2023 boys' track and field state notebook: Lacy brings flash to 3A preliminaries

May 27—CHARLESTON — Daniel Lacy's attire at Friday's IHSA Class 3A boys' track and field state preliminaries was nothing short of iconic.

One of the hot-pink jerseys he and some of his Centennial teammates had shown off at last year's state meet. Large sunglasses of a more bubble gum-pink shade. Their purple-tinted, one-piece lens deflecting Friday's constant sunshine that bore down upon Eastern Illinois' O'Brien Stadium.

Light-green racing spikes. And the one question mark of Lacy's getup.

"I've been doing this all season. Really the only thing I had to think about (Friday) is which socks am I going to wear," the Chargers senior said. "Am I going to wear Avengers socks, or am I going to wear SpongeBob socks?"

Lacy opted for the latter, featuring the famous cartoon character fiercely gritting his teeth while enveloped by a yellow sponge backdrop.

"(On Saturday) I'll probably do Spiderman," Lacy added.

Lacy swung clear of all competition during each of his three preliminary races on the big blue track, giving himself three berths in Saturday's state finals. Lacy recorded the best 200-meter dash time of all competitors by clocking 21.23 seconds. He also posted times of 10.75 in the 100 and 49.07 in the 400, and he won all three of his prelims flights in the process.

"Now all I know is I've got to recover because some dudes just got the 1 and the 2," Lacy said. "They're more fresh than me. So I've just got to make sure I go home, get good rest, maybe take an ice bath or two."

Lacy is hoping to make some history within his family when all is said and done in Charleston this weekend.

His father, Jimmy Lacy, produced a stellar prep track and field career at Peoria Manual. The elder Lacy garnered seven Class AA state medals in the mid-1990s, including four in individual sprint events.

None of those were championships, though.

"He went 10.3, 10.4 (in the 100) back in his day. He's probably the top sprinter at Peoria Manual," Daniel Lacy said. "But it's crazy because the person who beat him (in the 200) at state back in 1998 was somebody from Centennial, Quincy Washington. So now I go to Centennial, (and) maybe I can bring it home."

Lacy wasn't the only Charger to qualify for Saturday's finals.

Sophomore Voldy Makabu cleared 6 feet, 23/4 inches in the 3A high jump on Friday to join 17 other athletes in the championship flight on Saturday.

"It felt good. It's exciting," Makabu said. "It's been a journey — for real, for real. I put in hard work to get here. I didn't really think I could get here."

Makabu credits coach Jess Streepy for getting him in the right mindset to reach state.

"She told me to get over 6 foot, and I got over 6 foot from there," Makabu said. "She tells me, 'The bar always looks the same,' and to get over it."

★ ★ ★

Matthew Thomas' day didn't begin how he'd envisioned it might. Not in the slightest.

The Danville senior entered Friday's 3A boys' pole vault state preliminaries boasting the third-best performance during last week's sectional round at 15 feet, 11/2 inches.

But Thomas was left frustrated when he knocked down the bar at 14-11/4 on all three attempts inside O'Brien Stadium, eliminating him from the state competition.

"It sucks, but it is what it is. That's the mentality you've got to have," Thomas said. "I was sad when it first happened, but I have other races to do."

Thomas regained his bearings in time for the 110-meter hurdles. And he advanced to Saturday's final by winning his prelims flight in 14.58 seconds.

"Doing all this work and being able to get into the finals, it means a lot," said Thomas, who missed advancement in the 300 hurdles later on. "I'm excited, and I'll be able to win the pinstripe jersey (Saturday), too."

Thomas' 110 hurdles prelims effort rated behind only those of Crystal Lake Central senior Jonathan Tegel (14.26) and Evanston senior Miles Granjean (14.48).

That's got him thinking big for the championship race.

"Goal is number one," Thomas said. "Top five is the goal, but I want to win."

Fellow Viking DeMarion Forman also qualified for Saturday's finals. The Danville junior claimed the 12th and final spot in discus with a prelims throw of 147 feet, 6 inches.

★ ★ ★

Four different local relay quartets won their respective heats within Friday's 2A preliminaries, ensuring they'd participate in Saturday's championships.

Each in a different event, too.

Champaign Central got things started in the 3,200-meter relay. In the very first running-event flight of the entire day, the Maroons' foursome of sophomore Jakob Riley, senior Isaac Turk, senior Cooper Sweet and junior Fynn Bright posted a time of 8 minutes, 8.70 seconds, to defeat all immediate competition.

"I was really nervous, but I just had to keep composure," Riley said, "and just relax and have fun."

Central boys' distance running is in a good spot these days. The Maroons placed 13th as a squad at last fall's 2A state meet, with Riley, Sweet and Bright all participating.

"I'm so happy about it. I'm so excited about it," Sweet said. "We knew we were feeling good, feeling fast, and just to see us come from cross-country and going to state, and now we're here at state for track, it's awesome to see."

Turk said napping and wise dietary choices are key to the Maroons climbing Saturday's podium.

"Get some good carbs in and hydrate," Turk said. "We all have liquid IVs, so we'll get some electrolytes and watch what we eat."

Spectators watching Central's 3,200 relay crew on Saturday might be keeping an eye on the Maroons' feet. Which will be sheathed in identical hot-pink Nike spikes.

"I think (Riley) had them first. He has like five pairs. He's crazy about them," Bright said. "(Sweet) went to Nike nationals, got pink spikes for free. ... I was like, 'I've got to match the rest of the guys.'"

Urbana's 400 relay contingent of junior Cedric Sabin, senior Jackson Gilbert, senior Marius Davis and junior Terrell King boasted a time of 42.31 to win its flight Friday.

"It's pretty good. It feels like 2021 right now," said Sabin, who helped the Tigers win that year's 2A 400 relay state title as a sophomore. "We feel like we have a chip on our shoulder. We're finna come out and execute for you all."

Neither Davis nor King possessed an overly elaborate reason for why this sprint relay clicks on the track.

"We just hang out a lot, honestly," he said. "We're tight."

"We've been running together since middle school, so the chemistry's there," King added. "As long as we execute, we'll win."

Unity added to the area relay haul by winning its heat of the 800 relay with a time of 1:29.09. Sophomore Garrett Richardson, sophomore Brock Schlittler, junior Eric Miebach and junior Jay Saunders contributed.

"That was exciting for us to get first in our heat," Richardson said, "and to run fast and have fun."

Like Urbana's Davis, the Rockets' Miebach said cohesion is clear between he and his sprint-relay teammates.

"We've got pretty much the same relay for all the races," Miebach said. "Just being together and working with the same group of guys makes it easier."

Saunders had to hustle down the O'Brien Stadium track's homestretch as opposing anchor runners attempted to catch him during the anchor leg.

"It was kind of scary, to be honest," Saunders said. "Was definitely glad to hold onto it."

Schlittler's younger sister, Unity freshman Jillian, earned a sixth-place state medal in last week's 2A girls' 800 relay. It's one of four events in which the female Rockets medaled.

"I saw them do really well, and it was motivating that (Jillian) could do it," Brock Schlittler said. "I was like, 'I can do it, too.' So it pushed me hard to do it."

Urbana doubled up on relay flight victories when its 1,600 tandem of junior Abraham Lenear, junior Cordaro Sims, Sabin and Gilbert prevailed in 3:23.96.

"That's my last high school race (Saturday)," Gilbert said. "I've got to give it all I can, leave it on the track for the U."

COLIN LIKAS