian 27.6 and 58.3 checkpoints; Nykaza lurked past the 400m in 59.0. He finally had enough and grabbed the lead with 350m to go and was never headed.  Simpson and Leonard gave valiant efforts on the final homestretch but it was not enough.

4x200m relay-
Herrin 1:28.88
Winnebago 1:29.29
Chicago (Leo) 1:29.68
Summary: it was Herrin with Pankey and Riley one last time as the dynamic duo.  Pankey opened up on the front curve and backstretch on Leo who was moving solidly.  But once Riley got the stick for his final performance on EIU’s blue surface, it was about holding on with a tightly wrapped ankle.  Riley turned it over as fast as he could against Winnebago’s Marcus Posley, who had passed Leo’s Bruce Gray into second.  Posley ran out of real estate and settled for the silver medal.

400m-
Ben Asmus (Heyworth) 47.59
Cody Boarman (Shelbyville) 48.97
Brett Eandi (Rochester) 49.07
Summary: the buzz that followed Asmus’ incredibly easy win after his time flashed on the scoreboard was: “that time is going to stand up.”  Several reporters remarked that his time was going to beat the 2A and even 3A winner Eric Oliver (Homewood-Flossmoor), who the majority of fans consider as the top overall quarter-miler.  Sure enough it did as 2A’s Garret Payne (Glenbard South) only ran 48.25.  Oliver mustered just 47.96 in his win.  Asmus led from beginning to end against Boarman, who was supposed to put up a stronger challenge but couldn’t handle the fast  22.xx first 200m.  Ausman actually stretched out against his foes and it didn’t even appear as if he built up any lactic acid in his legs as he crossed the finish line.

300H-
Tanner Ewing 38.51
Ser Whitaker 38.76
Brandon Forrest (Ottawa) 39.09
Summary: Ewing completed the hurdle sweep as expected by simply executing a near flawless game plan of not miss-stepping or knocking over hurdles.

1600m-

Justin Rehfeldt, shown here in the prelims, won the Class A distance triple crown- Cross Country, the 3200, and the 1600 all in the same year.  Jim Spivey of Lebanon was the last Junoir to accomplish this amazing feat.

Justin Rehfeldt 4:25.99
Danny Delaney (Carlinville) 4:27.14
Sandro Mazza 4:27.39
Summary: the lack of starpower is no disrespect to the Rehfeldt or to the field.  The fact is there is no Peter Callahan (Northshore Country Day) or Parker Thompson (Tremont) type runners in this field.  None of this matters when a state title is on the line.  Rehfeldt followed his game plan and stayed behind a host of runners for the first and lap and a half before moving up.  Delaney had the fastest overall class time coming in had to know that it was a matter of time before Rehfeldt would strike.  Rehfeldt pushed hard into the lead and opened a gap on the field.  The foot on the pedal did not decrease until Rehfeldt got close to the finish line and a head check before crossing first.

200m- (-1.2)
Jimmie Smith 21.96
Nate Schreiber (Trenton Wesclin) 22.17
Ben Asmus 22.43
Summary: Smith got a measure of revenge after coming up short in the 100m as got out of the block like a slingshot and held off Schreiber for the winner.

4x400m relay-
Rochester 3:19.95 [Class record]
Shelbyville 3:20.97
Nashville 3:21.86
Summary: this was a total surprise here.  The former record: 3:20.00 held by St. Anne’s since 1983 has stood the test of time by many great teams since then.  Rochester did have Brent Eandi on the anchor as well as three solid teammates.  The Rocket coaching staff said that their leadoff runner Alex Alvey was the key to a winning performance.  He opened in a delightful 50.7 and that was good enough for second leg Zach Barnett to negotiate the break line against Shelbyville and a few other teams.  Sean Ryan kept the pressure on the field and his team well ahead of the 8th place finish they needed to earn a third place team trophy.  Ryan split a blistering 48.8 and that was everything Mr. Anchor Brett Eandi needed.  Eandi was probably still buzzing from his 3rd place finish in the 400m.  Eandi held his own against the very dangerous Cody Boarman.  Boarman gave it his all but he was no match for Eandi’s 48.8 blistering tote that sent him and his team into the record books.  It also sent him and him teammates on the trophy pole.

Field-

Zach Riley of Herrin won an amazing six state gold medals includng four this year.

Long Jump-
Zach Riley (Herrin) 23-4 [+1.4]
Dontae Pryor (Kewanee) 22-8.25 [+1.5]
Chris Lance (Pleasant Plains) 22-6.5 [2.0]
Summary: Riley is a true champion in that he wanted to better his performance from the prelim despite their being no way Pryor or anyone else standing a chance of defeating him.  Riley did not improve on Thursday’s efforts but recorded 22-9, 22-5, and 22-8 marks.

Pole Vault-
Matt Bane (Rochester) 16-0
Cody Klein (Sparta) 16-0
Nathaneal Rittmeyer (Winnebago) 14-0
Summary: Bane was mistakenly left out of the meet preview but he is one of Illinois’ premier vaulters.  His classic duel against friendly rival Kline lived up to the hype as the victory came down to less misses. 

High Jump-
Zach Riley 6-8
Jordan Peyton (Rockford Christian Life) J6-8
Oumaru Abdulahi (Mooseheart) 6-7
Summary: Riley and Peyton completed the same height but it was he that had the upper hand as well as the more difficult task in defending his title.  Riley started out with the HJ before going over to the track to for the 4x1r final. But getting up to the usually expected 7-0 barrier was not in the offering because of Riley’s heavy workload.  Riley competed in two relays and two jumps in the span of a few hours.  He bowed gracefully at 6-10.

Shot Put-
Tyler Clott (Peotone) 57-7.25
Jason Baker (Reed-Custer) 57-3.5
Rob Stein (Elmhurst Timothy Christian) 57-0.5
Summary: Clott improved by over four feet from the prelim to displace leader Brandon Noe (St. Thomas).  Bake and Steinr also leaped over Noe and pushed him into 4th place.

Triple Jump-
Brian Pankey (Herrin) 45-9.25 [+2.7]
Karson Hoffman (DuQuoin) 45-1 [+2.0]
Myles Tinsley (Sesser-Valier) [+1.7]
Summary: Pankey got the advantage over Hoffman and Tinsley on the strength of a generous tailwind.  Pankey continued to churn out grinding efforts to thwart any potential momentum switch.

Discus Throw-
Alex Thompson (Winnebago) 193-2 [record]
Brandon Noe (Champaign St. Thomas More) 187-8
Eric Davis (Westmont) 171-11
Summary: the Class A division is so strong that the 2A winner Tyler Loos of Sterling would have only placed 9th.  Thompson had his hands full against Noe all weekend.  Noe got on the Who’s Who map earlier this season with a monster 203-7 monster throw.  Thompson had his own 201-6 effort- both marks are in the top 5 in the nation.  Thompson held the existing state meet record coming into Saturday’s final and was aiming to break it one more time.  He did the trick on his second attempt with a slight headwind.  Although he wanted to achieve another 200-foot performance, he can’t be disappointed in winning and leaving town with another record.