2026 IHSA Track and Field Boys State: 2A Preview

100m

This is going to be one of the closest 100m State Final races we have ever seen. There are many athletes that are within milliseconds of each other. Realistically, any of the athletes mentioned here could take the title, as long as they have a good day on Finals day. The first contender is the only returning All-Stater from last year, Jaiduan Cranford of Metamora. Cranford was the early season favorite, as he smoked the field at IL Top Times. Not to mention, he still has yet to lose this outdoor season in any event he has taken part in. So far, he’s ranked at #3, but only by .05 seconds. The next contender is the current favorite to win it all. D’Mario Jackson of Danville is one of the most versatile athletes in the sprint world this season. He is ranked first in the 100m, 200, and 400m. He just achieved all of those marks at his conference meet. So, we know he is still peaking right now. This could lead to a triple crown run for Jackson, but this race is definitely going to be the hardest for him to win. Marlin Jeffries Jr. of North Chicago has also been having a great season. Last year, he missed the podium by a single spot, achieving 10th at Prelims. But, all of those except for Cranford were seniors and graduated. For him, he has lost a couple times but it has been against some real competition. So, if he can get it together and have a good day at State, then he could easily overtake Jackson or anyone for the title. Jayden McCallum of Cahokia is next up on the leaderboard, and he is right there with the rest of them. Being on the verge of breaking 10.6, McCallum could have a legacy race at State and take the title as well, or most likely a high podium spot. There are many more athletes in this field that are right there with the rest of them.

200m

This race might produce some of the most sub-21 performances we have seen in a single race. It is a very stacked field, with many athletes around the 21 flat mark. The favorite, you guessed it, is D’Mario Jackson of Danville. His versatility and speed have proven that he is a strong enough athlete to take this title, especially after a full day of running as well. Kieonte Drake of Chicago Hyde Park is realistically not too far off. Only being .1 seconds away from Jackson, Drake is very much able to overtake Jackson this year, but he is going to have to fight all the way through the line if he wants it that badly. Marlin Jeffries Jr. of North Chicago is the first returning All-Stater in this field. He achieved 5th in last year’s 200m Finals. Once again, a majority of the field was dominated by seniors. Sop, with gaps to fill, we could see Jeffries Jr. Shoot for a top 3 spot on that podium. Now, Jaydan McCallum has a unique story. He competed for East St. Louis last year and got 6th in this event. Now, he has transferred to Cahokia, and looks to be running even faster this year. Not to mention, East St. Louis and Cahokia were two of the top 3 teams that finished in 2A last year, so there is some competitive rivalry there. Realistically, there are many athletes that could potentially take the title, and definitely some that I hadn’t mentioned here. This is going to be the race of upsets, or domination by Jackson.

400m

So far, 3 athletes are already faster than last year’s 400m Champion. After having an absolutely outlandish performance at his Conference meet, D’Mario Jackson of Danville is the favorite for this meet. Slipping under that 48 second mark, this event is going to cap off his Triple Crown run this season. And yes, he does currently have the #1 mark in 2A for this event as well. However, anything can happen in Charleston, as we have seen favorite being taken up by someone who was never supposed to beat them. Logan Smallwood of Bartenville Limestone could 100% pull off the upset. He got silver at last year’s State meet, and I would guess that he is not going to be content with another silver medal this year. Although it is almost a whole second gap between them, he could still pop off on Finals day and take the ship. Bradley Tueth of Jerseyville is the final athlete under last year’s title mark. He is closer to Smallwood, and if he holds onto him while he chases down Jackson then outkicks him at the end, I do not see what Tueth couldn’t take the title as well. Now, a funny case is seen with Reginald Griffin of Cahokia. Griffin is 2A #6 for the 300m Hurdles. But, since these events are back to back, Griffin had to choose the 400m as he is 2A #4 in it. A relief for the 300m hurdlers, but a tensing up for the 400m runners, as this talented athlete could go crazy when it matters and shake up the podium spots a bit. A returning All-Stater that has been having a great season as well is Briggs Cann of Manteno. Getting 9th last year, he has the potential to end right back on that podium again this year, but higher up this time. 

800m

This field has been living up to be one of the tightest packs in the entire State Meet. Previously, we have seen domination from the likes of Tra’Monti Williams and Patrick Hilby. But this year, who knows who is going to win this race. For a while, a lot of heads were pointed towards Zach Born of Metamora. The returning 5th place finisher from last year, he has been able to drop some serious times in this race, his most notable being his 1:52 at DNIP. However, at the Sectionals last week we saw Aiden Duhs of IVC drop a whopping 1:51. He got 6th place last year in this race and competed against Born at IL Top Times, but now Duhs has inserted himself as the new 2A top time and favorite for the 800m. It’s going to be a battle between these two, and the final will be led on by the choice of Born running the 4x800m relay or staying fresh for the open 800m. But, you cannot count out Luke Smith of Waterloo. Smith had a crazy breakout season last year, clutching the silver medal as a freshman at the State Meet. He knows exactly when he needs to perform, and he could do that again this year, but to take away the Title instead of a silver medal. Some 4x800mR/800m double runners this year are going to be Dean Geiger of Dixon and Owen Cyrulik of Lincoln. Both going for the 4x800m title, we do not yet know how they are going to be performing in this open 800m, but I bet they’re going to be towards the top still. Civic Memorial has not entered a 4x800m relay in the State series, so that leaves Glenn Collins a chance to go crazy in this open 800m, while Gavin Smith of Kaneland is opting out of his 4x800m team, so he will run a crazy fresh race this year in 2A. This race is going to be gutsy, but one of the best in the entirety of the State Finals this year.

1600m

This race is going to be seeing a majority of new athletes breaking out into the top of the 1600m field. The favorite to win this race is a finally healthy Thomas Jochum of Glenbard South. Jochum ran a 4:10 indoors, and even with his 3200m/1600m double, we could see him come out on top as he is a very strong front of the pack leader. The IL Top Times champion, Max Weber of Civic Memorial is also going to be one of the runners to keep an eye on. He is used to the 3200m/1600m double, as he got a 5th place medal in this event last year. However, Andrew Aldeman of Normal University has been having a crazy season thus far. Finishing just behind Weber at IL Top Times, we could see Aldeman take a top 3 spot, or even the win if he uses his killer kick. Raphael and Gabriel Greer of Marion are also going to be top contenders in this race, as long as they have a good race. They have been a little more consistent in the 1600m, and if they work together and take the race from the gun, they could easily go 1-2 in this event. Peter Kipp from Niles Northridge Prep has been having a great season so far, and he is a safe bet for an All-State medal if all goes well. John Reinbold of Aurora Central Catholic and Giancarlo Pietrasanta of Glenbard South are also going to be in the mix and could potentially have a crazy race to snag a top podium spot. This race is going to be pretty tight, and I would bet it’s going to come down to whoever is going to kick the hardest, as it did last year. 

3200m

This event is going to be pretty similar to Cross Country, meaning that the title is wide open for anyone to take it. The early season favorites were Rapheal Greer and Gabriel Greer of Marion, as they both ran a 9:00 indoors. However, they have not been able to hit that mark again outdoors. Gabriel has been a little more consistent, however, as he has been able to run 9:01 in outdoor, but Raphael is also the returning silver medalist from last year’s state meet. Cuyler Swanson and Everett Swanson are another set of twins from Morris who are going to be top competitors. These twins being a little more consistent with each other, have both been able to run around the 9:10 range, with and without competition. Notably, Cuyler is the returning 4th place medalist from last year’s 3200m, where he did not make it into the fast heat either. Another returning All-Stater is Max Weber of Civic Memorial. Weber was the 2A XC State Champion, and he got 5th last year at the State Track meet, so we could see him surge for the win, as we all know that “last meet of high school career” adrenaline can take people to crazy heights. Quaid Berger of Olney and Ellery Shutt of Woodstock are also returning All-Staters and they have dropped some crazy times, with Berger even beating out the Greers at IL Top Times and Shutt running at Arcadia. Finally healthy, Thomas Jochum of Glenbard South is going to be the front runner for most of the race with his 9:02 full 2 mile race at NBIN. This is going to be Jochum’s first year of the 3200m/1600m double, but he has the best chance of going for that double crown this year. Finally, Liam Bettis of Taylorville is gunning for it all as well, as he has been able to drop into the low 9:00 range. This race could result in any of these athletes taking the win, as well as a bunch of sub 9:00 finishes if the weather is just right.

100mH

With Cedric Kehoe already hitting his 4 event limit, this leaves the 110m Hurdles wide open for anyone to take it. It is most likely going to come down to a dual between the top returners from last year. First, we have Keaton Koch of Mt. Vernon. He is the top returner and took Bronze at last year’s race. Still ranked within the top 3, we could see Koch take it from the gun and run with it. He is used to dropping huge marks at the State meet, that’s what earned him that bronze medal. However, Amauree Williams of Richton Park is right there with him. Being only .04 seconds behind him last year, Williams took 4th at the State meet. He has been having a killer season this year, so he is definitly still able to compete with Koch, if not overtake him. The 110m Hurdles is  such a short race that it’s going to be determined as soon as that gun goes off, as well as whoever just clears all of the hurdles. We have seen previously that hurdles make these types of events tricky. You could be leading by 5 seconds and trip on a hurdle to end your career. There have been some injuries and ended seasons that have taken some athletes out of the top rankings, so that leaves the door open for athletes such as Alexander Trejo of Prarie Ridge and Nigel Gooden of Cahokia to take high podium spots come Finals day. There are 9 athletes competing that have broken that 15 second barrier, so using context clues that means in order to race on Saturday, these athletes will have to go sub-15, which is very possible.

300mH

What’s crazy about the 300m Hurdles is that the favorite to win this by almost an entire second is comp-letely stacking himself with 4 events, 3 of those 4 events where he is in the top 3 in 2A this season. This is Geneseo’s Cedric Kehoe, as this returning bronze medalist is the only athlete in the field to go under 38 seconds so far. Now, one might think that since Kehoe is stacking up on this, 4x1, 4x2, and 4x4, that he is going to be worn out by the time 300mh is ran. Well, you would be mistaken because at Sectionals last week, this stud PR’d in every single event he qualified for, including the 300m Hurdles. The prelim/final format might challenge him, but Kehoe is the clear favorite for this event, as it’s all on him to snag that title. However, the returning State Champion Amuree Willliams of Richton Park is not going to give away the title that easily. Now, he is sitting a full second behind Kehoe for now, but last year he did drop almost 2 whole seconds off his PR after running a prelim round the day before. This is an athlete who knows exactly how to get the job done when it really matters. Joey Liebhart of Ottawa has been having a breakout year this season. Already dropping a whole 2 seconds off of his PR from last year, this athlete is a top contender for the title, even though it's his first time competing on the big blue track in Charleston. Some returning All-Staters include Nigal Gooden from Cahokia, as he scored a 9th place finish in the finals last year. Now, he is setting himself up for a solid top 5, maybe even a top 3 finish in the Finals if everything clicks for him this year. Another returning All-Stater is Colin Zierman of Morris. What makes him unique is that he All-Stated in 2024 as only a sophomore, but didn’t have a season last year due to injury. Now, he has bounced back stronger and is gunning for a top spot on that podium this year. Fun fact, Zierman actually finished only .04 seconds behind Kehoe in the 2024 season. So, if they are still as similar on the big blue track this year, Zierman could be in the conversation for a State Title of his own.

4x100m

The 4x100m Relay is going to be one of the best races of the day. This is the tightest the field has ever been going into the State meet. 3 teams are co-favorites, as they all run within .01 seconds of eachother. These being Metamora, Prairie Ridge, and Carbondale. Metamora is the only returning All-Stater from these 3, but this race is going to come down to a lean at the line. Either 3 of these teams could take the title, or even fall behind due to an unfortunate dropped baton. No bad luck to be given, obviously, but this race will come down to who’s the most consistent, and preciser. This being that everything goes perfectly. Reactions to the gun, handoffs, and top end speed ASAP will all be factors that determine who takes home the title on Saturday. Bartonville Limestone and Mascoutah are having crazy seasons as werll. Although not the favorite, they could have cleaner transitions to overtake any of tri-favorites. Triad can follow in their girls’ team footsteps and take home the title as well. Although a little farther behind, they could run a very good underdog story and take the ship away. Mascoutah is also a returning All-State team, as they look for another medal come Finals Saturday. I know the 4x1 is always a close race, but this year its going to be closer than ever before.

4x200m

Once again Metamora dominates the relay sprint fields and is the favorite again in the 4x200m Relay. This is what seems to be their plan, as they not only spread out their talent among individual attempts, but they take more of a focus on creating master-class level relays in order to take 10 points in as many events as they can, winning a ton of State Champion medals. But, the former 3A runners of Kaneland are not going to let Metamora take this win so easily. Being within a second of them, a race of cleaner handoffs and more top end sprinting could make the difference between a gap race and a neck-and-neck finish. We have seen championships lost before due to a lean at the line, so this race could turn out to be similar. Some other competitors within this race are Geneseo, using Cedric Kehoe as mentioned earlier, and Triad. Rochester and Mt. Vernon have also been having killer seasons, and they could keep up the fight to score a top odium spot. Most of these teams are within a single second of each other, but in a sprint race that matters a lot. None of these teams All-Stated last year as well, so it looks like we are going to have a fresh podium this year, with the title open for anyone’s taking.

4x400m

Unlike most of the relays, the 4x400m Relay is going to have a few powerhouse returners. The most notable being the amazing squad from Cahokia, being Mark Samuels, Nigel Gooden, Jayden McCallur, and Reginald Griffin. Most of these athletes have been talked about already, but they could all come together for the final race of the day to give us a showcase of what true hard work and determination looks like. Not to mention, some crazy domination on the track after their silver medal finish last year. However, comin in out on their trail is going to be the squad from Geneseo. This team is carried by a variety of different track athletes, but is still very talented nonetheless. They scored an All-State medal last year, but they are not looking for any ordinary medal now, they are gunning for those gold ones at the top of the podium. Waterloo and Morton have some pretty dominant squads as well, with Morton returning 3/4 of their runners from last year’s 6th place finishing team. But, 2025’s 4th place team from Sterling could have a crazy performance and take the title away from all of these teams. They return 3/4 of their runners from last year’s team as well. Metamora could come on the rise to aid their whole team in taking the 2A Team Title, as well as Bloomington Central Catholic coming strong into the 2A field after grabbing a 6th place finish at 1A State last year. This race is going to come down to whichever team is unwilling to leave everything out on the track at the end of this very tough day.

4x800m

As we all know, the distance field has been a huge victim of trackflation. This is going to result in the 4x800m Relay being the most stacked it has ever been in 2A history. Last year, Mahomet Seymour took second place with a 7:55. This year, we already have 6 teams under that time before the State Meet has even started. But, here’s the tricky part. The places are going to solely depend on who is running in each team. The leader currently is Lincoln, as they took 4th place last year and are returning all 4 runners. It seems that although Owen Cyrulik is an 800m favorite, he is going to be doubling up this year and attempt a double crown. But, many athletes after the 4x800m will scratch their open events so that they give themselves the best chance to succeed in the finals for 4x8. Metamora is going to be Lincoln’s main rival this meet. Getting 5th last year, they have a real chance to take it home with their powerhouse Zach Born. Now, Born was not on the sectional team, but some sources have stated he is going to be running it, along with the open 800m and 4x400m. However, we never truly know until Prelims what he will decide, and that decision will decide the fate of this race. Aurora Central Catholic is having a breakout year this year, running 2A #1 at some point in the season. They just barely missed the All-State honors last year, but could easily pull one in this year. The difference about them is that they are a lot more consistent with all four runners, where some other teams have 1 or 2 powerhouse runners. Dixon is coming back for their 3rd State Championship this year alone. After winning XC and Top Times, they aim to come for it all after returning 3/4  runners from last year’s 6th place team. Not to mention, their powerhouse anchor Dean Geiger has improved to be one of the best open 800m runners in 2A. Lastly, 2025 silver medalists Mahomet Seymour will be a top contender as well. Now, I am sure they are going to run their A team here, but Henry McMurry is entered into the 3200m, and since he narrowly missed the fast heat, will be before the 4x800m on Day 2. However Mahomet Seymour decides to play out this State meet will be a huge factor into how the other teams place as well.

Shot Put

The favorite for this event is Sycamore’s Will Rosenow. He is already a foot ahead of 2nd place, and if he just goes out there and does his thing, he’s going to take home that State title. Not to mention, he scored a silver medal last year as only a sophomore. So, with that motivation, he can go far. Hoever, you can never get too cocky with throwing. He could always scratch every single throw and leave the gate guide open for other competitors. So, no one has ever truly won until they throw on Finals day. Some other competitors in this field are Jaxson Smith of Carterville. He recently obtained his 2A #2 mark last week at sectionals. So, we know he’s still improving and could throw even farther at the State meet this weekend. I think he has a safe bet for a high podium, but could safely secure a podium spot in general. Henry Riley of Glenbard South is right behind Smith. Although, this situation is tricky because Riley threw his best at the end of April, but has not hit it since. Now, this does not completely count him out, but he will need to get back into the swing of things if he wants to earn that podium spot and walk away with a medal of his owen. Returning All-Stater Owen LeSage of Dixon is going to be a top contender as well. Snagging that last medal, LeSage was able to go head to head with Rosenow at sectionals already. Although he was a bit off, he still snagged an easy 2nd place to take him to the State meet. Braden Wittum of Harvard has been having a great season and he could very easily be up there with the rest of the competition.

Discus

Discus is going to be absolutely dominated by one athlete in particular. Joseph Frierdich of Carbondale is ahead of the entire 2A field by over 14 feet. Now, you can throw a discus pretty far, but 12 whole feet is a huge difference. All Frierdich is going to have to do is show up and throw an average performance and he could still walk away with teh title. Or, he could show up and throw a huge PR to break into the 200 ft club, which very little athletes reach in high school. The solid silver medalist bet is going to be Michael Beaber of Alton Marquette. Besides Frierdich, he outthrows the entire 2A field by roughly 8 ft. Now, like I said before, Beaber will have to throw an amazing throw in order to catch the State Title, or he can throw a pretty good one and claim an easy silver. Nonetheless, these two athletes are the safest bets int heir projected places. Now, we get to the potential mix ups on the podium. Will Rosenhow of Sycamore, Braden Wittum of Harvard, and Landon Hoffman of Princeton are all within inches of each other, sitting around the mid 170 ft range. Hoffman is the returning silver medalist from last year, but he is going to have to work a ton harder this year to achieve that status again. It’s doable, but going to be very dependent on the day, Rosenhow is a returning All-Stater from last year’s state meet, as he achieved the last medal, being 9th place, from the Discus event. Yes, that means that Frierdich did not even get to finals last year and is a sophomore throwing almost 200ft in this event. AJ Ioerger of Metamora made finals last year, but did not quite hit the medal mark. WHo knows, this year could definitely be his year to snatch a medal from some athletes that are currently ranked ahead of him.

High Jump

This is going to be the closest that high jump has ever been at the 2A level. Currently, 2 athletes are tied for the 2A #1 spot. The first being Griffin Schlenbecker of Wheaton Academy. He took 4th place at last year’s state meet, but rhe nice thing is, everyone in front of him graduated. So, the door was seemingly left wide open for him to swoop in and take it, right? I mean, he’s currently jumping what the State Champion jumped last year. But, a high jumper who didn’t even make finals last year is jumping that exact same height too. The funny thing is, that high jumper ended his season early and will not be jumping at State this year. But, there is someone still close to Schlenbecker, and that is Antwon Walker of Galesburg. He has been having an amazing season, and he could have a great day on Finals to jump the highest of the day. However, Alexander Scray of Normal University is an All-State returner, who has been jumping the same height as Walker so far this season. He’s got a medal before, but I know Scray is still hungry for more, and he could even take it all on his own. Chris Crowe of Kewanee is going to be another name to look out for. Not to mention, some other familiar names that are returning are 5th place Zachary Van Wyk from Palos Heights and 10th place Darren Henry of Jacksonville. Although these athletes are not at the very top of the rankings, they could easily achieve a top podium spot, as usually nothing is as important as State Finals performances.

Pole Vault

Pole Vault this year is going to be a Battle of the Champions. For one of the only events in the entire State meet, we are going to see 2 2025 State Champions duking it out in this event. Now, we all know who the favorite is. Isaiah Whitaker of Bloomington Central Catholic has the All-Class State record in this event. As well as being the NBIN Champion. Not to mention he goes to Texas in order to find real competition because he usually smokes everyone in Illinois. He also was the 1A State Champion in this event last year. Now, we have the 2A returning State Champion as well, being Kyle Quaid-Bowman of Glenbard South. Quaid-Bowman knew that ever since BCC got moved up to 2A, he was not going to be able to cakewalk the State meet this year. Although he’s already improved his vault by .3 meters going into the state meet, he’s going to have to have a really good day in order to compete with Whitaker. Now, anything can happen obviously and Whitaker could mess up come Finals, but being 9 inches behind is still really far off. The only way I see Whitaker losing here is if he gets tired out from the relays he is in, but I do not see that as an issue as he did the exact same thing last year and took the title. Andrew Nuten of Rochelle is up there as well. He is closer to Quaid-Bowman, and this returning State Silver Medal in Pole Vault could be looking for revenge this year and want to beat out Quaid-Bowman. Sometimes you feel like you know exactly what will happen in the state meet, but stuff can always go terribly wrong. These three are the only athletes to break that 15m mark so far, and they are most likely the safest bets are you gold, silver, and bronze medalists this year. Now for the rest, it is completely up to who is going to pop off on Saturday.

Long Jump

There is a clear favorite going into the State meet this year. Marlin Jeffries Jr. of North Chicago is jumping a whole foot farther than the entire field. It makes a lot of sense as he is top ranked in the 100m, and usually those events translate well. I’d say it’s a safe bet for Jeffries Jr. though. Yes, mistakes and fouls can occur at the State Meet, but a whole foot consistently better than everyone else in the state, he is experienced enough to get the job done on Saturday. Not to mention, he is the top returning favorite with his All-State performance with a 4th place medal last year. Now, for the rest of the podium, Gavyn Cothern is a pretty solid bet for that silver medal. Getting 5th at last year’s state meet, Cothern has been consistently jumping far and although not up to the likes of Jeffries Jr., it’s still farther than most of the athletes in 2A this year. A wild card pick is going to be current 2A #3 Hunter Chistenson of Pontiac. Christenson did not even attempt the long jump last year, as he was a very solid triple jumper. This year, he decided to try booth jumps, and he has been having a crazy season in the long jump. Some other notable names are Christian Finley  of Country Club Heights and Khordell Gregory of Rochester. Both of these guys have been performing very well this season and if all goes according to plan, they could snag an All-State medal. Kaden Powers of Morton is also going to be a top contender, as his season has been stunning so far and has the 3rd best seed time going into the State meet. All of the athletes listed above have leaped over that 7 meter barrier, which is an incredible feat that not many athletes reach every year. The previous State Champion distance was 7.45m, but if some of these guys go crazy, we could see multiple past this mark.

Triple Jump

Victreze Thomas is going to be the fan favorite in Triple Jump this year. After his stunning performance last year to score a silver medal in 2A, he is coming back for it all this year. But, he is still ranked 2nd going into the State meet. The simulated favorite is Kamri Sales  of Springfield Southeast. He just started taking up Triple jumping in May, but he has found his niche for the event as he has been jumping farther than 45 feet every single time. Consistently, he’s been over 46 feet, so it’s a safe bet that he will snag a podium spot, if not first. Mentioned earlier, Hunter Christenson of Pontiac is ranked 5th in 2A right now, and this reflects his previous 6th place finish at State last year. Although this year, he is for sure aiming for a top 3, if not title jumping here. Some other names to look out for is Thomas’ teammate Tyreke Baker. Currently, Cahokia is simulated to earn 15 points in this event, the most they can earn is 18. That is a crazy good feat and it’ll definitely help Cahokia aim for that State title. But, some other names that could make this a challenge for Cahokia are Tristen Stanton from Rochester and MaKai Hill of Peoria Manual, who currently holds the number 1 seed going into the State meet this weekend. But, you can never count out Joliet Catholic Academy, as Dylan Travis could bring home JCA’s 2nd State Champion jumper, as they did last weekend with the Girls State meet. The crazy thing is, all of these athletes are jumping farther than 45 feet, where last year only 2 athletes were able to jump farther than that mark. So, we can see a jumpflation this year at the Big Blue Track in Charleston.