The IHSA boys track and field seasons have reached the pinnacle as the entire state shoots for the premier spots at state by battling in this week’s sectionals.
Only the top two finishers, and those that eclipse the state standards, advance to the finale in Charleston.
And there are plenty of stars from the Rockford area who should be right in the mix.
“This is right where I want to be,” Jefferson’s star hurdler, jumper and sprinter Janardie Turner said after sweeping his events at the NIC-10 meet last week. “And I think that shows that I’m ready.”
Turner may be one of the best, but he’s just one of many from the Rockford area who head into the boys track and field postseason with some momentum.
The Class 2A teams from the Rockford area will try and earn their state bids at Wednesday’s Rochelle Sectional; the 3A teams will compete in Thursday’s Antioch Sectional; and the 1A teams will wrap up the week in the Oregon Sectional on Friday.
And as we roll right into sectionals, here are the 71 Rockford-area standouts who are ranked in the state, according to athletic.net. Hononegah’s Chase Cutler has the fastest time in the 400 run (46.61) by more than a second in 3A, the fourth-fastest time in the 200-meter dash (21.27), and he has Hononegah in the third spot in the 4X400 relay (3:19.72), but he’s out with a lower leg injury, so we won’t include those times.
Top 25 rankings
CLASS 1A
CLASS 2A
CLASS 3A
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Here are Rockford-area boys track stars ranked going into state tourney
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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