Meet The Times area’s Class 1A, 2A and 3A boys track and field state qualifiers

The IHSA Boys Track and Field State Championships get underway with preliminaries Thursday and Friday and finals Saturday at Eastern Illinois University’s O’Brien Field in Charleston.

Here’s who is competing from Times area schools.

Class 3A

Weston Averkamp, Ottawa: The Pirates senior and 2024 Times Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year captured titles in both the 110-meter hurdles (14.48 seconds) and 300 hurdles (39.33) at the Minooka Sectional. He is the seventh seed (0.41 from top 3) in the 110 hurdles and 13th (0.67 from top 5) in the 300 hurdles.

Last year, Averkamp earned a sixth-place medal at the state finals in the 300 hurdles and fell 0.26 seconds short of a berth in the finals in the 110 hurdles.

Class 2A

Isaiah Brown, Streator: The Bulldogs senior won the 100 (11.08), finished runner-up in the 200 (22.33), and also is a part of the 4x100 and 4X200 relay teams that qualified for state with second-place marks at the Pontiac Sectional.

Brown, who is seeded 25th in both individual events, will need to cut 0.22 seconds off his 100 and 0.13 from his 200 for a top-12 seed time. He advanced to state in the 200 last season with his time of 22.18 seconds just 0.14 seconds away from getting to the finals.

Andrew Warwick, Streator: The junior placed fourth in the pole vault at sectionals but advanced with a qualifying height of 3.88 meters and is seeded 30th. To reach a top-12 seed, Warwick will need to clear 4.18.

Streator 4X100 relay team: Brown, Warwick and juniors Garritt Benstine and Riley Stevens qualified with a runner-up sectional finish in 44.54 seconds despite a botched handoff overcome by Brown’s speed in the anchor spot.

“First up, [we need to] make sure we get a good handoff,” Brown said after the relay. “And second, make sure we’re at our best, staying smooth, don’t get too all over the place about the big schools there. We just need to focus on what we can control.”

The squad, seeded 30th, will need to shave off 1.93 seconds to post a top-12 seed mark.

Streator 4X200 relay team: The foursome of Brown, Warwick, Benstine and Stevens ran a second-best sectional time of 1:32.11 and is seeded 18th, and they will need to cut 1.91 for a top-12 seed.

Simeion Harris, Sandwich: The Indians senior was third in the 400 at the Rochelle Sectional with a qualifying time of 51.09. Harris, who medaled with a seventh-place finish last year at state, is seeded 22nd and will need to slice 0.75 seconds to reach a top-12 seed.

Peter Popp, Sandwich: The senior finished fourth at Rochelle, but his toss of 15.63 meters in the shot put exceeded qualifying standards. He is seeded 14th and will need 0.14 meters more for a top-12 seed. A 0.44 improvement would put him into a top-5 seed.

Luis Murillo, Sandwich: The sophomore was fifth with a 15.09 qualifying standard effort at Rochelle. He’ll need to add 0.68 to reach a top-12 seed.

Jacob Ross, Sandwich: Clearing a state qualifying height of 4.33, the sophomore finished third at Rochelle. He is seeded ninth with five others also having cleared the height at sectionals. The top-seeded height is 4.63.

Class 1A

Jacoby Gooden, Marquette: The Crusaders sophomore won the 100 at the Seneca Sectional in 11.34. He is seeded 28th and will need to shave off 0.24 for a top-12 seed. Gooden is also part of the 4x100 and 4x200 sectional champion relay teams.

Alex Schaefer, Marquette: The sophomore placed fifth at Seneca in the discus at 43.50. He is seeded 23rd and will need to add 1.64 to his throw for a top-12 seed.

Marquette 4X100 relay team: Gooden, seniors Jimmy Lawsha and Charlie McGrath and junior Marcus Baker finished first at Seneca in 44.74 seconds. To reach a top-12 seed, the foursome, seeded 30th, will need to cut 0.89 seconds off their sectional time.

Marquette 4X200 relay team: Gooden, Lawsha, McGrath and Baker won with a time of 1:35.43. A 30th seed, the Cru squad will need to slice 3.85 seconds off their time for a top-12 seed.

Colton Pumphrey, Seneca: The Fighting Irish senior placed fourth at sectionals in the 300 hurdles at 42.68. He is seeded 38th, just 1.03 away from a top-12 seed.

Jesus Govea, Seneca: The sophomore was runner-up at sectionals in the discus with a throw of 43.84. He is seeded 18th and will need a 1.30 improvement for a top-12 seed.

Zebadiah Maxwell, Seneca: The junior placed third at sectionals at 43.81 meters. A 19th seed, he will need a throw 1.06 better for a top-12 seed.

Matt Stach, Seneca: The junior won the sectional title in the long jump soaring 6.79 meters. He is a fourth seed with the top-seed posting a sectional mark of 6.90.

Brayden Simek, Seneca: A leap of 1.80 meters earned the junior second-place in the high jump at sectionals. He is seeded 37th and will need a mark of just 0.05 better to reach a top-12 seed.

Trenton Powell, Seneca: The freshman was a sectional runner-up in the pole vault after clearing 3.20 meters. He is seeded 26th and will need to be 0.50 better for a top-12 seed.

Noah Odum, Seneca: The sophomore qualified in the wheelchair division and is the top seed in the shot put (3.68) and discus (8.26).

Seneca 4X200 relay team: Senior Travis Barr, Stach, Powell and Simek placed second at sectionals at 1:35.55. The team is seeded 31st and will need to cut 3.85 seconds off their time for a top-12 seed.

Landin Stillwell, Somonauk: The Bobcats junior was the sectional champ at Seneca in the 3,200 (9:52.75), runner-up in the 1,600 (4:43.29) and part of the first-place 4x800 relay team. He was a state qualifier in the 3,200 last year, placing 14th.

Stillwell – the 2024 Times Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year – is seeded fourth in the 3,200 with the top runner posting a time of 9:52.75. In the 1,600, he is seeded 30th and will need slice 10.32 off his sectional time for a top-12 seed.

Somonauk 4X800 relay team: Stillwell, juniors Jackson Brockway and Gunnar Swenson and sophomore Caden Hamer finished first at sectionals in 8:40.16. They are seeded 20th and will need to cut 9.76 seconds to reach a top-12 seed.

Caleb Krischel, Fieldcrest: The Knights senior captured the sectional title at El Paso-Gridley in the 1,600 (4:44.12) while placing second in the 3,200 (10:02.49).

Krischel is seeded 32nd in the 1,600 (cut 11.15 for a top-12 seed) and 15th in the 3,200 (cut 03.49 for a top-12 seed).

Micheal Beckett, Fieldcrest: The junior won the sectional title in the triple jump with a leap of 12.61 meters. He is seeded 23rd and will need jump 0.22 further for a top-12 seed.