IESA Headlines

2012 IESA Class AA State Track and Field Meet This Weekend

For the 13th consecutive year, the EastSide Centre in East Peoria will host the Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) Class AA State Final Track and Field Meet. A total of 2,892 athletes will participate in the two-day meet this Friday and Saturday (May 18-19). East Peoria Central District #86 serves as the host school.

The IESA state series in boys track and field began in 1932 and the girls state series began in 1972. This will be the 81st year for the boys and the 41st year for girls. A total of 255 member schools entered the 2012 Class AA state series and 242 of those schools will be represented at this year's state meet. The sectional qualifying meets were held last Saturday, May 12. The following link will list all qualifiers: http://www.iesa.org/activities/tr/qualifiers_State_AA.asp?Year=2012

There are 14 events in each of the four classes (7th grade girls; 7th grade boys; 8th grade girls; 8th grade boys). There will be a grand total of 56 events. Field event competition begins Friday at 12:00 noon. In the field events, the preliminaries and finals are conducted on the same day that the respective event is held. Some field events are held on Friday and some are held on Saturday. The running events get under way Friday at 1:00 p.m. with the preliminaries and semifinals of the hurdle event. The finals for the hurdle event are held on Saturday morning starting at 9:00 a.m. Only the hurdle event and the 100-meter dash are held with preliminaries and semifinals. In all other running events, timed finals is the format. The best times from all the heats or sections in a respective running event determine final places in that event.

Competition on Saturday begins at 9:00 a.m. with the finals of the hurdles and the 100-meter dash. Running events will run continuously throughout the day. Field events will also get started at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday and will also continue throughout the day. The event is expected to conclude around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. The complete time schedule for the weekend is available at the following link: http://www.iesa.org/documents/activities/IESA-TR_Schedule.pdf

Results will be updated continuously throughout the weekend and all results should be available by 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening on the IESA home page www.iesa.org.

Single-session tickets will be on sale at the stadium each day. Tickets are priced at $8.00 for adults and $4.00 for students K-8 and seniors. Gates open to the general public at 10:30 a.m. Friday and at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

Gates for the competitors and teams will open at 10:00 a.m. on Friday and 7:00 a.m. on Saturday. The Parade of Athletes will take place on Friday at 11:15 a.m. and on Saturday the parade begins at 8:20 p.m. The parade is a chance for the competitors to walk the track with their team amidst applause, music, and cheers from coaches, parents, family, and fans. At the conclusion of the Parade of Champions, the Athlete Oath will be read by four athletes who will be competing in this year's meet. On Friday, Keagan Smith, an 8th grader from Lake in the Hills Marlowe and Hannah Cohn, an 8th grader from Flossmoor Parker will read the oath. Smith won both the 800 meter and 1600 meter runs last year as a 7th grader and returns this year as the #1 seed in those events at the 8th grade level. Cohn won both the 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash last year and comes into this year's meet as the #4 seed in the 100 meter dash and the #3 seed in the 200 meter dash.

Cohn was named as an IESA Scholar Attitude Award winner earlier this year.

On Saturday, Adam Coulon, an 8th grader from Downs Tri-Valley and Dasha Thomas, and 8th grader from E. St. Louis Lincoln will read the oath. Coulon could very well set a record this weekend that could earn him national attention. Last year, Coulon set the IESA all-time record in the pole vault when he cleared 13'2" as a 7th grader. He comes into the meet this year as the #1 seed in the 8th grade pole vault and he cleared 15' at last weekend's sectional meet. The world record for 14 year olds is 15'7". Fans will certainly want to stick around on Saturday afternoon as Coulon tries to better the IESA record as well as go for a world record for his age group. Coulon will also be participating in the hurdle event. Thomas was last year's winner of the 7th grade long jump and will compete on Friday in the event once again. She is seeded third in the 8th grade long jump this year.

All athletes who place 1-8 in their respective event will be recognized on the infield after the conclusion of their event. The time schedule has periods built into it for presentation of the medals to the individuals and relay team members.

Fans are encouraged to visit the FanZone icon on the IESA home page for information that spectators should know regarding the meet.