2008 Il PrepTopTimes - DyeStat, the internet home of high school track

Donna on the Side in Illinois
at the PrepTopTimes Indoor Classic

Bloomington IL - March 28-29, 2009

by Donna Dye

Part 1 - intro
Part 2 - Class A
Part 3 - Class AA
Part 4 - worker bees

the Launch of DyeStat IL.com

Bob Geiger and Tony Jones, veteran publishers of IllinoisPrepTopTimes.com, are behind DyeStat’s newest site, DyeStatIL (dyestatil.com). Bob and Tony will provide the same Illinois coverage under the DyeStat banner that they have provided for years with their old site. This announcement was coordinated with IPTT's showcase event, the Illinois Prep Top Times Indoor Classic at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Bob Geiger (r) Co-Director DyeStatIL Webmaster, Indoor Classic Meet Director, Co-Director, Illinois Prep Top Times Tony Jones (l) Co-Director DyeStatIL Cross Country/Track Reporter, Cross-Country Rankings, Girls Class A/AA Leaderboards

Bob Geiger (r)
Co-Director DyeStatIL
Webmaster, Indoor Classic Meet Director, Co-Director, Illinois Prep Top Times

Tony Jones (l)
Co-Director DyeStatIL
Cross Country/Track Reporter, Cross-Country Rankings, Girls Class A/AA Leaderboards

Bloomington-Normal IL

Too early for tulips and daffodils, Bloomington is in bloom with the Illinois PrepTopTimes Indoor Classic at the Illinois Wesleyan University. Bloomington is near the center of Illinois about 125 from Chicago and 203 miles to Carbondale at the southern end of Illinois. It is adjacent to to Normal, IL. This two-city area is generally referred to as "Bloomington-Normal." The area has evolved from an agricultural based economy into a diverse economy, that along with education and life style has brought national recognition to the area. Publications such as Money Magazine, Computerworld and Forbes.com have praised Bloomington-Normal.

National publications are talking about Bloomington-Normal:

In 2006, Money Magazine named the city as one of the 80 best places to live in the US.
In 2007, Computerworld named Bloomington-Normal as #6 of the top ten "techiest" communities in the US.
In February 2008, Forbes.com named Bloomington-Normal as #20 on its list of the 25 smartest communities in the US.
Golf Digest has also named Bloomington-Normal as one of the 5 best places to play golf in the US.

The educational facilities may account for some of the "smart and techy people." Education Facilities go from one end of Main to the other -- from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington to Illinois State University in Normal.

the rest of the town

Downtown Bloomington


David Davis Mansion A State Historic Site, offers a glimpse of the victorian period of the state. It was the home of Judge David Davis who was friend and mentor to Abraham Lincoln. Judge Davis was a US Supreme Justice and US senator.	McClean County Museum of History On the National Register of Historic Places, the museum covers history from the Kickapoo Indians to early European settlers, to the time Lincoln was an up and coming lawyer in Bloomington to the present day.

Now on to the Meet

llinois high schools compete in the Illinois TopPrepTimes Indoor Classic to determine the top performers in the state, there being no official indoor season sponsored by the Illinois High School Association. Like IHSA competitions, the meet is divided into two classes -- A and AA -- with Class A on Friday and Class AA on Saturday. The meet this year was held at Shirk Center on the campus of the Illinois Wesleyan University. The Shirk Center was opened in 1994 at a cost of $15 million and funded in part by a $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Foundation of Bloomington. The Shirk family owns Beer Nuts, Inc.®, the Bloomington-based snack food company. The two-level, 135,344-square foot complex seats 2,680 for sporting events (3,450 for commencement) in its performance arena, and contains four multi-use courts for tennis, volleyball, basketball, and other sports, as well as racquetball courts, a 200-meter track, a training room and wellness center, classrooms, and other facilities. (Thanks to Illinois Wesleyan U for the info.)

llinois high schools compete in the Illinois TopPrepTimes Indoor Classic to determine the top performers in the state, there being no official indoor season sponsored by the Illinois High School Association. Like IHSA competitions, the meet is divided into two classes -- A and AA -- with Class A on Friday and Class AA on Saturday. The meet this year was held at Shirk Center on the campus of the Illinois Wesleyan University.

The Shirk Center was opened in 1994 at a cost of $15 million and funded in part by a $5 million gift from the Russell and Betty Shirk Foundation of Bloomington. The Shirk family owns Beer Nuts, Inc.®, the Bloomington-based snack food company. The two-level, 135,344-square foot complex seats 2,680 for sporting events (3,450 for commencement) in its performance arena, and contains four multi-use courts for tennis, volleyball, basketball, and other sports, as well as racquetball courts, a 200-meter track, a training room and wellness center, classrooms, and other facilities.

(Thanks to Illinois Wesleyan U for the info.)

Supporting the Fight Against Cancer

	The meet partnered with the the Kay Yow foundation (http://www.jimmyv.org/yow) and sold pink T-Shirts and wrist bands. The T-Shirts were donated by the meet’s sponsor, First to the Finish. In addition Illinois Wesleyan donated 12% of the refreshment stand proceeds. The idea for the partnership came from three Whitney Young High School Students and Track athletes. The Frenzer sisters, Caitlin, Beth, and Megan- Identical Triplets-, came up with the idea shortly after their Mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The sisters will be on hand, selling the T-Shirts and wrist bands.
The Kay Yow Fund is named after Kay Yow, North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and is battling the disease for the third time. In her 37 years as a head coach at the college-level, Yow is an ACC Hall of Fame Coach and is one of only six Division I head women's basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul.

The meet partnered with the the Kay Yow foundation (http://www.jimmyv.org/yow) and sold pink T-Shirts and wrist bands. The T-Shirts were donated by the meet’s sponsor, First to the Finish. In addition Illinois Wesleyan donated 12% of the refreshment stand proceeds.

The idea for the partnership came from three Whitney Young High School Students and Track athletes. The Frenzer sisters, Caitlin, Beth, and Megan- Identical Triplets-, came up with the idea shortly after their Mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. The sisters will be on hand, selling the T-Shirts and wrist bands.

The Kay Yow Fund is named after Kay Yow, North Carolina State University head women's basketball coach who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987, and is battling the disease for the third time. In her 37 years as a head coach at the college-level, Yow is an ACC Hall of Fame Coach and is one of only six Division I head women's basketball mentors to achieve 700 career victories. Yow was also the head coach of the 1988 US Olympic Team that won the gold medal in Seoul.

DONNA ON THE SIDE IN ILLINOIS
2008 IPTT Indoor Classic
Part 1 - intro
Part 2 - Class A
Part 3 - Class AA
Part 4 - worker bees

IPTT Indoor Classic home page

Now a look at Marlton.