Illinois Prepster

by Tony Jones The tension is building every weekend and the one that just past was no exception.  With tremendous action happening on the east coast at the New Balance Indoor Nationals, and here statewide there is more than enough to keep you track fiends settled down. It probably should be fair to include Luke […]

by Tony Jones  This weekend may pale in comparison to the “Super weekend” that last weekend was, but it will be big on a few fronts.  At home here in Illinois is a slate of quality invites.  Friday evening will kick off the Dan Phillips Invite held at the refurbished Evanston Township High School field house.  […]

by Tony Jones The question of the second, of the minute, of the hour, of the day, and of the year is ‘how can we beat Springfield Southeast?’ The answer is probably no one considering the Lady Spartans will return its two best athletes on the track and in the field.  Charday Crawford is the […]

by Tony Jones Don’t expect a great deal of change from some of the key teams this spring.  Yes, the likes of Gibson-City-Melvin-Sibley and St. Joe Ogden will surely fade out of medal contention, but the usual suspects will be there.  Moweaqua Central A&M, South Holland (Seton Academy), Sullivan, and Decatur (St. Teresa) are teams […]

by Tony Jones The landscape of the Class A team track and field scene should be a familiar one for the loyal fanbase this spring.  It will more than likely entail Chicago (Leo Catholic) as the team to beat.  The rest of the best could unite and still be chasing the bunch from the far […]

by Tony Jones & Carina Coss There is a lot of emphasis put on indoor track on the east coast… and rightfully so.  The Midwest is also strong in the undercover stuff. Indoor track is extremely strong in the land of Lincoln.  So, it should not be any surprise to see meet performances improve greatly […]

by Tony Jones Champaign, Ill- The big showdown between friendly rivals Edwardsville and Belleville West was supposed to commence February 22, at the Normal West Indoor Invitational.  However, that affair was cancelled due to inclement weather.  Now fast forward to the first weekend in March, it indeed was the ripe time to knock off a […]

-Edwardsville’s Julian Harvey sets 2 meet & school records (lj- 22’3, hj- 6’6) -Caleb Beck (Oswego) produces fine 9:26.57/4:30.45 double -Jonathan Boey (Decatur MacArthur) wins 55/200 -Luke Vaughn (Centennial) stays at IL#3 in SP with massive 58-1.5 win RESULTS

Superlatives are sometimes fun… well, the Illinois track and field season is finally in full swing with March Madness type fervor, it will indeed be termed “The Super weekend” with a ton of top flight action around the state. The featured 2nd Annual Charger Invitational promises to be one of the most exciting and fun […]

by Tony Jones MEET RESULTS Lincoln-Way East girls almost pulled off two meet breaking feats last evening inside the cozy North Central College Recreation Center for the Mustang Relays Monday evening.  The Lady Griffins broke one record and won another one in easily besting their competition.  The Minooka boys got revenge in winning the 4×4 after […]

by Tony Jones Meet program Location: North Central College Recreation Center; 440 South Brainard Street, Naperville IL Track size: 200m Super X Mondo surface. Schedule of events: 5:30p- doors open 6:00p- deadline for scratches (scratches only) 6:30p- Girls 4x800m (3 heats) 7:15p- Boys 4x800m (3 heats) 7:45p- Girls 4x200m (6 heats) 8:15p- Boys 4x200m (6 […]

Despite a reduction of top talent due to graduation, the distance arena will still be the crème de la crème in Illinois track and field land.  The face cards have changed and new leaders will emerge from last season to cross country and finally through the winter training prologue.  The three events: 3200, 800, 1600 should exhibit some […]

by Tony Jones There is no doubt that 3A girls sprints have been hotter than a stove over the past four years.  But things could be cooling down a bit after the 2013 season.  The main reason will be that the Aaliyah Brown legacy is finally coming to a peak.  The megastar’s premier goal will […]

by Tony Jones 2012 was a special year in many respects for the relays.  It was the first time in decades that the Chicago Public League came alive and became relevant among the state consciousness.  The CPL won three of the four relays at the state championship.  This feat may not happen again for a […]

by Tony Jones There are mixed opinions on the state of big league sprints in this state depending on who is doing the speaking.  From the elder perspective, it seems like times could be faster but there is no Cahokia or E. St. Louis to push the rest of the state.  However, if you were […]

2012 was a great year for field events as the creme rose to the top in every event.  It also was the feeding ground for Roselle (Lake Park) winning another state team title.  2013 is a new year but the same frenzy may continue because the Lancers return a ton of talent in five of […]

When it comes to big league relays things can be fierce.  Over the past several years Illinois has made a name among the national conscious.  For example, Wheaton-Warrenville South and Glen Ellyn (Glenbard West) proved that a friendly rival can produce dividends for all.  It produced a state record and national spotlight for the land […]

by Tony Jones There is no doubt that we are in the midst of a girls distance running renaissance nationally with all-time performances led by Mary Cain (Jr., Bronxville, NY) and Sarah Baxter (Sr., Simi Valley, CA).  But locally where things matter more, the homegrown girls have done very well in recent years.  There have […]

The quality of the state championship is going to be interesting on many fronts this season with major team and individual implications on the line.  As it is frequently mentioned, team championships are often won in the field.  Edwardsville followed the same blue print as their other classification peers in seizing the opportunity to rack […]

by Tony Jones Distance running fans better get their 2013 school classification chart cheat sheets out.  There are going to be so many classification changes, it will be virtually impossible to track your favorite runner.  For example, cross country state championship Chicago Jones and its athletes will relocate to Class 3A.  According to head coach […]

by Tony Jones This is what we do know about the sprint and hurdling talents of Shamier Little (Sr., Chicago Lindblom) and Charday Crawford (Sr., Springfield Southeast: 1) They both are at the top of the food chain in the 2A ranks as far as the universe stretches; 2) They both will have a say […]

There are going to be a lot of variables that decide what is going to happen in the distance arena this season.   For starters, the classification changes moving athletes and teams from Class 1A to 3A and then in reverse is going to play havoc with the quality of the competition.  Secondly, indoor track vs. […]

story by Tony Jones Maybe you have heard of her or maybe you haven’t.  But one thing is for certain after this season, Kandie Bloch (Sr., Argenta-Oreana) will no longer be a mystery among the track and field fandom.  Bloch emerged from a 5-6 jumper as a sophomore to Class A state champion last year […]

  Sprint-oriented events are the bread and butter of track and field whether you like it or not.  There are a lot of coaches that will build their teams around just a handful of talent because points can be racked up very quickly in a state final setting.  This year’s crop of talent will be […]

by Tony Jones You would be hard-pressed to find a better distance runner as well as popular runner overall than Grant Nykaza in the state of Illinois.  The senior lad who hails from the tiny community of Beecher has earned the ultimate respect from his peers by becoming one of the best runners over the past two years […]

Produced by Tony Jones/images by C. Clayton Over the past decade the state of Illinois has seen a resurgence of fast times in the middle-distance races from the girls.  Arguably, they may be better than their male counterparts on the state and national levels.  The list is long if you consider the likes of Samantha […]

Story by Tony Jones/images by D. Pierre Behind every successful athlete is someone that is a mentor, coach, counselor, or role model.  In superstar Aaliyah Brown’s case, the Supreme force in her life happens to be her father Angelo Brown.  The aforementioned adjectives seem to fit the senior Brown like a glove.  In addition, the many […]

Although it is the beginning of the indoor track season, it’s never too early to start thinking about the outdoor campaign.  Soon enough it will be May and time to flock to Eastern Illinois University and O’Brien Field for the state championship.  Below are a few photos of the progress of the stadium operation.  It was […]