Southland track teams eye better finish

A flock of track stars, both boys and girls, ran, threw and jumped across the Southland last spring. Yet, neither a boys nor girls team finished in the top 10 at the state finals.

This year's indoor season has seen a similar group of individuals excel. Will the end result be any different?

It may, if the stars are supported by their teams. But track and field is really a sport for individuals. Aside from rooting one's friends on, teamwork is seen on the track only in the relays. Qualifying for the state finals in May, or even the unofficial state indoor final at the end of this month, is done sport by sport, one runner, thrower and jumper at a time.

Based on what's happened so far during the indoor season, several teams have shown the potential to take more than a handful of members to Eastern Illinois, site of the state finals.

Boys

A trio of De La Salle sprinters and K.J. Franklin, a Crete-Monee senior who may be the area's best all-around athlete, have burst to the forefront in the dashes.

The Meteors' Armand Rhone won the 55-, 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Catholic League indoor meet, and along with Iman Matthews and Ahmad Evans -- a freshman -- makes De La Salle a threat in any sprint relay.

Franklin's 6.32-second 55-meter dash last Saturday is the best in the area so far, according to statistics compiled by the SouthtownStar. But Courtney Sanders of Rich South is right behind him, at 6.39, while Evans and Rhone have been impressive in both the 55 and the 200, and Rhone's the area leader in the 400, with a 50.21 clocking on March 9.

Then there's Imani Carey of Bloom, which, with Lockport and Lincoln-Way East, may have the most talent across the spectrum of events. Carey has run the 200 in 23 seconds flat, but has been used sparingly, so deep are the Blazing Trojans.

"We're getting somebody in everything," Bloom coach Andrew Schmitt said. "It's nice to be able to have depth, so people don't have to do more than three events, and no more than two running events at this time of year."

Middle and long-distance events are more difficult to project, because at this time of the year, schools with indoor facilities are more likely to have runners with better times than schools whose distance runners are forced to run in hallways or in the cold while training.

But even there, it's obvious that Rich Eber of Brother Rice is ahead of the game. Eber has already turned in a 9:39.74 time in the indoor 3,200, the longest event on the track and field schedule, and that's just three seconds off the time he posted in finishing mid-pack in last year's state finals.

Eber also has been in the chase for the 1,600, as has Kyle Engnell of Lockport, who has the best times in the 600 and 800 so far this year, and is fourth in the 1,600. Engnell was sixth in the 800 at the state meet last year.

A team's depth is best seen in the relays, and there, Lincoln-Way East may have the edge. The Griffins, with Matt Machowiak, Myles Scott-Strin, Ron Revord and Nathan Troester to pick from, rank second in the 640 relay (four laps of a 160-meter indoor track, a distance not run outdoors), fourth in the 1,600 relay, and fifth in the 3,200 relay. Bloom is third in the 800 and second in the 1,600, but not yet pictured in the shorter and longer events.

As might be expected in the specialty events in the field, no one school dominates. Hillcrest's Jameson Wilson has the best triple jump so far, but Franklin, the long jump leader, is third in the triple.

After finishing 14th in the state high-jump finals last year, Rich East's Kalvin Cheeks, at 6 feet, 5 inches, has the area's best leap of the season thus far, though four other jumpers have gone as high as 6-4.

There's one dominant competitor. The area's best pole vaulter, senior Mitchell Erickson of Marian Catholic, won the state title last year, the only Southland athlete to do so. He won with a vault of 16 feet, 9 inches, has already vaulted 16-1 this year, and is second in the state to Dan Block, a junior from Lake Park, whose 16-6 vault in Evanston on March 1 has so far stood tallest.

Girls

While De La Salle has top local performances in three of 18 events on the boys' side, no school has more than two at the top on the leaderboard for the girls. Six schools lead in two events, and in three of the four cases not involving relays, it's one athlete leading two categories.

Eileen Moran of Providence is the leader in the 55-meter dash and the 400. Fifth in the Class AA state meet in the 400 last year, Moran is the only Southland runner to break one minute in that event this season, and her 6.97-second time in the 55 is the only one under seven seconds so far.

"She's been the leader of the team," coach Heather McCuan said. "And she didn't run before coming to Providence."

Junior Melissa Golliday of Richards is first in the 300, the area's best high jumper, and second to Moran in the 400. Like Moran, she's a former state qualifier, so she knows what it takes to get to Charleston.

Then there's Liz Phillips of Lockport. The senior has posted the best times in the 800 and 1,600 this year, and is second to Kristin Sutherland of Sandburg in the 3,200. Sutherland won the Class 3A state cross country title in the fall.

It would take injury or misadventure in sectional competition for the members of that trio not to reach the state finals. It also would be a surprise if they're not challenged at some point.

Shamika Thomas of Bloom, for instance, is ahead of Moran in the 200, with Tyler Burke of Homewood-Flossmoor right behind. Burke's third in the 55, with Ronetta Nelson of Crete-Monee between her and Moran, and Golliday's expected to be a threat once outdoor action begins and the 100 becomes the common dash demoninator.

Relay leaders are split four ways, with Andrew's first in the 1,600 and second in the 3,200 something to keep an eye on. Thunderbolts distance runner Kailyn Kuzmuk, a state finalist in the 3,200 and 1,600 last year, is third in the 3,200, while Genna Loesch and Molly Chulm are third and fifth, respectively, in the 400.

In the field, Golliday's a crossover star thanks to her leadership in the high jump as well as running events, but there are two standout performances so far. Quennie Abebejoye of Rich Central has posted a triple jump of 37-0 1/2, about 30 inches longer than runner-up Jordan Porter of Marian Catholic, while Colleen McDonough of Andrew is a long six feet ahead of Brie Poe in the shot put. McDonough's best throw this year is 40-8.