2026 Boys Conference - Wednesday Previews

SPC

The SPC is home to some of the top programs in the entire state, we are going to see some electric track events here. In the sprints, Dontrell Young of Oswego is in the hunt for his first ever conference triple crown. He’s entered in the 100, 200, and 400 and he is the heavy favorite in the latter two. His 400 season best of 47.76 makes him one of 4 athletes who have broken 48 this season, which makes him a great candidate for the win here. He will face fierce competition in all of his events, but his main obstacle is Joe Owusu of Plainfield East. Owusu is the favorite in the 100, with his season best of 10.63. His PR of 10.60 comes from last season where he ran into a (-1.3 m/s) headwind to take the SPC title in the 100. He has the best shot at taking down Young out of the 100 field. In the 200, Nasir Robinson of Plainfield East will be the name to challenge Young. Robinson ran a blistering 21.36 at the Norm Armstrong invite, and he has been a huge factor in the Plainfield East relays this year. If he is able to chop some time off of his PR, he should be in contention for a win. Robinson will also be running the 400, where he will be met by Edmond Ankomah of Bolingbrook. Out of the rest of the competitors, Ankomah is the best equipped to take down Young in the 400 with his PR of 48.53. Ankomah had one of the most impressive results of the indoor season when he ran 49.41 on a 160 meter track, so his PR of 48.53 could see some serious renovation here. We should also see some quality results from the sprint relays, as Plainfield East and Minooka battle for the conference title in the 4x1 and 4x2. PE has a season best of 41.41, which is a top 5 mark in the state, but Minooka has them in the 4x2 with a time of 1:29.13. Both teams have great sprinters, it should be a close race in both. 

The distance events are equally loaded, all three individual events have the capacity to put up top ranked times. Owen Horeni of Yorkville will be doubling in the 800 and the 1600, he will be looking to take the win in both. Horeni has experience with this double, as he ran it during the indoor season at the Clash at the Coliseum to take wins in both events. His PRs are definitely the best in the field with marks of 1:50 and 4:09, the only question is can his legs survive the two events. The 800 shouldn’t be an issue, but the tired 1600 he will run later features some extremely capable names. Dylan Buturisis of Plainfield South is one of those names, his PR of 4:13 will be more than good for a win if Horeni isn’t fully charged. Buturisis has more speed than most, showcased by his 800 PR of 1:54. If the race starts slow, Buturisis could definitely use that to his advantage against a tired Horeni. Aiden Connors of Plainfield North is another runner who could benefit from a slow start, and he could certainly snipe the win from Horeni if given the chance. Connors used his deadly kick at the IIC 3200 where he took the win in 9:01, he could do the same thing here if Horeni isn’t careful. Moving on from the 1600, the 3200 should see some great times as well. Thomas Czerwinski of Plainfield North has had a rough stretch lately due to injury, but he should be over that hump here at SPC’s. He is set to run the 3200, and he’s seeded at 9:15, which means he should be in shape for a win here. If he’s in the shape that he has been previously, then we could see something under 9:10 here.

Big 12

The Big 12 Conference brings together some great competition from central Illinois across all events. On the distance side, AJ Ince of Normal Community will be doubling in the mile and 800, expect him to take easy wins in both events. His PR’s of 4:19 and 1:54 are multiple seconds ahead of anyone else in the field, so it will be interesting to see how far he can push himself in these races. The 3200 could potentially be a tight race, as Maxwell Kirby comes in with the top seed of 9:39, with Eli Hartmen seeded just behind at 9:41. Kirby took 6th place at the 2A XC State Championships in November, and this endurance should carry him to a win. On the sprints side, D’Mario Jackson of Danville and Damir Harris of Normal Community West will face off three different times in the 100, 200, and 400. Jackson is ranked 2A #3 in the 100, and #1 in the 200 and 400 and Harris is ranked 3A #6 in the 200. In all three events, their PR’s are remarkably close and ranked at the top of their fields, and it will be incredibly exciting to see how they push each other in these races. In the jumps, Champaign (Centennial) will be a dominant force, as they have 2 athletes ranked in the 3A top 10: #2 ranked high-jumper JJ Lewandowski and #8 ranked triple jumper Elie Beni Duma. Lewandowski has already cleared 2 meters this season and is the only one in the conference field to have done so. Duma comes into this meet with a PB of 45-09.00, the only athlete in the field to clear 45 feet in triple jump this season. Both athletes will propel Centennial upwards in the team scoring. 

MSL

The Mid Suburban League Conference is a meet full of 3A talent and some of the top relays and athletes in the state. In the 4x8 Arlington Heights Hersey is the clear favorite with a time of 7:49.77 and the IL #6 time this season, so hopefully they perform well on Wednesday. In the hurdles, Ray Black of Schaumburg is the favorite in both the 110m and the 300m hurdles with some very quick times this season that have ranked him in the top twenty five for both events this year. In the 100, the clear favorite is Micah Pickett of Hoffman Estates. He has a very fast time of 10.53 which ranks him #6 in the state this year so hopefully he can have some fast races on his way through the post season. Pickett is also the heavy favorite in the 200 with his season best of 21.68, so hopefully he can pull off the double win on Wednesday. In the 400, it is looking like a close race between Justin Czepiel of Hoffman Estates (Conant) and Adam Lyon of Barrington, who have both put up some impressive times this season. Both have run in the low 49s so far, but Lyon’s all-time PR is 48.63, which gives him the slight advantage. In the 1600 it will be even closer, with four guys within two seconds of each other. The two top seeds of Charlie Calderone of Hoffman Estates (Conant) and Jack Jennings of Palatine(Fremd) have both ran in the 4:16s this year and have been very competitive from cross country through indoor. Alex Krieg of Palatine and Mateus Salomao of Hersey will also be factors in this race, as their PRs of 4:12 and 4:13 respectively are the top PRs in the field. In the field events, the top thrower is looking like Shea Lewis of Prospect, who is one of the best in the state and is the heavy favorite on Wednesday. Lewis’s teammate, Jack Kruger, is equally as impressive in the pole vault and is also the heavy favorite on Wednesday. The MSL conference meet is looking to be a battle between some 3A powerhouses and will have some very fast times and impressive performances.

WSC Gold

The gold sub-division of the West Suburban Conference features a super strong distance field. In the highly competitive 800 field, we have Evan Haworth, senior out of Willowbrook, leading the pack in a 1:57.43. He will see a strong race from Alex Rodriguez of Berwyn Cicero Morton, who is likely going to set a big PR here. Rodriguez has yet to run the 800 this season, but his 1600 PR of 4:13 and 3200 PR of 9:14 show that his aerobic endurance is top tier. If he’s able to inject some speed into his race, he should be in for an easy win. Following that, we have the Downers Grove South 4x800 and they are entering with their blazing fast season’s best of 7:48.78 which is currently US#32 and IL#2. With this electric performance in mind, the time may not be replicated this Wednesday as two of their runners from the previous relay will not be entering into it. However, it should still be an easy win for the DGS squad. Another distance athlete to look out for is Orlando Sandoval of Morton. His senior season started out hot with his 4:15.54 and a 9:22.11 in the 1600 and 3200. Many people know him as an 800 runner, but the times he is running this season show his versatility to do more than just the half mile. He will be entered in the 3200 with his teammate, Miguel Flores, they will be looking to go 1-2. On the sprint side of this conference the teammates from Willowbrook, Otis Powell and Josiah Marlowe, have peaked at the right time. They just recently ran the exact same time (11.19) in the 100m down to the thousandth of a second. This should be one of the most anticipated sprints races of the conference as the winner will come down to a lean at the line. On the jumps side, Otis Powell will double back from the sprints to dominate. He is one of the premier high jumpers in all of Illinois as his 6 '6 SB is top-20. A few more names on the field side to watch are Mike Gentile the DGS thrower, Patrick Durkin the DGS vaulter, and Morton’s Abdul Rizwan the triple jumper. The WSC has produced some incredible times and marks over the years and this time around should be no different.