Sunday, May 31, 2009 9:58 PM CDT
Three-class event kind to Mattoon
By RICK DAWSON, Staff Writer
rdawson@jg-tc.com
In 1995 one Mattoon athlete, Josh Rutledge, took first in the long jump and seventh in the 110-meter high hurdles and 200-meter dash. The last time three different ones placed in a state track meet was 1923, when the school competed in the smallest of two classes.
The three-class system was certainly kind to the Green Wave this year.
And Cameron James can now give brother Connor, a good hurdler who competed in the state’s 110-meter preliminaries in 2007, his share of grief. James finished eighth a day after he hurled a discus over 150 feet for the first time.
“I’ll have to make fun of him or something for that,” James said.
James didn’t come close to 153-5 on his second day. He fouled on his first attempt then hit 139-5 on the second one. When he stepped up for the last time, he already knew his best attempt on Friday would stand for a top-nine finish, and his full-bore final heave traveled 109 feet, 8 inches.
“I wanted to do better, you know, but it’s nice to be here and it’s nice to place,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever done anything like this.”
The top three throws from Friday stood. East Peoria junior Curtis Thornton, the winner at 165-1, also had the best throw on Saturday (161-9).
After Treye Williams got tangled with another runner and lost his balance, Mattoon’s 4x800-meter relay didn’t appear to be in the best of shape. The mishap occurred not far into the second lap of the first leg and dropped Mattoon to last among the 12 competitors.
But three baton exchanges later, Dakota McDonald would hold off Rock Island Alleman’s John Westbrooks for ninth place.
“We got him back,” said McDonald, who ran the final leg. “To place at state, you can’t complain with that.”
Three of Mattoon’s relay members were underclassmen, including sophomore Joe Calio, junior Blake Flood and Williams, just a sophomore. Williams also competed in Saturday’s 800-meter run finals.
“I just got mad and had to come back,” Williams said. “We wanted to place so bad. I’m not going to let me tripping (matter where we placed).”
Any other year.
Huntley junior Marcus Popenfoose’s top two discus throws were good enough to wipe out previous state records. If it wasn’t for Dan Block, he might have been a two-event state champion in Class 3A. Instead, he had to settle for second in both the shot put and discus.
“We knew coming in that Dan was as quality a kid as has ever come out of Illinois,” said Huntley throwing coach Chris Maxedon, who competed in both events at Arthur High School and Millikin University. “We knew that there was a good chance, if the weather was good today, that 199 wasn’t going to stand.”
Popenfoose hit 199 feet, 8 inches on Friday. Block bettered it immediately on Saturday, launching his first throw 205-8. Before it hit the ground, he let loose a triumphal scream then went to hug his mom after the distance was announced.
“After last year, I knew if I got a second again it’d kill me,” Block said. “This is all the emotion I had just coming out.”
No one since the event was first staged in 1901 had anyone ever gone 200 feet in the discus. The question is whether the mark will last much longer. Popenfoose’s final throw, the last one at that event, went 193-9.
“Now he’s doubled up his spot every year,” Maxedon said. “He started at eighth, now he’s down the fourth, to second. He can cut next year in half and finish first. Ultimately that’s what he said when he was a freshman: ‘I’ve got to win a state championship by the time I’m a senior.’”
As the number of participants in Saturday’s finals grew with the number of classes, so did the crowd. IHSA assistant executive director Ron McGraw couldn’t remember a time when O’Brien Stadium was so packed for the state track and field finals.
“Fortunately, if they had to they could squeeze,” he said. “I don’t know how many were here. We’re going to find that out when we get all of our financial reports. But that’s a good question. I mean it’s a good problem to have for those in track and field.”
Only a fraction of seats remained at the top of the northwest bleachers. One could easily imagine a standing room only, three-class event.
“I don’t know where we would go,” McGraw said. “I don’t know where else we’d go where we’d have a bigger opportunity to have this facility and that many fans.
“Like several things, it could become there’s a limited number of seats and you’ve got to get here early. It could happen.”
Contact Rick Dawson at rdawson@jg-tc.com or 238-6855.
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