BELVIDERE ― With Hononegah’s Chase Cutler making it official that he’s out for the entire postseason, a large majority of the spotlight was on Jefferson’s Janardie Turner and his quest for greatness during Thursday’s NIC-10 Boys Track and Field Championships.
He’s there.
“Everything seems like it’s coming together,” said Turner, who easily won all four events he entered on Thursday. “This was a good start.”
Cutler found out shortly before the May 14 meet that kickstarts the postseason that due to the stress fractures in his lower leg, his junior season is over. He was not only the anchor for Hononegah’s 4X400-meter relay squad that was ranked No. 1 in the entire state (by more than a second), but he also had the No. 1 time in the 400 run for all Class 3A runners, and the third fastest time in 3A in the 200 dash.
But Turner, who has been nationally ranked in two events this season so far, was feeling good and was on his game.
“That felt like I’m back,” said Turner, who was nationally ranked in the long jump during the indoor season, but hadn’t soared nearly as far once things moved outdoors. He was close on Thursday. “This was where I need to be.”
Turner won the long jump with a flight of 23-feet-6, which was fourth best in the state this year. He then set the NIC-10 record and blew away the field in the 110 high hurdles with a time of 13.91, which was top-five time in the state, but he already owned the No. 1 time this year in the high hurdles. His late season 13.56 has him ranked 12th in the nation.
And his dominant performance in the 100 dash got him another NIC-10 title, with a time of 11.09, that did not crack the top-20 in the state. But his 38.06 won him the NIC-10 title in the 300 hurdles later on in the meet, and that time is just off his No. 6-ranked time in that event.
“I think I’m ready; I’m ready for anything,” Turner said. “It’s hard doing all these events, but it’s fun. The plan is to keep it going.”
Blue Thunder claim team title
Belvidere North’s Kayden Malone was a two-time conference winner, claiming the NIC-10 title with a 22.42 in the 200 dash and another with a 48.97 in the 400 run. (Cutler did run a 21.27 in the 200 late last month, and he ran a 46.61 in the 400 earlier this month.)
North’s Erick Roman won the discus with a 180-3, and that’s the fifth best discus throw in 3A this year. And Belvidere North’s Judah Binger won both the 3,200 run (9:50.56) and the 1,600 run (4:33.19).
“It’s all about doing what the team needs, and getting us the points that we need,” Binger said after winning his second straight 3,200-run conference title. He’s just a sophomore. “It’s also about getting us ready for sectionals.”
Roman, Binger and Malone’s efforts were key to boosting the Blue Thunder to the NIC-10 team title as they held off Hononegah 126-120. Harlem came in third with 86 1/2 points.
Other NIC-10 champs
BNC champs
The Big Northern Conference boys track and field meet was also on Thursday night. A couple of Rockford-area highlights from that meet were: Byron sophomore Landon Bonvallet won the 200 and 400; and Winnebago’s Myles Smith set a school record with a win in the high jump at 6-7.
Dixon cruised to the team championship with 202 points, outdistancing second-place Byron, which hauled in 101 points.
What’s next?
The postseason continues next week when the teams break up in the Class 1A, 2A and 3A sectionals, with state bids on the line. The top two finishers in each event, as well as those that eclipse the state standard, qualify for state. The IHSA boys state track and field meet is May 28-30 in Charleston at Eastern Illinois University.
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: Hononegah’s Chase Cutler out as track postseason kicks in with NIC-10s
Reporting by Jay Taft, Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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