2026 Mascoutah Military Classic Preview

The Mascoutah Military Classic is a large meet with over 20 boys' teams coming to compete. These teams are some of the best in the state and are from all three classes. Some of them have many all-state and state champions coming to this meet for all different types of events, and it is looking to be one of the most competitive meets in Illinois this week. 

Starting in the sprints, one of the top athletes is Daylin Donaldson of Belleville East, who has already put up the number one time in both the 110mH and 300mH with times of 13.68 and 37.22 respectively. He is the 3A state runner up in both events and could play a big role in his teams' relays. Next up is Jaylen Cole of Belleville West, who has run the number two time in the state this season in the 110mH in a time of 13.76. He was last year's 3A state champion in the 110mH so this is turning out to be a very quick race. Next up is McKenzie Doe III of Chatham Glenwood, who has run top twenty ranked times in the 110mH and 300mH as well as being a big part of his teams sprint relays. Moving onto Keaton Koch of Mt.Vernon, who is another fantastic hurdler in both the 110mH and 300mH with some fast times this season. He was third in the 110mH in last year's 2A state meet. We also have Morquez Bulliner of Belleville West, who has the number one time in the 400 this season with a time of 48.84. He is one of the top returners from last year's 3A state meet in multiple different events, so he has shown already he can compete with the top guys. 

Moving on to the shorter sprints we have Colton Ladage of Chatham Glenwood who has ran top ten ranked times in both the 100 and 200 this season as well as medaling in multiple events at Illinois Top Times Championships. Next is his teammate, Cruz Evans of Chatham Glenwood, who has put up an impressive 10.88 in the 100 this season and can maybe shoot for the win. Moving onto the sprint relays we first have Troy Triad’s 4x1, which has gone 42.3 this season and has the number four time so far. Hopefully, they can carry that momentum into Friday. Next is Belleville West’s 4x1,4x2, and 4x4. These relays are all the fastest at this meet and will hopefully help create very quick races on Friday. Moving on to Belleville East, their 4x1 and 4x2 are both the seventh fastest time in the state this season. They can hopefully put up a good fight against the other teams. The last short sprint relay is Chatham Glenwood’s 4x1 and 4x2, which are both very quick so far and will probably stir things up in the top three relays at this meet. 

Moving onto the 4x4s we have Edwardsville's and Carbondale’s relays which have run times that place them in eleventh and seventh across the entire state this season and will hopefully duel it out to create a fantastic race this Friday. 

Although the sprints are insanely impressive, the distance field is stacked and contains many of the top 2A runners and some other top runners from the other classes. It will most likely have many quick times with how many of these runners have gone low 9:00 in the 3200 or under 4:20’s in the 1600. Starting with Raphael Greer of Marion is a fantastic runner who doubled at the Illinois Top Times Championships, running a 9:04 3200 and a 4:21 1600 to medal in both. He is also the returning runner-up from last year's 3200 and a top returner for the state 1600. Moving on to his twin brother, Gabriel Greer of Marion, who also ran 9:04 in the 3200 at the Illinois Top Times Championships, as well as being a top returner from last year's 3200 and 1600. He had an unlucky fall in the 3200 at the state meet, but he is looking even faster this year, so hopefully he can get a solid comeback in. Onto Max Weber of Civic Memorial, he is the 2A Cross Country State champion and he’s competed against a lot of these guys frequently. He has already had a wonderful indoor season, where he has edged nine minutes in the 3200 and is a top returner from state last year. Glenn Collins of Civic Memorial is another strong runner from CM, and he is looking to be another top returner from last year's 2A state because he has already run a 1:56 800. Moving on to Quaid Berger-Olney(Richland County), who has gotten very close to breaking the nine-minute barrier in the indoor 3200 while going toe to toe against some of the top distance runners in the state and winning at Illinois Indoor Top Times. Moving on to Judah Dicks-Olney(Richland County), who is looking to be a top athlete after a fantastic cross-country season and a very strong indoor season, where he has proved he can go fast and race against the top runners in the state. Next up is Tyler DeVilder-Waterloo, who is looking like he can mix it up with the top guys because of his 1:59 800 and 4:24 1600 this season, and can hopefully get up there on Friday. Trace Elliott-Mt.Vernon is looking like he can get a top-three spot in the 800 with his #6 time in Illinois this season of 1:56. Also, he had a great indoor season and track season, where he showed he can compete with the top guys. Next, his teammate Jayden Jones-Mt.Vernon has also run a 1:56 800 this season, and after a strong cross-country season and a great track season last year, he may be able to mix things up in the 800. The next 800 guy who is looking to be a problem for the rest is Zion Wilkins-Carbondale, who has already run the #8 time in the state in the 800 when he ran 1:56 as well, and has some pretty strong indoor races this year. Next up is Mark Rozhon-Freeburg, who may be a strong contender in the 1600, with him running some consistent times in the low 4:20’s this indoor season. Moving on, we have Brayden Kloeppel-O’Fallon, who has run under 9:20 in the 3200 and had a great track season last year, and hopefully, he can keep up the momentum into Friday. Next up is a great competitor who was last year's 2A state 800 runner-up, Luke Smith-Waterloo, who has already run a 1:56 as only a sophomore, so hopefully he can go out there and lead the race to a quick time. Last but not least the 4x8s are looking to be between a few teams with Belleville(West)4x8 already going sub 8 and Bethalto(Civic Memorial) following not too far behind with an 8:07. Overall, the distance side of this meet is loaded with fast guys and great competition and will hopefully have some of the fastest times in the state this season. The running events are impressive but some of the farthest throwers and highest and longest jumpers in the state will be attending this meet and can hopefully push each other to create a fantastic meet this Friday. Starting off strong with Gavin Stukenburg-Edwardsville who is a top thrower in both the shotput and the discus and has the number eight mark in the state for shot put this season and has thrown over 160 ft  already this year. Also he had a very impressive indoor with getting second at Illinois Top Times Championships in shot put so hopefully he can show out. Next up is Silas Lux-Salem who has a 16.6m in the shot put this season and can hopefully mix things up this Friday. The next thrower is Joseph Frierdrich-Carbondale who threw the number one time in Illinois this season and number ten in the country for discus this season so hopefully he can show out and push these guys to their best. Some other very notable discus throwers are Johnny Raines-Bethalto(Civic Memorial) and Sam Blumhorst-Nashville who have some great marks this season and can maybe mix things up on Friday. Moving on to the jumps we have a fantastic sprinter who also jumps in Mckenzie Doe III-Chatham(Glenwood) who has the number one mark in the state this year and is last year's 3A state runner up in the high jump. Next is Mac Musgrave-Troy(Triad) who has jumped very high this season and has made steady progress each meet so hopefully he can carry that momentum into Friday. Moving onto Larry Wills-Chatham(Glenwood) who is both a great high jumper and long jumper who medaled at the 3A state meet last year in long jump and has put up some impressive marks this outdoor season. The pole vault is looking very competitive with three notable names in Parker Owens-Edwardsville, Spencer Sledge-Mt.Vernon, and  Zane Meier-Troy(Triad) who are some of the top vaulters in the state and all have very similar marks this season that can hopefully create a strong competition for all the vaulters.Onto long jump we have TJ Cason-Belleville(West) who has the number one mark in the state so he will be a name to look out for. Next is Camren Reed-Mascoutah who is also a top jumper in the state this season and can hopefully challenge for a top spot on Friday. Lastly the triple jump is looking to be a very competitive event with four big names in Jeremiah Vaughn-Murphysboro,Qwilee Holmes-Belleville(East), Jason Watts-Carbondale, and Jontavious Oliver-Carbondale triple jump who have all put up very similar marks and will hopefully challenge each other very much on Friday. Overall The 2026 Military Classic is looking to be one of the best meets in the state this week with some of the best southern and central Illinois schools coming and many of the top athletes in the state competing.