Photo: Zachery Bradford has already cleared 17-8 this spring. Putting the IHSA State Meet Record could be something that Bradford does in Charleston.

By Michael Newman

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The Illinois Boys Track & Field Season should be special in many ways. If you start with the field events, you have three athletes that will be in the forefront on the national stage.

Zachery Bradford of Bloomington already has taken one step up in the Pole Vault. He is currently ranked second nationally after clearing a personal best 17-8 at the National Pole Vault Summit on January 13 in Reno, Nevada. Bradford’s mark set a new all-time Illinois Best (indoors or outdoors) for the event. He set the IHSA State Meet Record with a 17-4 mark in Charleston. Let’s see how high he will go in his final prep campaign.

John Meyer of Lockport Township life in the Shot Put ring changed when he made a successful transition from the glide technique to the spin technique. The week before state last May, Meyer threw the third longest throw in state meet history (indoors or outdoors) with a 67-2 mark at the Lockport Township Sectional. He only trails Jermaine and Jeremy Kline in those rankings. He followed that up by winning the state championship with 65-10.50 effort just missing the state meet record by 7.25 inches. He enters this season with the second-best performance in the nation. By the time we get to the end of May, John should be the king of the ring both in Illinois and nationally.

Camron Donatlan of West Aurora had never competed in the High Jump before his sophomore years. As he enters his final year of High School, Donatlan is the star of the West Aurora Basketball team. He also has two state championships in the High Jump looking for his third straight putting himself in rarified air. He would be the third Illinois athlete to accomplish that following Dwight “Dike” Eddleman of Centralia (1940-42) and Eric Thompson of Herrin (2005-7). Donatlan returns with the sixth highest jump in the nation.

Buckle your seatbelts. The 2018 season in the field events should be fun to watch in this state.

Here is a look at each of the six field events that will take place in Illinois during this 2018 season.

LONG JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – Both 3A horizontal jumps lost a ton of athletes due to graduation. The opening is there for someone new to step into the spotlight for this event. Only two athletes return from last year that earned all-state status. Jamal Safo of Crete-Monee finished fifth last year having a breakout sophomore season. He achieved his personal best of 22-11.75 at the state meet. EJ Burruss of Homewood-Flossmoor was right behind Safo in sixth jumping 22-8. He did jump a personal best last year of 22-8.75. Both athletes will be in the hunt for a state title.

There are two athletes back that went past 23-feet outdoors last spring. Geremiah Lawson of Plainfield Central cranked two jumps into the 23-foot range last spring with a state leading 23-8.5 leap. He did not have a good end of the season failing to qualify for state. He has already jumped 22-10.5 this indoor season. He could be a man on a mission in this event. Deonte Bryant of Proviso East jumped 23-3 at the Palatine Relays last April but only achieved a best of 21-0.75 the rest of the season. He was a big part of his school’s success in the relays. He might be one of the top jumpers in the state this spring.

11 athletes are back that went past 22-6 outdoors last season. Though there are not a ton of state returnees, we could see some great performances this spring in this event. Dan Spejcher of Lake Park and James O’Brien of Andrew both jumped 22-11 and could have some influence on who wins the state title. Christian Reed of Homewood-Flossmoor and Nieko Carter of Shepard both made last year’s finals. Both could be jumping for top finishes. Conor McCarthy of Lockport Township, Frank Massey of Bloom Township, and Camron Donatlan are some of the other athletes to keep an eye on.

TRIPLE JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – The same situation applies in this event as it does in the Long Jump. Graduation hit hard making this event one of opportunity. The top five athletes graduated leaving sixth-place finisher Kevion Polk of Rockford Guilford the leading returnee and one of the many athletes to watch. Jonathan Wilburn of Evanston Township finished eighth at state and went past 46-feet twice. His 46-9.75 mark gave him an all-state medal. Peyton Frankenreider of Yorkville jumped the same distance to place ninth in the finals. It was a two-foot improvement from his jump the week before at the sectional meet. He won’t be a surprise if he is in front of everyone else in this event.

It will be interesting to see who moves to the top of this event as the season progresses. Springfield’s Qaron Hawkins and Tyron Treadwell could be in the mix for a top finish along with Moshe Rogers of West Aurora and Conor McCarthy. EJ Burruss, Marshall Davis of Hoffman Estates, and Brandon Ellis of Warren Township are some of the other athletes to watch for.

HIGH JUMP

Top Returnees

Notes – Anything can happen in this event as we have seen in the past. Six athletes are back that earned all-state honors looking for a trip back to the podium in Charleston. 12 athletes are back that cleared 6-5 or better outdoors. Camron Donatlan has a good chance to win his third straight title. The state meet record is 7-3.50. That might be reachable for him this spring.

The competition will be fierce behind the West Aurora senior with six all-state athletes nipping at his heels. Peter Willis of St. Charles North finished second, Cullen Fitzgerald of Hinsdale Central finished fourth, and Michael Shafis of Prospect finished fifth. All three will be jumping higher this spring looking for the opportunity of a state championship. Marquise Kennedy of Crete-Monee, Brandon Ellis, and Maki Mohr of McHenry also were all-state and could be close behind. Frank Massey of Bloom Township, Sebastian Gutierrez of Belvidere North, and Lawrence Knish of Wheeling will be looking to make a statement this spring and should be watched for.

POLE VAULT

Top Returnees

Notes – We won’t say much about Zachery Bradford since we talked about him at the beginning of preview. Do not be surprised if he starts his competitions by the time the rest of the field has finished up. He is in a class by himself right now in this state.

This event is wide-open after Bradford. There are no other returning 3A all-state athletes back. The only all state athlete back is Aidan Williamson of Vernon Hills who finished ninth last spring in Class 2A. There are no athletes back that cleared 15-feet last outdoor season. Tom Paprocki of Lake Park and Blake Neville of Edwardsville lead the pack both clearing 14-7. Neville made the finals last year along with Joe Kreikmeier of Lyons Township and Dominic Ruettiger of Minooka. Declan Ritzenhaler of Loyola Academy, Ethan Harsted of Ottawa Township, and James Leahy of Fremd are some of the other athletes that will be challenging for top-nine spots. While Bradford soars higher (and he will), it will be interesting to watch this group achieve some personal bests and achieving higher goals.

SHOT PUT

Top Returnees

Notes – John Meyer will be going after his third straight state title as well as going after Jermaine Kline’s state meet record. The only challenges he may experience might not be from his competition, but from himself stepping into the ring. He has the best returning performance ahead of the rest of the field by more than eight feet.

There will be strong competition behind Meyer in this classification. We could have two or three athletes that could go past 60-feet this spring. Four athletes return that were all-state last year. Brad Warman of Barrington is the leading returner behind Meyer. He finished fourth last year with a 58-7.25 personal best. One athlete to watch could be Clayton Hannula of Kaneland. While in 2A, Hannula had a 58-4.50 personal best while finishing third in 2A. The move up will not affect this athlete. He should be one of the elite throwers in the state.

Jamir Gibson of Zion-Benton and Tyler Johnson of Wheaton North were both all-state and could push for a finish in the top five. Andrew Stokes of Cary-Grove, Anand Batbaar of Stevenson, Geoffrey Frenk of Barrington, and Mikey Ford of Chatham-Glenwood should also be watched for in this event.

DISCUS

Top Returnees

Notes – The state title was within John Meyer’s grasp last year until the final round when AJ Epenesa surpassed him for the state title. Meyer finished second. Do you think that will drive him in this event this spring? He moved up to a 189-5 personal best last season. His technique improved throughout the year. Getting beyond 200-feet might be something to watch for. The state title for him could be even more satisfying.

Just three athletes that earned all-state last spring are back. It does not mean that the title should just be handed to the Lockport athlete. Clayton Hannula also finished third in 2A in this event. He improved 25-feet up to a 177-11 personal best from his sophomore to junior season. How much will he improve his senior season? Brian Keyes of McHenry threw 180-6 last year and finished fourth at state. There were two other meets that he went past 170-feet and that was at the end of the season. Keyes showed that he will peak when the time is right last year. A repeat of that could get him close to the state title.

Jordan Johnson of Quincy was ninth in the finals and is one of eight athletes back that went past 160-feet. Jamir Gibson, Ben Litwin of Huntley, Elijah Green of Batavia, and Jaylen Alexander of Hoffman Estates are some of the athletes that could be among the top five in Charleston.