Eiker comes back to break record in 200; Dixon-Tucker shines in double win

By Michael Newman

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Bloomington, Ill --- The combination of a great start by Derrius Rodgers (Lockport HS) along with Josh Eiker (Galesburg HS) getting out of the blocks slowly was the difference in one of the 3A Meet surprises at the Illinois Top Times Championships Saturday evening at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center. Rodgers edged Eiker to win the finals of the 60 Meter Dash. Rodgers showed he was up for the challenge by winning his heat and posting the fastest preliminary time (6.91). Eiker did not have his best start in the preliminaries but still ran 6.96 to win his heat. Cary Lockhart (Bloomington HS) ran the other heat (7.00) setting up the final between three of the state’s heavyweights in the sprints.

It was Rodgers who had the edge getting out strongly from the blocks. Lockhart got out good as well while Eiker suffered the same problems that he did in the preliminaries. Eiker was making up ground at the end but Rodgers advantage at the start was the difference. Rodgers edged Eiker by two hundredths of a second (6.87, IL #2 – 6.89).

“I think my start was better in the finals than my prelims,” Rodgers said. “Right from the start, I knew if I keep it up I would have this. I started believing in it and it got it.”

Eiker had his mind set on the 200 finals getting some sort of payback for what happened in earlier in the meet. Knowing that Eiker had the best time in the state in this event and it was better than the meet record, his eyes were set on that record time. Eiker caught his competition (Rodgers and DeKalb’s Antonio Tate) by the second turn. It was all Eiker after that as he pushed towards the finish line. His time of 21.58 broke Anthony Moorman’s 20 year old meet record by fourteen hundredths of a second. Rodgers just missed his seasonal best time by one hundredth of a second but still finished second (22.32). Tate was given a 22.29 time but was disqualified for a lane violation on the second curve.

“I did not get out of the blocks well in the prelims or the finals. I did run well towards the end of the finals. It just was not good of a race to pull it off,” Eiker said after his 200 win. “The 200 was about redemption. Rodgers got me in the 60 and the 4x2. I wanted to break the meet record and see how low I could take that time down. I did that.”

The performances of Shaliyah Dixon-Tucker (Downers Grove South HS) in the 60 Hurdles and 60 Meter Dash caused a buzz in the Shirk Center. The Downers South captured both events in spectacular fashion. It was the preliminary heats that she ran that caught everyone’s attention in side of the Shirk Center. The senior had not run the 60 meter difference all season but had the state’s best time in the 55 Meter Difference. The extra five meters did not make any difference in her preliminary hurdle race. She set the standard running the first heat of the hurdle race running the fastest time in the state (8.65). Her time was three tenths of a second ahead of the other heat winners Kyla Jimmar (Richards HS, Oak Lawn) and Alexis Pierre-Antoine (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort).

Dixon-Tucker was back on the track fifteen minutes later for the prelims of the 60 Meter Dash as put out just as dramatic of a prelim race as she had done in the hurdles. In the first heat of the event, she ran the best time in the state by thirteen hundredths of a second (7.50) and ranking her 20^th in the nation. Ozzy Erewele (Springfield HS) and Kayla Hylton (Lincoln-Way East HS, Frankfort) were the other heat winners but were almost two tenths of a second back.

Dixon-Tucker did not look as sharp as she did in the prelims of the hurdles but she still came out on top. Her time of 8.75 was a tenth of a second faster than second place Alexis Pierre-Antoine who ran a seasonal best (8.85, IL #3). Kyla Jimmar finished third (8.91).

 There was delay in the meet after the Boys 60 Hurdles to clean up the track due to an injury. It gave Dixon-Tucker a little more time to focus and rest for the 60 finals. It was not as a dominating performance in the prelims as she fought from behind to get the win (7.58). Both Hylton and Erewele ran 7.63 (IL #2 tie) but Hylton was declared in second by seven one thousandths of a second.

“Hurdling has been part of my life ever since I started track in seventh grade. I think that hurdling is my race and try to kill it every time. If I don’t do it I just come back stronger the next time,” Dixon-Tucker said. “I finished 10^th in the prelims at last year’s state meet (missing the finals). That has completely driven me this season. I put the work in during the summer after meets this season. I knew I had to come back better than I did last season.”

Hylton did come back strongly winning the 200 Meter Dash (25.08) ahead of teammates Jasmine Howell and Asia Brown. Dixon-Tucker won Section 3 of the event (25.61) but finished fourth overall.

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Boys Meet Highlights

Outside of the sprint races, the most captivating performance of the 3A Meet came from the legs of defending IHSA 3A State 110 Hurdles champion William Session (Belleville East HS) in the 60 Hurdles. Not much had been heard from Session in this event. He had only run it twice during the indoor season. There was more concentration of strength working getting ready for the outdoor campaign. Session looked smooth and under control as he ran 8.08 to win his heat by five hundredths of a second ahead of Gavin Hoch (Lake Forest HS). Tyler Kirkwood (Waubonsie Valley HS, Aurora) looked good in winning the final heat (8.17) just three hundredths ahead of Roland Amarteifio (Evanston Township HS). Michael Chen (Crystal Lake Central HS) was the other heat winner (8.50).

Session was also in control in the final in which two athletes went down during the race. Gavin Hoch crashed over the third hurdle knocking him down while Amarteifio had the same fate over the final hurdle. Session’s form was almost flawless as he crossed the line beating the old meet record by six hundredths of a second. His time of 7.89 was a state’s best and put him in tenth nationally. Kirkwood had a mistake free race running an 8.12 personal best to finish second.

Chris Thompson (Lemont HS) turned in the fastest indoor time in the state winning the 400 Meter Dash. The final section that Thompson was in provided the most excitement. The Lemont senior had the lead at the break and fought off challenges by Deshon Buchanan (Belleville West HS) on the first curve of the final lap and then down the home straight away by Octavian Wells (Grant HS, Fox Lake). Buchanan was slowed down by an injury 75 meters from the finish. Wells made an attempt to catch Thompson in the final meters but lost his balance just before the finish falling to the ground and nipping Thompson causing him to fall. Thompson’s state best time (49.42) was a season’s best by a tenth of a second. Jordan Cagigal (Metea Valley HS, Aurora) finished second (50.10). Wells was disqualified for interference.

The top four teams in the 800 Meter Relay were only separated in the seeding by 35 hundredths of a second. The final section provided that kind of excitement. Bloomington won the second section of this event (1:32.78) setting the standard that the final section would be shooting for.  It was Plainfield North that gained the advantage at the first exchange and did not let that go after that. Crete-Monee made several attempts to make pass during the race but were unsuccessful. Plainfield North ran a state best (1:31.19) just edging Plainfield North by nineteen hundredths of a second (1:31.38). Huntley finished third (1:32.31) just edging Thornton for the spot (1:32.44). Bloomington’s time from the second section was good enough for fifth.

Minooka closed the meet winning the 1600 Meter Relay in a similar fashion that Plainfield North did in the other sprint relay. They took the lead from the outset and refused to relinquish it. Grant’s Octavian Wells made a final charge down the final straight but Minooka’s Matt Dlugopolski held him off. Minooka just missed their seasonal best by fifteen hundredths of a second recording a 3:25.60. Grant was only 33 hundredths back in second (3:25.93). Crete-Monee finished third (3:28.14).

The most exciting race of the 3A individual distance races was the 1600 Meter Run. Connor McCue (West Aurora HS) runs best from the front showing his strength. He also has a great finish having run 1:55 in the 800 this indoor season. It was no surprise that he took the lead at the gun. He passed the 31.1 and 64.5 through the first 400. Jack Aho (Grayslake Central HS) was two seconds back leading the pack behind McCue. The West Aurora senior forced the race issue stringing out the field more and more. Between 1000 and 1200 meters, McCue forced the pace even more opening up a three second lead. Beginning the final lap, it looked like McCue’s lead was insurmountable as it was more than two seconds over Aho and continuing to grow. That trend changed around the first curve as Aho started making up ground. By the time the two reached the final curve, Aho was even with McCue looking to take the lead. McCue swung off into Lane 2 hoping to slow down Aho’s momentum. It did not as Aho went to Lane 3 for the pass and the win. Aho (4:17.49) and McCue (4:17.88) recorded the two fastest times in the state. Eryk Yunk (Belvidere North HS) finished third (4:19.54) holding off Huntley’s Seth Conroy (4:20.05).

Evan Radomski (Whitney Young HS, Chicago) took the lead at the 400 and held off Robert Kuhlmann (Lakes HS, Lake Villa) for a convincing win in the 800 Meter Run. Radomski ran a personal best 1:57.37 for the win almost a second ahead of Kuhlmann (1:58.26). Only two hundredths of a second separated Hinsdale South’s Brian Jordan (1:58.55) and Jones Prep’s Arturo Santoro (1:58.57) as they finished third and fourth.

The 3200 Meter Run fell into the lap of Martin Barr (Niles North HS, Skokie) as the pace continued to slow down from 2000 meters to 2800 meters. Barr took the lead with 400 to go and used a strong kick to hold off Clayton Mendez (Whitney Young HS, Chicago) to run 9:22.22 for the win. Mendez (9:23.53) finished two seconds ahead of Jeremy Adams (Jones College Prep, Chicago) and Jack Sebok (Plainfield North HS).

Danville was a surprise as they held the lead in the 3200 Meter Relay ahead of Normal West, Waubonsie Valley, and Metea Valley. Plainfield South was sixth but had John Partee anchoring for them. Danville’s Tommy Session held off Partee in the final 200 meters of the race. A final surge at the line gave Partee and Plainfield South the win (8:05.52) by only two hundredths of a second. Danville ran a school record (8:05.54) to place second.

Zachery Bradford (Bloomington HS) tied a personal best clearing 16-0 to win the Pole Vault. Connor Gosell (Grayslake Central HS) and Sebastian Gutierrez (Belvidere North HS) both cleared 6-6 in the High Jump. Gosell won the event on fewer misses. Lake Park showed their strength once again in the Shot Put as Dylan Scheirich won the competition with a 57-10 mark. His teammate Chago Basso was one inch behind in second (57-9). 3A list leader Josh Black (Harlem HS, Machesney Park) had a put of 57-5 to place him third four inches behind the Lake Park athletes.

There were some surprises on the jumps runway. It was predicted to be a close Long Jump competition, Michael Papper (Glenbrook North HS, Northbrook) took control of the event jumping a personal best 22-10 ¾ to win by more than five inches ahead of Thornton’s Remi Simmons (22-5 ¼). Only five inches separated the top three finishers in the Triple Jump. Amani Franklin (Belleville East HS) jumped a personal best 47- ¼) to win the event by over two inches ahead of Proviso West’s JaShaun Steward (46-9 ½). Tony Rolfe (Chatham-Glenwood HS) was the only other athlete over 45 feet jumping 46-7 ¾ to finish a close third.

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Girls Meet Highlights

The Girls Distance Races in this meet were events that would be talked about. Four runners finished under 10:45 in the 3200 Meter Run. Lindsey Payne (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn) took the lead three laps into the race but could not shake Emily Shelton (Minooka HS). The two ran 1-2 for most of the race before Payne slowly pulled away the final two laps. Payne just missed her season best by one second but still ran 10:34.26 for the win. Shelton ran a personal best of 10:36.36 (US #8) to finish second. Ashley Tutt (Minooka HS) ran 10:43.57 (IL #5) to outdistance McKenzie Altmayer (Geneva HS) for third. Altmayer’s time (10:45.26) is the sixth fastest in the state this indoor season.

Audrey Ernst (St. Charles North HS) took the pace out in the 1600 Meter Run holding the lead for the first four laps. When the pace started to slow down, Annie Zaher (Hinsdale Central HS) took over and started stretching out the pack of eight. Brooke Wilson (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect) broke out of the box and pursued after Zaher. The 2014 IHSA 3A 1600 champion had other ideas as she continued to stretch out the lead on Wilson. Only Zaher’s teammate Reilly Revord could stop her. Revord passed Zaher on the final two laps and slowly pulled away. She surged towards the line knowing that she could go under five minutes. She did by six hundredths of a second (4:59.94, IL #4) to secure the win. Zaher made it a Hinsdale Central 1-2 finish as she ran 5:01.54 (IL #6) to place second. Brooke Wilson ran a seasonal best of 5:03.80 (IL #10) to finish third.

Michaela Hackbarth (Downers Grove South HS) had impressive performances in both the 800 Meter Run and the 400 Meter Dash in this meet. Hackbarth had control of the 800 Meter Run running an indoor personal best 2:12.06 (IL #1) for the win. She finished four seconds ahead of second place Nora Finegan (Fremd HS, Palatine) who also ran an indoor personal best (2:16.05, IL #6). It looked like Hackbarth hopelessly out of winning the second section of the 400 Meter Dash as she trailed in her race. She picked off two runners on the final backstretch and almost had Daijah Brown (Plainfield South HS) near the finish line. Brown held off Hackbarth by seven hundred of a second in that section (58.75 – 58.82) to finish fifth and sixth overall. Samara Miller (Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville HS) was the overall winner of the event (57.45).

Two records were set in the field events. Jaimie Robinson (Homewood-Flossmoor HS) had a great series in the Triple Jump including a meet record and state best 41-3 ½ (US #4). Robinson won by almost three feet ahead of Anna Laudizio (Plainfield North HS) and Hannah Schilb (St. Charles North HS). Robinson jumped 18-1 ¼) to finish third in the Long Jump. Sade Akinfe (Oswego East HS) jumped 18-9 for the win while Melzina Johnson (Joliet West HS) placied second.

Katherine Schroeder (Grayslake Central HS) set a new 3A Meet record clearing 12-9 in the Pole Vault. Jes Skudlarek (Prospect HS, Mt. Prospect), Kameesha Smith (Thornwood HS, South Holland), and Alexa Schmitt (Grayslake Central HS) all cleared 5-7 in the High Jump. Smith won the championship on fewer misses. Courtney Morgan (Metea Valley HS, Aurora) was two feet below her season’s best, but it was still more enough to win the Shot Put. Her put of 46-6 was three feet better than Bloomington’s Ellie Wertha (43-5).

Lincoln-Way East had the top seed time by six seconds in the 800 Meter Relay but had decided a week before to not run the event to concentrate on individual events and the Texas Relays in which they will compete in the end of next week according to Coach Brian Evans. It opened up the event. Springfield won Section 2 (1:45.42) daring teams to try to get them. Waubonsie Valley won Section 3 (1:46.13) but was almost a second back. Bolingbrook won the final section but were still four tenths of a second back (1:45.82) back of Springfield giving the Lady Senators the championship.

Schaumburg had a four second lead in the early stages of the 3200 Meter Relay. A strong third leg by Julia Schultz gave Yorkville advantage as she gave the baton to teammate Alexis Grandys. Yorkville held off Schaumburg to win the race by less than a second (9:26.92 – 9:27.52). Glenbard West ran 9:30.41 to finish third. Neuqua Valley’s Tashee Hargrave gave her team an early advantage in the 1600 Meter Relay that they never gave up. The Lady Wildcats ran 3:59.16 to win the race by over four seconds ahead of West Aurora (4:03.62).