Sprinters Show Way To State For Wildkits

Justin Johnson doesn’t like to lose.

Neither does Manny Blake.

But both Evanston juniors are finding it a little easier to swallow when you get beat out by a teammate.

The two sprinters traded off victories in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and also powered two Wildkit relay teams to wins Thursday as the Wildkits set the state qualifying pace at the Class 3A Stevenson Sectional meet.

Evanston earned 10 individual qualifying spots and swept to wins in the 400, 800 and 1600 relays to move into position as one of the team favorites for next weekend’s Illinois High School Association state finals at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Coach Don Michelin’s team won its first sectional championship since 2018, edging defending state champ New Trier 132-127 in the 15-team field. Evanston’s combination of quality and quantity --- the Kits claimed 8 first place finishes --- could result in the program’s best chance to bring back a State trophy since the 2015 squad tied for 2^nd place.

Michelin can’t wait to see what happens on the blue oval track at EIU next Friday and Saturday.

“We’re aiming for a trophy. We’re in the trophy hunt if we continue doing what we’re doing in our key events,” said the veteran coach. “The word for us is consistency. We just have to stay consistent.”

Evanston advanced out of the sectional without any real surprises, except perhaps in the 1600 relay. Sophomore Lewis Scott replaced Johnson in the relay lineup, and teamed with Anthony Honore, Jordan Harvey and Deshawn Preister to take down top-seeded New Trier with a winning time of 3 minutes, 23.64 seconds. The Trevians ran 2^nd in 3:26.72.

Harvey ruled both hurdle events, the 100 and 300, and qualified for State for the third year in a row. He was Evanston’s only double winner, but those dash duels between Johnson and Blake are what caught the eye of most spectators Thursday on a day when the temperature never reached 60 degrees and the north wind was a factor, too.

Blake gained the upper hand on his classmate in the 100, with a personal best time of 10.36 that ranks among the top five this spring in the state of Illinois. Johnson qualified in 10.64, then came back to clip Blake by a margin of 21.25 to 21.31 in the closely contested open 200. A total of seven runners beat the state qualifying time standard in the 200.

Good as they are --- and everyone has an ego --- neither Blake nor Johnson considers this a sprint rivalry. The pair brings out the best in each other, and if anything, they’ve created a mutual admiration society.

Johnson admitted that watching Blake’s improvement from a year ago spurred him to bigger things himself.

“Last year Manny showed his speed, but he wasn’t at his full potential yet,” Johnson noted. “I didn’t really do any running over the summer, just football. But Manny got faster and really improved a lot, and when I saw that I knew I had some work to do to catch up to him.

“Now he’s my dog. I came into the indoor season (against him) and I kept getting beat. I’m proud of how hard we’ve both worked. On a given day, he’s faster than me, and on another given day, I’m faster than he is.”

“We just go at it, back and forth, and push ourselves to the limit,” said Blake. “That’s why we’re able to run like this (today). We’ve been friends since we were in 7^th grade, and when I ran a 10.9 at the sectional last year (barely missing a State qualifying berth), that told me I could push him and beat him.

“Justin’s start is amazing and his drive phase is getting way better, too. He’s my teammate and I’m really proud of him. What’s a good outcome next week (at State)? I know I can go faster than I did today. A 1-2 finish (100 and 200) --- either way.”

Michelin is just happy to have both sprinters on his side.

“The only way to really get better is to have in-house competition like that,” Michelin declared. “They both want to be that No. 1 guy. I can’t tell you the last time we had two guys that fast (on the same team). It’s not often that you get that kind of talent.

“Manny had grown and matured since last year. He’s got his priorities in order and I think he’s ready to break out in Charleston.”

The pair teamed with Emmanuel Roche and Honore for first place finishes in the 400 relay (41.30) and 800 relay (1:26.19) despite the windy conditions. Johnson’s refuse-to-lose dash down the final stretch made the difference in the 400 as he fought off a furious finish by New Trier anchor Gio Boro, as the Trevs were clocked in a quick 41.38.

Harvey won the 110 hurdles in 14.23 and came back to take top honors in the 300, clocked in 39.08. He can claim the distinction of being one of the few hurdlers in program history to make it to State for three years in a row.

Junior Jaden Jean-Paul will get a chance to compete with the state’s elite in the high jump after winning that event with a best leap of 1.93 meters, beating out two Deerfield challengers. He also qualified with a 5^th place showing in the triple jump at 13.54 meters.

Preister punched a return ticket to State in the open 400, where his time of 50.04 trailed only the champ from New Trier, Miles Lyons, who registered a time of 49.11. And Chance Simmons soared a personal best of 6.87 on his final attempt in the long jump to account for Evanston’s other individual qualifying spot, placing 3^rd in that event.

Among the non-qualifiers for the Wildkits, distance runners Andrew Rich and Andrew Praeuner came up short of the qualifying standard but still scored significant time drops. Rich,a senior, ran 4^th in the 1600 in 4:25.78 --- five second faster than his seed time --- and Praeuner chopped 10 seconds off his previous best time to place 4^th in the 3200 in 9:30.37.