State of the State -- Excellent!

The boys state track and field meet in Charleston over the weekend produced some fine performances to say the least. And hats off to York (50 points) and Hillcrest (93 points), the Class 3A and 2A team champions. Back to 3A individuals, you have to admire Conant's Jeff Thode, who ran 4:05.17 to win the 1,600-meter final. And Jamario Taylor of East Aurora made the high jump competition extra special, going 7-feet to beat Buffalo Grove's Matt Newman, who went 6-10. There is no way to salute everyone who deserves it, but Maine South's Ryan Lynn ran 1:51.13 to win the 800 and York teammates Steve Sulkin and Jordan Hebert went 1-2 in the 3,200 with times of 9:03.91 and 9:04.83. Sulkin came back later and grabbed third in the 1,600 with a 4:13.35. As Hebert's mother told me, every member of the York team who qualified for state scored points. That's quite amazing. Hillcrest was just as awesome in Class 2A.