IPTT CLASSIC Boys AA Preview By Michael Newman Boys Class AA Leaderboard Editor This may be on of the strongest fields that we have ever assembled for the IPTT Indoor Classic. The swansong meet of the indoor season should be a smorgasbord of great performances. Here is what to look for on Saturday event by event: LONG JUMP I think out of all the field events, this is the widest open. K. J. Franklin of Crete-Monee has the longest mar s far this season of 23’ 2 ½” at Bloom two weeks ago. He will be challenged by fellow SICA South rival Japheth Cato of Chicago Heights Bloom, who has also gone over 23 feet. Tim Williams of Palatine is a money jumper and could surprise. Jeremy Kaplan of New Lenox Lincoln-Way Central has been amongst the list leaders all season and will also be towards the front. All state jumper Justin Lawrence of Oswego East will also challenge. TRIPLE JUMP 
This could be a coronation of Ty Kirk (left) of Rolling Meadows. Kirk has only jumped in two meets this spring…his jump of 46’ 4” is almost a half a foot ahead of his next closest competitor. Watch for Ty to shoot for 48 feet on Saturday. Jumpers who could challenge include Tim Williams of Palatine, Evan Scott of Oak Park-River Forest, and Devyn Cullers of Chicago Whitney Young.
HIGH JUMP 
This event is loaded…figuratively speaking! 37 jumpers cleared the Automatic standard of 6’ 3”…which makes a crowded but competitive field. Mykhail Chambers (right) of Urbana appears to be the favorite. He has cleared 6’ 10” twice in a two week span and is looking to go higher on Saturday. Watch for Cheldon Brown of Springfield Lanphier. He has competed in only two meets since the conclusion of his basketball season, yet he has already cleared 6’ 7”. Ryan Michel of McHenry has been this season’s surprise and will have to be watched for. Also look for great jumps from Ryan Hindes of Glenview Glenbrook South, Phillip Thomas of Alton, and Nick Busch of Palatine.
POLE VAULT 
Could 17’ be cleared on Saturday? We have the horses in this event to do it. Mick Viken is undefeated so far this season and has the best vault clearing 16’ 6” at the Rolling Meadows Pole Vault Summit on March 8. Defending AA outdoor champion Mitchell Erickson (left) of Chicago Heights Marian Classic is big when the pressure is on…watch for him! Josh Winder of Plainfield Central has been lurking in the shadows of Erickson and Viken all season…we could see some big things from him on Saturday! Also watch for Peter Geraghty of Oak Park-River Forest, Logan Pfibsen of Streator, and Greg Haugh of Roselle Lake Park all to be in the hunt.
SHOT PUT Nothing has been able to stop Roselle Lake Park Shot Putter Dan Block this season….except a brick wall. That was the case last Friday at the Proviso East Classic. Block threw a list leading 62’ 7”…it would have been longer according to the officials if the wall were not in the way. We could see something special on Saturday….Block is on a roll! George Weed of Springfield Lanphier, and the Aurora Waubonsie Valley duo of Dwight Harris and Brett Einbecker will be chasing after Block. 3200 METER RUN With some of the Illinois Prep distance aces not entered, some have said that this race could be a yawner….not so fast! Nathan Troester of Frankfort Lincoln-Way East has the fastest entered time going into the race….if he decides to enter (he is also entered in the 1600). Otherwise, this race will be close. Patrick Geoghegan of Oak Park-River Forest has overcome an injury plagued autumn and has come back strong on the track. Rich Eber of Chicago Brother Rice should also challenge. Watch for Sophs Chano Bernardo of Palatine and Pat Lesiewicz of Schaumburg to also be up front. Do not overlook Brian Denk of Darien Hinsdale South, Thomas Fielder of Hinsdale Central, and Clay Elward of Peoria Notre Dame. 4 x 800 METER RELAY Geneva is on a mission this spring after a disappointing end of the cross country season. The Vikings come into this race with the best time in the state : 8:01.9h. Geneva is loading this relay on Saturday, so watch for a possible sub 8 from them. Teams that will push this quartet will include West Suburban Silver rivals LaGrange Lyons Township and Downers Grove North, Prospect, Evanston Township, and Aurora Waubonsie Valley. 55 METER DASH Wide open can describe this race. 14 runners are within 11 hundredths of a second between each other, so this could be any sprinters race. Jake Arnold of Plainfield North has been tough all season and should be considered one of the favorites. Springfield Lanphier teammates Warnether Banks and Jacob Mitchell are always tough and will be fighting for the championship. Kayode Adegoke of Bolingbrook has come on strong the last couple of weeks and will be in the hunt. Also watch for the Chicago DeLaSalle duo of Armand Rhone and Ahmed Evans, Nick Neumann of Frankfort Lincoln-Way East, and Imani Carey of Chicago Heights Bloom. 55 METER HIGH HURDLES Another sprint race where any one could step up. Shawn Ledbetter of Moline has the fastest FAT hurdle time entered in this event of 7.70. Dan Hagberg of Burlington Central has big meet experience on his side and will challenge Ledbetter. Also watch for Erick Gavin of Chicago Heights Marian Catholic, Pershaun Mathis of Chicago Heights Bloom, Roger Herard of Chicago Mather, and Derrick Winkle of Granite City all to be in the push for the title. 800 METER RUN 
Defending AA Outdoor 800 champ Mat Smoody (right) of Palatine is the class of this field. He has run only one 800 this season and that was 1:55! Smoody has been working on his strength, gearing for the outdoor season. We could see 1:53 on Saturday. Alex Gasick of Lisle Benet Academy looked strong last Saturday at Bolingbrook and could challenge. The one mystery in this race could be Jeffrey Thode of Hoffman Estates Conant. Thode threw down some quick times early in the campaign, but sat out the last month with a leg injury. Reports are he is recovered…we shall see on Saturday. Also watch for Kyle Engnell of Lockport Township, Ryan Phebus of Burlington Central, and Kevin Capodice of Plainfield North to be towards the front. 4 x 200 METER RELAY This race will showcase Springfield Lanphier’s strength and depth in the sprints. Mike Garcia’s squad comes in with the fastest time in the state this spring of 1:31.32…we could see in the 1:30’s on Saturday from this quartet. Oak Park-River Forest should not be discounted. They have the fastest time in the 4 x 160 this winter and also have a bevy full of speed. Bolingbrook and Evanston Township pushed each other to fast times last weekend at Bolingbrook…we should see more of the same on Saturday. 400 METER DASH It feels like a down year in the quarter so far this spring with only 10 runners meeting the Automatic Qualifying standard of 51.54. Never the les, this should be an interesting race. Armand Rhone of Chicago DeLaSalle has been the class of the event so far this spring and is the favorite. Also watch for Warnether Banks of Springfield Lanphier (IF he opts to run in this race), Mike Wallace of Algonquin Jacobs, Reid Basting of Normal Community West, and Odane Nelson of Chicago Marshall all to challenge. 1600 METER RUN This still will be a great race, even without Derrick or Havel. Andrew Nelson of Geneva and Jeffrey Thode of Conant are fastest entered runners in this event. The one to watch is Class AA Cross Country Champ Nick Holmes of Bartonville Limestone. Nick has only run a handful of races this spring, so it will be interesting how fast he will go on Saturday. Others to watch in this race will be Nathan Troester of Frankfort Lincoln-Way East, Neal Anderson of Chatham Glenwood, and Andrew Karas of Plainfield North. 200 METER DASH A great showdown looms with Demarcus Brooks of Springfield Southeast and Jake Arnold of Plainfield North. Armand Rhone of Chicago DeLaSalle will come back to challenge in this race. Also watch for Warnether Banks of Springfield Lanphier, Kayode Adegoke of Bolingbrook, Imani Carey of Chicago Heights Bloom, and Zach Howard of Oak Park-River Forest all to challenge. DISTANCE MEDLEY A fun event to watch…Aurora Waubonsie Valley, Schaumburg, Plainfield North, Evanston Township, and Chicago Brother Rice should all be in the hunt for the championship. 4 x 400 METER RELAY In the last event of the day, there are a number of teams that could come way with the win in this race. Aurora Waubonsie Valley had a great race last weekend at Proviso without Sean Wiggan…that could be a factor. Relay power Evanston Township has improved week by week and could challenge Waubonsie. Also watch for Palatine and Lincoln-Way East to be towards the front. GOOD LUCK TO ALL COMPETITORS AND COACHES THIS SATURDAY!!! Meet home page | 
