Photo: Mason Barr will look to lead Ridgeview to a repeat in in the 4x2 along with defending his title in the 300 Meter Hurdles (Laura Duffy Photo)

By Michael Newman

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Easton Bianchi of Sterling Newman made his step into the sprint spotlight after he finished ninth in both the 100 and 200 Meter Dash in the 2017 IHSA 1A State Meet. His first step was in his junior year last March when he dominated the field to win the 1A 60 Meter Dash as well as finishing third in the 200 Meter Dash. Bianchi was just as strong outdoors in Charleston winning both the 100 and 200. As he enters his final year of prep competition, all eyes will be on this student athlete that was named to the Illinois Football Coaches Association (IFCA) this fall. He could have two more state championships by the end of May.

The 1A Hurdle events are loaded and could overshadow the sprints this spring. Talent abounds from the returnees that includes AJ Christensen of Forreston, Mason Barr of Ridgeview, and Connor Artman of Illini West.

Here is a look at the five individual sprint and hurdle events. We will also preview the three sprint relays that will be contested this spring.

100 METER DASH

Top Returnees

Notes – Easton Bianchi returns to defend his state title in this event after winning ahead of Kahlil Wassell by seven hundredths of a second. Only two of last year’s finalists are back making you think that it might be a little easier for Bianchi. That might not be the case. Diondre (fourth-place) and Dionte Lewis (ninth-place) of Warrensburg-Latham are talented enough to push Bianchi for the state championship.

The door is wide open for someone to step into the spotlight for this event. Bianchi and the two Lewis brothers are the only returning athletes that ran under 11-seconds last spring. There is more than a tenth of a second gap before the rest of the returnees. In the short sprints, that is like a lifetime. Alec Usila of St. Edwards, Marshall Walk of Spring Valley Hall, Rahveon Valentine of Lena-Winslow, and Max Branigan are some of the athletes that could take a step up to the next level in this event.

200 METER DASH

Top Returnees

Notes – There are four all-state athletes that are back that again will be chasing defending state champion Easton Bianchi. It does like Bianchi will enter this season as the favorite at this distance. He broke 22-seconds for the first time at state when he ran 21.78. He starts the season with the fastest time by half a second.

Tate Walcott of Ridgeview, Caden Coleman of Urbana University, and Basil Buckner of Rushville-Industry finished fourth through sixth last year and should be Bianchi’s closest competition. The three had seasonal bests within a tenth a second of each other led by Buckner (22.23). Pascal Guilavogui of Beardstown ran 22.31 last season and could also be a runner to keep an eye on.

400 METER DASH

Top Returnees

Notes – This is the mystery event of all the 18 1A Boys Track events this season. Who will step up into the spotlight?

Ben Buresh of Wethersfield (fourth-place) and Keegan Anderson of Morrison (seventh-place) are the only runners’ back from last year’s finals. Diondre Lewis joins those two runners as the only 1A runners that were under 51 seconds last spring.

We will see some fresh faces in the front that might not be on the list of returning athletes. Bobby Kapolnek of St. Thomas More, Aaron India of Maroa-Forsyth, Riley Baker of St. Joseph-Ogden, and Cole Schroeder of Orion are some of the runners that will go from anonymous to known by the time we get to Charleston in May.

110 METER HIGH HURDLES

Top Returnees

Notes – 2017 State Champion Trey Miller has graduated. This event is loaded for the 2018 season with seven of last year’s finalists returning. AJ Christensen from Forreston improved his personal best from 15.62 in 2016 to 14.69 last year. Christensen is the highest returning placer (second-place) and the athlete to watch also having the fastest returning time. Connor Artman of Illini West could be one of Christensen’s chief competition. Artman finished third last spring at Charleston.

There are four other runners back that ran 15.5 or faster last season. Last year’s fourth-place finisher Mason Barr of Ridgeview showed improvement during last season. Watch for that trend to continue again as this season progresses. Dontez Pittman of Madison, Kyle Carver of Casey-Westfield, and Shamar Adams of DuQuoin all earned all-state honors last year. All should be threats to be back on the podium again in Charleston.

An athlete to keep an eye on is Mitchell Stevenson from Altamont. The senior did not run in the state series but did finish third indoors at the Illinois Top Times Championships in the 60 Meter Hurdles. The star of his school’s basketball team, Stevenson did run 14.77 during last season. He could be the one to push Christensen for a state championship.

300 METER HURDLES

Top Returnees

Notes – The story is like the short hurdle event in this classification. Six athletes are back from last year’s finals led by defending champion Mason Barr. Barr and AJ Christensen had seasonal bests separated by four tenths of a second. In the state finals, Barr won by almost three quarters of a second (38.32 – 39.10). Connor Artman ran 39.25 last year. The state title most likely will be won by one of these three athletes.

The three above athletes are not locks for the titles. Riley Baker of St. Joseph-Ogden, Dontez Pittman, and Judd Anderson of Farmington were all-state last year and ran under 40-seconds. Xavier Ross of Timothy Christian and Mitchell Stevenson were also under that time barrier and could also find themselves on the state podium after their event is completed.

4x100 METER RELAY

Top 2017 Times

Notes – Looking carefully at this event, you would think that this event is wide-open. It could come down to Warrensburg-Latham as the favorite. They were disqualified in last year’s finals but did have the sixth fastest 1A seasonal time. They return all their runners from that squad led by Diondre and Dionte Lewis. Running under 43-seconds for this squad when the time is right is a possibility.

Liberty has three of their runners back from a quartet that finished seventh in last year’s finals. They had a seasonal best of 43.93. Lena-Winslow finished fifth and have three runners back from their team led by Rahveon Valentine. Watch out for this team.

Last year’s top four teams Rushville-Industry, St. Teresa, Mercer County, and Bismarck-Henning all return half of their state teams. Time will tell if these squads can find the right runners so that hey can challenge for a state title. Sterling Newman Catholic, led by multi-state champion Easton Bianchi, returns all their quartet and could challenge for the state title. Madison and Rockford Christian both have good groups coming back and should be teams to keep an eye on.

4x200 METER RELAY

Top 2017 Times

Notes – Defending state champion Colfax Ridgeview has a chance to win their second straight title. They return three juniors led by 300 Hurdle state champion Mason Barr. They have a good sprint group. They should have a solid fourth runner that will step in. Rockford Christian returns three runners from their second-place team as they finished six-tenth of a second behind Ridgeview. They should be towards the front again.

Madison returns their entire quartet that finished seventh last year. Liberty and Lena-Winslow has the talent to finish in the top five. Mercer County, Rushville-Industry, Sterling Newman, and Newton are some of the teams that could find their way into a top five state finish.

4x400 METER RELAY

Top 2017 Times

Notes – Rockford Christian and Illini West were separated by four tenths of a second in last year’s finals with the Royal Lions coming away with the state title. Three are back from that title team led by 800-meter state champion Riley Wells. Illini West will have two back with Connor Artman and Jacob Bryan, but will miss Cayden Kirkham who transferred last summer to Waterloo.

It could be wide-open on who will challenge these two teams. Warrensburg-Latham finished fifth last year returning all their runners. They may need a high finish in the state meet’s final event to challenge for a state team title. Pleasant Plains and Rockridge, finalists last year, could be factors in the top five.

Also watch for Kewanee Wethersfield, Forreston, and St. Joseph Ogden to challenge for a spot in the finals.