Area Junior High Track Athletes Headed to State

For the 14th consecutive year, the EastSide Centre in East Peoria will host the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Class A State Final Track and Field Meet. A total of 2,407 athletes will participate in the two-day meet this Friday and Saturday (May 10-11). East Peoria Robein Grade School serves as the host school.

The IESA state series in boys track and field began in 1932 and the girls state series began in 1972. This will be the 82nd year for the boys and the 42nd year for girls. A total of 260 member schools entered the 2013 Class A state series and 235 of those schools will be represented at this year's state meet. The sectional qualifying meets were held last Saturday, May 4. The following link will list all qualifiers:

http://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/qualifiers_State_A.asp?Year=2013

There are 14 events in each of the four classes (7th grade girls; 7th grade boys; 8th grade girls; 8th grade boys). There will be a grand total of 56 events. Field event competition begins Friday at 12:00 noon. In the field events, the preliminaries and finals are conducted on the same day that the respective event is held.  Some field events are held on Friday and some are held on Saturday. The running events get under way Friday at 1:15 p.m. with the preliminaries and semifinals of the hurdle event. The finals for the hurdle event are held on Saturday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. Only the hurdle event and the 100-meter dash are held with preliminaries and semifinals. In all other running events, timed finals is the format. The best times from all the heats or sections in a respective running event determine final places in that event.

Competition on Saturday begins at 9 a.m. with the finals of the hurdles and the 100-meter dash. Running events will run continuously throughout the day.  Field events will also get started at 9 a.m. on Saturday and will also continue throughout the day. The event is expected to conclude around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The complete time schedule for the weekend is available at the following link:

http://www.iesa.org/documents/activities/IESA-TR_Schedule.pdf.

Results will be updated continuously throughout the weekend and all results should be available by 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening on the IESA home page www.iesa.org.

Single-session tickets will be on sale at the stadium each day. Tickets are priced at $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for students K-8 and seniors. Gates open to the general public at 10:30 a.m. Friday and at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Gates for the competitors and teams will open at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Parade of Athletes will take place on Friday at 11:15 a.m. and at 8:20 a.m. on Saturday. The parade is a chance for the competitors to walk the track with their team amidst applause, music, and cheers from coaches, parents, family, and fans. At the conclusion of the Parade of Champions, the Athlete Oath will be read by four athletes who will be competing in this year's meet.  On Friday, Adam Poundstone from Ottawa Wallace and Cindy Ladner from Galesburg will read the oath. In 2012, Poundstone placed first in both the seventh grade boy's 100 and 200 meter dash while Ladner placed first in the seventh grade girl's 100 meter dash. On Saturday, Jackson Harkness from Elmwood and Jaelah Johnson from Madison will read the athlete oath. Harkness took home first in both the seventh grade boy's shot put and discus throw a year ago, while Johnson earned gold in the girl's seventh grade 200 meter dash.

For the first time in meet history, two selected individuals will serve as Honorary Meet Officials and will lead the annual Parade of Athletes lap on Saturday morning (May 11) prior to the start of the tournament. Bill and Peggy Funkhouser have been selected as the inaugural Honorary Meet Officials thanks to their continued contributions to the IESA interscholastic track and field program. Bill and Peggy have been an integral part of the state tournament for nearly 40 years. Since 1972, Bill has worked as a head timing judge as well as a chief finish evaluator for every race in both classes since the Association instituted fully-automatic timing. A graduate of Alton Sr. High School and Southern Illinois University, Bill spent 31 years as both a teacher as well as a coach while serving as a former member of the IESA Athletic Committee. Playing the role of chaperone for the girls, Peggy would regularly accompany Bill and his team to the state meets. A graduate of Bunker Hill High School and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Peggy was always in the awards area helping to distribute medals to both coaches and individuals during the state tournament. For the last two years, Peggy has joined Bill in the press box helping to run the timing equipment. Peggy and Bill have been married for 52 years and have four children, 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

All athletes who place 1-8 in their respective event will be recognized on the infield after the conclusion of their event. The time schedule has periods built into it for presentation of the medals to the individuals and relay team members.

Fans are encouraged to visit the FanZone icon on the IESA home page for information that spectators should know regarding the meet.

For more information, please contact IESA Assistant Executive Director and Track and Field Administrator Julie Cochran at julie@iesa.org.

Several area runners and field event athletes are headed to the Class A State Boys & Girls Track Meets Friday and Saturday. Competition begins Friday at noon. Those qualifying Friday will advance to Saturday final competition beginning at 9 a.m.

Following are area qualifiers:

SEVENTH-GRADE BOYS

Pole Vault -- Collin Kreke (Sigel St. Michael), Keegan Martin (Cowden-Herrick)

Discus -- Isaac Kramer (Stewardson-Strasburg), Nate Brown (Altamont)

Long Jump -- Jarrett Austin (Altamont), Bryton Dittamore (Cumberland)

High Jump -- Mitchell Stevenson (Altamont), Nate Brown (Altamont)

Shot -- Nathan Carter (Cumberland), Isaac Kramer (Stewardson-Strasburg)

110 Hurdles -- Mitchell Stevenson (Altamont)

100 -- Ryan Yaw (Cumberland)

200 -- Ryan Yaw (Cumberland), Jack Nuxoll (St. Anthony)

400 -- Bryton Dittamore (Cumberland), Mitchell Stevenson (Altamont)

800 -- Clayton Helmink (Sacred Heart), Tanner Clark (Stewardson-Strasburg)

1600 -- Clayton Helmink (Sacred Heart), Jordan Schumacher (Sigel St. Michael)

400 Relay -- Effingham St. Anthony (Jake Brandt, Jack Nuxoll, Nick Goeckner, Christopher Heuerman)

800 Relay -- St. Anthony (Alex Beesley, Wyatt Lawrence, Alex Deters, Will Willenborg), Cumberland (Ryley Brown, Colton Scott, Trevor Curry, Evan James)

1600 Relay -- Windsor (Bean Bennett, Seth Bricker, Jon Trussell, Gage Sattler)

EIGHTH-GRADE BOYS

Discus -- Ty Kinkelaar (St. Anthony), Brant Bueker (Sigel St. Michael)

High Jump -- Andrew McWhorter (Sigel St. Michael)

Long Jump -- Josh Overbeck (Stewardson-Strasburg), Seth Powell (Brownstown)

Shot -- Dakota Shepard (Altamont), Dalton Walk (Sigel St. Michael)

Pole Vault -- Drew Gibson (St. Anthony), Andrew McWhorter (Sigel St. Michael), Brock Bueker (Sigel St. Michael), Jaacob Crow (Altamont)

110 Hurdles -- Jacob Bushue (Sacred Heart)

100 -- Dillon Howard (Cumberland)

200 -- Josh Overbeck (Stewardson-Strasburg)

400 -- Derek Moschenrose (Stewardson-Strasburg), Dillon Howard (Cumberland)

800 -- Jesus Flores (Altamont), Brock Bueker (Sigel St. Michael)

1600 -- Andy Saba (St. Anthony), Jesus Flores (Altamont)

400 Relay -- Cumberland (Dillon Howard, Tanner Kingery, Keaton Titus, Ryan Yaw)

800 Relay -- St. Anthony (Jon Blanchette, Ethan Greene, Mitchell Sager, Jacob Schmidt), Stewardson-Strasburg (Derek Moschenrose, Josh Overbeck, Alex Walden, Dalton Gregory)

1600 Relay -- St. Anthony (Jon Blanchette, Donovan Hammer, Andy Saba, Mitchell Sager)

SEVENTH-GRADE GIRLS

High Jump -- Shelbi Stone (Altamont), Emma Weber (Newton St. Thomas)

Long Jump -- Whitney Smith (Stewardson-Strasburg), Blair Banning (Neoga)

Shot -- Hanna Wolff (Altamont)

Discus -- Hanna Wolff (Altamont), Leah Jansen (Sigel St. Michael)

Pole Vault -- Claire Wortman (St. Anthony), Jolene Bueker (Sigel St. Michael), Claire Guyon (Cumberland), Maci Hanna (Altamont)

100 Hurdles -- Kasey Bean (Windsor), Emma Weber (Newton St. Thomas)

100 -- Jayla Abernathy (Neoga), Makenzie Parkison (Brownstown)

200 -- Jayla Abernathy (Neoga), Kayla Abernathy (Neoga)

400 -- Ashley Goeckner (Altamont), Abby Stone (Newton St. Thomas)

800 -- Courtney Reel (Stewardson-Strasburg), Morgna Gerhardt (Cumberland)

1600 -- Claire Wortman (St. Anthony), Morgan Gerhardt (Cumberland)

400 Relay -- Neoga (Jayla Abernathy, Kayla Abernathy, Jessica Atwell, Blair Banning), Brownstown (Dana Shelton, Deanna Shelton, Makenzie Parkison, Brooke Mayfield))

800 Relay -- Altamont Ashley Goeckner, Leah Mayhaus, Tinley Mette, Morgan Philips), Neoga (Emily Coen, Aly Easton, Katlin Howald, Allison Kingery)

1600 Relay -- Neoga (Jayla Abernathy, Kayla Abernathy, Blair Banning, Katlin Howald), Altamont (Destiny Evans, Ashley Goeckner, Shelbi Stone, Brooke Stuckemeyer)

EIGHTH-GRADE GIRLS

High Jump -- Kacie Hotze (Sigel St. Michael), Skylar Brumleve (Cumberland)

Long Jump -- Jaycie Roy (Neoga), Keidron Duckwitz (Altamont)

Shot -- Jenna Woltman (St. Anthony), Christy Hoene (Sigel  St. Michael)

Discus -- Jenna Woltman (St. Anthony), Elizabeth Biggs (Altamont)

Pole Vault -- Kristin Slaughter (St. Anthony), Rachel Wortman (St. Anthony), Keidron Duckwitz (Altamont), Audrey Winters (Altamont)

100 Hurdles -- Makenzie Hill (Neoga), Mackenzie Hoene (Altamont)

100 -- Kristin Slaughter (St. Anthony), Kassie Shelton (Altamont)

200 -- McKenzie Goldstein (Altamont), Makenzie Hill (Neoga)

400 -- Kristin  Slaughter (St. Anthony), Jaycie Roy (Neoga)

800 -- Anna-Sophia Keller (Sacred Heart), Sydney Zacha (Altamont)

1600 -- Anna-Sophie Keller (Sacred Heart), Rachel Wortman (St. Anthony)

400 Relay -- Effingham Sacred Heart (Victoria Garren, Anna Habing, Sidney Webster, Marci Mills), Altamont (Kassie Shelton, Carly McHugh, Mackenzie Hoene, Hannah Paquette)

800 Relay -- Altamont (Brooke Burns, Keidron Duckwitz, McKenzie Goldstein, Audrey Winters), Neoga (Rachel Ewing, Makenzie Hill, Nikki Miah, Jaycie Roy)

1600 Relay -- Sacred Heart (Anna Habing, Marci Mills, Sidney Webster, Anna-Sophia Keller), Neoga (Jaycie Roy, Rachel Ewing, Makenzie Hill, Nikki Miah)