The culmination of the indoor season is happening this weekend as this marks the first ever Illinois Indoor Championships. Sponsored by Under Armour, IIC brings everyone together to compete under one classification. That means that 1A and 2A schools will go up against 3A schools for the first time ever. There are some top notch competitors lined up to race here at Gately, every single event is full of talent. We are going to break down each event and look at the best names competing this weekend.
60m
William Landwer of New Trier leads this talent-filled field. He ran a jaw dropping 6.85 at the CSL South Championships last week and he has the fastest seed time in the field. He has yet to lose at this distance, but this will be his greatest challenge yet. He will go up against equally powerful Joe Owusu of Plainfield East. Owusu ran a blistering 6.38 in the 55 to win the SPC by almost a tenth of a second. His converted time sits at 6.86, which is right behind Landwer. Both of them are having tremendous success this season, but they have more company than just each other. Caleb Schulz of Oak Park River Forest has finally returned from hockey, and he will look to challenge these two for the win. He is the returning 3A state champ in the 100 meter dash, his PR in that event is a mind blowing 10.58. He is just returning to the track, but he has a season best of 6.47 in the 55, which he used to win the WSC Silver. He only has a week of track under his belt, he could be considered to be at a big disadvantage compared to the guys that he’s racing, but still expect him to race well here. Matt Scardina of Jacobs and Harley Rizzs of St. Laurence are both seeded ahead of him, they will likely join Schulz in the chase of Landwer and Owusu. Scardina is having a fantastic first year of track, he has a season best of 6.89, which is just over Rizzs’ 6.90. Rizzs is coming off a great conference meet from last week, which for sure was a nice confidence booster for him. He ran a huge 200 season best and helped his 4x2 run an IL #2 time of 1:29.89, he is in top form for this meet. Make sure you watch out for Parrish Hartley of Kenwood and Braylen Anderson of DeKalb as well. Hartley is a prolific long jumper and he will likely sneak his way into the final here. He finished 4th at the 3A State Meet in the 100m last year. Anderson is traditionally a 200 runner, but he has a good chance at making the final in the 60 as well.
200m
After a season of watching these two titans run extremely well, we finally get to see the matchup between Austin Rowswell of Lincoln Way West and Armond Boulware of Kenwood. Rowswell has been tearing it up on flat tracks, he has been consistently running under 22 seconds. His season best sits at 21.74 which is converted to a 21.39 on a banked track. Boulware has been running on a banked track all season, and has put up some astounding times because of it. He ran 21.47 at New Balance Nationals and has consistently been under 22.00 this season. They are both very close to each other, and it seems like there’s maybe even a rivalry brewing between these two teams. Sparks will fly in this matchup, it will be super exciting to watch. Braylen Anderson of DeKalb is the next best athlete in the field. He has not lost a 200 yet this season. He will chase Rowswell and Boulware, but I would still expect him to put up a great time. Parrish Hartley of Kenwood will look to finally break the 22 second border, he has been tantalizingly close for several months now. His season best was set at New Balance Nationals where he ran 22.01. He has been 22.03 or faster on two different occasions, expect him to compete with Anderson for third. Following them, there are a boatload of athletes I could see taking top ten spots. Will Landwer of New Trier will double back from the 60m and hope to make some noise. His teammate Dylan Nemerovski benefitted nicely from the banked-track-conversion, he is seeded 8th and will compete for a spot in the top ten. Morquez Bulliner of Belleville West and Prezadent Morgan of Thornton are both sophomores and are both seeded very high, they will both race for recognition as the fastest underclassmen in the field. Several other athletes who are key competitors in the 60m, such as Matt Scardina of Jacobs and Harley Rizzs of St. Laurence, could be factors in this race as well.
400m
Once again, Austin Rowswell of Lincoln Way West will square up against a Kenwood star. This time it will be Logic West of Kenwood who will look to take him down. West has been running out of his shoes in the 400 so far, with a season best of 49.28. He is IL #2 behind Rowswell, who has a SB of 49.10. Rowswell benefits from the banked-track-conversion, he is seeded at a ridiculous 48.32. Whether or not he will run that time remains to be seen, but it’s definitely a possibility. Rowswell is the favorite to take the win here, but West will give him a run for his money. Another guy who could challenge Rowswell will be returning state champ, Troy McLean of Belleville West. McLean is a member of the state champion 4x400m team from last year, and he was the individual 3A state champ in the open 400m as well. He has run 49.39 this season, this was on a banked track at Nike Nationals. He is one of the fastest 400 runners in the state, he will try to put a damper on the great season that Rowswell is having. Following these three speed demons will be Chase Cutler of Hononegah. Cutler has been competing on another level this year, he is the only other runner in the field who has broken 50 seconds on a flat track. He is only a sophomore, but make no mistake, he is legit. James Kokuro Jr. of Joliet West is another strong name in this field. He is one of few state qualifiers in this field, he was 49.30 last year during outdoor. His banked conversion has him set at 49.34, don't be surprised if he’s under that mark. Matthew Simon of Fenwick was 49.78 just last weekend here at Gately, he will look to put his name on the list of top ten contenders. Henry Faber of Metea Valley has had a big jump from last year and is running under most people’s radar. He was the Dupage Valley Conference champ in the 400 with a 50.29, he will look to make some noise here as well.
800m
This race looks like it’s going to be very congested with a lot of athletes all seeded around 1:58. Ethan Petrillo of St. Ignatius leads the field with his excellent 1:55.78 that he ran last week at the CCL championships. He dropped almost 4 seconds during his walk-away win, it will be interesting to see what he does here just 6 days later. The boys of Morton will run behind his wake, hoping he’ll slip up and let them pass. Alex Rodriguez and Orlando Sandoval are seeded at two and three, both at 1:56. They were both a key part of their sub 8 minute 4x8 that was run at Mustang Relays, expect them to compete with Petrillo. Nathan Gabriel of Joliet Central ran a solid race at Batavia two weeks ago, he was 1:58.56 for a third place finish. He has impressive closing speed and could snipe one of the leaders towards the end. Luis Mendoza of Maine East has been on an upward trend and is another name to watch. He ran 1:57.85 at the Meet of Champions, don't be surprised if he lowers that PR here. Nathan Gehrmann of West Aurora missed out on the fast heat by one place, but make sure you pay attention to him as well. He won the undercard 800 at Palatine last year from section 1 of 2, so he has experience running from the slow section. He was 1:55.69 at the state meet last year and has the capacity to put himself in a top 5 position.
1600m
We very nearly got IL #1, #2, and #3, but unfortunately, Tommy Nitz of Huntley dropped at the last second. Even still, we will see #2 and #3 face off with Max Sudrzynski of Jacobs and Jackson Summy of Lakes. Sudrzynski is having an incredible season, he ran 4:13.77 for a 10 second PR against Nitz of Huntley. He had a big win at Batavia, leading the field from wire to wire to run 4:16.59. He is currently 3 seconds ahead of Summy, who ran 4:16.87 at the Sequoit Showdown. If Sudrzynski is in range during the final lap, Summy has the capacity to take the win out of his hands. Another person who has the kick to take down Sudrzynski would be Quinn Davis of Plainfield North. He has been sticking to the 800 this season and he had a great win at the SPC over Owen Horeni of Yorkville. His season best is from that race, he ran 1:56.53 over Horeni in 1:56.56. He has an outdoor PR of 4:16 in the 1600, so he should be able to run in the range of Summy and Sudrzynski. If this race comes down to a kick, it’s going to be the most exciting race of the day. Jameson Tenopir of Cary Grove and Thomas Czerwinski of Plainfield North will hang for as long as they can, but I think this is the start of the next tier. Tenopir ran a great race at Batavia, where he ran 4:18.19 to take fourth. He has an extreme end to his race, his final two laps will be something to watch for. Czerwinski is no slouch either, he has run 4:22 twice this season and is looking to break the 4:20 border here this weekend. Andrew Straley of Brother Rice has been dropping time like nobody's business, he could take his 4:20.54 to new heights here.
3200m
It almost feels like a rematch from Batavia Distance Madness, as Tommy Nitz of Huntley and Rory Gaan of Fremd are going at it again. Nitz is the favorite, his season best of 9:05.30 was at Batavia where he set the meet record with his win. Gaan was second in that race with a 9:10.45. Gaan ran almost the same race as Nitz, but he was left in the dust in the final 400 meters. If Gaan wants to win, he will have to shake Nitz before he has time to respond. It’s definitely possible, but it will be a serious challenge for Gaan. Aiden Connors of Plainfield North and Josiah Narayanan of Wheaton Warrenville South will lead the chase pack against Nitz and Gaan. Narayanan was in the race at Batavia as well, he was right with Gaan and Nitz at a mile. He was unable to hold with them for the second half, but he still ran 9:21 for a huge season best. If he goes out at a pace that he is more comfortable with, he could put down a great time. Connors has sneakily been developing his footspeed throughout this season. He closed his PR 3200 in a 30 second 200 and has been running the 800 in 2:00. His newfound speed will come in handy here, as he will likely have to use his kick to get past Narayanan. Dylan Dominiguez had a standout year in cross country and he has carried that over to the track. In just his first season of serious distance running, he has run PRs of 4:18 and 9:27. I believe there is more in the tank for him in the 2 mile, I wouldn’t be surprised if he hangs with Connors and Narayanan. Gavin O’Connor of Brother Rice is also having a terrific track season. His 9:28 seed time is not indicative of how strong of a distance runner he is, I would not be surprised if he runs in the low 9:20s. Finn Richards of Benet Academy has been ok this year, but he was able to secure a win in the 2 mile at the ESCC championships last week. His 9:27 also comes from Batavia, but he chose to run his own pace instead of matching the leaders at a mile. The 2A Cross Country State Champion could run a massive race here. All of the names mentioned are well capable of running 9:20 or faster, this race is going to be action packed for sure.
60mH
Nathan Cichy of Prospect and Brendan Vlasak of Lincoln Way West will battle it out for the 60mH title. Cichy has run 8.32 so far this season and has only lost to Will Landwer of New Trier and Cooper McGinnis of Neuqua Valley. Both of those runners are top 5 in the state for the 60mH, so Cichy has been racing against serious competitors. He has a sub 15 second 110mH, when he ran 14.98 to take 15th at the 3A state meet. Vlasak has a faster season best, with an 8.27 that he set at the Rich Township Invite a couple weeks ago. His outdoor 110mH is not quite as strong as Cichy, and he is less consistent than Cichy as well. It’s too close to call the winner ahead of time, but I would say it will be one of these two runners. Naperville North and West Aurora have two runners each who could compete for the rest of the top 5 spots. Edward Mumford and Nico Call of Naperville North have both run under 8.50 and are strong athletes in the field. Azuriah Sylvester and Sere Iranloye of West Aurora are also under 8.50 and will challenge Naperville North’s duo.
4x200m
Kenwood is the top seed here by a country mile. Their 1:27.78 is still IL #1 and it looks like they will defend their title as the best 4x2 in the state here as well. The only thing that could effect them is that they’ve swapped Logic West with Nicolas Segura. Segura is a junior who was a part of a team that ran 1:29.76 to win the CPS Championships. He is a very excellent athlete as he sports a 60m PR of 7.12 and an outdoor 200 PR of 22.38. If there is a team to challenge them, it will be Belleville West. Belleville West has seen insane success from sophomore, Marquez Bulliner. Bulliner ran an IL #7 time of 22.18 in the open 200, which was set on a flat track. BW has yet to run on the bank at Gately, and I think it will lead to a big season best. Their relay card of Bulliner, Troy Mclean, Michale Sutton, and Calvin Nolan is a strong quartet, I think they will be under the 1:30 border. McLean is entered into the open 400m, it would surpising to see him run the relay. St. Laurence is IL #2 in this event with a 1:29.89, which they ran last week at the CCL Championships. Their relay card matches the relay card of that 1:29.89 team, they will look to replicate their result. Brother Rice was right behind St. Laurence at the CCL Championships, they ran 1:30.70 to take second. Emeir White and Donovan Brown both ran excellent open 200s at CCL, they will propel this team forward in hopes of taking down their conference rivals. Don’t sleep on Jacobs or Plainfield South either, both teams have studs that can bring their 4x2s to greatness.
4x400m
Kenwood and Lincoln Way West will have a rematch from the Bronco Relays and it looks like Lincoln Way West will be the favorite to bring home the Gold. They have been spamming the same lineup of Zaven Johnson, Austin Rowswell, Hunter Spee, and Anthony Lusciatti for weeks now, and the relay card shows that they will continue with this lineup. Kenwood has decided to swap Armond Boulware and David Cambell for Jahari Horne and Neil Courtney. The Broncos are deep enough to still run 3:22 with this squad, but it will be difficult compete with LWW if they fully load their relay. The real race will be the race for third, as there are several teams vying for that spot. The favorite will be Jacobs, after they ran 3:29 last week. Their squad of Matt Scardina, Lukman Onibudo, Khristos Oludimo, and Max Sudrzynski are well capable of running faster than that, and I think they will be the team to beat for third. Loyola Academy will be hot on their heels, they have several guys who can run in the low 52s. Their ace, Miles Lyons, could maybe even split sub 50 for the Ramblers. He is 50.22 in the open and he will be a solid leg for this squad. A sleeper pick will be Hononegah. They have two guys in Chase Cutler and Christian Lobato who are both running exceptionally well in the open 400 right now. They also have two guys who are returning with outdoor PRs of 52 high. They are currently under the radar, since they are the slowest seed in the field. If they play their cards right, I think they could make some noise and maybe even sneak into the top 5.
4x800m
Lakes will be the favorite in this field. Their squad of Brady Mock, Blake Salbilla, Cooper Summy, and Jackson Summy ran 8:01 at the Bronco Relays with virtually no competition. Seeing as Plainfield North has decided to sit their A squad (with the exception of Gavin Hall), it looks like the field is wide open for the Eagles to take the win. Dixon will tail Lakes closely, they might even have a lead during the early legs of the race. Their squad of Dean Geiger, Aaron Conderman, Keegan Shirley and Averick Wiseman ran 8:13 at the Nelson Daniels Classic just last week, they will compete with Lakes for as long as they can. Deerfield had some bad luck the last time they ran the 4x8, and they will be looking to avenge themselves from that race. Jamie Chandler split a 2:05 after colliding with a fellow competitor, which dragged Deerfield down severely. Deerfield ran 8:11 that day, I think they could be in the region of 8:05 on a good day. The squads of Downers Grove South, Fremd, and Kenwood will all compete early on, they will divvy up the last few top 5 spots.
Shot Put
Jonathan Sibley-Diggs of Oak Park-River Forest will look to secure the win in the shot put. He has thrown a craterous 57’ 1” this year and he leads the field by over a foot. This PR came out of absolutely nowhere, he was throwing in the low 50s for most of last season. Dionte Shaw of West Aurora will put up the best fight he can against Sibley-Diggs, he could maybe walk away with a win. Shaw is more adept at the discus, however his shot put is not to be slept on. He has thrown a very solid 55’ 2.5” this season, which is his lifetime best. He has been consistently over 53 feet, and if Sibley-Diggs can’t stick a good attempt, he could take over the shot put. Jacob Benson of Hononegah threw an incredible 3 foot PR of 55’ 7.25 just last week. If he can replicate that result, he will be a strong competitor against Sibley-Diggs and Shaw. The Harlem duo of Tyson Hill and Connar Penney both have threw in the 54s this season and could have an outside shot at taking down the leaders.
High Jump
There is a clear leader here, with a large group of chasers who will look to take him down. Will Nohren of Shelbyville jumped a cataclysmic 6’ 10.25” at the Rantoul invite a few weeks ago and that mark still stands at IL #1. He is a whopping 4 inches ahead of the rest of the field, he should get the win here. After Nohren however, it gets a little messy. There are 6 athletes entered at 6’ 6” who will all compete against each other for second place. Christian Jaimes of Grayslake Central has the best PR in the field with a 6’ 7” leap from outdoor last year. This gives him a slight advantage over the rest of his competitors, but it’s still not a huge gap. Khristos Oludimo of Jacobs and Michael Gorelick of New Trier both jumped 6’ 6” at the Clash, Gorelick got the better of Oludimo there. However, since then Oludimo has performed exceptionally well in the long jump as well as the high jump, hitting a mark of 22’ 2”. This versatility, as well as a 60 time of 7.12, could lead to something great in his main event. Malik Griffee of Oak Park River-Forest and Machi Nelson of Proviso West are jumping 6’ 6” in their first year of track. They could maybe see another breakthrough here, however they are the most unpredictable athletes on this list. Terrence Smith of West Aurora is the final athlete seeded at 6’ 6” but he was 6th at the 3A state championships last year. It says a lot about an athlete who is able to perform under pressure, and Smith fits that description perfectly. This is a dangerous rabbit hole to go down, however, so I’m going to just leave it and say; it’s anyone’s game.
Pole Vault
Ryan Stilglic of Lincoln Way West and Will Viken of Rolling Meadows stand far ahead of the rest of the competition. Stilglic hit a skyscraping 16’ 0” at the Rich Township invite and he has been consistently vaulting 15’ 6”. Viken has a season best and PR of 15’ 10” and has also been consistently over 15’ 6”. It will mostly come down to who is better on the day, however Stilglic’s 16 footer does give him an edge on Viken. After them, there is a slew of athletes who will look to hit the 15 foot mark. Hayden Dahlin of Barrington just hit the 15 foot barrier last week at the Nagel Saylor invite. Zane Smith of Grayslake Central and Mason Cornwell of Glenbrook South are also over 15 feet this season, they will compete with each other for third place as well.
Long Jump
Kwabena Osei Yeboah of Oak Park-River Forest is the favorite here. He has been consistently over 23 feet in the long jump and will look to take the win here. He is the returning state champion in that event, and he has a lengthy PR of 24 feet. Braden Missey of Belleville West is the only other athlete in the same universe as Osei Yeboah, he will challenge him for the win. Missey has leaped 23’ 2” this season which is a huge PR for him. He was a triple threat last year, competing in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. This year, he has solely competed in long jump and I think that extra focus has led to the 23 foot leap. If he can replicate his 23 footer, he will be right up there with Osei Yeboah.
Triple Jump
Treycen Bownes of Plainfield North has had a meteoric rise in the triple jump this season and he will try to top it all off with a win here at IIC. His mountainous jump of 48’ 1” is currently IL #1 and it is almost 3 feet ahead of the next person. He has only hit this mark one time, but he has still been consistently in the high 44s and low 45s. Even if he doesn’t replicate the mark, he will likely bring home the gold here. David Taiwo of Neuqua Valley had a great jump at the Dupage Valley Conference, he leaped 45’ 2” for IL #10. He could sneak in over Bownes if Bownes is unable to stick a good attempt. Taiwo is in his first year of track and he’s already putting up great numbers, there’s a lot of potential for success here. Azuriah Sylvester of West Aurora has one of the highest PRs in the field, he jumped 47’ 1.25” last year during indoor. He has yet to hit a mark higher than 44 feet, but maybe this will be the meet that he breaks through. Oluwadimilare Hassan of Fremd hit a treacherous 44’ 11.75” early in the season, if he returns to that mark he will be in a great spot here.
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