We saw a lot of action this weekend from all over the state. There were some unexpected performances that knocked our socks off, and we would like to talk about them! Here are the top performances from athletes (or relays) at some of the big meets from this weekend.
Tuesday
Burlington Central Quad
Aiden Wyzard shows up in the long jump with a massive mark
Wyzard has been inactive so far during the season, but he finally came out of hibernation at the Burlington Central Quad. He had possibly the best opener possible, he jumped a monstrous 23’ 4.75” to take the win by several feet. He is currently IL #1 in the long jump. It was quite a statement to jump that big in such a small quad meet. He also had time to run a 6.97 60m, which is a big PR for him as well. Wyzard is one of the top returning athletes across all events this year, it’s good to see him finally back in action.
Wednesday
ONU 1A/2A Invite
Kankakee girls crush the 4x2
The squad of DaMariana Tooles, Naomi Bey-Osborne, Jamya McMurtry and Trinity Noble absolutely killed the competition at ONU this weekend. They took home the dub in an IL #2 time of 1:42.63. They won by almost 7 seconds over Thornridge and are over a second ahead of IL #3. You will see later in this article that a certain other team ran a similarly blazing time in the 4x2. I think it will be very interesting to see those two teams match up. The Kays will be a force to be reckoned with this season.
Thursday
ONU 3A Boys Invite
Austin Rowswell with the new IL #1 in the 400
There were a plethora of strong performances here at ONU, this was probably the hardest decision for me to make on this list. It was a real tossup between Rowswell’s triple play and Nolan Lamoureux’s 600, but Rowswell’s win was just a tad more impressive than Lockport’s finest. Rowswell had a very productive triple at the ONU Invite, he set the IL #1 400 with the first sub 50 of the season. He won in a convincing 49.53 over his teammate, Anthony Lusciatti. He also had time to run the 60m preliminaries in 7.05, as well as anchor his 4x4 in 3:28 to take yet another win. It was nothing but straight dominance for the Lincoln Way West senior, I hope to see more of the same from him throughout the season.
Friday
Plainfield North Girls Invite
Olivia Dolson and Gabi Karvellis leap to greatness
Neuqua Valley have quite the dynamic duo in long jump this year, Dolson leads the way for the Wildcats. She jumped an interstellar 18’ 10.75” this weekend to take the win in Plainfield. Her teammate, Gabi Karvellis, was second in an equally impressive 18’ 5.75”. Karvellis has also hit 18’ 10” this season, this duo currently sits at IL #4 and #5 respectively. Both doubled back in the triple to go 1-2 as well. Karvellis lead the way with an astronomic 38’ 7”, Dolson took second with a 36’ 9”. Karvellis sits at IL #3 in the triple, Dolson is #11. Neuqua has a shot at making the team rankings this week, and it’s almost entirely due to these two powerhouse jumpers. The teammate connection is always a good thing to see, I hope they continue to improve as the season goes on.
Triad Boys Knight Invite
Devin Habermehl throws a big-time shot put
Collinsville’s number 1 thrower opened his season this week with a big win at the Triad Knight Invite. Habermehl threw a gargantuan 56’ 2” to secure the win over his teammate, Shane Box. He is currently IL #5 with that toss. Last year, he was floating near the low 50s at this time of the season. It’s good to see that he is able to get out to 56 feet this early. Once he gets the beloved discus back in his hands, he will be a nasty threat for the Cahoks.
Huntley Boys Invite
Max Sudryzinski’s 10 second PR in the 1600
It’s a little strange that a second place would find its way into performance of the week, however this was truly an insane race. For those who are not familiar with Sudryzinski, his previous PR in the 1600 was a 4:23.83, which he ran at this exact invite last year. This year, he took it several steps further, and dropped a 4:13.77, a full 10 seconds off of his previous PR. He took 2nd place behind Tommy Nitz of Huntley, who tied his PR of 4:12. Rory Gaan of Fremd was actually the early leader and if he hadn’t taken it out so hard, this race might’ve never happened. Nitz and Sudryzinski used Gaan and carried it out through all 4 laps as Gaan faded. The reason Sudryzinski gets the title of performance of the meet instead of Nitz is because his race was wildly unexpected. Nitz has pulled results off like this before, this is a whole new level for Sudryzinski. Nitz and Sudryzinski currently sit at IL #1 and #2 respectively, I am very excited to see what each of them can do later on this season.
ONU 3A Girls Invite
Champaign Centennial with a nail-biting win in the 4x2 over Rich Township
Centennial wins performance of the day with a very solid 4x2 performance. They took the win over Rich Township with a wicked 1:46.54. Nina Brown was the key contributor, she ran an IL #13 7.76 in the 60m earlier that day and is the main reason the chargers ran so well. 8 out of the top 10 4x2 times were set this weekend, Centennial takes #7, while second place Rich Township took #10 (1:47.70).
Batavia Quad
Grant Schroeder leading Downers North to 800 success
There were actually a number of impressive showcases at this quad, HF had some quality sprint marks, but Grant Schroeder of Downers North takes the cake. Schroeder ran a 1:55.9 in the 800 to win by 2 seconds over Ed Polaski of Batavia. His time shattered the previous IL #1 and is the first 1:55 of the season. He is a sneakily good 800 runner, he has a 4x8 split PR of 1:53 and is one of the fastest returners in the event. Combined with his cross country success, it should be no surprise that he can run a time like that. I’m a little disappointed that Downers North chose to put their boys in a smaller quad instead of a big-time invite, but I suppose if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. They will look to load their 4x8 at Mustang Relays next Monday, their composite time currently sits around 7:57 which would be a new IL #1. Expect big things from the distance squad of Downers North this season.
Saturday
Homewood Flossmoor ABC
Mariyah Robinson with a near state record in the 200
Homewood Flossmoor was not messing around at their home invite. This meet saw the most impressive results out of any other meet this weekend, there were more top ten performances here than in any other meet. Once again, this was not an easy decision. I was juggling between Robinson’s 200 and HF’s 4x2, but I decided Robinson deserves her recognition. Robinson ran a blazing 24.32 in the 200, which is the second fastest time on a flat track in state history. She passed up Angelena Bullocks for IL #1 in the 200, and she sits .7 seconds above everyone else. She later came back to help her team run IL #1 in the 4x2 with another record breaking time of 1:41.89. She also had time to run an IL #3 time in the 60 with a 7.45. Robinson has etched her name in state history, I can’t wait to see what else she has in the tank.
Proviso West Boys Invite
Kwabena Osei-Yeboah with a statement long jump
Oak Park River Forest has largely been the favorite in team scoring, and Osei-Yeboah has been the primary reason. This week, he jumped a massive 23’ 4” to take his spot at IL #2. He stuck that jump over Kenwood’s Parrish Hartley. Hartley currently sits at IL #4, he also cleared 23 feet at Proviso West. Osei-Yeboah did not have his best day in triple, but with such a big mark in the long, it evens out. He continues to cement himself as one of the best long jumpers in the state, OPRF will continue to use their weapon to their advantage.
Batavia Girls Invite
Mia Sirois is in a class of her own
Undoubtedly the best solo effort of the weekend, Sirois had a party of one in the 3200 at Batavia. She ran a mind-boggling 10:05 to win by over 30 seconds in a completely solo race. She is currently US #2 in that event and she didn’t even PR! The NXN all-american is, aerobically, the strongest runner in the state and her dominance is a surprise to nobody. Her mark of 10:05 will go largely unchallenged, I think that the only person who can break it is her. Sirois will continue her dominance all season long, It’s only a matter of time before she starts to break state records.
Coach Bastings
Edwardsville runs 3/4ths of a 4x2 and still dominates
The field events had some eye-popping results at Coach Bastings, Isaiah Whitaker flew over 17 feet, Joe Atkins threw a mountainous toss of 57 feet, Shamond Mclain took home another 46 foot triple jump and Voldy Makabu nearly cleared 6’ 7”. However, the performance of this meet goes to the Edwardsville 4x2, not because of what they ran, but because of who they ran. This quartet is not the fastest squad Edwardsville has, they are missing one key runner who could very easily push this team under 1:30. The Tigers ran Zach Lane, Darren Wilson, Cincere Ruffin (transfer from Alton), and Patrick Chism. This squad ran a wicked fast 1:30.86 for IL #2, but they did it without Clayton Lakatos. For whatever reason, Lakatos didn’t run anything for Edwardsville, and I think if he ran the 4x2, they would’ve had a much faster time. Patrick Chism had the slowest split on the team, he ran a 23.40 for a split 200. While this isn’t a terrible 200, Lakatos has an open PR of 21.51 and an indoor PR of 23.03. I think if he had run the relay, they would’ve been able to squeak out the first sub 1:30 4x2 of the year. The reality that we have 4x2 teams starting to get under 1:30 is very exciting, it only goes up from here for Edwardsville.
ICOPS
Luke Leverett upsets the field at North Central
There were several races where the winner came from behind, but no one did it like Luke Leverett. The senior from Providence Catholic has a humble 100m PR of 10.85, and was off of our radar coming into the season. He alerted us to his speed this weekend at the ICOPS Invite when he demolished the returning state champ, Harley Rizzs. He ran an IL #1 6.84 in the 60, and he currently leads the state by .03 seconds. Rizzs didn’t even have a bad race, in fact he dropped a new PR of 6.90 to take second with an IL #7 mark. Leverett truly came out of nowhere, make sure you keep an eye on him throughout the season.
Jess Gathing CO-ED Invite
Klarke Goranson joins the sub 5 club
Shoutout to Normal Community’s 4x8, but Klarke Goranson takes the top spot here. Goranson ran an absolutely blazing mile at Kankakee this weekend, she crushed the 5 minute border with a 4:56.7. She is currently IL #2 in the 1600 and that was with no competition. She beat everyone by a margin of 36 seconds, no one else was even close. Goranson has not come as a surprise, she ran 17:09 during cross country season to take 6th at the 2A state championships. She is proving that she is a seasoned miler, I’m excited to see what she can do with competition.
Blazen Brave Invite
Aubrey Denning runs an impressive double to capture 2 wins
One of St. Anthony’s sophomore prodigies, Denning is a highly anticipated 800 runner this year. She opened up her season in an 800-1600 double at Mt. Zion, and she went 2 for 2 in wins. The 800 was an easy win for her, she snagged the win with a 2:21.33. She then came back in the 1600 to win again in a 5:11.7. In both races she was pretty much by herself, so to see her run these times back to back with no competition is a fantastic sign. The times themselves aren’t amazing for her standards, but there will be more to come from Denning as the season goes on.
U High Girls Invite
Samantha Yeh dominates the High Jump
Dunlap’s super-star opened up her season in Normal this weekend. She jumped a skyscraping 5’ 6.5” in the high jump to take home the win. She is currently IL #2 and US #32 with that mark. It’s also a new indoor PR for her as well, her previous PR was 5’ 5.75”. She has a lifetime best of 5’ 8” which would tie her for IL #1 should she hit that during indoor. A first of many wins for Yeh, she proved her dominance in the high jump this weekend.
Sequoit Showdown
Will Mercure’s win in the vault
Three separate Lakes athletes had worthy performances at this meet, but I settled on Will Mercure’s win in the pole vault as the best. Last year, at this exact meet, Mercure was rushed to the hospital after a freak accident during warmups. He had vaulted over the mat and hit his head on the brick wall that sits directly behind it. He fractured his skull and had major brain bleeds that would keep him on an athletic probation for almost a year. It is fitting that at the same meet, he would overcome that setback by vaulting into the top ten with an IL #9 15’ 0” mark. He secured the win in his final attempt and scored valuable points for the Eagles, helping them secure a solid second place behind #1 New Trier. He has only been medically cleared to practice for a month and half, so the fact that he has improved by 6 inches in that time is truly impressive. Mercure has proved that he will be a vaulter to watch for the rest of the season.
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