Who's going to state? Springfield boys track athletes who advanced from sectionals
The Illinois High School Association boys track and field sectionals took place this week.
From each, the top two placers and qualifying performances advanced to the state finals set over three days next weekend at Eastern Illinois University.
Below, we take a look at each of the Springfield-area athletes who earned a spot in the finals — which are May 26-28 at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston — listed by sectional.
Best of the best: 13 Springfield area boys track and field athletes to watch ahead of the IHSA postseason
CLASS 3A
At O'Fallon
800 meters: Samson Dessalines, senior, Chatham Glenwood (1:58.09)
4x800 relay: Chatham Glenwood (Dessalines, Drew Verenski, Myles Brant, Eli Morsch) 7:57.30
Pole vault: Braden White, senior, Springfield High (14-1 ¾)
What to know: Dessalines and Verenski return to the 3A state finals in the 4x800 relay after taking 11th place last year in 8:03.65. Dessalines additionally qualified in the 800 with a sectional win over Normal West’s Luke Reinhart (1:59.40).
CLASS 2A
At Tolono Unity
800 meters: Garrett Slack, senior, Lincoln (1:54.20)
1600 meters: Brenden Heitzig, junior, Lincoln (4:33.31)
4x800 relay: Lincoln (Heitzig, Slack, Drake Rutledge, Jude Toft) 7:59.90
What to know: Slack will vie for a couple of gold medals. He will head into the 2A state finals with the best time this season in the 800 at 1:53.98, according to athletic.net. Heitzig will also come into the meet with one of the top 10 times in the 1600. Both Slack and Heitzig also won the 4x800 relay and is the only group in 2A to break eight minutes.
At Troy Triad
400 meters: Spencer Loy, senior, Rochester (50.90)
110 hurdles: Austin Robinson, junior, Lanphier (16.09)
4x100 relay: Jacksonville (Tyler Wright, Phillip Johnson, Ben Range, Cam’Ron Mitchell) 43.43
4x400 relay: Rochester (Loy, Darius Herman, Max Wilber, Ryan Gustafson) 3:28.62
4x800 relay: Taylorville (Jack Chesser, Brenton Good, Evan Morgan, Owen Morgan) 8:25.12
High jump: Jamarion Suggs, senior, Lanphier (6-1 ½)
Pole vault: Evan Alexander, junior, Rochester (14-0) Drake Howard, freshman, Taylorville (13-0)
What to know: Suggs didn’t match his personal best 6-8 in the high jump but still claimed the only victory in the sectional among area athletes. He will make his state debut in his first and only season in track and field. He will enter the fray tied with Princeton’s Teegan Davis for the best mark in 2A.
Go deeper: How this Lanphier senior and track and field rookie became a state title contender
CLASS 1A
At Rushville-Industry
400 meters: Cesar Huerta, senior, Beardstown (51.77); Will Bateman, junior, Virginia (52.64)
800 meters: Tyler Bickerman, junior, Rushville-Industry (1:59.03)
110 hurdles: Christian Danner, junior, Rushville-Industry (16.67)
300 hurdles: Jean Luc Aplogan, freshman, Beardstown (42.39)
4x400 relay: Rushville-Industry (Bickerman, Jakob Etter, Charlie Terry, Adam Sipes) 3:31.56
Shot put: Afton Clark, junior, Rushville-Industry (43-8 ¾)
Discus: Clark (133-10); Harry Juarez, senior, Beardstown (130-1 ½)
High jump: Jeremy Mafhina, senior, Beardstown (6-0 ¾)
Pole vault: Terry (12-0); Patrick Guilavogui, senior, Beardstown (10-7 ¼)
What to know: Bickerman qualified in two events and his times in the 800 and 4x400 both rank in the top 10 in 1A, according to athletic.net. Terry may also vie for a state medal in the pole vault.
At Maroa-Forsyth
100 meters: Jayden Veesenmeyer, junior, Pleasant Plains (11.35); Danny Carney, junior, Pleasant Plains (11.40)
400 meters: Zach Powell, junior, Pleasant Plains (50.09); Jack Pearce, senior, Pleasant Plains (50.94); Will Budinger, senior, Williamsville (51.93)
800 meters: Nolan Bates, junior, Williamsville (2:02.26)
1600 meters: Isaac Crumrine, sophomore, Riverton (4:38.30)
3200 meters: Crumrine (10:07.09); Daniel Giacomini, junior, Williamsville (10:07.26); Haven Gronewold, sophomore, Petersburg PORTA (10:09.89)
110 hurdles: Nathan Cain, senior, Pleasant Plains (15.55); Colin Ripperda, junior, Williamsville (15.77)
300 hurdles: Cain (41.76)
4x100 relay: Pleasant Plains (Veesenmeyer, Carney, Cain, Tyler Conn) 43.45
4x200 relay: Pleasant Plains (Veesenmeyer, Carney, Conn, Whit Maisch) 1:31.96
4x400 relay: Pleasant Plains (Carney, Pearce, Powell, Michael Carter) 3:29.13
4x800 relay: Williamsville (Budinger, Bates, Drew Mirabile, Avery Glasgow) 8:13.74; Pleasant Plains (Powell, Nathan Dahl, Cole Payne, Riley Flanigan) 8:22.33
Discus: Walt Layman, junior, Williamsville (135-6)
High jump: Brian Lindsay, senior, Athens (6-2 ¾); Powell (6-0 ¾)
Long jump: Ja’Kyan Shanklin, senior, Athens (22-1 ¾)
Triple jump: Lindsay (41-3 ¾)
What to know: Plains captured the team title over Williamsville by sweeping the top two spots in the 100 and 400. Powell qualified in four events and set 1A’s best time in the 400 at sectionals. Each of Plains’ qualifying relay teams also rank in the top 10 among the 1A field. Williamsville’s 4x800 will also enter with the best time at state, while Shanklin will contend for a state medal in the long jump.
Who's going to state? Springfield girls track athletes who advanced from sectionals
At Tuscola
100 meters: Austin Henschen, senior, Pana (11.23); Carter Beyers, junior, Pana (11.26)
200 meters: Henschen (22.46)
4x100 relay: Pana (Beyers, Henschen, Carter Edwards, Ethan Hicks) 44.47
Pole vault: Griffin Kimbrel, sophomore, Pana (13-7 ½)
Long jump: Henschen (22-8 ¾)
What to know: Henschen qualified in four events and his sectional mark in the long jump ranks second in the state behind only Cowden-Herrick’s Jadon Robertson. Kimbrel will head into state with the fifth best height in the pole vault.
At North Mac
100 meters: Jaquan Gause, junior, North Mac (11.18); Ethen Siglock, senior, Carlinville (11.28)
200 meters: Siglock (22.71)
400 meters: Cameron Crow, senior, Litchfield (50.33)
800 meters: Reece Butcher, senior, New Berlin (2:02.58); Ben Hermes, junior, New Berlin (2:07.33)
1600 meters: Camden Quarton, sophomore, Litchfield (4:41.33); Jacob Gutzman, senior, Waverly (4:48.18)
3200 meters: Gutzman (10:15.40); Quarton (11:15.89)
110 hurdles: Jackson Kern, junior, Auburn (15.20); Drake Dufrain, senior, Staunton (16.20)
300 hurdles: Kern (41.19); Adam Hernandez, junior, Pawnee (42.56)
4x100 relay: North Mac (Gause, David Bolletto, Zane Hogan, Kaden Brown) 43.74; Carlinville (Siglock, Levi Yudinsky, Charlie Kessinger, Mason Patton) 44.08
4x200 relay: North Mac (Gause, Hogan, Brown, Logan Hammann) 1:31.64; Carlinville (Yudinksy, Kessinger, Patton, Siglock) 1:33.24
4x400 relay: New Berlin (Butcher, Hermes, Landon Williams, Flynn Tirey) 3:33.18; Auburn (Kern, Elijah Hoehn, Carter Hunley, Nathan Barth) 3:33.71
4x800 relay: New Berlin (Hermes, Butcher, Chris Bandy, Robby Biesenthal) 8:49.50; Carlinville (Matt Dunn, Kaney Roper, Hayden Truax, Will Meyer) 9:03.20
Shot put: Jacob Rollins, senior, Auburn (55-11 ¼); Colton Robinson, senior, Carlinville (49-10 ¾); Magnus Wells, senior, Hillsboro (48-3 ¼)
Discus: Rollins (162-4 ½); Wells (141-1 ¼)
High jump: Mason Kooi, junior, Lutheran (6-6 ¾); Crow (6-4 ¾); Ethan Copeland, senior, New Berlin (6-4 ¾); Damon Sharp, senior, North Mac (6-2 ¾); Brayden Colwell, senior, Waverly (6-0 ¾)
Pole vault: Jeffrey Sharp, junior, Auburn (13-9); Mason Gilpin, freshman, Carlinville (11-9 ¾)
Long jump: Damon Sharp, senior, North Mac (19-7 ¾)
Triple jump: Kooi (40-8 ¼); Keenan Powell, sophomore, Litchfield (40-3)
What to know: Auburn captured the team title over Carlinville and North Mac with Kern sweeping the hurdles. His best time in the 110 hurdles ranks fourth in 1A. Rollins set the fourth-best throw statewide in the discus and sixth best in the shot put at sectionals. Sharp also moved into 1A’s top 5 in the pole vault. Lutheran boasts a state title contender in the triple jump and long jump with Kooi. He will challenge the field as one of the top three jumpers in both events. Crow will also be a top state competitor in the 400 and high jump out of Litchfield. Siglock qualified in four events for Carlinville while North Mac’s 4x200 only sits behind Winnebago in 1A.
Contact Bill Welt: (217) 788-1545, bill.welt@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/BillWelt.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA track and field: Springfield IL boys advance sectionals to state
