Anikamadu gives Huntley reason to dream big

Dubem Anikamadu already holds a spot among the fastest sprinters the McHenry County area has produced.

The Huntley senior plans on adding to his impressive résumé this spring by trying something new – the 400 meters.

Anikamadu qualified in four Class 3A sprint events for the IHSA Boys Track and Field State Meet last season and medaled in three, a feat previously accomplished by only one runner, his former teammate Connor Boos in 2015.

Huntley’s team is loaded with sprinters, so around the time of the Red Raiders’ sectional meet, there will be an important decision made on whether Anikamadu runs with the 4x200 relay or in the 400. Since the events are back-to-back, it will be one or the other.

“I feel great,” said Anikamadu, who is 6-foot-2 and signed with Kentucky. “I feel a lot stronger; I feel confident with what my team and I can do. I’ve been running 400s, expanding my range. It would be fun to run [the 400] at state. It’s a hard decision because there’s five events I could qualify for. It’s a last-minute decision of what I want to do at sectionals.”

Raiders coach Jim Rolando feels that decision will be up to Anikamadu.

“When I say it’s up to him, it’s all about how he trains and what we accomplish during the year,” Rolando said. “He’s split under 50 [seconds] in 4x400 relays. He’s been consistent with his indoor [400] times. He’s built to be a 400 guy. When he gets to college, I think that will be something he will run. If not an open 400, a 4x400. We’ll see where we’re at in May, see what happens.”

Anikamadu ruled the area in the 100 and 200 the past two years, and he and his teammates also dominated the 4x100 and 4x200 in the McHenry County and Fox Valley Conference meets. He took third in the 200, eighth in the 100 and eighth with Melvin Aninagyei-Bonsu, Zach Tepper and Eric Mooney in the 4x100 last year at state.

Those three and Ron Noll, who had qualified for state in both the 4x100 and 4x200, but could not run because of a school suspension, all return with Anikamadu. That depth could play into the decision of which event Anikamadu runs, as well.

“We have some really good guys who can run a good 4x200,” Rolando said. “Let’s go with that as much as we can throughout the season and see what it gets us.”

That would leave Anikamadu with the 4x100, 100, 400 and 200 (in meet order), a full load for a sprinter, but time for ample rest between events.

Anikamadu ran with TNT Track and Field Academy, based in Arlington Heights, over the summer. He teamed up with Hoffman Estates’ Declan Rustay, the Class 3A 200 champion, and two other runners to take third in the 4x100 at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, where they broke 41 seconds.

Anikamadu has high hopes for his senior season, especially for the team, which has won the McHenry County Meet, FVC Meet and sectional three consecutive years.

“I want to break my [personal records], and my long-term goal is placing in all four events [at state],” he said. “And as a team, bring back the state trophy. We want to get No. 1, the championship.”