The team battle for the state championship could be a battle of epic proportions this weekend in Charleston. Cahokia has been the top rated team on this level most of the season, but defending State team Champ Hillcrest would like to hold onto the title. If there are mistakes made by these schools, there are other schools led by Oak Forest and Glenbard South that have the capability of stepping in and capturing the title.

There will be some of the individual events that will be in the spotlight here. The east side of the stadium will be packed when Streator's Logan Pflibsen is vaulting on Saturday. In his last high school state meet, he will go after a mammouth state record. The 1600, like in AAA, will be in the spotlight with a great battle between Oak Forest's Ed McDaniel and Dunlap's John Crain.

Here is a look at the team competition and also what could happen in the individual events:

TEAMS

Cahokia - 13 Individuals - 4 Relays
A great all around team that could dominate on Saturday. Leroy Millsap's teams are always strong and this year is no exception. They will be in the top 3 in the 4 x 1, 4 x 2, & 4 x 4 and should also score in the 4 x 8. DeAnthony Henderson did not qualify in the 300 Intermediate Hurdles, but will be the favorite in the shorter hurdle race. Vernon Carter is strong in the Triple Jump and will be the favorite there. Laderrick Ward is a big meet performer and wil be one of the favorites in the Long Jump. Randall Thomas could score major points in the 400. Also watch for points from Ervin Fridge in the weight events. TWith the amount of qualifiers that this team has, there is room for slipups, but they would not want to make many with Hillcrest lurking.

Hillcrest - 14 Individuals - 3 Relays
Will not go down quietly in the team race and will be the biggest threat to Cahokia. Many of the point hopes will fall on Jamison Wilson. He is strong in the Vertical Jumps nd both hurdle races. He will score major points in all 4 events. Ron Towner's relays are strong. They have the fastest sectional time in the 4 x 1 and the 4 x 4. It will hurt that they did not make it in the 4 x 2. Pierre Williams will score points in the 400 and Justin Kilpatrick could score points in the sprints. Like Cahokia, they have room for mistakes, but they have the talent to beat Cahokia.

Oak Forest - 10 Individuals - 3 Relays
A team that will be ready to step in if either Hillcrest or Cahokia slip up. Oak Forest will rely on points in the Long Jump with one of the favorites Tevin Coleman, in the Hurdles with Wana Wauna. Ed McDaniel ran a great 1600 at Sectionals and is a heavy favorite in the 1600. He will also play a part in the 4 x 8. Josh Driver has the fastest sectional time in the 800 and will be in the hunt there. This school has been overlooked, but if they hit their performances, this team could sneak in and grab a trophy.

Glenbard South - 9 Individuals - 3 Relays
A team that is in the hunt for a trophy. Garret Payne is a big favorite in the 400 and will score points in the 100. He will play a part in their two relays as well. Sophomore Wesley Sanders has the fastest sectional time in the 200 and will score points there. Joe Boesso could score points in the High Jump. If this team performs like they should, it could return to Glen Ellyn with a trophy.

Danville - 8 Individuals - 2 Relays
Will rely on the sprints and the weight events to score points here. Cameron Stringfellow-Ford and Keith Mayfield could be factors in both weight events. Anthony Bacoat will be one of the favorites in the 100 and will be a key part of the 4 x 1 relay. Tejuan Jackson could score some big points in the 400. Cannnot make many mistakes if they want to leave Charleston with a trophy.

Kaneland - 10 Individuals - 4 Relays
Have many individuals that qualified, but will need some breaks to get on the trophy stand at the end of the day on Saturday. Nick Sinon will be one of the favorites in the high Jump. Logan Markuson will score points in the Pole Vault and both of the hurdles. Taylor Andrews will score points as well in the hurdles. They will score points in both of the relays. Not alot of room for mistakes, but if they have some personal bests they could leave with a trophy.

Individual Events

Long Jump-
Could be a tight competition here. Torre Harrell of Bloomington has come on strong over the last few weeks and had the best sectional performance here. Laderrick Ward of Cahokia tends to rise to the competition and will be a factor here. Jamison Wilson of Hillcrest has the state meet experience and will be in the hunt for a championship. Tevin Coleman of Oak Forest, Emmanuel Richter-Shea of Champaign Centennial, Dylan Donnelly of DeKalb, and Lawrence Deramus of Rich Central will be in the hunt for a medal as well. It will take a 23' jump to win here.

Triple Jump-
Should be a great battle between TFX seasonal leader in AA Vernon Carter of Cahokia and Sectional leader Jamison Wilson of Hillcrest. Both will push each other to over 49 feet here. Marcel Hamilton of Oak Forest will be a force in this discipline. Also watch for Demetrius Carr of Champaign Centennial, Tre Llanes of Burlington Central, Drexler Blue of Galesburg, and Oluwaseyi Ogunleye of TF North to be chasing medals here.

High Jump-
This event should come to Cameron Ostrowski of Burlington Central, who cleared 6' 9" last week at sectionals, and Nick Sinon of Kaneland. Could push each other to close to 7' on Saturday. Aaron Baker of TF North, Joe Boesso of Glenbard South, and Titus Hughes  of Springfield could be in the mix for the championship as well.

Pole Vault-
Slam dunk here. Unless he gets lost on the way to the Stadium, this event belongs to Streator's Logan Pflibsen. This future University of New Mexico vaulter cleared the #2 height in the country last week in Champaign. He will go after the state record here on Saturday. In fact, he could enter the event at a height after everyone has left...when has that happened before? Sam Mate of Champaign Central, Logan Markuson of Kaneland, Caleb Cox of Chatham-Glenwood, Josiah Becker of Crystal Lake Central, and Taylor Dupre of DeKalb will comprise of the chase pack going after Pflibsen.

Shot Put-
A wide open competition here. Matt Strack of Champaign Central has big meet experience and will be towards the tops here. Preston Lumzy of Dixon has the best put in AA sectional competition. He has the talent to go past 59' on Saturday. Alex Czechowicz of Belvidere North is also in the hunt for a medal. Also watch for Jake Hoelzel of Peoria Richwoods, Bill Brinser and John Pfeiffer of Lakes, and Nate Joseph of East Peoria for a chance at a medal.

Discus-
Could be a tight competition between conference rivals Preston Lumzy of Dixon and Tyler Loos of Sterling. Lumzy has the best throw in the sectionals by 7 feet and tends to be at his best when the money is on the line. John Pfeiffer of Lakes has been tough all season and could walk away with the top prize on Saturday. Watch for Jake Hoelzel of Peoria Richwoods, Cameron Stringfellow-Ford of Danville, Breyonte Brewer of Hillcrest, Nick Addison of Yorkville, and Ryan Wagand of Freeport all with a shot of getting a medal in this event.

4 x 800 Meter Relay-
Galesburg is a heavy favorite in this event. They have both the fastest time in the sectionals and overall so far this track season. Will Remmes and Luke Junk are keys to this squad's success. Crystal Lake Central won the indoor title and could push Galesburg. Kaneland and Belvidere North also have a chance of being in the lead pack. Also watch for Riverside-Brookfield, Glenbard South, Peoria Richwoods, and Wheaton St. Francis to be in the medal chase. Galesburg could run close to 7:50 to win here.

4 x 100 Meter Relay-
As you all know, anything can happen in the short relay. Could be the case here. Hillcrest could be the big favorite here. Jason Kilpatrick and Ryan Keen are keys for this squad. Cahokia is always strong in the relays and will push Hillcrest. Crete-Monee has the talent to surprise here. Watch for Rock Island, Danville, Rich Central, and TF North to also be in the chase.

3200 Meter Run-
At the indoor IPTT Classic at the end of March, Paul Zeman of Belvidere North and CJ Elward of Peoria Notre Dame ran shoulder to shoulder until Elward pulled away in the last 800. This is part 2 of this friendly rivalry. Elward has laid low during the outdoor season, but he still had the fastest sectional time. Zeman ran 9:17 in California in April and is ready for the challenge. This is going to be a fast pace. Both runners are out to prove that they are the best. Elward stated after the Classic that he wanted to have the fastest time in Illinois at the end of the season. He is fit and could do that on Saturday, but he may have to watch out for Zeman.

There will be other runners in there if either of these two falter. Watch for Michael Clevenger of Decatur MacArthur, Brian Dixon of Chatham Glenwood, Ryan Alvarez of Crystal Lake Central , and Phil Meyer of Woodstock to run PR's and be part of a great race....It will take 9:06- 9:08 to win it here.

110 Meter High Hurdles-
Could be a tight race here. DeAnthony Henderson of Cahokia is a strong hurdler and has the fastest FAT time in AA. He won the indoor championship and will be the favorite here. Jamison Wilson of Hillcrest had the fastest Sectional time and will push Henderson. A tough field here including Taylor Andrews of Kaneland, Wana Wauna of Oak Forest, Nate Berg of Belvidere North, Rashad Hulbert of Crete-Monee, and Jesse Hubbard of TF North. 

100 Meter Dash-
Watch for the Crete-Monee pair of Dylan McElveen or Lexus Jackson to be the winner here. Both runners have been hot the last few weeks and could have an emotional edge. Anthony Bacoat of Danville will have a say and could win as well. Watch for DJ Zahn of Morton, Garret Payne of Glenbard South, Jiarre Jackson of Chatham Glenwood, and Devantre Whitelow of Centralia a chance to win here.

800 Meter Run-
Could be an interesting race around the blue track. Josh Driver of Oak Forest comes into the meet having the best sectional time in the state. He has come on strong over the last few weeks and will be in the hunt for the win. One runner to definitely watch is Jersey Senior Ryan Todd. He won the IPTT Classic in March. He's demonstrated he has a great kick in the past and will be certain to be using it on Saturday. The Galesburg duo of Will Remmes and Luke Junk will be up front as well, having run 1:56 last week at Rock Island. Ian Sanchez of Richmond-Burton has deceptive speed and could run away with the win here. Also watch for Ryan Van Fossem of Metamora, Ryan Prais of Lakes, and Justin Lee of Springfield to be in the mix to win this race. It will take 1:54 to win on Saturday.

4 x 200 Meter Relay-
With Hillcrest not making it out of their sectional, it kind of throws this event open. Thornton Fractional North comes in with the fastest sectional time. However, watch out for Cahokia, who does have the fastest time in AA this season. Also watch for Crete-Monee, with Lexus Jackson and Dylan McElveen, Grayslake Central, and Kankakee with Michael Wright to be it for the win. Could this relay go into the 1:27's?....its a possibility.

400 Meter Dash-
Garret Payne of Glenbard South has been atop of the TFX leaderboard in this event for most of the season. He has the fastest time coming out of the sectional by 6 tenths of a second. It will not be a cakewalk for him as other quartermilers will have their sights set on him. D.J. Zahn of Morton has progressed steadily all season and is on the verge of going under 49 seconds this weekend. Tejuan Jackson of Danville is a strong finisher and could complicate plans for Payne. Also keep an eye on Ian Wells of Champaign Central, Pierre Williams of Hillcrest, Randall Thomas of Cahokia, and Kerry Kolbacher of Prairie Ridge. Payne should wins this race...and he could go under 48 seconds doing it.

300 Meter Intermediate Hurdles-
This should be a south suburban struggle between three hurdlers that have faced each other countless times during the season. Jamison Wilson of Hillcrest defeated conference rival Wana Wauna of Oak Forest last week in Country Club Hills. Both will push each other to faster times on Saturday. Rashad Hulbert of Crete-Monee could the x-factor in this race. he has been getting faster the last couple of weeks and could pull of the surprise here. Other hurdlers to watch in this event include Jerraco Johnson of Rock Island, Josh Thomas of Galesburg, Logan Markuson of Kaneland, and Marcel Hamilton of Oak Forest. They could be in the low 37's when all is said and done.

1600 Meter Run-
Ed McDaniel of Oak Forest set the standard for the rest of the athletes in the 1600 meter run by doing a 4:16.8 solo effort at last week's sectional. He is capable of going much faster and probably will do so on Saturday. Will there be anyone with him. One runner that could be there is John Crain of Dunlap. He won the IPTT Classic and has a strong kick. It could mean trouble for McDaniel if they are together on the last lap. Another to watch is Tyson Kinsley of Sycamore. Even though he has the 6th fastest sectional time, he will be fresh which could make the difference in the heat of O'Brien Stadium. Ian Sanchez of Richmond-Burton, Ryan Todd of Jersey, and Paul Zeman of Belvidere North could all be there, but they will be coming back on doubles. Watch carefully for Andrew Thompson of Vernon Hills...he could be the spoiler in this race. If McDaniel just goes out and runs his race, he could be flirting with 4:10.

200 Meter Dash -
Wesley Sanders of Glenbard South has been a pleasant surprise for Coach Andy Preuss this season. Sanders comes into this race with the fastest FAT time in AA and could be considered one of the favorites. Lexus Jackson and Dylan McElveen of Crete-Monee dominated the field at the tough Hillcrest Sectional and will be in the championship hunt. Others to watch for here include Devantre Whitelow of Centralia, Mike Wright of Kankakee, and Jahard Nelson of Grayslake Central. It will take 21.60 to win it here.

4 x 400 Meter Relay-
The team championship will definitely come down to this event. Cahokia comes into the event with the fastest time in AA by 2 seconds. They are no lock in this race. Hillcrest looked strong last week garnishing the top sectional time and will be right on the side of Cahokia. Galesburg and Kaneland have strong quartets and will be denied for the championship as well. Oak Forest, Glenbard South, and Chatham Glenwood. The team championship could come down to the anchor legs of Pierre Williams of Hillcrest and Randall Thomas of Cahokia...what a sight that will be! 3:17- 3:18 could be the winning time in this race.