Davis conquers 1600 despite injury; McClain’s triple win highlights Girls Meet

 

By Michael Newman

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Bloomington, Ill --- KD Young (Warrensburg Lathan HS) waited patiently for her final attempt in the Shot Put in the 1A Illinois Top Times Championships. The Shirk Center Shot circle was acting like a second home for her. She had a good series going with every attempt at 46 feet or better. Her fourth round attempt of 48-3 ¼ broke the overall meet record of 47-9 by Kelsey Card. She did, however, want more.

 

“She wants to get to get the record,” he father Brett said before the competition began. “She knows this is her last indoor competition. She wants to move to #2 nationally instead of where she is at right now (#6).”

 

The sophomore is not vocal before she enters the ring. No real emotions are shown except maybe a small grin when looking to her support group for that visual nod of approval. Her sixth attempt was her best technically releasing at just the right time. The shot flew out into a territory in this meet that had not been explored yet. The crowd around the Shot area knew it. She knew it. Just how far was it?

 

The attempt was measured. The Shot referee told the workers to hold that measurement while he went to get the field event referee. Young was used to this. She had to go through this two attempts ago. No one knew what the actual mark was making the waiting even harder. Before he left, the referee told Young to get her father’s phone. He was allowing her to take a picture of the measurement.

 

Young told the phone and walked over to the ring where the tape was held securely. She looked down to take the picture. Young then started to cry.

 

She walked slowly over to her coach and father smiling and trying to hold back tears.

 

“49-1 ½,” was all that she could say.

 

There was cheering in that area. She first hugged her coach, then her father. No words were said as father and daughter embraced. It was not necessary. The embrace was only a few seconds but seemed much longer.

 

Young had been everywhere this winter looking for the top meets and the top competition throughout the Midwest. There was one weekend where she competed at the University of Kentucky Invitational and then drove to a meet at the University of Missouri. All of that traveling had paid off. Her final throw of the indoor season had won her the Illinois Top Times title by more than ten feet, but also gave he the second best mark in the country.

 

“She is so talented. God gave her this special gift,” her father Brett said. “My gift to her is to take her to where ever she wants to go.”

 

“I have been having trouble with my technique. I am glad that I got it straightened out for one good throw,” Young said. “The last possible throw that I could have done it and I did it today.”

 

~~~

 

Jon Davis (Oakwood HS, Fithian) had traveled to the Shirk Center with his racing gear but had anticipated that he would be watching a friend race. “On the Wednesday after I traveled to Chicago to race Jesse Reiser, I injured my soleus in a workout,” Davis said. “I have not been able to do anything since. That is why I did not race last Saturday at Charleston. I have not run a step in the last ten days.”

 

He did not know if he would race. It would be a race time decision to see if he would or not.

 

But as the race time approached, there was Davis checking in for his race. He had done some work on an exercise bike and the muscle felt okay. He would give it a go.

 

It did not seem during the first 800 of the race that he the defending 1A 3200 / 1600 champ was injured. He had the definitive lead after the first 100 meters of the race. He went by the halfway point in 2:08.9 on track to break the 1A record.

 

“I felt it tighten up on the fifth lap,” Davis added. “Something just did not feel right. The tight turns I think kind of irritated it. I wore compression socks for the first time. I think that might have been the right decision.”

 

He struggled through a 68.8 third 400. He was going after the record kicking as hard as he could considering the circumstances. Davis crossed the line in 4:19.74 just missing the record by three tenths of a second. H won by thirteen seconds ahead of Tyler Johnson (Pleasant Plains HS) and Marcus Skinner (Shelbyville HS).

 

Davis splits: 29.8, 62.1, 1:34.4, 2:08.8, 2:42.5, 3:16.3, 3:48.6, 4:19.74

 

In the Girls 1600, Anna Sophia Keller (St. Anthony HS, Effingham) was having a similar problem with injuries. It did not show the week before when she ran 10:55 at Charleston. It seemed that the injury could have possibly been giving her problems during the first 800 of the race as she went by in 2:35.6 with Daly Galloway (Dwight HS) close on her heels.

 

“I just really don’t have strategy until I get into the race,” Keller said after the race. “The first few laps are whatever or until I get the feeling. Then I just try to go fast at the very end.”

 

Galloway was still close to Keller as they approached two laps to go. Keller moved away gaining four seconds in the next 200 meters. A final 33 second 200 gave her an indoor personal best 5:01.90 eight seconds ahead of Galloway who improved her personal indoor best by 11 seconds (5:09.85).

 

~~~

 

If there was athlete for the 1A meet on the Girls side, it had to be Amanda McClain (Sullivan HS) who captured three events. She started off the competition tying the 1A meet record in the Long Jump with a personal best 18-4 ¾. An anticipated race in the meet was the 400 Meter Dash which would have McClain face Cassie Mundekis (Midwest Central HS, Manito). Thirty minutes earlier in the 800 Meter Run, Mundekis led from the gun to win the 800 Meter Run (2:13.92) just missing Stephanie Brown’s meet record but still winning the race by nine seconds ahead of Mariah Brodie (Illini West HS, Carthage).

 

The 400 was a race that Mundekis let get away. McCLain had a big lead at the break and almost a two second lead as they passed the end of the first lap. Mundekis cited a little tightness from the previous race caused her to get out slow. She loosened up on the second lap and chased after McClain. The lead was too big for Mundekis to overcome. McClain held on for the win (57.52) with Mundekis more than a second behind (58.97).

 

McClain won he third event of the meet in the 200 Meter Dash. She would face tough competition from Mariah Woods (Seton Academy, South Holland), who broke the 1A meet record in the 60 Meter Dash running 7.85, and Jenny Kimbro (Jamaica-Salt Fork HS) who had won the 60 Meter Hurdles also in a meet record (8.82). Kimbro won Section 3 in 26.51. It took McClain until the final curve before making up the stagger on Woods. She then pulled away for the win (26.26) ahead of teammate Emily Neuhauser who placed third overall. Kimbro finished second.

 

~~~

 

If there was a 1A Boys athlete of the meet, it would have been Andre McGill (Madison HS) who won the sprints races and ran a spectacular anchor leg in the 800 relay. McGill won a much anticipated matchup with Brett Charlton (Eureka HS) in the 60 Meter Dash. McGill broke Charlton’s 1A Meet Record running 6.93. Charlton ran 7.01 to finish second.

 

In between the individual events, McGill ran an exceptional anchor leg for his team. He took the baton 1.5 seconds behind Williamsville. He caught them on the curve and gave his team the win with a 22.1 anchor split. His team finished fourth overall in the event.

 

McGill started in Lane 6 in Section 4 of the 200 Meter Dash not knowing what his competition would be doing. He sensed that on the curve as Charlton attempted to pass him. McGill held his lead then charge down the home stretch winning the race (22.54) fifteen hundredths ahead of Charlton.

 

~~~

 

The one school that had a great night was Tolono Unity. They started the night sweeping the 3200 Meter Relay. Their Girls squad ran a season’s best 9:51.51 to win the race by 12 seconds ahead of Eureka. The Boys followed with strong final two legs by Getch Eisenberger and Andrew Warnes to win their race (8.22.93). Robinson held off Carlinville, Shelbyville, and St. Joseph-Ogden to take second five second behind. Warnes came back and led wire to wire to win the 800 Meter Run (1:58.31) holding off Joseph Stone (Newton HS) to win by more than a second.

 

Aaron Luesse was a surprise winner, even to himself, in the 60 Meter Hurdles defeating Josh Kirby (Peoria Christian HS) for the first time in his career. Luesse led after the second hurdle crossing the line in jubilation running 8.27 just missing the 1A meet record by three hundredths of a second. Luesse was also a part of his team’s winning 800 Meter Relay. Unity won the final section by only eight hundredths of a second ahead of Arcola. It was flipped around in the 1600 Meter Relay when Arcola held off Tolono Unity to win by less than a second (3:34.81 – 3:35.42)

 

~~~

 

Morgan Zacharias (Reed Custer HS) shattered her own 1A meet record by nine inches clearing 13-0 to easily win the 1A Girls Pole Vault by two feet ahead of Nicole Bagwell (Unity HS, Tolono) and Teah Blevin (Wesclin HS, Trenton). Riley Smith (Casey Westfield HS) won the Boys event clearing 15-3 on his final attempt.

 

Corey Kersey (Neoga HS) proved that he is the man to beat in the 1A Triple Jump. He jumped 45-6 ½ to win the event ahead of Marcus Sitko (Staunton HS). Sitko jumped 44-3 ½ to finish second. No other athletes were within three feet of the first two places.

 

Stephen Gibson (Tuscola HS) had a big night in the Shot Put. He had three attempts over 55 feet with his third round 55-10 throw to be the winner. He won by nearly four feet ahead of Brock Whalen (Aurora Christian HS). Gibson’s teammate Eric Ponder had no trouble in the 3200 Meter Run. He ran a 31 second first 200 and never looked back. He nearly lapped the entire field running a season’s best 9:44.55 to win by 29 seconds ahead of second place Tommy McHugh (North Shore-Country Day, Winnetka).

 

The Girls 3200 turned into a three runner race between Adrienne & Maria Brauer (PORTA HS, Petersburg) and Erica Hibser (Lewistown HS). Adrienne broke away from Hibser in the final 400 Meters to capture a four second win (11:06.77 – 11:10.95) ahead of the Lewistown runner.

 

Jacob Sholl (Illini West HS, Carthage) did not know about Aaron Harris (Lisle HS) except for the fact that Harris had run under 51 seconds in January at the Arkansas HS Invitational. He even had that time on his bulletin board anticipating this race. Sholl took the lead at the break and held off a challenge by Harris to win the 400 Meter Dash (51.13 – 51.59).