Bradford, Hart win National titles

By Michael Newman

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There was a positive vibe throughout the state after some great performances from Illinois athletes at this weekend’s New Balance Indoor Nationals. The contingent from the state was not as big as the three states around The Armory had. But the success was just as powerful.

Just ask Bloomington’s Zachery Bradford and Glenbard West’s Katelynne Hart who left the Big Apple with national championships.

Both athletes were clutch when the pressure was on coming from behind to claim their titles.

The Boys Championship Pole Vault on Saturday afternoon produced one of the best performances ever by an Illinois athlete as well as the tightest events of the weekend. Bradford was one of the favorites in the event along with KC Lightfoot of Lee’s Summit HS (MO). Both athletes came in at 5.01m (16-5.25) and promptly cleared that height on their first attempt. The two were the last in the event making 17-9 again on their first attempts. If was Bradford that was doing the responding. Lightfoot would clear a height, then Bradford. As the bar was raised to 18-0.5, Lightfoot had the advantage. Bradford has missed once on a lower height (17-1.5) putting a little pressure on himself. Lightfoot was first in the order and missed on two good attempts. The same held true with Bradford as he was close but too close knocking off the bar.

Lightfoot went first on the final attempt and was unsuccessful.

The pressure was on Bradford. Make it, he wins. No clearance means second-place. As you know, Bradford thrives under those kinds of conditions.

The Bloomington senior waisted little time after they reset the bar to take his final attempt. He grazed the crossbar as he went over. The bar made three little jumps up but stayed on the pegs.

National championship. Personal best of 18-0.5. Controlled jubilation as he went to hug his parents. While he looked cool and under control, the capacity crowd in the Armory went crazy.

Bradford’s winning clearance was special. He becomes the third United States High School athlete to go beyond 18-feet in an indoor meet. His championship jump also puts his Illinois All-Time best just a little more untouchable.

“Third attempt makes are always amazing especially when you know you are in second-place,” Bradford explained. “When I made it, I did not know it was going to stay on. I looked to the right and it was off the pegs. I heard the crowd and I knew it had stayed on. Then I started to celebrate.”

Hart’s win seemed to look a little more improbable especially half way through the race Sunday afternoon. She had gone through the first half of the race in 2:2 but was still more than a second behind Marlee Starliper of Northern HS (PA). Two weeks before at Pennsylvania’s Indoor Championship, she had run 4:43.49 for the win. The pace that she was sporting at that point exhibited that she could be pulling away for the win. The gap started to grow has Taryn Parks of Greencastle Antrim HS (PA) passed Hart into second. Starliper’s lead had grown to four seconds with two laps to go. Hart had taken back second place with her sites on the lead.

The lead was still four seconds entering the final lap. The move in the middle of the race was starting to effect Starliper as her face began to strain. Hart with 150-meters to go put her head down and increased her speed.

What seemed to be impossible three laps before was becoming more of a possibility.

Starliper was struggling with her stride entering the final 50-meters of this race. Hart was not. The Glenbard sophomore glided by her with 20-meters to go to claim her first national title arms in the air and a smile on her face. Her time of 4:45.47 was a personal best. Victoria Starcher of Ripley WV and Katherine Lee of Wading River, NY passed Starliper just before the finish placing second and third. Hart’s margin of victory was less than a second of Starcher (4:46.32).

“My goal today was just to stick behind however was leading. There was amazing competition out there. With 800 to go, Marlee kept pulling away. I just kept thinking I had to maintain to get a good time,” said Hart. “In the final lap, I just knew I had to go. I think I surprised myself a little bit with the times I have been running. The more experience that I’ve had this past year has helped.”

Six other Illinois High School Athletes left New York earning All-American honors.

It was disappointing to see Clayton Mendez of Whitney Young in the first of two sections of the 2-Mile Run Sunday morning. His qualifications deemed him to be running with the “big boys” in the second section later in the day.

I was great to see Mendez do what he did in his opportunity to race. He stayed in fourth-place for the first mile of the race going through that check point. Confidently, Mendez took the lead at that moment and started to push the pace breaking the field. The race was his until the final 300-meters of the race. Wisconsin’s Matthew Meinke started to move closer to the three time All-American. In the final lap, Meinke moved closer to Mendez. He never got past the Chicago runner. Mendez kept his emotions in check as he held off Meinke. Mendez crossed the line winning the section (9:06.11) with Meinke second (9:06.37). Then, the two would have to wait for the second section to see where they would finish overall in the event.

It looked promising in the second section as the pace in that race went out slowly. At one point, they were five seconds behind the pace from Section 1. With 440 yards to go, Tennessee’s Brodey Hasty moved running the final two laps crossing the line in 9:00 winning the event. Mendez finished fourth with his time earning All-American honors for the fourth time. Meinke also was an All-American finishing fifth.

It was a shame that we did not see Hasty and Mendez race on Sunday. However, there could be opportunities for the two to race against each other this spring.

We all know the future is bright for Plainfield North’s Marcellus Moore. The sophomore made it to Sunday qualifying in the semis of the 60 Meter Dash and the finals of the 200 Meter Dash.

In Sunday morning’s semifinals of the 60 Meter Dash, Moore achieved a personal best of 6.81 to get him to the finals later in the day. His time was tied for eighth fastest. Nine runners make the finals. He got off to a good start in the finals and recorded 6.81 for the second time in this meet. He finished seventh just missing the podium by three hundredths of a second. Moore came back strong in the 200 Meter Dash. He came off the curve strong running within two hundredths of a second of his seasonal best (21.32) to finish second in his sectional. He finished fourth overall. It will be fun to watch and see what he does this spring and then the next two years.

Connor Artman of Illini West said after his Long Jump competition on Saturday that he was hoping for a better performance. He was in eighth-place in the finals entering his final attempt. He hit his best jump of the day (23-1.75) moving up to sixth-place and All-American honors.

Dajour Miles of West Aurora made the finals of the 400 Meter Dash on Saturday and decided to scratch from the prelims of the 200 Meter Dash to concentrate her efforts in the longer race. That strategy paid off as she finished second in her section final running 54.58. That time gave her a fifth-place overall finish in the event as well as an All-American top six placing.

With Illinois weight event queen Kathleen Young now at the University of South Carolina, there was some thinking that there would be a void from Illinois athletes in that event.

Not true.

Chloe Lindeman of Fulton had a fantastic day in the Shot Put. Her 47-2.50 put in the third round gave her a personal best. It also gave her third-place overall and making her an All-American.

The same “wow-factor” hit Chandler Hayden of Pittsfield in the finals of the Girls Weight Throw. Hayden was almost a foot short of her seasonal best of 53-5 throw in February at the University of Missouri. Her throw of 52-4.25 on Sunday was enough to make her an All-American by finishing sixth-place overall.