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West runners will set pace for East; Effinger and Otten could be among area’s best

August 31, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY DEAN CRIDDLE – News-Democrat

BELLEVILLE — Veteran Belleville East cross country coach Bryan Mitchell heads into the 2010 season with what again should be one of the top girls teams in the area.

But it will rely heavily on two runners: seniors Maria Effinger and Mackenzie Otten.

Three-year varsity starters and two of the metro-east’s elite runners, both have yet to reach their potential due, at least in part, to nagging injuries.

But, at least in the preseason, both are relatively healthy.

“Maria put in a lot of time and miles this summer and right now she’s having a slight problem with her shins. Nothing serious. We’re just being careful,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been very impressed with Mackenzie so far. She’s healthy and looks very, very strong.”

So does the rest of the Lancers’ girls squad, which hopes to compete with Southern Illinois’ powers O’Fallon and Edwardsville for the Southwestern Conference championship.

Senior Jade Salama also returns and will combine with junior Keanna McIntyre and highly touted sophomores Gabi Lopez and Madeline Gaul to provide a strong supporting cast for Effinger and Otten.

Mitchell also is high on a large group of freshmen.

“Those other four girls all ran on the varsity a year a year ago and I’m expecting a good season,” Mitchell said. “The freshman class is a very good one. I’m hoping they will, but it will take a meet or two to see if any of them will make an impact this season.”

On the boys side, Mitchell must replace Belleville city champion Kip Kuldell, but returns two of his top three harriers from a year ago in juniors Joe Cheatham and Ben Thomas.

“Again, both Ben and Joe put in a lot of miles this summer and that’s what it takes,” Mitchell said. I’m expecting both of them to have good years and that they’ll be leaders on this team.”

Seniors Rashaun Farmer and Justin Jones, along with juniors Deonte McNary and Isaiah Hagood, are among those Lancers competing for a spot in the lineup.

East will compete in the Granite City Invitational on Saturday.

Filed Under Cross, Southwestern, Spotlight, Team Tagged With belleville east, Bryan Mitchell, Mackenzie Otten, Maria Effinger

Introducing the NIB 12 East

August 18, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment
Andy Tavegia, andyt@mywebtimes.com

With the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference all set for its first school year of competition, it’s time to take a look at some of the new faces the league has to offer.

Those around Ottawa, Streator and La Salle-Peru already know about schools in the NIB12 West (formerly the NCIC Reagan Division). So here The Times will give you a glimpse into the new conference rivals for the locals. These five schools will join Morris in the NIB12 East in sports with a divisional format.

DeKalb Barbs

Enrollment: 1,772.

Notable alumni: Mel Owens (NFL linebacker from 1981-89); Mike Mallory (current special teams coach for New Orleans Saints); Doug Mallory (co-defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers); Cindy Crawford (former supermodel).

DeKalb is traditionally strong in: Wrestling has been strong at DeKalb ever since Hall of Fame coach Don Flavin began the tradition back in the 1950s, this while DHS was still a member of the NCIC. The Barbs won a state title in 1968 in wrestling and have 10 top-10 state finishes. Also, boys basketball has been steady since the 1996-97 school year with many of those coming in the ultra-competitive Upstate Eight Conference. The Barbs were 24-9 last year with a regional title.

Look out for DeKalb this year in: Baseball. DeKalb finished second in Class 3A last year and 27-11 overall, losing to Chatham Glenwood 11-1 in state title game. The team had just six seniors. Brian Sisler was one of the leaders on that team, hitting .513 with 15 doubles as a sophomore. Blaine Parson was 7-1 as a junior pitcher for the team. Jake Louis hit a team-high six home runs as a junior.

Maple Park Kaneland

Enrollment: 1,293

Notable alumni: Don Beebe (NFL wide receiver from 1989-1997); P.J. Fleck (NFL wide receiver in 2004); Casey Crosby (current minor league pitcher in Detroit Tigers organization).

Kaneland is traditionally strong in: Track and cross country. The school was a state power in the 1990s when the school was still small enough to be 1A. Now, with the split to three classes, the power has returned. Boys track was second in the state last year and the boys cross country team was fifth. The girls team was ninth in 2009. Kaneland also has one of the most well-established traditions in the pole vault, having a state qualifier for more than 25 years consecutively.

Look out for Kaneland this year in: Football. Last year in the regular season, the Knights beat the four teams that followed them to the NIB 12 99-32. They lost in league play only to Glenbard South (21-7) and Geneva (17-14).

Rochelle Hubs

Enrollment: 1,176.

Notable alumni: Carson Brooks (NFL and Canadian Football League), Brandon Creason (former Division-I basketball player and coach at Streator and Ottawa).

Rochelle is traditionally strong in: Those familiar with Rochelle’s tenure in the NCIC know that the school is known for football. The Hubs have qualified for the playoffs in each of the last 12 years under coach Kevin Crandall. The Hubs basketball program, too, has been strong.

Look out for Rochelle this year in: Football. Rochelle wants to make up for missing the second round of the state playoffs for the first time since 2000. The Hubs, Sycamore and Kaneland will bid for this year’s NIB12 East footbal title.

Sycamore Spartans

Enrollment: 1,184.

Notable alumni: Gail Olson (two-time state champ in high jump).

Sycamore is traditionally strong in: Boys and girls bowling. The girls team won a state title in 2003, and the boys team has qualified for state in each of the last three years with a ninth-place state finish last year.

Look out for Sycamore this year in: Sycamore will be the team to beat in both boys and girls soccer. The girls team has won consecutive sectional championships and finished fourth in Class 2A in 2009. The wrestling team will have revenge on its mind. The Spartans advanced to the state quarterfainals in the dual competition but lost the final Western Sun Conference title to Yorkville.

Yorkville Foxes

Enrollment: 1,470.

Notable alumni: Dennis Hastert (wrestling coach and former U.S. Speaker of the House); Andy Richter (comedian, former co-host of Late Night with Conan O’Brien).

Yorkville is traditionally strong in: Wrestling. The Foxes have won three straight regional championships and were second in Class 2A in 2009. Yorkville also won the final WSC title last year.

Look out for Yorkville this year in: Yorkville cross country hardly even registered five years ago. However, the girls team last year was the state runner-up after winning the school’s first regional title in 2008. The freshman/sophomore boys won the Western Sun title last year and should be good again this year.

Filed Under Conference, News Tagged With Northern Big 12

Rocky’s Thompson national bound

August 2, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

Incoming Rock Island High School freshman Mystique Thompson is headed to the AAU track nationals, Aug. 1-7, in Virginia.

A member of the Mississippi Valley Track Club, Thompson qualified for the meet in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. Norfolk State University is hosting the event.

“I feel really honored and privileged to be able to represent my team and community,” Thompson said.

In the prelims of the Area 10 Qualifier, Thompson broke the youth and meet record in the 200 in 25.69 seconds.

She also surpassed the old mark (25.95) in winning the finals in 25.75 ticks.

Thompson was the runner-up in the 100 (in 12.68 seconds) and finished third in the 400 in 1:00.18.

Filed Under News, Western Big 6 Tagged With AAU, Mystique Thompson, rock island

CS8 Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year: Justin Lee

August 1, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

by MARCIA MARTINEZ

071110justinlee.jpg Throughout the boys track and field season, Springfield High School’s Justin Lee plotted and pondered running strategy.

In the days after leading the Senators’ 4×800-meter relay team to the Class 2A state title and placing third in the 800 run in his final high school meet, Lee still had running on his mind.

He was particularly focused on matching or bettering the impressive 1-minute 52.7-second split he posted in the 4×800 relay state final.

“Every night I think about what I can redo or how I can replicate that or go faster and stronger than I did the first time,” Lee said.

Lee’s selection as The State Journal-Register Central State Eight Conference Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year is the final chapter of a dream senior year.

His third-place finish at the Class 2A state cross country meet in the fall helped Springfield to a third-place team trophy. He took home two medals from the state track meet in the spring and did so with gusty performances.

“When it got to the biggest stage, he shined,” SHS coach Trae Cotner said.

Awesome anchor

In the 4×800 state final, Springfield was in third place with 100 meters left. Lee ran to the outside on the final straight, passed two runners and pulled away from the field, earning the Senators the state title in 7:47.92.

“If you would have told me we’d have a 4×800 win a state title after losing three of our four legs last year, I would have thought you were crazy,” Cotner said. “It just shows the hard work that these guys put in to get to this level.

“The hardest worker I had is right there.”

Cotner pointed to Lee.

Lee’s 1:52.7 split in the state finals came as a surprise to him.

“To be honest, I did not know I was going to come across the line in 1:52,” Lee said. “I figured I would run 1:54 the fastest. I had no idea.

“My body physically didn’t feel like I ran hard enough to run 1:52. I thought to run that close to 1:50, I would be seeing white spots at the end of the race when I crossed the line.

“It was a good feeling to know that a 1:52 didn’t affect me as badly as I thought it would. It gives me a lot more confidence.”

Lee’s times in the open 800 were equally fast. He had one of the top 800 times in the state throughout the season. He ran a personal-record 1:55.96 in the 800 at the CS8 meet, and his state-meet time was 1:58.08.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever have a kid have a season like he did,” Cotner said. “He was under state qualifying time (1:59.44) every single meet except for one.
“I’ve never had a kid do that. It was awesome.”

Lee lowered his 800 time after the season ended at the Midwest Distance Gala. He clocked a 1:54.93 on June 12 at Benedictine University in Lisle.

 “As far as track goes, I didn’t have a season that even compares to this,” he said. “Most of my races this year were top three finishes. I would say all of them except for two, which were probably top five.”

The next chapter of his athletic career will take him to Rend Lake College in Ina.

“It was a great year,” Lee said. “Not only was it good the way I was running, but I was able to have fun while I was doing it.

“That’s probably what made it the best and made it easier to do.”

Filed Under Athlete, Central State 8, Spotlight Tagged With Justin Lee, springfield

Anderson making time to coach Clinton track

July 30, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By Randy Sharer

CLINTON — In terms of things to do, Randy Anderson has a full plate.

He knows that as does his wife, Ann, as well as his staff at Anderson Ford Mercury in Clinton, where he works as general manager.

But beginning next spring Anderson’s busy schedule will have to make room for the job of Clinton High School head boys track and field coach.

So what could possess a businessman to take time out of his day to help kids?

Anderson likens his situation to a TV commercial he saw for a retirement company that began “Someday I want to grow up to be …”

“Well, someday I want to grow up to be a coach,” said the 55-year-old, who feels he still has a lot to learn about track, but that’s not all bad.

 “Because I know nothing, all I do is sponge off everybody all the time.”

The truth is the considerable track knowledge Anderson has soaked up since becoming a volunteer Clinton Junior High assistant coach in 1998 includes tons of tips from Illinois Wesleyan coach Chris Schumacher begin_of_the_skype_highlighting     end_of_the_skype_highlighting and his former assistant, Marchan Adkins.

The past dozen years has also seen Anderson serve off-and-on as Clinton High School assistant girls track coach.

“Anything our kids have done in sprinting is because of Marchan Adkins,” said Anderson, whose daughter, Rachel, was a seven-time Division III national champion at IWU.

The biggest thing Adkins taught Anderson about coaching was the importance of giving athletes the right type and amount of training at the right time in the season.

“It’s like cooking brownies,” Anderson said. “You leave two or three of the ingredients out, it doesn’t come out very good. If you put it in the oven and pull it out too soon, it doesn’t taste very good.”

Anderson wishes he had known about periodized training when he started coaching.

 “It’s been a fun journey,” said Anderson of his track education. “It’s still a fun journey and I love seeing the kids grow. Every kid can become faster no matter what level they are, which is really cool.”

Anderson has had a red-hot passion for track since growing up in Lexington, where his name still appears on two sprint relay school records.

“The program gave so much to me at a young age in Lexington and then it gave so much to me with Rachel,” said Anderson, who wants to give his future athletes a program that mixes fun and success.

“We’ve had some great talent come through. I just want to take everything we’ve had and take it to the next level.”

Anderson, who replaces Karl Parrish, will have E.J. Brady as his assistant for throws and distance running. Leann Sosamon will coach the horizontal jumps and assist with sprints.

Anderson hopes to add other volunteer assistants. The boys staff will work with head girls track coach Steve Cors to oversee both boys and girls in various specialties.

“I feel very thankful, very lucky to get this opportunity,” said Anderson before speeding off to the next phase of a busy day. “I think it’s a privilege for me to coach the kids.”

Filed Under Coach, Okaw Valley, Spotlight Tagged With EJ Brady, Leann Sosamon, Marchan Adkins, Randy Anderson, Steve Cors

Kerschieter wins Quad-City race

July 27, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

Bailey Kerschieter of Bloomington, who will be a junior at Normal Community West High School, won the women’s title in the Quad-City Times Quick Bix race in Davenport, Iowa.

Kerschieter, who finished in the top five two years ago, was timed in 12 minutes, 7 seconds. She set a personal best for two miles by at least 10 seconds.

Filed Under Big 12, News Tagged With Bailey Kerschieter, normal west

Olney, Newton and Robinson departing Apollo to join LIC

June 25, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

by Justin Hatten

    With East Richland High School set to join the Little Illini Conference for the 2012-13 school year, ERHS Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Chad LeCrone along with Olney coaches Dave Denton (football), Rob Flanagan (boys basketball), Brent McKinney (girls basketball), Brandis Grove (baseball) and Matt Powell (softball) gave their thoughts on the decision.

    The LIC sent invitations to Olney, Newton and Robinson during a meeting on May 14.

    Newton and Robinson approved the move Monday night while the East Richland School District Board of Education met Tuesday and voted unanimously (7-0) to switch conferences. Olney joined the Apollo Conference in 2003.

    “After weighing the pros and cons, we felt this was the right way to go,” LeCrone said. “What it really comes down to is the best opportunities for our kids. Transportation was a factor and we have to look out for the best interests of ERHS.”

    Olney currently travels to Mount Zion (103 miles) and Paris (80 miles). The longest trip in the LIC will be to Marshall, which is 68 miles.

    “We’ve enjoyed the time we’ve been in the Apollo and we’ve formed a lot of good relationships,” LeCrone said. “We look forward to continuing to work with them as far as scheduling some non-conference games.”

    Formed in 1970, the LIC will now have 12 members, including Albion (Edwards County), Bridgeport (Red Hill), Casey-Westfield, Flora, Lawrenceville, Marshall, Newton, Oblong, Olney, Palestine-Hutsonville (co-op), Robinson and Toledo (Cumberland).

    According to Lawrenceville Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Paul Higginbotham, a championship committee will be formed to determine scheduling in every sport.

    “The only thing pretty well set is the football schedule,” LeCrone said. “As far as the other sports, those details will have to be worked out. As an athletic director, I’m excited to get to work on that.”

    Football played a major role in the LIC shakeup. Olney (654 students), Robinson (504), Newton (486), Marshall (438), Flora (437) and Lawrenceville (407) will comprise the large-school division while Casey-Westfield (374), Red Hill (337), Edwards County (323), Cumberland (314), Palestine-Hutsonville (241 combined) and Oblong (231) will make up the small division.

    In addition to five division games, teams will play two non-conference games and two cross-over games. However, the three smallest LIC schools (Cumberland, Palestine-Hutsonville and Oblong) will never play the three largest schools (Olney, Robinson and Newton) in football.

    Olney will kick off its 2012 football season against Columbia at McKendree University in Lebanon and will host Breese (Central) in week nine. The Tigers will face Red Hill and Edwards County in their two cross-over games.

    “I feel like it’s the right move for us to make, speaking from a football standpoint,” Denton said. “It’s not a cure-all for our program but it puts us in a better competitive situation.

    “We’ll be back to playing schools size-wise like we did in the NEC and we’ll get some old NEC rivals back on our schedule. We’ll also play a lot of schools in close proximity. There’s always pluses and minuses but in the long run I think it will benefit all the Olney sports programs.”

    After Olney finished third in state in 2008 and Marshall placed third in 2009, Robinson captured the Class 2A state championship in boys basketball last March.

    “The Apollo has paid dividends for us in terms of competition,” Flanagan said. “In the Apollo, you’re either gonna tread water or drown. It’s a grind every night and it toughens you up for the postseason.

    “That being said, there’s plenty of talent in the LIC. Flora has been a rival of ours over the years and the NEC was one of the big drawing cards for me when I came to Olney.”

    Flanagan thinks location gave Olney an edge over Paris when it came to an LIC invitation.

    “Money makes a big difference in anything and our travel will be less in all sports,” Flanagan said. “It will give some life to our football program. The Apollo is a very physical league, a numbers league.

    “Life is full of change and we’re looking forward to making the move. There’s been a lot of talk since we’ve been in the Apollo and conference shuffling is frustrating at any level so it’s nice to know a decision has finally been made.”

    The Olney Lady Tigers shared the Apollo Conference girls basketball title with Charleston and Salem in 2009, the same year they advanced to the Class 2A State Tournament.

    “Every night is a battle in the Apollo,” McKinney said, echoing Flanagan’s sentiments. “You can’t take any plays off and that prepares you for the postseason. Even though I’ve been here a short time (four years), I’ve enjoyed being part of some rivalry games.

    “I like going to the Salem (Thanksgiving) Tournament and I hope we can continue to play tough 3A teams like Salem, Effingham and Charleston. On the girls side, Olney, Salem, Effingham and Paris all won a regional last year. That’s pretty impressive.”

    One of McKinney’s concerns about heading to the LIC is whether or not enough schools will be able to field freshman and junior varsity teams.

    “We need lower-level programs in all sports,” McKinney said. “I’ve got kids that need to play at the lower levels to prepare them for varsity.”

    Olney had four LIC teams on its 2010 baseball schedule, including Edwards County, Flora, Lawrenceville and Red Hill. The Tigers beat Flora 5-2 in the championship game of the Robinson Regional.

    “The most important thing is the travel will be a lot better,” Grove said. “That will help our kids and our fan base. It will be nice to not have to get up at 7:15 a.m. to drive to Mount Zion.

    “Hopefully, we can still play most of the Apollo teams during the regular season. Playing in the LIC opens up some options on the weekends. When I played in high school, we hosted the Tiger Classic so maybe there’s a chance we could do something like that again.”

    The Casey-Westfield Lady Warriors have won seven state titles in softball and Cumberland has been one of the top Class 1A teams in recent years.

    “I’m excited for the move,” Powell said. “For us, competition-wise, it’s gonna be every bit as challenging as the Apollo. There’s a pretty rich softball tradition in the LIC and a lot of those teams are already on our schedule now.”

    As is the case with basketball and baseball, the LIC currently has a eight-game schedule in softball with games being played during the week.

    “I like the doubleheaders in the Apollo,” Powell said. “If you’re gonna be competitive, you’ve got to be ready to play on Saturdays. It’s difficult to beat a team twice in one day.

    “At the same time, if the LIC format stays the same (eight games), it will give us a chance to maybe play in some weekend tourneys and get out and play some other schools we don’t normally see during the regular season. If we still want to play Saturday doubleheaders, we could do it.”

    One thing Powell will not miss are the road trips to Mount Zion and Paris.

    “It will be a lot nicer to travel less than an hour to play conference games,” Powell said. “When we go to Mount Zion and Paris, we typically leave between 7 and 8 o’clock (in the morning). It’s hard for the kids to stay focused.”

    As of now, the Apollo Conference will be a six-team league in 2012-13 consisting of newest member Mattoon (enrollment 1,060), Effingham (927), Charleston (849), Salem (849), Mount Zion (839) and Paris (608).

    Speculation is that Teutopolis could join the Apollo despite not having a football program.

Filed Under Conference, News Tagged With Little Illini Conference, newton, olney east richland, robinson

Vikings moving up to Class 4A

June 24, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY CHAD DARE CNHI

DANVILLE — Longer bus trips are on the horizon for the Danville athletic programs.

On Monday, the Illinois High School Association tentatively released the classification cut-offs for the 2010-11 school year and 35 schools will be changing for next year.

Among those making the move are the Vikings, who will move up to Class 4A.

“We already compete with schools like Normal Community and Normal West, so I don’t think it will be a big change,’’ said Danville athletics director B.J. Luke, who was a little surprised by the move.

The biggest change for the Vikings will be the sites of next year’s regionals and sectionals.

This past season, the longest trip for Danville was to Mahomet for the boys regional golf tournament and the girls sectional track meet.

The closest schools in Class 4A to Danville are Normal Community, Normal West and Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Those three schools along with Minooka were in the same regional for volleyball, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and softball.

“It will be a change, but I don’t think it will be a huge issue because our kids are used to traveling in the Big 12 Conference,’’ Luke said. “They could also send us up into the southern suburbs of Chicago.’’

In addition to moving up to Class 4A in sports like baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball, Danville will move up to Class 3A in the three-class sports like cross country, golf, track and wrestling.

That could be significant as the Vikings took third in the Class 2A girls state track meet and the boys tied for seventh.

“Moving up in class in the three-class sports isn’t that surprising,’’ Luke said. “When you are close to that cut-off line, you have to be prepared for either scenario.

“Our track teams are going to be competing against teams like East St. Louis and some of the best in Chicago,’’ Luke said. “We already schedule ourselves against those teams during the season. It’s going to be a little different, but I think our kids can handle it.’’

Another school that seems to live on the cut-off line is the Westville Tigers, who are back in Class 2A next year after just one year in Class 1A.

Westville’s Coal Bucket rival, the Georgetown-Ridge Farm Buffaloes, are set to drop from Class 2A to Class 1A in the sports where they do not co-op with Chrisman.

Other class changes of note include the Rantoul Eagles moving down to Class 2A and the Peoria Manual Rams will move up to Class 3A.

Filed Under Big 12, News Tagged With Danville Vikings

Ford thrives at EIU

May 29, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

BY CHAD DARE Commercial-News

CHARLESTON —  Danville’s Cameron Ford feels at home in the discus ring outside of O’Brien Stadium.

A year ago, the senior took sixth in Class 2A event with a toss of 156 feet, 4 inches. At that time, it was his personal best.

Ford got that familiar feeling back on Friday as his toss of 156 feet, 11 inches in the preliminaries has the Vikings senior in second place.

“This is my best event right here,’’ said Ford, who also just barely qualified for the finals in the shot put. “I know I can take this if I come out here and perform.

“That throw that I had today could have been better, it was a little too high.’’

And Ford has a pretty good idea of what he can do in Charleston. During a practice session on Thursday, Ford’s best toss was more than 170 feet.

“Last year, I got better every time down here,’’ he said. “I have that confidence coming in here. With my practice session yesterday, I think I have it.’’

So, why does Ford do his best in Charleston?

“I like the competition,’’ he said. “And I just feel confident in this ring.’’

Ford acknowledged that his good throw in the discus made up for his disappointing performance in the shot put.

“I’m basically standing here, staring onto the board, hoping there is a ‘Q’ next to my name,’’ he said after managing just 51-3½ in the shot put preliminaries. “It’s frustrating to not do it when it counts.

“Of course, I scratched the good throw that would have gotten me into the finals.’’

Ford’s second of three attempts was easily 53 feet, but his momentum carried him out of the ring. About 20 minutes later, Ford found out that he was the 12th and final qualifier in the shot put finals.

“This means I get a chance to put up points for the team,’’ he said. “I know I can throw 55 and the leader is at 54-10.

“I’m not going to disappoint two days in a row.’’

Joining Ford in the shot put finals is Danville senior Keith Mayfield, who sits in eighth place with a toss of 52-3¾.

“I thought I was going to get more of it,’’ Mayfield said. “I wanted to make finals, and now I want to win state.’’

The Vikings also got a number of impressive performances on the track during Friday’s preliminaries.

Leading the way was senior Anthony Bacoat in the 100-meter dash as his time of 10.83 seconds was second only to Centralia’s DeVantre Whitelow, who set a Class 2A state record with a 10.68 time.

“I had a lot of pressure,’’ Bacoat said. “I wasn’t at state last year and coming as the No. 2 seed is kind of hard.

“I need to improve on my blocks. That is something I can think about tonight.’’

Bacoat and Whitelow were in the same heat on Friday and the Danville sprinter knew he spotted him a lead coming out of the blocks.

“I know as soon as the gun was shot, I saw the red guy (Whitelow),’’ Bacoat said. “I tried to catch him, but it was a little too late.

“I need to loosen up a little bit, I was nervous.’’

Danville coach Steve Luke said that while Bacoat didn’t get his normal start, his finish in the race was a welcomed sight.

“One of the things we have tried to get him to do over the last four years is to finish,’’ Luke said. “He had to make up some room and he did.

“I think if he has that start and finish, I think we will look at a different situation.’’

Bacoat said that not making the state meet a year ago was a driving factor in his off-season workouts.

“(Champaign Central‘s Denzel) Stewart and other people got me last year in sectionals,’’ he said. “I got tired of him beating me last year. I wasn’t going to tolerate it any more.’’

And, he said having Solomon Crenshaw as a teammate has also helped.

“(Crenshaw) is pretty dang good and I love running with him, but if I’m going to beat him, I had to drive harder,’’ Bacoat said. “When I figured I had to drive harder, that’s when I got my personal best.’’

Bacoat is also a part of Danville’s 400 relay team, which has the fifth best time entering today’s finals.

But, the Vikings said they weren’t properly prepared for Friday’s race.

“We warmed up for 20 or 30 minutes, but then we got into the (check-in) tent and sat there for too long,’’ Danville’s MykeTez Forman said. “We need to do a better job of stretching.’’

The Vikings relay team is expected to make a lineup change today.

Crenshaw, who failed to qualify for state at last week sectionals because of a leg injury, ran with the team on Thursday.

“Hopefully, we will have a little surprise in the 4-by-1,’’ Luke said.

Another member of that relay team is senior TeJuan Jackson, who qualified for the finals in the 200 and 400.

“It was a long day, but it’s what I came here to do,’’ said Jackson, who has the fifth best time in the 400 (49.93) and the fifth best in the 200 (22.07).

“TeJuan is sitting a lot better in the 200 than we thought,’’ Luke said.

But both Jackson and Luke pointed out that the 400 race was not as good as either one of them had wanted.

“I don’t think I ran hard enough,’’ said Jackson, who lost his heat race to Champaign Central’s Ian Wells, a guy he had beaten five times this spring. “The best way to beat him is to catch him on the curve. If I can catch him, I know I can beat him.’’

Luke said that Jackson will have Lane No. 3 in today’s finals with the top four runners lined up outside of him.

“He got out hard, but he got soft on the curve,’’ Luke said. “He will have to be sharper today.’’

Jackson missed qualifying for a fourth event as Danville’s 1,600 relay team ran a time of 3 minutes, 27.44 seconds, which was more than a second slower than the final qualifying team.

That 1,600 relay was the final race in the high school career of Danville’s David Groves.

The senior qualified for state in the 110 hurdles, the 300 hurdles and the 1,600 relay.

“In the 110s, I got knocked up with a hurdle from someone else,’’ he said. “In the 300s, I got tight over the curve. And in the 4-by-4, I still think we did a good job, but it wasn’t enough to make the finals.

“The one disappointed me the most was the 110s, because I thought I could make finals and placed high.’’

The time for Groves in the 110s was 15.35 seconds in spite of having a hurdle in the lane next to him tumble over and hit his hand, injuring his thumb.

“David Groves ran two gutty races,’’ Luke said. “He got his thumb banged up pretty bad, and came back to run one of his better times in the 300s.’’

Danville has six individuals and one relay team in today’s finals and the Vikings are still hopeful of getting a team trophy.

“We got everything through that we had a good feeling about getting through,’’ Luke said. “We held our breath on the shot, and I think our kids can throw a lot better.

“There are a lot of things that we can get better at.’’

Today’s finals in all three classes begin at 10 a.m. as the Danville contingent will be joined by Georgetown-Ridge Farm/Chrisman’s Devon Darnell in the 110 hurdles event, Hoopeston Area’s Kraig VanWieringen in the 800 and Schlarman’s Jesse Hahne in the 1,600.

Filed Under Big 12, News Tagged With Cameron Ford, danville

3A girls state track: West’s Thompson wings it to discus finals

May 22, 2010 By staff Leave a Comment

By Randy Sharer | rsharer@pantagraph.com

CHARLESTON — Commitment is a necessity to excel in track and field, but it’s a hard thing to assess unless you are Kristin Thompson.

Her commitment is there for all to see on her right ankle in the form of a tattoo she got in March. It shows a winged foot above the words “field and track”.

The Normal Community West High School senior field eventer will take her tattoo into the 38th annual state meet discus final at 2:40 p.m. today hoping for a Class 3A title.

“I’m happy I’m in the finals and hopefully I’ll do better tomorrow,” said the top-seeded Thompson, who threw 142 feet, 3 inches in Friday’s prelims at O’Brien Stadium.

Even though Thompson exceeded her sectional mark of 142-1, she ranks second behind the 143-2 by Jazjuan Wallace-Sipp of Harvey Thornton. Thompson, the 2009 state runner-up, has a chance to rally judging by her school record of 143-4.

“I think I have it in me,” said Thompson, one of three Pantagraph area 3A qualifiers along with teammate Taylor Kirby and Normal Community’s Marie O’Leary.

Thompson planned to spend Friday night visualizing changes she needs to make and reviewing video of her tosses with first-year throws coach Chris Martoglio.

“He came in, wasn’t really familiar with the sport,” Thompson said. “He’s done all kinds of research outside. We are both learning together. He’s able now to watch me very efficiently and tell me specifically what I need to fix. I owe a lot to him.”

O’Leary’s training paid off in the 1,600-meter run with a school-record time of 5 minutes, 4.07 seconds, which ranks 10th in Pantagraph area history and made her the 10th fastest qualifier. Her old record of 5:06.05 came last year.

The Missouri recruit, who will also contest Saturday’s 3,200, finished second in her heat as Melissa Schmidt of Hoffman Estates outkicked her in the final 100 to clock 5:03.57.

“I give myself a B-plus because I should have worked harder the last 100,” O’Leary said. “I think I could have went stronger.”

Normal West’s Kirby, fifth in last year’s pole vault, advanced again by clearing 11-0 along with 13 others. She missed twice at 9-6, once at 10-0 and twice at 10-9 before making 11-0 on her first attempt. She didn’t get off the ground on several of those misses as she ran through the pit.

“It’s a mental problem,” said Kirby, who hopes for cleaner vaulting today and a clearance above her school record of 11-6. “Pole vaulting is so ‘in your head.’ ”

West freshman Emily Brelsfoard nearly ran into the 1,600 final, but her school record of 5:05.46 ranked 14th and narrowly missed the 5:04.79 cutoff. She’ll contest the 3,200 today.

“The 3,200 is my main event so I’m going to try as hard as I can in that one,” she said.

No. 7-seeded NCHS triple jumper Courtney Egts, who set three school records this season, the last at 36-6¾, bounded 35-4¾ and did not advance. It took 36-4 to move on.

Filed Under Big 12, Spotlight Tagged With kristin thompson, marie o'leary, normal community, normal west
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