IESA Headlines

Kingsley's Dee Byrd Sets All-Time Girls 400 Record Friday in Class AA State Meet

EAST PEORIA -- Seventh grader Dee Byrd of Normal Kingsley set the all-time record in the girls 400-meter dash to highlight the first day of the IESA Class AA State Final Track and Field Meet Friday at the EastSide Center.

Byrd won the 7AA event in a time of 57.04 to shatter the 7AA and all-time girls records. She ran away from the others in her heat to win by at least 40 meters. The old all-time record was 58.14 set in 2008 by Megan Paul of Mundelein Fremont, and Paul's time of 58.54 in 2007 was the old 7AA mark. Byrd also finished eighth in the long jump with a mark of 15-8.75.

Tray Moore of Springfield Washington bettered the 7AA 100-meter dash record in the preliminaries going 11.08.

Cameron Donaby of East St. Louis Younge won the 7AA 400-meter dash in 52.38 to better the 7AA record of 53.74 set by Syrus White of Rantoul Eater in 2007.

Steven Bradford of Bloomington JHS set the 7AA boys pole vault record of 10-10, breaking the old mark of 10-9 set in 1999 by Josh Hartman of Sandwich Dummer. Bradford cleared 10-10 on his first attempt. He tried 11-0 and on his first two tries he cleared the bar, hit it on the way down and while in the landing pit saw it wiggle and fall off. On his third try at 11-0 he could not gain any momentum on his run down the runway and barely got off the ground.

There were some great races in the 1600-meter run. Grant Nykaza of Beecher stormed to a win in 4:33.45, pulling away from Darius Thomas of Macomb in the final lap to win the 8AA title. Thomas was timed in 4:37.99. In the 8AA girls race, Brooke Gordon of Normal Parkside and Carly Pederson of Normal Chiddix battled through all four laps to a blazing finish. Gordon fought off two passing attempts by Pederson in the final 200 meters and won at the wire in 5:09.90. Pederson was timed in 5:10.05. Julie James of El Paso-Gridley was third in the race in 5:23.58.

James captured the 8AA high jump with a leap of 5-3. Both she and Kandie Bloch of Agrenta-Oreana cleared 5-3, and James took first place on misses.

Emmonnie Henderson of Cahokia Wirth won the 8AA girls discus with a throw of 114-1 and took second in the 8AA girls shot put with a toss of 33-10.5.