MASCOUTAH – East St. Louis’ Devonte Ford won three events, while Kenneth Buchanon won the 100 meters and three of the Flyers’ four relay teams all qualified for state as East Side came in second at the IHSA Class 2A boys sectional track meet held Wednesday at Mascoutah High School.
The host Indians won with 115 points, with the Flyers second at 107 points, Marion was third with 76 points, Carbondale was fourth at 48 points, Cahokia and Herrin tied for fifth with 39 points each, Carterville was seventh at 26 points, in eighth place was Freeburg at 19 points, Murphysboro was ninth with 18 points and Breese Central was 10th with 16 points.
Columbia came in 11th at 15 points, Benton was 12th with 13 points, coming in 13th was Waterloo at 10 points, Metropolis Massac County and Harrisburg tied for 14th with six points each, West Frankfort was 16th with four points and Anna-Jonesboro was 17th with a single point.
Buchanon won the 100 meters with a time of 11.18 seconds, with Carterville’s Preston Sumner second at 11.23 seconds and East Side’s Carlos Akins eighth at 11.60 seconds. Ford won the first of his three events in the 200 meters, having a time of 22.18 seconds, with Mascoutah’s Nathan Hippard second at 22.83 seconds. Timothy Cross of the Flyers was fourth at 23.16 seconds, but couldn’t qualify.
In the 400 meters, the top two finishers were Marion’s Bryson Wilson at 49.86 seconds, with Cross second at 50.44 seconds. Marcus Price of Breese Central and Avery Cozzi of the Indians also qualified, with Price coming in at 50.75 seconds and Cozzi’s time was 50.88, both ahead of the qualifying standard to go through to state. In the 800 meters, Jordan Eddy of Mascoutah won the race with a time of 1:58.61, with Central’s Will Detmer second at 2:01.76.
Benton’s Gavin Gensio won the 1,600 meters with a time of 4:20.63, while Carbondale’s Alex Partlow second at 4:25.93. Partlow also won the 3,200 meters at 9:34.71, with teammate Tucker Poshard second at 9:40.42.
In the hurdles’ races, Ford won the 110 meters with a time of 14.24 seconds, with Carterville’s Townsend Barton second at 15.15 seconds. Ford’s teammate, Demarlynn Taylor, was third at 15.22 seconds, qualifying for state as well. Ford and Burton finished one-two in the 300 meters, Ford winning with a time of 37.31 seconds and Burton second at 39.36 seconds. Samuelton Dancer of the Flyers also qualified with a third place time of 40.66 seconds.
In the relays, Mascoutah won the 4×100 meters with a time of 42.74, with the Flyers’ team of Lintez Simmons, Buchanon, Carlos Akins and Ronald McKinnley placing second at 43.01 seconds. The Indians also won the 4×200 meters at 1:30.18, with East Side’s team of McKinnley, Akins, Buchanon and Simmons second at 1:30.77. The Flyers’ team of Ford, Buchanon, Cross and Simmons won the 4×400 meters at 3:26.47, with Mascoutah coming in second at 3:27.77. Mascoutah won the 4×800 meters at 8:31.77, with Herrin second at 8:38.36. East Side came in third at 8:57.20, but didn’t qualify.
In the field events, Mascoutah’s Barry Evans won the shot put with a throw of 16.77 meters, with Carbondale’s Jackson Grant second at 15.96 meters and Marion’s Kane Carter third, exceeding the qualifying standard with a throw of 14.81 meters to go through. The Flyers’ Samuel McClain, Jr. was fourth at 14.72 meters, but failed to qualify. In the discus throw, Evans won with a toss of 48.86 meters, Grant was second at 46.15 meters and Carter third, beating the qualifying standard with a throw of 45.50 meters. McClain was fifth at 42.22 meters.
In the high jump, Mason Clough of Herrin and a pair of Cahokia jumpers, Jo’vioni Hunter and Nicholas Deloach, all tied for first, clearing the bar at 1.87 meters, with Clough winning the event on fewest misses, but all three met the qualifying standard to go to state. East Side’s David Granger tied for fourth with West Frankfort’s T.J. Wills at 1.82 meters, but both missed qualifying for state. In the pole vault, Dyson Roye of Marion won with a leap of 4.71 meters, with teammate Colin Beers second at 4.56 meters.
The Marion duo of Bryson Wilson and Vinson Newsom took the top two spots in the long jump, with Wilson winning with a distance of 6.65 meters, and Newsom second at 6.39 meters. In the triple jump, Herrin’s Billy Braid won with a leap of 13.46 meters, with Deloach second at 13.17 meters.
The top two finishers, plus those who met of exceeded the qualifying standard for each event, will compete in the state track meet next Friday at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Stadium in Charleston.
