Four one-hundredths of a second is all that separates Bloom’s dynamic duo in the 400 meters, Mikael Boyd and Antonio Davis.
Boyd nipped Davis at the wire at the Midwest Prep Invitational in a personal-best of 49.43 seconds on April 15 in Indianapolis. They are both ranked in the top 10 in the state in the event.
The rivalry between the two is fierce, but the intrasquad competition is helping both reach their maximum potential.
“It bothers me that I lost because I always want to win,” Davis said. “But it just gets me hungry to go get it next time. It brews inside me.”
When Boyd and Davis are joined by teammates Darren Harris and Amitai Wheat, they make up a formidable quartet for the 1,600 relay. At last Saturday’s Lanphier Invitational, the crew clocked an impressive 3:23.85 for the No. 4 ranking in the state.
And that’s likely where the two rivals will join forces downstate and do the most damage for Bloom.
The entire unit still will have to be sharp if the four hope to make a run at the top of the podium. Cahokia has a blistering time of 3:19.70 in the 1,600 relay.
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There are other factors at play, too. Davis is a top-notch 800 runner who will likely see his collegiate future in track play out in that event. But in the end, Bloom coach Jeffrey Timms feels having options is certainly not the worst thing.
“I have a model for how I’d like things to work in terms of our best potential,” Timms said. “But we’ve got to be flexible with it as well. We might have things play out differently than we originally thought.”
Davis plans to keep it simple.
“It’s all about the big picture,” Davis said. “Whatever we need to do, we’ll do.”
Rarefied air: Bloom’s Jelena Rowe entered rather exclusive company last Saturday at Glenbard West by clearing 6 feet, 1 inch in the high jump at the Sue Pariseau Invitational.
That ranks her first nationally this season and is a quarter-inch shy of the state record set in 1980 by Moline’s Denise Daebelliehn. The state-meet record of 5-11 was also set in 1980 by Melinda Morris of Tri-City.
The national record is 6-4 1/2 set by Vashti Cunningham in 2015. Cunningham, the daughter of former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham, finished in a tie for 13th in the Rio Olympic Games last summer.
Muscling up: Lockport’s John Meyer surprised some with his title in the Class 3A shot put last season.
But Meyer is setting the pace this time around after unleashing a 65-2 personal-best throw on April 15 in winning the Minooka Invitational.
Defending the title isn’t going to be easy, however, as Carbondale’s Sam Sikon has uncorked a 65-1/4 throw this season.
Meyer is also a solid bet to do well in the discus, already throwing 179-10, also at Minooka. But in this event, Meyer has been giving chase as Edwardsville’s AJ Epenesa has easily cleared the 200-foot barrier at 204-1.
Steve Soucie is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.