2026 Minooka #SmithStrong Invite

The annual SmithStrong invitational brings together some great teams for a great track meet. We’ll see several household names face off against each other, it should lead to state leading times all over the place. We break down all the action here!

Sprints

The sprints are the main event at the SmithStrong invite, we are going to see some outlandish marks this Saturday. One of the biggest superstars in Illinois will be competing in his opening invite this weekend, it’ll be none other than Dontrell Young of Oswego. Young is one of the top sprinters in the class of 2027 and he is one of the most dominant 400 runners in the state. As a sophomore, he ran a shellshocking 47.63 at the SPC Championships, which makes him one of two sophomores to break the 48 second border in the 400. Homewood Flossmoor brings their crew of elite sprinters, headlined by Zion Morrison and Myles Ellis. Morrison is the fastest short sprinter in the field, with his 100m PR of 10.33 and his 110mH PR of 13.76. He didn’t skip a beat after missing the whole indoor season as he’s been dominant so far this outdoor season. Ellis is one of the top 300mH runners in the state, and he could throw down a mean time in almost any event. Although his main event was the 300mH/400, he proved his versatility this winter, with his massive 60 mark of 6.84. On top of these two, HF has Joaquin Jordan who could be a top sprinter in the short sprints as well. Another team that has plenty of talent is Evanston, whose squad is spearheaded by Justin Johnson and Manny Blake. Johnson is a returning all-stater in both the 100 and the 200, he’ll be a threat in either event. Last year, we saw a stark difference from his indoor marks to his outdoor marks, so expect him to make a big jump and compete with the big dogs here at Smith Strong. Blake has seen unprecedented improvement during the indoor season, as he dropped a filthy 6.75 60m at Top Times. His explosivity has clearly reached a new level, which will make him a threat specifically in the short sprints. Evanston also has Anthony Honore, who has 60m times in the low 6.9s. Honore also made a big jump this indoor season, and will be reaching for new heights in his opening outdoor meet. We should also see some great things from Max Smith of Minooka, who had a strong opening meet last week at Norm Armstrong. Brian Jackson of OPRF has already ran in the low 49s in the 400 so far this season, he will be a guy to watch as well. Damir Harris of Normal West was putting up outstanding marks across the board during the winter, you should see him near the leaders in almost any event. 

When we look at the relays, we should see a great showdown between Homewood Flossmoor and Evanston in both the 4x1 and the 4x2. HF has already put up the fastest 4x2 that we’ve seen in many years, with their 1:26.00 performance from the Texas Relays. This mark was reportedly without two of their top sprinters, Zion Morrison and Joaquin Jordan, which means it’s scary hours for when they fully load up their A team. The funny part is that Evanston might actually have the pieces to compete with the likes of HF. With such an outstanding jump from both Manny Blake and Anthony Honore during the indoor season, there is a lot of unknown for Evanston coming into the outdoor season. That being said, their relays were dominant during the winter, so I expect them to be just as dominant in the great outdoors. The 4x4 will bring a few more teams into the mix. Oak Park River Forest had a strong showing indoors, with key performances from Brian Jackson and Moses Espinosa. They will line up against Normal West, who has already run 3:21 this season. Those two teams, along with Evanston and HF, will be the main contenders in a loaded 4x4 field. While we don’t know exactly which teams will run their A-teams, you can still expect some elite marks from the sprint relays.

Distance

The distance events are just as strong as the sprints, there are many guys who are ready to throw down their season bests here at SmithStrong. The Plainfield South duo of Dylan Buturisis and Alex Batsala are two big names to watch. Buturisis is more inclined to the mid-distance events, with his 800 PR of 1:54 being one of the top marks in the field. Batsala is geared more for the longer events, with his 3200 PR of 9:09. Both athletes have the range to be successful in either event they compete in, so you should expect fast times from both. Mateo Ramiro Garcia of Sandburg will be another name to look out for. Ramiro Garcia is a returning all-stater in the 800, his PR of 1:53 is the best mark in the field. He is capable of competing in the longer events as well, with his 1600 PR of 4:12 and his 3200 PR of 9:24. He will be a strong force in whatever event he chooses to run. Carson Kaiser of Kaneland is coming off of an injury riddled indoor season, he will be looking to get some strong marks under his belt. He was able to scrape together an impressive 9:07 performance at Top Times, so it looks like he’ll be back up to his usual level of dominance shortly. Bryce Counihan of Lincoln Way Central had a great indoor season, where he set a big PR in the 1600 with a 4:16 mark. He also helped LWC break the 8 minute barrier with a 1:53 split at IIC, which shows that he is extremely dominant in the mid-distance events. Greyson Meek and Jesse Gudauskas of Neuqua Valley are both strong runners across the board, they could cause problems for the heavy hitters coming into SmithStrong. Joseph Sittler of Huntley put up one of the fastest freshmen mile times in the country with his 4:20 performance from IIC, he will be a threat in most events here. 

Even though we don’t have access to relay cards, history tells us that Orland Park Sandburg always runs their A squad at the SmithStrong invite. They have won 3 out of the last 5 SmithStrong 4x8s with an average time of 8:01. The only thing holding them back from a sub 8 average is the outlying 8:11 performance from 2024, which was the year that the legendary all-state streak was snapped. If history pursues this year, we should see them run a squad that is either their best or close to it. That would likely include their ace, Mateo Ramiro Garcia, who could probably drag this team under the 8 minute barrier by himself if need be. They also return both Matthew Miller and Gavin Smalarz from their squad that ran 7:46 last spring, both of those guys could mix it up here. They have several guys that could easily break 2 minutes if asked, like Jake Crotty of Jackson Cannelis. Guys like Hunter Covolo and Michael Krupa have seen incredible improvement and could also be thrown into this relay. Their depth in the 800 makes them a force to be reckoned with here at SmithStrong, I would strongly expect a new IL #1 from this crew.

Field

While the running events are definitely the highlight of the SmithStrong invite, the field events will still put up some pretty impressive marks. In the high jump, we’ll see the OPRF duo of Addis Wilson and Malik Griffee take the stage. Wilson had an incredible indoor season, where he ended with a PR of 6’ 9.75”, giving him one of the top high jump marks in the state. While he lacks the consistency to be a fantastic high jumper, he will still be pretty far ahead of everyone. His teammate, Griffee, will be right there with him, with his PR of 6’ 6”. In the triple jump, the duo of Anthony Edison Jr. and William Bundy will be sure to score big points for Homewood Flossmoor. Both Bundy and Edison have exceeded 47 feet so far this season, which will put them way ahead of the rest of the competition. In the vault, we’ll see Cooper Bowman of Minooka look to extend his SB. Bowman hit a towering 15’ 9” during the indoor season, and his all-state status shows that he can win just about any meet. That being said, if Bowman is having an off day, you could see Roger Nelson of Neuqua Valley swoop in and take the victory. Nelson just recently cleared the 15 foot barrier, and could surprise you for the win here.