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Illinois Top Times – News

Illinois Top Times - News

 

Class 1A Storylines to Follow at the 2023 Illinois Top Times Championships

 

By Michael Newman

 

While most eyes will be on the track inside the Shirk Center for Friday afternoon’s Illinois Top Times Class 1A Championships, it would be wise to keep an eye on the runway for the Pole Vault and the High Jump area. Two athletes that are ranked among the top 10 in the nation will look to improve on their indoor performances before they head outdoors.

 

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Mason Kooi of Springfield Lutheran has that big meet experience so jumping on this fast surface should not affect him. Kooi jumped 6-10 last year to win the Class 1A State title. He did not compete in this meet last year. He has cleared 6-10 or higher in his last two meets with a 6-10.75 clearance at the SIU Invitational on March 4. He currently is ranked tied for #3 indoors in the United States. AJ Walsh of IC Catholic Prep is the only athlete in this field that has cleared higher than 6-5. Walsh cleared 6-6 at the end of February at the ICOPS Invitational.

 

Kooi will be busy in the horizontal jumps competing in both events. Kooi is seeded second in the Long Jump and the Triple Jump. The favorite in both of these events will be Cabott Craft of St. Thomas More. The senior has the longest jump in the state this indoor season with a 46-5 mark last Saturday at the University of Illinois. His top seed mark of 22-3 in the Long Jump at the U of I Meet in February is almost a foot ahead of Kooi.

 

While some expected Kooi to be in this position, it was hard to predict that a freshman would also be sharing the center stage in the Class 1A Field events. Isaiah Whittaker of Bloomington Central Catholic cleared 15-0 to win the Eighth-Grade Division at the IESA State Meet in the Pole Vault. He has exploded in his freshman season. His coaches have been patient with him as he has competed in only three meets. He improved to 15-4.25 at the end of December in a club meet in Texas. He has competed in only two high school meets clearing 15-6 in February and then last week clearing 16-8 at the Pontiac Boys Invitational. Both of those meets were held where he will compete on Friday. His performance is currently ranked sixth nationally and holds the Illinois High School state record for freshmen. He is used to this runway. How high could he go when he steps on this runway on Friday? The Meet record is 17 years old (17-1.25) set by Phil Hanson in 2006. The…

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