SVM area roundup: Sterling 4x200 relay team wins indoor track & field state championship at Illinois Top Times

A dozen Sterling Golden Warriors were awarded medals at the Illinois Top Times indoor track & field state championships at Shirk Center in Bloomington on Saturday as the competition concluded for the Class 2A field.

In the 4x200 relay, Sterling’s Cale Ledergerber, Joseph Holcomb, Kael Ryan and Carter Chance won a state championship, clocking a 1:33.79.

Dale Johnson added a pair of medals to his state championship collection, taking second in the 1,600 meters behind Columbia’s Ethan Hogan (4:17.46) with a personal-record run of 4:21.44, and third in the 3,200 meters with a 9:28.44.

Andre Klaver chipped in another second-place finish for Sterling, clearing 1.93 meters in the high jump to finish behind Metamora state champion Drew Tucker (1.96m).

In the 4x400 relay, Jordan Britt, Thomas Holcomb, Joseph Holcomb and Delacruz ran a 3:35.19 for fifth place.

In the 4x800 relay, Owen Anderson, Thomas Holcomb, Parker Janssen and Britt clocked an 8:23.81 for sixth place. Britt added an eighth-place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 52.05.

On the girls side, reigning Class 2A outdoor triple jump state champion Alice Sotelo jumped 10.56 meters to finish sixth in her championship event.

The Dixon girls placed sixth in the 2A 4x800 relay, as the team of Hannah Steinmeyer, Kate Boss, Keeley Mick and Kait Knipple clocked a 10:11.88. For the boys team, Aaron Conderman placed eighth in the 3,200 (9:47.96) and Alec Fulton took eighth in the high jump (1.82 meters).

In Class 1A, several locals earned top-eight finishes.

West Carroll’s Emma Randecker finished fourth in the 200 (26.57 seconds), and the Fulton 4x200 relay team of Brooklyn Thoms, Annaka Hackett, Grace Dykstra and Miraya Pessman finished fifth in 1:52.11. Amboy’s Elly Jones took sixth in the triple jump (10.15 meters) and eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (10.12 seconds), Erie-Prophetstown’s Kennedy Buck was sixth in the shot put (10.59 meters), and Bureau Valley’s Jillian Hulsing tied for seventh in the high jump (1.50 meters).

On the boys side, Newman’s 4x800 relay team of Wyatt Widolff, Ken Boesen, Lucas Schaab and Lucas Simpson took sixth in 8:31.76, and Erie-Prophetstown’s Parker Holdorf placed seventh in the pole vault (3.85 meters). In the shot put, Forreston’s Johnny Kobler took sixth (14.67 meters), and Fulton’s Braiden Damhoff placed eighth (14.42 meters).

Sterling Invite: The host Golden Warriors won seven first-place medals in the girls event, while Rock Falls racked up five first-place medals at the Sterling Invite at Westwood.

For Sterling, Taah Liberty won the 60-meter dash, Rhylee Wade took the 400, Kirra Gibson won the 60-meter hurdles, Kate Rowzee took the shot put, and Finley Ryan won the pole vault. Kaydence Weeks, Gibson, Liberty and Ryan teamed up to win the 4x200, and Delia Block, Liberty, Weeks and Wade won the 4x400.

In the 4x800 relay, Rock Falls’ Ava Shank, Hana Ford, Kat Scott and Gracie Rippy were the champions; Scott was also a champion individually in the 800. Carli Kobbeman won the long jump, Amara Thomas won the high jump, and Ariel Hernandez won the 1,600.

In the boys meet, Sterling’s Kaedon Phillips won the high jump, Brandeis Shore took the pole vault, and Tavian Kelly won the triple jump. Dixon got wins from Matt Warkins in the shot put and Tyson Dambman in the long jump, while Rock Falls’ winners were Adan Oquendo in the 200 and the 4x400 team of Devin Tanton, Brady Root, Aydan Goff and Anthony Valdivia.