2026 Weekend Rundown: Week 3

Week 3 of the IHSA season is upon us which means the return of the weekend rundown! In this article series we take a look at the top invites across the state of Illinois.

Sharon Greene Raptor Invite

Homewood Flossmoor brings their A squad to the Sharon Greene Raptor Invite, it should make for some exciting times. Mariyah Robinson is entered in the 60 and the 400, both events will likely result in a win for her. Robinson has not run the 400 yet this season, so we could see her drop a scorcher here. The HF 4x4 is semi loaded (without Mariyah Robinson but with everyone else), so they could potentially end up with a new IL #1 there. The Vikings have stacked their field events as well, with London Jarrett in the high jump, Jaloni Wiley in the shot put, and Kaiya Collier in the long jump. In the pole vault, we will continue to see Alexis Lally of Bartlett dominate in her event. She has improved beyond all recognition and has hit a big PR of 11’ 9” during the early indoor season. She should get an easy win here in the pole vault. 

Greg Foster Invite

The Greg Foster invitational is bringing some serious talent coming to Proviso this weekend, there should be some excellent marks all around. Thomas Jochum of Glenbard South will be competing in his debut 3200 here and then doubling back for the 1600. Jochum ran a searing 9:19 at Greg Foster last year, expect more of the same from him this year. Jalyn Cole of Belleville West is running it back in the 60mH after breaking the 8 second barrier last week at the Worrill Invite. Cole will double back in the 60 meter dash, where he will be joined by both Anthony Honore and Manny Blake of Evanston. Both Evanston athletes ran in the low 6.90s at the Misfits invite, they should dominate this event. Honore will come back in the 400, where he’ll have to go against Morquez Bulliner of Belleville West. Bulliner split a devious 48.6 last week in BW’s IL #1 4x4, he should be way ahead of the competition here at Greg Foster. Speaking of 4x4, both Evanston and Belleville West have stacked their relays. We could see some explosive times in the 4x4 from both of those teams. 

Sequoit Showdown

The Sequoit Showdown will showcase the best athletes that the northern suburbs have to offer, it should lead to some exciting events. Emaline Foster of Prairie Ridge will be the big name to watch here. Foster is coming off of an incredible cross country season where she ran a huge 3 mile PR of 16:27. Her track times of 10:42 in the 3200 and 5:02 in the 1600 put her far above the rest of the field in both of those events, she should be able to get a win in either one. Polina Krupsky of Lake Zurich will take charge of the middle distance events. Krupsky was 3rd at last year’s state meet in the 800 with a time of 2:11.51, she should be in a realm of her own here. Arisa Bisofa of Lake Zurich will be the main field event athlete to watch. Bisofa threw a gigantic 38’ 6” last week at the Lyons Twp invite, and she should be able to get another win this week. 

Rockford Auburn Invite

The Rockford Auburn invitational has gathered together a great 60mH field that should electrify the crowd. Janardie Turner of Rockford Jefferson will go up against Amauree Williams of Southland Charter Prep in an epic showdown in the hurdles. Turner just ran a huge PR last week with his 7.85 at the Worrill Invite. He is currently US #15 with that mark, so Williams will have to really show out if he wants to compete with Turner. Williams PR of 8.09 definitely puts him in range of Turner, but he also lost to Turner last week at the Worrill Invite with that mark. Either way, a rematch of last week’s 60mH will still feed families. Henry Faber of Metea Valley should be the main sprinter to watch. He has a strong PR of 48.95 in the 400 and he should be head and shoulders above the field. Judah Binger of Belvidere North will headline the distance field. Binger was all-state during the cross country season and is one of the fastest returning sophomores in the state, so he should be lined up for a big win in his debut. 

Blazen Brave Invite

Depending on who chooses to run what, we could see an epic 2A showdown in the distance category. Quaid Berger of Olney Richland County will be going up against Raphael Greer and Gabriel Greer of Marion. The Greers have already busted open the 2026 indoor season with a 9:00 2 mile for each of them, they will be very tough to beat in either a 2 mile or mile. Berger had himself a cross country season this fall, finishing 5th with a wicked 14:18 3 mile. He returns as one of the fastest sophomores in Illinois this year, he will likely cut his PRs down substantially. Luke Smith of Waterloo is expected to tear up the middle distance. The 2A runner up in the 800 is coming back much stronger after a successful campaign on the grass where he finished all-state in cross country. His 800 PR of 1:54 will go largely unchallenged here, so expect a big win from him. In the sprints and field, Cahokia is expected to dominate. Cahokia’s jumps squad is one of the best in the state with Victreze Thomas and Tyreke Baker in both the long and triple jumps.