Boys track & field: Locals fare well in Class 2A state finals

Dixon’s Grafton second in 1600; Rock Falls’ Marcum sixth in 300 hurdles; Dixon’s Jackson ninth in shot put

CHARLESTON – At the Class 2A Boys Track & Field State Finals on Friday, Brock Drengenberg added to the legacy of distance running at Dixon with his win in the 800 meters. Cadyn Grafton further cemented that proud heritage with a runner-up finish in the 1,600.

Competing against Benton freshman prodigy Gavin Genisio and Herscher junior phenom Drew Rogers, Grafton ran as good a race as was possible.

He had a 10-meter lead on the field with 300 meters left. That is when Rogers made his move and kicked it in to a new 2A record time of 4:13.26 – this coming after winning the 3,200 earlier in the day.

“I felt honored to run with him,” Grafton said.

Rogers was happy to see Grafton run with courage in establishing the pace.

“That was great to have someone push me. It was a matter of staying with him and kicking it,” Rogers said.

Meanwhile, Genisio had also caught up to Grafton. But in a sudden burst of speed, it was Grafton getting second, 4:17.40 to 4:17.49.

“With 80 meters to go, I gave it more than I ever had,” Grafton said.

Drengenberg was clocked at 4:24.29, picking up a sixth-place medal to go with his title in the 800.

“It good to even see Brock on the track, especially with the health issues he’s had,” Dixon coach Ryan Deets said. “I can’t say enough about what Cadyn and him have contributed to our program.”

Dixon came into the meet with the 10th-best time in the 4x400 relay (Jacob Gusse, Jacksen Ortgiesen, Grafton, Drengenberg), but took 21st with a time of 3:37. The main reason: Drengenberg and Grafton had only minutes to recover after the 1,600, as the IHSA went to an accelerated meet schedule to speed things up because of potential inclement weather moving into the area.

Additionally, they had moved back all running events to the evening because of a heat index in the 100s during the afternoon.

“I’m not sure about some of those decisions,” Deets said.

Still, the Dukes finished 11th in the team standings with 23 points.

June 18, 2021- Charleston, IL -Rock Falls' Matthew Marcum competes in the Class 2A 300-Meter Int. Hurdles during IHSA Boys State Track and Field Finals. [Photo: Douglas Cottle/PhotoNews]

Rock Falls had a medalist in junior Matthew Marcum, who took sixth in the 300 hurdles with a personal-best time of 39.56 seconds.

“I was nervous running in lane 8. I’m used to being in 4 or 5,” Marcum said. “I just sucked it up.”

Marcum was the beneficiary of the lead hurdler tripping midway through the race.

“I saw him fall and thought, that’s one more place to be had,” Marcum said.

Sterling also took to the blue track at O’Brien Field on Friday. Finishing second to Sycamore at the sectional last Thursday gave the Golden Warriors the right to run in the fast heat of the 4x800 relay.

The Spartans edged St. Viator to win the fast heat in 8:07.67, and then had to nervously wait a few minutes to get verification that their time bested slow heat winner Mascoutah by .32 seconds for the state title.

“Props to Sycamore. They earned it,” Sterling’s Sam Brown said. “It’s always fun to run against them.”

Brown and teammates Dale Johnson, Thomas Holcomb and Javon Bruce ran 8:29.01 to finish just out of a medal in 11th place.

“That’s pretty good for a first-time experience,” Bruce said.

An area athlete also brought home some hardware in the field events. Dixon’s Dre Jackson came home with a ninth-place medal in the shot put with a toss of 14.58.

“It wasn’t my best, but I gave it my all,” Jackson said. “It’s surreal to get a medal after the long road of COVID and ankle surgery.”

Jackson also competed in the discus, where he placed 11th with a throw of 42.65 meters.

“It was a great experience and well-run meet,” he said. “I love this sport and look forward to coming back down.”

Rock Falls’ Ben Blackburn threw 14.25 meters in the shot put to place 12th.

Dixon’s Skyler Connolly did not clear opening height in the pole vault.